Mr. Speaker, I am proud to acknowledge today the great mark of confidence the firm Hoeschst Marion Roussel Canada has just given Quebec, and Laval in particular.
A leader in the pharmaceutical industry, Hoeschst Marion Roussel is one of the five leading pharmaceutical companies in Canada. At the unveiling ceremony of the head office's new corporate signature, the company's president, Gérald P. Belle, announced a $200 million investment in research and development, at least one third of which will be invested in Laval.
At a time when the federal government is shamelessly withdrawing from high technology areas, to chose Laval as the site of a major research centre shows how much private enterprise values and respects the skills, innovation and reliability of Quebec researchers. This gives me one more reason to be proud to be from Laval and to be a Quebecer.