Mr. Speaker, on this National Patriots Day, Quebecers pay tribute to the thousands of men and women known as Patriots, who believed in the need for their people to be recognized as a nation able to take charge of its own destiny and who demanded that truly democratic and responsible institutions be created and fundamental freedoms granted.
Whatever our views today of the appropriateness of the means some of them used, we must recognize that their actions led to the establishment of responsible government, on which are founded our democratic institutions.
When we pay tribute to the Patriots, we are also recognizing the determination and strength of conviction of well-known politicians such as Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Louis Joseph Papineau and George Étienne Cartier, all of whom were first and foremost Patriots. It is my hope that this House will take note of the lessons of history when, in the very near future, it considers a motion recognizing the true role of the Patriots.