Debates must take place in an atmosphere of courtesy.

If the institutions of parliamentary democracy are worth preserving, the duty to explain them to the people they are meant to serve becomes vitally important.

Question Period is not part of the legislative process,and has nothing to do with it. It is a means of monitoring the Executive that the Government cannot evade.

The purpose of privilege is not to place parliamentarians above the law, but rather to allow them to carry out their duties independently and effectively, in the national interest.

Democracy is not a form of government. It is a political philosophy that can be embodied in various systems of government.

But while the American Constitution was the child of war, ours grew out of discussion, bargaining and negotiation.

In the long and dogged crusade that the human race has fought in favor of democracy, the ideal of liberty, of freedom, has always been the goal.

A careful and sympathetic sense of humour can also be a great asset when there is need to get out of difficult situations gracefully.

as I became Speaker in 1986, I made a point of setting up a public information office to respond to requests and provide information about Parliament and how it functions.

On a craggy bluff above the majestic Ottawa River stands the remarkable embodiment of our system of governance: Parliament.

I like actors that are good with pantomime and that can transmit a lot by their presence and attitude more than through their dialogue.

Family always gonna be there. The material things, they come and go.

Every life has dark tracts and long stretches of somber tint, and no representation is true to fact which dips its pencil only in light, and flings no shadows on the canvas.

I have trashed the to-do list. To help my brain...

Don't fight in front of the client, boys." Catarina implored in her sweet voice," or I will knock your heads together so hard, your skulls will crack like eggs

The early mist had vanished and the fields lay like a silver shield under the sun. It was one of the days when the glitter of winter shines through a pale haze of spring.

What we teach children to love and desire will always outweigh what we make them learn.

I expect this is what death is like when you meet it. Sort of wildly unfair but inevitable.

I hope that my work helps people - that's the thing that drives me and keeps me going.

Meekness, the subtraction of self, reduces the multiplication of words.