Mr. Chair, I too would like to acknowledge that we are gathered today on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
A little over 20 years ago, I took my seat in this House for the first time, in the very last row, in fact.
I took my seat in the House a little over 20 years ago. It was a proud moment, which is why I would like to offer a special congratulation to all the newly elected members who are taking their seats for the first time today. Whether we are in the first row or the last row, like the old Montreal Forum, there are no bad seats in this arena.
We are all equal here. We have all travelled the same road, faced challenges and come up against obstacles on the way to earning the honour and privilege of being the voices of our constituents in this Parliament. Canada's greatest asset is its democracy, and democracy lives and breathes here in this chamber.
Democracy does not end on election day. It is a living thing, and its home is here in this chamber. Ultimately, it is the quality of our democracy that makes our country strong. It reflects the strength of the nations, communities, provinces and regions that make up Canadian society.
It is rightly said that there can be no true freedom without order. Likewise, we cannot have a truly meaningful exchange of ideas without an orderly, rules-based House of Commons. There is nothing wrong with a clean, even board-rattling, polemical body check in the corners. I have been at the receiving end of a few. Robust debate is fundamental to a robust democracy, and a robust democracy is what makes for a resilient nation. The problem is when sticks go high.