Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I spoke substantively yesterday in my role as Minister of Finance. I don't want to rehash that, but I do want to make a few comments, largely thank you's. And firstly, Mr. Speaker, it's to every single person that is in this building. The work of session is long and difficult and it can be very exhausting and emotional, and everyone from our pages to the folks that help feed us to the folks that are cleaning up after us, a heartfelt thank you because it certainly makes the day palatable. But also, Mr. Speaker, to the officials specifically who help keep us all on track and keep things moving. A lot of things have to move often very quickly, and they are the ones that are making that happen. Similarly, Mr. Speaker, the government executive office staff, they too are helping to move things quickly under difficult circumstances and often with fast-breaking changes, and they make it all happen with smiles so a significant thanks to them. Everyone here is a tremendous professional. So one more, Mr. Speaker, and that's the public service who aren't necessarily in this building but who are often watching us, who are often sending us information, sending us documents, responding to requests. And particularly in the budget session and particularly this particular negotiation, a lot of things were having to change across departments and often quickly. A lot of departments were being asked to revise, to review, to reconsider, to reexamine, documents, business plans, budgets that they had spent months putting together and they were being asked to quickly look at it and try to see what they could do to make change. So a lot of the ability to be in a consensus government but that thanks goes back to the entire, entire public service that is behind all of us that you happen to see here.
Mr. Speaker, the chair and deputy chair, very grateful to them. It has been a real pleasure. I think we've gotten to all know each other very much better, and I am very grateful to have them sitting with me and making these discussions. My colleagues here, Mr. Chair, I do want to give them a special shout out. They are very patient with me even when I am very impatient, and I am very grateful to them for that.
Mr. Speaker, very briefly -- again, I'm not going to say a lot. Five years ago was the first time that I had the privilege to take on this role and be in this, this was a financial transaction. It was a financial negotiation. But just as governments evolve and consensus can evolve, it has turned into something very different from that, and I am very proud of the fact that the kinds of discussions and the kinds of effort that our colleagues have put in has resulted not only in the items that I spoke to yesterday, I do hope that folks will look at the tabled document today, will look back at the asks that were made, because the document today outlines the entirety of what was agreed to. And, Mr. Speaker, it's eight pages long, has 41 items of change. I'm not going to read them all in. But there's significant business planning change, policy work, legislative proposals are being discussed therein, timelines, dollars are changing, how the dollars should be spent, so it's not only about a cash transaction here. It really is about government and how we can be a consensus government. So, again, with all of that gratitude, Mr. Speaker, I'll end there. Thank you.