Louis Plamondon

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of tabling a petition today on recognition and support for family caregivers. These women and men play a vital role in supporting people with health conditions who are in the process of losing their autonomy or living with a disability. Their work eases some of the pressure on our health care system. This petition is the outcome of a remarkable grassroots movement led by Geneviève Coutu of Sorel-Tracy, who I am happy to say is here in the gallery today. The petition gathered 13,035 electronic signatures and more than 3,600 paper signatures. As a family caregiver of many years to her husband, who has Alzheimer's disease, she embodies the reality faced by so many families. The petitioners call upon the federal government to provide better recognition for caregivers while respecting the jurisdictions of the provinces, including Quebec. The Bloc Québécois fully supports these demands, and I invite all the parties to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by sincerely thanking you for your work, your patience and your remarkable ability to remain calm. I would also like to thank all the members of the political parties for their tributes, which I thought were almost too generous. I want to thank my leader, the member for Beloeil—Chambly, the member for Ville‑Marie—Le Sud‑Ouest—Île‑des‑Soeurs and the member for Lévis—Lotbinière, whose riding is next to mine and who is also a friend. I also want to thank the member for Vancouver Kingsway and the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. I thank them for their kind words. They were very generous. I was genuinely moved by all the fine speeches. I thank them for their kindness, which will remain engraved in my memory. I also want to thank the members of the Bloc Québécois team, with whom I have the privilege of working. Their diligence, creativity, sense of duty and, above all, their ability to tolerate stories from a veteran politician like myself, deserve special recognition. I want to thank them for standing with me, for advising me, and sometimes, I admit, for bringing me back on topic. Today, I am speaking not only as a member of Parliament, but also as a witness to a journey that, I admit, even exceeds what I could have imagined at the start of my career. Here is what my 42 years as a member of Parliament represent: more than 15,059 days of parliamentary service, majority governments, minority governments, governments that were defeated, governments that were rebuilt, 12 federal prime ministers, reforms, economic crises, impassioned debates, thousands of speeches, a historic referendum, major reforms and, quite likely, enough red tape to cover the Champlain Bridge twice. I have seen the House at its best, and sometimes at its loudest, but I have always been witness to the fact that democracy, although imperfect, remains essential and invaluable. When I arrived here in 1983, some of the current members were learning their colours, others were starting their first day of school and some were not even a twinkle in their parents' eyes. I say this with humour, but also with deep humility. Having the honour of serving for so long is a privilege that I have never taken for granted. I will not hide the fact that when I started, many people told me to serve my term and then move on as best I could. They thought I would get tired of it and not stay very long. A few years turned into a quarter of a century, then three decades, and I will let my colleagues finish that list. However, I can say without hesitation that I have never been bored. What is fascinating about a political career is that the years go by, the debates change, governments come and go, but the passion remains. I would say that I still have the energy, the will—and the enthusiasm, even—to get up every morning to serve the people of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel—Alnôbak because this role remains, even today, the greatest honour of my life. Being elected for a year is a gesture of trust. Being elected for a decade is a responsibility, but being elected for 42 years is an honour that words cannot describe. If I have persevered, it is first and foremost thanks to the people of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel—Alnôbak, thanks to their trust, renewed year after year; thanks to their advice, sometimes gentle, sometimes very direct; and thanks to their devotion to a representative who has always tried to be warm, accessible and down to earth. I owe it all to them. Serving as a member of Parliament for four decades means witnessing the change in our people, debates, institutions, and technology. When I first arrived, we had no cell phones, no email, no fax machines, no social media. We only had typewriters and notepads. Today, everything moves faster, but the essence of the job remains the same. It involves the duty to listen, understand and represent. When I think back to my early days, I remember a Parliament where speeches were still typed on typewriters. Some of my colleagues were not even born yet, and the press gallery was packed. Since then, I have seen caucuses form, transform, split up, and sometimes heal. I have seen colleagues become friends, and others become history. I have witnessed Quebec struggle, grow, assert its rights and showcase the richness of its French language. Over the years, I have become the dean of the House of Commons and the longest-serving member of Parliament in Canadian history. This fact still surprises me because it was not a goal of mine. Being the dean of the House is also a strange position. It comes with certain responsibilities, like opening the new legislative session and, above all, recounting memories that no one else remembers but me. It is also a privilege to witness the cycles of our democracy and the continuity of our institutions. The young members who arrive each year remind me of two things, that time passes very quickly and that the next generation is bright, idealistic and determined, which reassures me tremendously. I am often asked what keeps me going after all this time. I always answer that it is the people, the folks back home. I have never forgotten that behind every debate, every vote and every speech, there is a farmer who gets up before dawn; a single mother who works miracles to make ends meet; an entrepreneur who risks it all for the sake of a dream; a young person who wants a greener, prouder and fairer nation; or a senior who wants what he is owed after a lifetime of toil and hard work. These are the people who guided me, encouraged me and got me through 15,059 days with the same unwavering conviction that a member of Parliament is never greater than the people they represent. There is also something profoundly human about this job: We age together. I want to emphasize the important role that Quebec has played in my political career. Since the Bloc Québécois was first established, I have had the immense privilege of helping to defend the interests, values and aspirations of the Quebec nation here in Ottawa. I have watched our party grow, reinvent itself and welcome new generations of elected officials. To promote the French language all these years, to pass it on, defend it and hear it resonate in the House is something that I have always considered to be my highest calling. I still remember my early days and my first caucus meetings, where we had more passion than knowledge, where we built a party with conviction as our main fuel and with hope as our compass. Today, I look at my colleagues, the new generation of the Bloc Québécois, and I know that the flame is still burning. The torch has been passed on, but the flame never goes out. I would like to think that these 42 years have made me wiser. That is partly true. I have learned that listening goes further than anger, that bridges are often more useful than walls, that humour can save nearly any situation and that respect, even when two people disagree, is the key to a healthy democracy. I have also learned that it is important to remain true to oneself and to always be authentic, consistent and faithful to those who elected us to this place. I will conclude by saying that I have never taken this job for granted. I see every election, every speech and every intervention as a renewed privilege. As long as the people of Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel—Alnôbak place their trust in me, I will continue to serve with passion, consistency, humour—sometimes a little too much, some might say—and, above all, with unwavering loyalty to our democracy. Today, as we mark these 42 years of service, as we acknowledge this record of 15,059 days, I want to make it clear that this is not a personal accomplishment. It is a tribute to the collective work of my staff, my Bloc Québécois colleagues, my family and the people who supported me. It is also a tribute to this institution, the House of Commons, that I deeply respect. It is not perfect; no parliament is. However, it remains a place where the will of the people is expressed, where ideas are debated and where the future is built. I have had the privilege of participating in this process for over four decades. I want to thank the citizens who elected me. I thank my Bloc Québécois colleagues, past and present, who have supported me. I thank everyone here, from all parties, with whom I have shared debates, disagreements, compromises and sometimes real friendships. I thank my family, who have agreed to share my life with politics, which requires more patience than anyone can imagine. I thank my team, my employees who have helped me with my office work and in Parliament, including Rita, Carole, Michel, France, Jocelyne, Maxime, Caroline, Jacqueline, Denis and Charbel. I thank the House of Commons staff, the security and transportation staff, the interpreters and everyone who keeps our democracy running smoothly. I want to thank my former leaders, Mr. Bouchard, Mr. Duceppe, Mr. Paillé and, of course, my current leader, the member for Beloeil—Chambly. Thank you for allowing me to keep doing today what I love the most, that is, representing my constituents with heart, pride and determination. Despite my 42-year long career, I do not see myself as reaching the end of a chapter; I see myself at the centre of a book still being written. As long as I have the strength and the trust of my constituents, I will keep rising proudly, day after day, as a member of Parliament. Thank you for the past 42 years, and for being here with me to mark these 15,059 days that have marked my entire life.

I will soon suspend the sitting for 30 minutes. Before I do that, I would like to thank my entire team of volunteers for helping me get elected for the 13th time. I thank them for this exalted throne. I also want to thank my whole family. I do love this throne, but I will have to let the King borrow it tomorrow. The King is welcome to it. Actually, he will be sitting on the throne in the Senate. I wish to remind hon. members that the bells to call the members back to the House will be sounded for not more than five minutes. The sitting is suspended to the call of the Chair. (The sitting of the House was suspended at 9:28 a.m.)

Pursuant to the Standing Orders, the House will now proceed to elect a Speaker. After the Clerk has opened the envelope containing the ballots, I will suggest a method of proceeding that will help accelerate the voting process. We will now begin to vote pursuant to Standing Order 4. Please allow me to outline the procedure for all hon. members. The names of the candidates for the election are listed on the ballot in alphabetical order. To vote, you must rank the candidates in order of preference, placing the number “1” in the space next to your first-choice candidate, the number “2” next to your second-choice candidate, and so on, until you have ranked all candidates for whom you wish to vote. Please note that it is not necessary to rank all candidates. Members can vote for a single candidate, if they so desire. In order to vote, I will ask that members leave their desks, exit through the curtains and come to the table using the doors behind me on the left and right sides of the chair on their respective sides of the House. The clerk will issue a ballot paper to each member. After casting their ballots, members are asked to leave the voting area. The polling booths on both sides are now open for voting. (Members were issued ballots and marked their ballots in secret at voting stations)