Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to extend my congratulations to those who received awards at the Fédération acadienne du Québec's Soirée Méritas, which took place this past weekend in Montreal.
The Méritas 1998 award went to naïve painter Nérée Degrâce, aged 78, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts de Québec. His works are hung throughout Canada, as well as at the Musée de l'Île-de-France in Paris. They depict scenes of daily Acadian life such as a wedding in Shippagan, his native city, and people coming back from midnight mass.
Another award, the Hommage 1998, went to Pierre Maurice Hébart, the author of Les Acadiens du Québec . This work describes how Quebec offered protection to those fleeing the Acadian deportation, tells about the Acadian members of les Patriotes, and shows how Acadians are now represented in all spheres of activity in Quebec. Mr. Hébert's work has contributed to raising Acadian pride in Quebec.
Congratulations to these two award winners.