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

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.

Debates must take place in an atmosphere of courtesy.

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.

In fashion, we have a reputation for being such a façade, fake people, but none of the fashion people who I know are fake.

You can never discard too many bad ideas.

That loyal retainer of the Chase Manhattan Bank, the American president.

Psychologists are men with nothing in their own minds, searching in the minds of others for an idea-in order to kill it.

How soft indeed the song of butterflies eating.

A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is for one of several of its children to give it a direction by dint of victories.

Nobody doubts my partisanship, but a lot of the activity is nonpartisan.

But you too, help one another: help one another always. One another. In this way, by helping one another, we will do some good.

There are a lot of people in each spot that you don't really know. I work with them that day, and move on and find new people. So purging and cleansing your friend list every day.

Speak up, destiny, speak up! Destiny always seems decades away, but suddenly it's not decades away; it's right now. But maybe destiny is always right now, right here, right this very instant, maybe.