Mr. Speaker, Tuesday marked the beginning of the first month-long Brome Lake duck festival in my riding of Brome-Missisquoi. Modelled after the great public fairs in southwestern France, this event attracts tourists at a traditionally quieter time of year.
This international gastronomic event, a local initiative, is a fine example of co-operation between France and Canada. It involves not only culinary exchanges between chefs from Gascony and Quebec, but also the promotion of Canada's excellent products overseas.
I wish to congratulate the festival president, Jacques Ouimette, for putting his heart and soul into creating an event of this magnitude around one of Brome-Missisquoi's main assets: its local products. I join with the people of Brome-Missisquoi in inviting Canadians to come to the Eastern Townships to attend the Brome Lake duck festival.