Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am honoured to be here.
Hello.
If you are coming into this chamber for the first time, welcome.
To those returning to the House, welcome back.
To all of you, congratulations in earning the confidence of your constituents. I was first elected as a member in 2004, yet after all this time, I am still in awe of this place and immensely honoured to represent the people of Nipissing—Timiskaming and to work with each and every one of you from all sides of the political spectrum.
From the first time I was elected, I have always been accessible and open to talking with my colleagues, regardless of their political affiliation. It is my intention to maintain this collegial approach regardless of the result of the vote. If you choose to place your confidence in me by re-electing me as Speaker, I assure you my door will remain open to everyone.
Over the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to speak with many of you. Thank you for taking the time to discuss what you believe is working in these halls and especially how you believe we can improve the operations of Parliament. Every single member in this House has the right to voice his or her opinions and to be heard. Maintaining a balance between the right to express oneself while respecting the dignity of others is fundamental.
It will be hard to go over all of my qualities in the few minutes I have been given this afternoon. Those returning to the House have seen me in action over the past few years. I am confident that as Speaker I was firm, fair and respectful.
During the 43rd Parliament, my primary focus was unexpectedly to ensure that the House of Commons remained operational and that parliamentary work continued amidst the challenges of the global pandemic. It was a massive technical undertaking that could honestly not have been achieved without all of us, staff and members, working together to make sure that it happened. For that, I am very grateful to everyone in this chamber.
As presiding officer, it fell to me to provide guidance and support to members as well as adapt to the unusual circumstances. I believe I was successful on both fronts. The terms that I heard when speaking to many of you described my performance as firm, respectful, effective and above all else, fair.
I will continue to meet regularly with the House leaders, the whips and, of course, all members to ensure that our institution has harmonious parliamentary procedures that are based on co-operation and, above all, respect.
Canada is a bilingual country. It is vital that the Speaker of the House be fluent in both French and English. Learning a language is very important, but the secret to understanding a people is to experience their culture and understand what it means to live that culture on a day-to-day basis.
Working collaboratively, we can continue to fine-tune the decorum process and overall operations in the House. There is always room for improvement. I have a great deal of respect for this institution and all its members and believe that every one of us should take part in improving our procedure.
I am running for Speaker of the House of Commons once again, and I am committed to working with each and every one of you.
I will continue to work with all members because I believe deeply that once the Speaker is elected, he or she is the Speaker for all members.
On this momentous afternoon, I respectfully invite you all to vote for me.