Mr. Speaker, words can scarcely describe the sorrow felt by everyone in Quebec this past week in the wake of the tragedy at Saint- Joseph-de-la-Rive.
Forty-two members of the golden age club in the small locality of Saint-Bernard de Beauce, along with their bus driver André Desruisseaux, lost their lives in the worst highway accident in the history of Quebec.
The families of the victims and the five injured survivors have been in our thoughts throughout the entire week. We wish the survivors a rapid recovery.
The Government of Quebec acted with a diligence that echoed Quebeckers' sensitivity to this tragic accident, by instituting a public investigation. The exact causes of this tragic event will soon be known to us. Recommendations will be made with a view to preventing another such tragedy from happening.
In closing, I would again like to reiterate, on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois, our sincere condolences to the victims' relatives and to all the people of Saint-Bernard. I would also like to honour the people of Les Éboulements who came to the assistance of the bus passengers.