Mr. Speaker, last weekend, I took part in the annual assembly of the Canadian Hispanic Congress in Vancouver.
The hispanic community is made up of some 300,000 men and women who were born in Latin America or Spain. They came here to escape persecution, dictatorship or civil war, or merely in search of a better life.
Canadians and Quebecers of hispanic origin, of which I am one, constitute a relatively new, dynamic and growing community, with an important contribution to make to their host society. Quebec has welcomed some 80,000 Latin Americans with warmth and generosity. They have integrated well with this society, with which they have characteristics in common, due to their shared latin heritage.
As the sole member of this House of hispanic origin, I wish to greet the members of this ethno-cultural community, the executive of the Canadian Hispanic Congress, and particularly its president, Bernardo Berdichewsky.