Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Transport and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
“As we break for the summer, I want to thank all members of Parliament, the Speaker, and the staff who keep this place running.”
“Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to adjourn for the summer, I would like to express my gratitude to a few people. I want to extend my personal thanks to everyone here on Parliament Hill. Let me start with the amazing House leadership team who work with me every day on the multitude of details that must be addressed hour by hour to make this place work: the deputy House leader, the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader, the whip, the deputy whip and all of our staff, who are incredible public servants who deserve our thanks. I would also like to thank each and every one of my colleagues in the Liberal Party of Canada caucus who have backed me and offered me their support throughout this parliamentary session. I want to thank my colleagues, the 174 proud and committed Canadians who serve their people proudly every day. I do not want to overlook the contribution made by the other parties. They will not admit it, but we have a very healthy and productive working relationship with the House leadership teams of the Conservative Party of Canada, the Bloc Québécois, the New Democrats and the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands in the Green Party. Behind the scenes, we certainly do not agree all the time on substance, but we can agree to be agreeable, and that is what we do almost all of the time. I want to thank my colleagues in all corners of the House for their co-operation. We have come here to Ottawa with different solutions to the challenges we currently face, but let us be very clear: We are united in this chamber by our love for the Parliament of Canada and for Canada itself. We are in love with our country, in love with our democracy and with this Parliament, and we are united on that. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you. I would like to thank you, fellow Quebecker. I hope you will forgive us for not always making life easy for you, but you have served, and will continue to serve, as Speaker with distinction and dignity. We want to also thank all of the Table officers, the clerks, the pages, the Parliament Protective Service and obviously all of the people who work very hard, whether it be the cafeteria staff or the Clerk’s staff. It is a small community here in the Canadian Parliament. Many of us come from the right side of the river—the Quebec side—and we are very proud to serve our country in this way. It is both a pleasure and an honour to come to work every day and be greeted by a resident of Gatineau. May everyone have a restful time over the summer. I look forward to seeing everyone in the fall. I thank all of my colleagues. I would like to thank everyone for the great work we have just completed.”
Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to adjourn for the summer, I would like to express my gratitude to a few people. I want to extend my personal thanks to everyone here on Parliament Hill. Let me start with the amazing House leadership team who work with me every day on the multitude of details that must be addressed hour by hour to make this place work: the deputy House leader, the parliamentary secretary to the government House leader, the whip, the deputy whip and all of our staff, who are incredible public servants who deserve our thanks. I would also like to thank each and every one of my colleagues in the Liberal Party of Canada caucus who have backed me and offered me their support throughout this parliamentary session. I want to thank my colleagues, the 174 proud and committed Canadians who serve their people proudly every day. I do not want to overlook the contribution made by the other parties. They will not admit it, but we have a very healthy and productive working relationship with the House leadership teams of the Conservative Party of Canada, the Bloc Québécois, the New Democrats and the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands in the Green Party. Behind the scenes, we certainly do not agree all the time on substance, but we can agree to be agreeable, and that is what we do almost all of the time. I want to thank my colleagues in all corners of the House for their co-operation. We have come here to Ottawa with different solutions to the challenges we currently face, but let us be very clear: We are united in this chamber by our love for the Parliament of Canada and for Canada itself. We are in love with our country, in love with our democracy and with this Parliament, and we are united on that. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you. I would like to thank you, fellow Quebecker. I hope you will forgive us for not always making life easy for you, but you have served, and will continue to serve, as Speaker with distinction and dignity. We want to also thank all of the Table officers, the clerks, the pages, the Parliament Protective Service and obviously all of the people who work very hard, whether it be the cafeteria staff or the Clerk’s staff. It is a small community here in the Canadian Parliament. Many of us come from the right side of the river—the Quebec side—and we are very proud to serve our country in this way. It is both a pleasure and an honour to come to work every day and be greeted by a resident of Gatineau. May everyone have a restful time over the summer. I look forward to seeing everyone in the fall. I thank all of my colleagues. I would like to thank everyone for the great work we have just completed.