Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the voters of Nanaimo—Ladysmith for putting their faith in me. It is an honour to be in this place, and I pledge to work hard and do my best to represent my constituents. I would also like to thank my campaign staff and volunteers for working so hard to help me get elected and my family for their support, inspiration and guidance.
We face a lot of challenges in Nanaimo—Ladysmith, but we also have a lot of opportunities to create the kind of community and world that we want our children and grandchildren to inherit. As a society, we can do better to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens are better cared for. We have a caring community, but what we need is more government support.
Climate change represents a major security and economic threat. People in Nanaimo—Ladysmith are stepping up to do what they can, but we need the government to show the political courage for stronger greenhouse gas emission targets and to drive the transition to a clean energy economy. Together, we can do this.