Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday night, Gilles Boulet passed away. He was one of the bulwarks of Quebec's education system. We will remember him as a man who had a major impact on the people of Quebec.
In 1960, Mr. Boulet founded the Centre des études de Trois-Rivières, which became the Université du Québec in 1978. He supported the extension of university training to the regions by encouraging the establishment of the Université du Québec in Hull and in Abitibi—Témiscamingue. He also oversaw the fortunes of the Université du Québec for a decade.
Known both at home and abroad, he was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 1985 and received the Légion d'honneur in 1988. He became an officer of the Ordre national du Québec in
On behalf of myself and the Bloc Quebecois, I extend my sincere sympathies to the family of Mr. Boulet and express our gratitude for his great gift to Quebec society.