Colleagues, it is my turn to rise and pay tribute to our very dear colleague, my predecessor as Speaker, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel.

We have known each other for a very long time. In 1988, when I first came to the House of Commons as a page, the member for Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel already had four years of experience under his belt. I had the pleasure of bringing him water and messages. He was a gentleman and an upstanding man; he still is. He has set a record for years of service, but he has also set records for kindness, wisdom and, of course, sense of humour. He is known among MPs for his sage advice. For example, if someone announces that they are running for a leadership position, the member will whisper back that they have his support, but not to tell anyone. I am certain he made an exception for me when I ran for Speaker. It is that kind of practical and far from cynical approach that has enabled him to spend 40 years in this place.

The people of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel are very well served by this gentleman. He is dedicated to working for them. His success among voters boils down simple mathematics, a subject he taught before becoming an MP. He follows a simple formula: He talks to at least 10 people a day in his riding, five days a week. At the end of the year, that adds up to 2,500 people who have had direct contact with him, or 2,500 people who know their MP. If we keep going with the math, we see that our colleague has had 100,000 personal contacts over the past 40 years. The lesson to be learned here is to never forget our roots and the reason we serve in this place.

I thank the hon. member for his outstanding service and congratulate him on 40 incredible years.

I see the member for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston rising on a point of order.

Greg Fergus

$480,916.00