Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the Ordinary Members' Caucus meeting this morning, Mr. Ningark, my colleague, asked me if I would be replying today. I said it would depend on how I felt this afternoon. Well, I don't feel that great, Mr. Speaker, I've had several late nights this week but I'm conscious that we are running out of time and we have very important business to deal with.

So to save time, Mr. Speaker, and to be as brief as I can be, I've taken the precaution of making a few notes. The danger of that though, Mr. Speaker is, like my colleague, Mr. Patterson, I may stumble around this short speech since I have great difficulty reading my own handwriting sometimes.

---Laughter

I know some people can relate to that. However, it is a discipline. Because, if I didn't have something written down, we could be here for a long, long time and I know nobody will appreciate that.

Mr. Speaker, depending on who is speaking and making a reply to the Commissioner's address, it can be a bit like driving the Mackenzie Highway: there seems to be no end to it. I know, though, that since Mr. Todd has become the Minister of Transportation, he's doing everything he can to eliminate that perception and making it into a smooth, pleasant drive so you don't think of it as a long, tedious journey.

---Applause

I spoke to him a few minutes ago, Mr. Speaker, and I told him that I would find some way of working his name into my speech, and I've just done it.

---Laughter