Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak before the committee today.
The report of the Electoral Boundaries Commission, which was tabled on February 28, 2013, respects a fundamental principle that I advocated during the public hearings, the principle of not dividing a municipality between two electoral districts. Consequently, I am satisfied with the electoral boundaries of Verchères—Les Patriotes and I thank the commission for taking that into account. However, the changes proposed in the report of February 28 considerably change the profile of the territory. Consequently, I am of the view that the name of the electoral district no longer accurately reflects the territory and its residents.
The new territory of Verchères—Les Patriotes now includes the entire city of Boucherville. Although the residents of Boucherville now make up 40% of the population of the electoral district, I believe that the name of the district should be changed to better reflect its composition and to stimulate Boucherville residents' sense of belonging to our electoral district. I therefore suggest that Pierre Boucher, the name of the founder of Boucherville, be added to the name Verchères—Les Patriotes. It is important for me to emphasize that the name of the electoral district should not be replaced but rather that Pierre Boucher's name should be added to it.
In addition, the names "Verchères" and "des Patriotes" should also be preserved in order to provide adequate representation of the electoral district's various territorial and demographic realities. The name "Pierre Boucher" currently appears on the electoral map in the name of the electoral district of Longueuil—Pierre Boucher, which includes half of Boucherville. However, I believe that completely removing the name of Boucherville's founder from the electoral map would be disrespectful to Boucherville residents. Pierre Boucher is the founder of Boucherville and a major figure in the history of Quebec, more particularly that of Montreal's south shore.
Madeleine de Verchères, the 14-year-old girl who defended the Fort of Verchères alone against Iroquois attacks, is a source of regional pride. Thus, to preserve the sense of belonging of the people of the RCM of Marguerite-D'Youville, the name "Verchères" should also remain. Verchères is also the name of the provincial electoral district whose territory is that of the RCM of Marguerite-D'Youville.
Lastly, it is equally important to retain the words "les Patriotes" in the name of the electoral district in order to represent the people of the RCM of La Vallée-du-Richelieu, many of whom are descendants of the "Patriotes". The battles of the Patriotes are significant events in the history of Quebec, even more so for the people of the RCM of La Vallée-du-Richelieu because the Patriotes' only victory occurred in Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, the 175th anniversary of which we have just celebrated.
For all these reasons, I believe that, in light of territorial and historical realities, the most appropriate name for the electoral district would be Boucher—Verchères—Les Patriotes.
Thank you.