Mr. Speaker, you will not be surprised to hear that I want to mark this moment as my first time ever speaking in the House. This is a tremendous honour for me, and I will surely cherish this memory for the rest of my days.
I want to start by expressing my immense gratitude to the voters of Beloeil—Chambly for putting their trust in me, as well as to the voters of Quebec for putting their trust in the biggest delegation of Bloc Québécois members since the 2008 election. I am deeply grateful to the voters of Quebec. We fully understand the nuances of the mandate we have been given.
Naturally, I want to extend my heartiest congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker. We had a chance to talk briefly over the past few days. I already know, especially after hearing your speech, that you are richly endowed with all the dignity that the position calls for and that you will also command the respect of all members, including the Bloc Québécois MPs, as I can assure you right from the start.
On our side, we are committed to ensuring that our work is conducted at all times with dignity and with respect for the institution and our colleagues, with whom I believe we may on occasion have a few differences of opinion. However, differences of opinion can never justify unacceptable or unkind behaviour towards voters, who have given a mandate to every one of the 338 people here. You can count on the Bloc Québécois' co-operation in that regard, and if you find it necessary to intervene, we will be attentive in every way.
Finally, I also want to say that we are committed to working in a positive manner and, naturally, to addressing issues with the interests of Quebec in mind, but not against the interests of Canada. In that spirit, we will have a positive attitude, in every respect, towards all our colleagues in the House. I would like to reiterate my heartfelt congratulations and thank you for listening.