Mr. Speaker, today is a day of great sadness for all those who had the pleasure, indeed I would term it a privilege, of knowing Robert Bourassa.
I would like to pay tribute to his courage, his constant companion throughout his political career, as well as throughout his illness. My most heartfelt condolences, and those of my party, to Mrs. Bourassa, their children and grandchildren.
Robert Bourassa was the incarnation of modern Quebec. Throughout his long career, economic issues were his main concern. In 1970, he headed the government at a crucial time in Quebec history. In that context, he was able to stay the course and focus on his fundamental objectives: Quebec's cultural security and its economic progress.
Quebecers' unshakeable belief today in their ability to be the masters of their own economy is, in large part, the work of Robert Bourassa.
Mr. Bourassa was the incarnation of modern Quebec in all of its dimensions. He spoke to us knowingly of our own ambitions and also reflected our ambivalence.
Canadians would often remark that Mr. Bourassa for them was an intriguing political figure. Those of us who knew him well and
were from Quebec were always tempted to reply that he was a true reflection of the people of Quebec.
Robert Bourassa too felt ambivalence, the ambivalence of a person with a very great responsibility. He was always concerned with protecting and furthering the interests of a mainly francophone population.
This concern was ever-present, whenever discussions and negotiations were held on the future of Quebec and of Canada, in Victoria in 1971 and in the 1980 and 1995 referendums, and especially in the negotiations around the Meech Lake accord.
What needs to be kept in mind concerning that event is that he had obtained an agreement which satisfied both Quebec and the other Canadian partners. Events, unfortunately, took a different turn, and history will be the final judge.
On a personal note, I remember Mr. Bourassa as a generous and affable man, one who was able to resist the temptation to lower debates to a personal level and one who, of all the politicians I have had the opportunity to observe, was without a doubt the one who always treated his colleagues, his opponents, the media and the general public with the utmost respect.
The second quality that characterized Robert Bourassa was, without a doubt, his exceptional perseverance. Who, after the 1976 election, would have dared predict that he would return to public life? Yet he did, and stronger than ever, at the head of majority governments in 1985 and 1989. Twenty years ago, who would have thought that people would one day hold him in such affection?
We shall all keep in our hearts the undying memory of an exceptional head of government and, what is more, a great man who never admitted defeat.