Mr. Speaker, last week, on June 2, I had the pleasure of attending a ceremony to install my friend Dominic Giroux as the ninth president of Laurentian University.
I would like to begin by congratulating him, as well as his wife Barbara, herself a graduate of Laurentian University. I also want to wish him every success. His impressive record suggests nothing less.
At 18 years of age, he was elected as a school trustee here in eastern Ontario. Two years later, he became the youngest school board president in the country. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and the École des hautes études commerciales de Montréal. He began a career in education administration and climbed the ranks so quickly that, in his early 30s, he became the Deputy Minister of Education for the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, where he championed French-language education and an education strategy for aboriginal peoples.
The university's Board of Governors has made a judicious choice in Dominic. With his energy, enthusiasm, creativity and sincerity, the next 10 years should prove very successful for Laurentian University and the Sudbury area.
I wish Dominic continued success.