Without wishing to be chauvinistic, I would like to point out that the city of Rouyn-Noranda, where the main campus of the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue is located, was ranked last week as the second best place in Canada to study at a university, in particular because of its proximity to nature and resources, as has been mentioned.
One thing I would like to mention, by the way, is that UQAT, like the other universities in the Université du Québec network, is not part of the famous U15 list of universities that get a large share of federal funding. They are all independent universities, in the regions, but they work in collaboration. It is important to emphasize the very independent nature of each university and the fact that the federal government needs to think about its strategy for investing in the campuses of these universities rather than in a network.
Ranking second in Canada for its research performance according to Research Infosource, UQAT has been helping the mining, forestry and agricultural industries, among others, to meet the challenges of climate change for 40 years.
Mr. Rousson, can you tell us more about the successes of Abitibi-Témiscamingue and the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue?