Mr. Speaker, last night, in Montreal, astronaut Julie Payette was chosen Person of the Year at the 15th Gala Excellence organized by the newspaper La Presse .
We want to salute the courage shown by this young astronaut determined to succeed in a career that requires a lot of strength, where “you can never fail, never make a mistake”, as she put it herself. She has every reason to be proud of this honour bestowed upon her.
I also want to congratulate all the other recipients who receive similar encouragement in various areas, from the arts to literature, business and sports.
We hope these awards will inspire our young people to follow in the footsteps of the people who were honoured last night.