Mr. Speaker, I was not aware, until today, that the hon. member for Elmwood—Transcona would be giving his farewell address. I just have a few comments, as others will, but I really just want to very sincerely thank him for the incredible service to the House and to his community.
I am a fellow Transconan, born and raised in Winnipeg but with most of my formative years in Transcona. I lived right across the street from his grandfather. Literally, I could look in their side window. I did not, but I could have.
Of course, I knew his father very well and often shared a plane ride or two with him. I can tell members that he was so proud of his son and the great parliamentarian that he had become in just a few short years. I was a classmate of his uncle, so I was intimately connected with his family, a great Transcona family who was very much beloved, as the hon. member is now.
The place we come from, a working-class suburb, a railway town, really, I think the hon. member would agree, made us very sensitive to the needs of working people and to the aspirations of the middle class. I still call Transcona home.
I am not going to go on. I just want to, again, thank the member for his contribution to the House, to my province and to our country. He is an intelligent, thoughtful and always well-prepared member of the House. I wish him well. I know his service will continue for the country but, very importantly, for the province we both love, Manitoba.
I wish the hon. member well.