Mr. Speaker, what can I say after all those kind words? I would like to thank the five speakers from the various political parties who spoke so kindly of me.

I have served in the governing party, I have served as an independent, I have served in the official opposition, and I have served as a member of the third party. I have known just about every trend and experienced all the highs and lows.

I would like to thank my constituents for supporting me in 12 elections with handsome majorities. The one in 2011 was harder because of the orange wave, but four of us got elected, including me.

I would like to thank all the people who helped me get elected, including the organizers, my riding executive, and my 1,000 members who renew their cards every year and who are also starting to get older too. I would like to thank my loyal and long-serving office staff as well. I would also like to thank the research and communications teams that support the parties and members. They are invaluable in helping us better serve our constituents and give them the answers they are looking for.

I thank my family and my children for understanding why I had to be away so much. I thank my partner Manon, who has been courageously battling cancer for two years. Despite her many treatments, she encourages me to continue my work here to help my constituents. She is very supportive.

Many people here in this beautiful chamber will no doubt break my record, since many of them were elected at a very young age. However, I would like to warn them right now that I hope I still have two or three more terms to serve. That is my intention. This time, it will be within the same party; there will be no changes.

I have often enjoyed hearing O Canada because, as Gilles Vigneault once said, I have always loved hearing foreign national anthems. What I like about O Canada is that it was sung for the first time at a separatist gathering in Quebec. We sang O Canada because we did not want to sing God Save the Queen. However, one day, Canada decided to adopt it so that it could have its own national anthem. That was a bit of history, but I will stop there.

Once again, I thank all my colleagues for their kind words. I am not sure I have been that worthy of them, but I look forward to continuing my work.

Louis Plamondon

$457,653.00