It is an honour for me to stand before dear colleagues today to address my candidacy for Speaker of the House of Commons in this 44th Parliament. First, let me take a moment to sincerely congratulate each and every member for being elected or re-elected to represent their constituents in the House of Commons. It will truly be an honour and a privilege to serve with all members.
I want to thank my fellow West Nova citizens for once again placing their trust in me to represent them in Ottawa. It is an honour and a privilege to represent them here in the House.
To those colleagues who do not know me personally, I am a proud Acadian from Par-en-Bas, or Argyle, the oldest Nova Scotian region that is still Acadian. My family has lived there since 1653. My father was a fisherman his whole life, and my mother took care of my two younger brothers and me. I married Anne, my high-school sweetheart, and we have two sons, André and Alec, of whom we are very proud.
Today, I am running to be Speaker because I strongly believe that I have the ability and experience to assist members in the discharge of their responsibilities to Canadians.
Before being elected as the member of Parliament for West Nova in 2019, I was an MLA in Nova Scotia for 16 years, where I served as minister of agriculture and fisheries, minister of Acadian Affairs and Francophonie, minister of health, and then opposition House leader for close to 10 years.
Since arriving in the House of Commons, I have had the opportunity to meet many colleagues from all parties. I have enjoyed working with you on House committees and all-party committees.
That is why I am sure I would be able to carry out my duties as Speaker to uphold the powers and privileges of the House and also to advance and ensure respect for every member's opinion and right to speak.
Those who know me know that I have a very calm French Acadian demeanour and that I work well with others. In fact, these are traits that are strongly tied to my Acadian roots. We, as Nova Scotian Acadians, learned, once we returned home from exile, to remain calm and non-confrontational and to continuously strive for consensus, no matter the situation we have found ourselves in. As an elected official, I continue to embody these traits of being a good listener and peacekeeper in my daily work, and I know they guide me in how I treat my constituents, my colleagues and my staff.
The last Parliament was undoubtedly a difficult one, given the unprecedented health crisis we have been travelling through, but also due to the many revelations of a difficult work environment that were emerging at the centre of our democratic system. For me, it was becoming clearer, day by day, that our institution may be in trouble, and for this reason, I do not want to sit on the sidelines. These issues concern all of us and should in no way be tinged with partisanship. I believe I can lead an all-party approach and put my skill, ability and experience to work to prevent these issues from escalating and, more important, to turn the tide by seriously reviewing and resolving the issues before us.
As elected members of the House, we have a duty to ensure that the health of our democracy is maintained and respected at all times. We must also ensure that we elect a Speaker who will serve as a protector and will not yield to partisan influence. The Speaker has the responsibility and the privilege of setting an example at all times, and it is a task that I am committed to carrying out in order to ensure that our institution works properly.
Canadians made a clear choice in the past election to elect another minority government, and they are expecting all of us to work together. As a member of Parliament, I respect that, and I will continue to do so. I will strongly collaborate with all of my colleagues to make sure that this 44th Parliament is focused on the needs of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
To my hon. colleagues, I pledge to be a servant of the House, to enable them to navigate the House of Commons in the safest and most effective way possible and to ensure their rights and privileges as members of the House of Commons are protected at all times. I want to ensure that the work and values of this chamber reflect the expectations Canadians have for the institution that is at the centre of our democracy. Above all, I want to ensure that at the end of this parliamentary session each one of my hon. colleagues will be able to confidently look back and proudly say that it was productive and positive.
Canadians have sacrificed a lot during the last two years. They want and deserve an efficient Parliament, and I know that all members want that too.
I humbly ask my colleagues for their vote today, and I thank them for their attention and trust.