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House Hansard - 266

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 12, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 266 - Dec/12/23
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • Dec/12/23 4:03:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise to ask a question of my friend from St. Paul's for the last time in this House. For 15 years, we have served together in various corners of the House. For 15 years and more, she has been a source of inspiration and sound advice to me on how to be a better feminist, how to recruit extraordinary women from across this country to build the kind of government that Canada deserves and how to move forward on reconciliation. As Canada's first minister of Crown and indigenous relations, she blazed a trail in deepening the relationship that matters so much to all Canadians and to the future of our country. As the very first minister for mental health and addictions, she demonstrated the compassion, the perseverance and the drive that carried her through a storied career as a family doctor to have an impact on Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Even during the depths of the pandemic, I had the benefit of turning to the very first minister of state for public health and the creator of the Public Health Agency of Canada for advice on how to handle a once-in-a-century event for Canada. I look forward to continuing to draw on her advice in many ways, but right now, given all the things that she spoke about and all the pieces of advice that she has given to us, I guess my last question for her would be this: How do we make sure that the House has more like her, more people dedicated to this country, more young women growing up and seeing a place for themselves here and the responsibility and, therefore, the opportunity to shape this country for the better? What are the best pieces of advice that we should carry with us as we reach out to find even more extraordinary women to sit in this House, to lead and serve this country?
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