Dear colleagues, I rise today to let my name stand to be your Speaker. I will try to be brief and to the point.

Unlike other colleagues, I did not spend the last few days on emails or phone calls asking for your support. This is mostly because, as some of you may know, I was diagnosed with cancer at the end of January, and I have been undergoing intense treatment ever since.

Thanks to a phenomenal team and the many volunteers who raised their hand to help me through the campaign, I find myself representing the citizens of Brossard—Saint-Lambert once more, and I could not be more grateful.

After a successful re-election, I wanted to ensure my health situation would allow me to stand for this role. I spent many hours reflecting on my next steps, both at a personal and at a professional level.

I wish to take this moment to thank many of you in this chamber who sent me messages of encouragement in the past weeks and months. From text messages to phone calls and emails, your heartfelt words meant a great deal to me during these challenging times.

My oncologist has stated in no uncertain terms that I would have no problem serving as Speaker of the House. I have experience; my five years as Assistant Deputy Speaker have taught me what it takes to provide members with an environment conducive to respectfully debating ideas in compliance with the standing orders agreed upon through successive parliaments. I am not here to stand against anyone. I am here because certain convictions have led me to believe that it is possible to approach our responsibilities as parliamentarians in a different manner.

I have never been a parliamentary secretary or a minister, nor have I held any government role. I have been a privileged backbencher, but a backbencher nonetheless.

We are 343 individuals selected from among 40 million Canadian citizens to legislate on matters pertaining to their present lives and, now more than ever, their future.

Some of those responsibilities include and depend on the constant quest for truthfulness and the common good. I also believe that one of our responsibilities is to find joy in the work we do. Loving what we do, this place where we do it and the people who help us do it is, for me, a fundamental aspect of a successful parliamentary life. It cannot, and it should not, be all about insults and accusations, about gotcha moments and questionable statements. This is the place where Canada's most important conversations should be held, where we seriously debate and humorously disagree.

The ability to find just the right words is an art that I admire, and so many of you, my colleagues, are amazing at it. Oratorical skill, combined with mutual respect and the most basic standards of politeness, are exactly what our debates should always reflect.

Holding the government to account is the essential element of parliamentary democracy. No government is immune to the necessary scrutiny of its proposed legislation or its management of the public accounts, but Canadians have told us time and time again that they expect us to do this with far more civility than they have seen in this place most days. Should I be given the honour of being elected to the role of the Chair, I would strive with all my might to bring dignity to our debates.

I believe in the rules and regulations that govern the House of Commons. I believe in the office of the Speaker, which oversees the functioning and administration of this place. I trust the Clerk and the table officers, who guide us and provide us with their knowledge and their independent analysis.

Dignity is a principle very close to my heart. No one in this House, parliamentarian or otherwise, should have their human dignity ignored. We must at least say thank you to the pages who bring us a glass of water or a lectern. We must acknowledge the monumental work done by the interpreters. We must recognize the delicate task that falls to the table officers. Finally, we must accept that, despite our differences, we are all here with the same goal in mind, which is to pass good laws.

Our predecessors fought hard for our rights as parliamentarians. It is our duty to uphold them with conviction and honour.

Finally, I offer my colleagues a 21st-century argument: Is it not time for a woman to be elected Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada?

Alexandra Mendes

$368,939.00