Early on in my tenure as Minister of Veterans Affairs I guess on the first day I was given some pretty sound advice by the Prime Minister and those who coach new ministers, namely, that I should listen very carefully to Jack Stagg because he would serve me well, he would serve the Government of Canada well, and he would serve our veterans well, and that I would have an opportunity, knowing that Jack's days were probably limited in terms of being with us, to learn from the best.
À mes débuts comme ministre des Anciens combattants — c'était le tout premier jour, j'imagine —, le premier ministre et les gens chargés d'orienter les nouveaux ministres m'ont donné un conseil judicieux: écouter soigneusement Jack Stagg, car il me servirait bien, il servirait bien le gouvernement du Canada aussi et, de même, il servirait bien nos anciens combattants — et que j'aurais l'occasion, en sachant que le temps qu'il lui restait parmi nous était probablement limité, d'apprendre auprès d'un maître.
