Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Qujannamiik, my honourable colleagues. The first cowhand replied, "See here, as far as I am concerned, you have no call to go after me in such a high-handed manner, telling me what I should believe or should not believe. I will believe what I feel like." Since these two cowhands could not reach an agreement, they turned to the third cowhand, who was sitting there listening to this argument and they asked him his opinion as to who was right and who was wrong. The third cowhand replied, "You are both wrong. The earth is square." The second cowhand asked him, "How in tarnation did you ever come to that conclusion?" The third cowhand replied, "I can prove it" and, with that, he pulled out a battered copy of the good book from his coat pocket and quoted from the scriptures, "'For they shall come from the four corners of the earth...'" and who are we to argue with the scriptures?"

-- Laughter

As a result, the argument got even more heated and, since these were strong-minded people willing to go to any length to protect their beliefs, they could not settle this argument peacefully. Therefore, they turned to the traditional method of the times and had themselves an old-fashioned shootout. After the smoke and dust had settled, there appeared to be only one point proven as a result of all this commotion. That point was that some people will go to any extremes to defend or force their beliefs on others, whether they are of a personal, cultural or spiritual nature.

Mr. Speaker, a person might ask how these events relate to this day and age. Also, Mr. Speaker, we do not know who among these strong-minded men won the shootout. However, one might arrive at the conclusion by the simple method of elimination, based on a belief that still exists today. We know that nowadays, no one believes any more the earth is flat, therefore the first cowhand could not have survived the shootout. Did the cowhand who was convinced the earth was round win the shootout? This would be a pretty sure bet as modern-day scientific technology has confirmed beyond a doubt that the earth is indeed round. That leaves the beliefs of the cowhand who believed the earth was square. Did he survive the shootout? It is hard to say because, even though the scientific community has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the earth is as round as a ball, to this day and age it is still written in the scriptures and I quote, "For they shall come from the four corners of the earth." Mr. Speaker, someone may again ask, who are we to argue with the scriptures? With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer you and the rest of my honourable colleagues, a happy and toil- free Easter.

-- Applause