Thank you, Mr. Gourde. I find it strange to call you Mr. Gourde or sir. I will call you Jacques and that can be stricken later.
Last September, the electoral boundaries commission said it wanted to take steps to have the electoral district named Louis-Fréchette. We said no at the time. The people of Bellechasse mobilized, and the people of Les Etchemins said they wanted to keep the name Bellechasse. That is why I have been using the name Lévis—Bellechasse—Les Etchemins for six years. That helps people understand that Les Etchemins represents nearly one-third of the district. It is a forest environment, which is different from that of the urban portion of the city of Lévis, which we share as members. That is one way of acknowledging it.
To have a name is to exist. When you take away a name or, even worse, shift a region from one electoral district to another, that becomes a problem. What particularly irritated the warden of the RCM, and what caused general indignation, was the wish to separate Les Etchemins from Bellechasse. If we go back a little way in history, we see that there have been movements of this kind. There was the electoral district of Dorchester, for example, but Les Etchemins and Bellechasse have always been together, even though they migrated. They were at times attached to Montmagny, but they have always been together. It has to be said that separating Bellechasse from Les Etchemins is a historical error. We as members want to correct that. It is important to emphasize that fact.
I believe you have the opportunity as a committee to correct this mistake of breaking up a whole whose elements to date have been integrated. Les Etchemins is facing major economic challenges. Bellechasse's great dynamic and solidarity offset them. That is why I recommend not only that the commission's initial decision be upheld and respected, but also that Lévis, Bellechasse and Les Etchemins be included in the name of the electoral district. I believe that the message is strong. The name indicates at the outset that they go together and that they are made to be together.