Madam Speaker, I am honoured and delighted to rise today on behalf of my constituents and reply to the Speech from the Throne for this 36th Parliament.
It is truly an honour to be sent by the people to this House to represent their concerns and aspirations. I therefore seize this opportunity of my first debate in this Parliament to once more thank the people of Winnipeg North—St. Paul for their trust and confidence in me.
I thank those from the former riding of Winnipeg North who now constitute nearly half of my adjusted riding of Winnipeg North—St. Paul. I thank them for the continued confidence which they first entrusted in me in 1988, renewed in 1993 and again last June 2. I also thank those who are my constituents for the first time. I assure them that I will continue to discharge my duties and responsibilities as their member of Parliament with the same dutiful and careful attention I have served the people in the past. I shall consult with them and will continue to use my best judgment at all times taking the collective interests of our constituency and our country as my guidepost.
May I share with my colleagues in this House and with my constituents that I feel a special sense of honour and privilege as I debate today knowing that this new Parliament will be the last Parliament for the departing 20th century and the first Parliament of the 21st century as the throne speech so aptly noted. I am sure we collectively share this special moment in Canadian history just as we collectively share a special sense of duty to serve our country, the country of birth for most of us but the adopted country for some of us.
Nearly 30 years ago I became an adopted son of this country believing I was to begin a new life for my family and myself. As soon as I landed on its soil I felt at once a sense of security. I knew this would be a country where I could build a home, a career and most importantly yes, a future.
It was the future that became the driving force in building my family. Had I not believed that there was something good in this country to build upon, there would have been no inspiration there to pioneer the way for our children in order that they would have as equal if not a greater opportunity for success as their father has had.
I now look at my family, my four sons: Reis, Advin, Sherwin and Christopher. I ask myself, have I done what I set out to do in being the best leading example of fatherhood to my family. My wife Gloria would ask too, has she done what she set out to do in being the best leading example of motherhood to our sons.
Like any parent, father or mother, perhaps there is a need for insurance that the future for our children will continue to advance. On this earth there is no insurance of longevity, only the belief, the faith that what we have contributed in our lifetime can be an assurance of a future.
In essence we are only caretakers of this world. This is the directive of our humanity to which we are all instinctively called. And so it was with our First Nations people who began building Canada's first communities thousands of years ago. And so it was with the pioneers of Canada today who brought this nation together just over 100 years ago.
There must have been something great in creating a country of such immense promise. They could never know that future but they could ensure that it would happen by putting in place those building blocks upon which its future could be founded. They built our Confederation, the physical structure of our nation and the social infrastructure for our citizens, pensions and medicare just to mention a couple.
I put forth to hon. members this challenge, that we face up to the responsibility of ensuring our nation's continued future into the next millennium. This country has spent over a century discussing nation building. It is now up to us to project that history into this new millennium by securing and sustaining that nation Canada which has been built.
We must as members of Parliament in partnership with the government be prepared now to answer to the future needs of our children or else in this 36th session of Parliament we will have failed in contributing to this period of Canadian history entrusted to us. This is why our government strongly believes in seeing our youth educated and therefore empowered to be creative and innovative in facing the social, economic and political challenges of our fast growing world.
We recognize the need for an education that is responsive to these challenges by committing an endowment fund for scholarship. I am indeed delighted that the prime minister announced in his reply to the throne speech the millennium scholarship endowment fund. What will it do for young Canadians? The fund will help in at least two key priority areas, investing in the knowledge and creativity of Canadians and giving young Canadians a chance to thrive in the new economy by ensuring that post-secondary education is accessible and affordable to them.
Earlier I said I am delighted to rise and speak. I am delighted because this government has restored our nation's finances to order. The deficit has been reduced significantly and in a year or two we will have a balanced budget. The inflation rate is low. The interest rate is low. The unemployment rate is going down. But the work must continue.
I am also delighted because we have a government that believes that each Canadian child existing now and hereafter is guaranteed a future beyond the year 2000. It is a call for our government to be accountable to each member of its citizenship who is entitled to the fullest exercise of Canadian rights and privileges, and we have responded with the introduction of the national child tax benefits program.
That is why above all when this government speaks of Canada's future, it will deliver its message with one united voice for all Canadians, that in the true spirit of Canadianism what we ensure for one we must be prepared to ensure for all.
As we continue this 36th session of Parliament our job is to secure the future of this great nation. At times it may seem a daunting task. Yet, we must ask, can we afford to doubt ourselves when the future of our country is in our hands?
Had I been told 29 years ago that I would one day be standing in Parliament representing the constituents of Winnipeg North and that in my third election as the member of Parliament for Winnipeg North—St. Paul, I would reclaim my seat; and had I been told that amidst the devastation of my province plagued with the natural disaster of floods, its citizens would rise to the task of meeting the needs of our communities, I could never have doubted that the challenge would have to be met, not just out of necessity but because the vision of our nation's future was at stake.
Therefore I ask, are we prepared to take this country into the next millennium? If so, what is the government ready to do about it?
I am proud to be part of this government which has restored an infrastructure of hope and confidence for Canadians since it took office in 1993, because it understands the changing world. I am proud as well to be part of the government that has now set an agenda for the Canadian people that truly will bring us to the new millennium.
I thank the House and my colleagues for their indulgence. We shall work together so that Canada will continue to be the number one nation in the world in which to live.
