Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in response to a question from the hon. member for Berthier-Montcalm, the Prime Minister referred to Lise Thibault, who is currently president of the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec, as the president of an association for cripples-he used the French word "infirme"-right in the middle of National Access Awareness Week.
The use of the French word "infirme" by the Prime Minister of Canada is a disgrace and an insult to all persons with disabilities. This word perpetuates a stubborn prejudice suggesting that a handicapped person is ill and must be taken care of.
Although all persons with disabilities do have limitations, the vast majority of them are not ill. The Prime Minister should have the decency not to use disabled people for partisan purposes, let alone refer to them in a patronizing way.