Mr. Speaker, I would like to join with my colleagues in expressing my distress and sorrow at the accident that occurred last week in Les Eboulements in the Charlevoix region, in the province of Quebec.
This accident took the lives of 43 people, 42 of them from Saint-Bernard de Beauce. This is the worst bus accident in Canada's history, and tragically it occurred at almost exactly the same place as another accident, which occurred nearly 20 years ago just beside Les Eboulements.
The Quebec premier called for a public inquiry. We hope that it will provide some answers and that its recommendations will help prevent another similar tragedy in the future.
On behalf of my party, the New Democratic Party of Canada, I would like to offer our deepest sympathy to all of the families and friends of the 43 people who lost their lives last week. I would also like to express our solidarity with the people of Saint-Bernard de Beauce and the member for Beauce and offer them our moral support.