Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I swore today as well to clearly state that my name is Michael, and I am Canadian.

-- Laughter

I am very, very proud to be standing here in this House, in this land, and in this country of Canada, and that tomorrow is a tremendously special day, one of the best birthdays in the world. We do have a lot to be grateful for and I would like to take this time to acknowledge all the tremendous amount of hard work that people across the Northwest Territories and Canada have done who have been working on the celebrations that we are all going to take part in, tomorrow.

I would like to recognize, of course, the labours of the people in Fort Smith, where they are planning a full slate of activities, as we do take time, as a community, to celebrate a unique opportunity to reflect and to enjoy the many good things we have as Canadians.

Like my colleague, Ms. Lee, it is a privilege to be here and I hope people will take time to recognize that we are the best country in the world, we have much to be grateful for, and I am very, very happy as a Canadian to stand here today. Thank you.

-- Applause