Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, in Orford, a municipality located in Brome—Missisquoi, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien became a lifetime member of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, in the diocese of Sherbrooke.
Like Sir Wilfrid Laurier before him, the Prime Minister reminded us that French Canadians have played a prominent role in the history of our country, as one of the two founding nations.
I would like to mention the hard work of Micheline Dupuis and Marcel Bureau, with the 11,000 members of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Sherbrooke, of Gaston Deschamps, with the 33,000 members of the society in the diocese of Valleyfield, and of Léo Gagné, with the 6,000 members of the society in the diocese of Quebec City.
Let us follow in the footsteps of Wilfrid Laurier, the first French Canadian to become Prime Minister of the country.