My remarks also concern a name change.
I simply request that the current name of the electoral district of "Saint-Maurice—Champlain" be preserved. The commission has proposed the name "Saint-Maurice". However, in its 2001 report, the commission proposed to add the name "Champlain" to that of "Saint-Maurice".
Before 2003, there were always two federal electoral districts, one called "Saint-Maurice", the other "Champlain". Saint-Maurice was Mr. Chrétien's riding, but it did not have the same boundaries. At the time, the commission justified adding the name "Champlain" on historical and geographic grounds.
My riding is very large, covering 39,000 square kilometres and 23 municipalities. It is bounded to the west by the Saint-Maurice River, which runs from the north to the south of the riding. The name "Saint-Maurice" is being proposed on that basis. However, an entire portion of the electoral district is not situated on the banks of the Saint-Maurice River. It is bounded to the east by the St. Lawrence and another riding and to the north by aboriginal lands.
I believe that preserving the name "Champlain" in the name of the electoral district would reflect the fact that Champlain is an old city, an old village dating back to 1662. It has always had its purpose in the history of the Mauricie region. The name "Saint-Maurice", on the other hand, evokes the river used by the Attikamekw and the region's founders. The people of my region rejected the name "Shawinigane" at a parliamentary committee meeting. I believe that name was linked to the Attikamekw, but the people from the riding did not want it.
Clarity is another reason. At the provincial level, one electoral district bears the name "Champlain", another is called "Saint-Maurice" and yet another is named "Laviolette". There are three provincial ridings in my electoral district. If the name "Saint-Maurice" is used in advertising for elections or for any other reason, people will think of the provincial, not the federal electoral district.
That is why I ask that the present name of the riding be preserved. It was proposed in the 2003 report and the federal electoral district has been called "Saint-Maurice—Champlain" since the 2004 election. I believe there is good reason to retain that name.