Mr. Speaker, my predecessor as MP for St. Boniface—St. Vital, the first minister of northern affairs and the first indigenous cabinet member from Manitoba, the hon. Dan Vandal, is in the gallery today with his wife, Brigitte.
One of eight children, Dan left high school to become one of Canada's top professional boxers. He then earned a bachelor's degree in social work. When he realized that the young people he worked with needed more resources, he became a city councillor in order to get them funding.
Dan's impact, nationally, regionally and locally, has been definitive. It includes the Nunavut devolution, the port of Churchill and the Musée de Saint-Boniface. He is deservedly proud of the work that the Government of Canada did to make real progress and investments in reconciliation when he was an MP and minister. To many of his former staffers, he is still the boss. To his family, he is the devoted pepère.
To me, he is a friend.
Thank you, Dan.