Thank you, Mr. Lukiwski. You're right, it is the first time that Les Etchemins as a whole would be separated from Bellechasse.
In September there was an issue with four municipalities from Les Etchemins that asked to stay with my colleague, Mr. Bernier, and they stayed. The commission agreed that those four municipalities wouldn't be part of Lévis—Bellechasse. So at this point, there were no indications at all that Les Etchemins as a whole would be put apart.
I think you have a map that is self-explanatory. Lévis—Bellechasse and Les Etchemins is a corridor between the St. Lawrence River and the United States. That's the corridor, the three-road access, as I've explained, so it's quite logical. You can see it really breaks the harmony of the riding.
There's a saying: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
That is the question. Lévis, Bellechasse and Les Etchemins have always been together. The plan in September was not to change that. I understand that this is an independent electoral boundaries commission and that you have a power of recommendation, but the warden and the people of Bellechasse and Les Etchemins contacted me the moment that map was made public. This was something I had to do.
You see, this is not just one member speaking to you; the community has also mobilized. I am their ambassador, as it were. I want to tell you that Bellechasse and Les Etchemins are naturally, historically, culturally, socially and economically complementary. The last version was the first time a proposal was made to change that. That is why the mobilization was so strong but also why it had not previously happened.