Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Many good things come out of Fort Smith and one of those good things has joined us in the gallery today: Mr. Whitford.
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I haven’t done a full count, but it is my bet that there is no other Northerner that has had as many jobs tied into this Legislature as Mr. Whitford, as an MLA, as a Minister, as a Speaker, as the Sergeant-at-Arms and as our Commissioner all tied into this Legislature and the place that he has devoted a lot of time that he has upheld the honour of and that he truly loves dearly.
I, as well, over the years, since I came here in 1995 have taken to eating regularly with Mr. Whitford. Now that he is a struggling pensioner, he has asked me not to forget him. I want to commit publicly in this House that we will still continue to break bread, but I will try to time some of the meals for when the pension cheques come in because he still will have to pay his way. As he is fond of saying, there is no free lunch.
But it has been, over the years, an honour and a pleasure to serve with Mr. Whitford. While I say he is from Fort Smith, he truly is a Northerner for all of us. Thank you.
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