Mr. Speaker, I am delighted today to salute my classmates and their spouses, who have come to Parliament Hill to celebrate 36 years of life in agronomy.
When we graduated in 1963 from Laval, our motto was to feed the world and save the planet. To this end, each of us worked in very different sectors. Some returned to the land, others chose basic or applied research, government affairs, teaching, international co-operation, industry, farm credit, agricultural extension, tobacco, food inspection, the environment, banking, the Canadian milk board and administrative tribunals—all spheres related to agriculture.
We were considered a remarkable group. Perhaps this view of us was well founded, because many of us have held influential positions in all areas of the agri-food sector. Some have already left us, and we miss them today.
To each of my classmates, I say welcome to the House and what a pleasure it is to have you here.