I noticed that several speakers spoke about new members. I know there are many. I am certain that one of them will beat my record because they are starting out at an earlier age than I did.
I would like to use an anecdote to give you a small piece of advice. As I already mentioned, when I was elected in 1984, cell phones, the Internet and faxes did not exist. It was another world, a paradise. What we were afraid of at the time was meeting with the national press. When we did, we immediately understood that journalists were completely objective. Things went well. You, the new members, will have to deal with the infamous social networks, which can harbour malice, insults, harassment and more. They are not easy to contend with.
In my riding, there was an old mayor who was always being confronted by his citizens. At every municipal council meeting, he was questioned, insulted and harassed, and then he would leave. One day, as he was leaving a meeting, a woman asked him if he was fed up and tired of being insulted, harassed and questioned. He replied, “My dear lady, a good politician is like a monument. Sometimes, a little dog passes by, pees on the monument and then continues on its way. It does not really hurt the monument, but it does the little dog a lot of good.”
Therefore, dear young MPs, be the monuments.