Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my party, I would like to pay tribute to Gilles Rocheleau, who was the member for the riding of Hull—Aylmer in the House of Commons.
I knew him well, because we were both members at the same time. I recall that he was a two career man. He was a business man for many years and then he was in politics for 25 years.
If I am not mistaken, he was a provincial MLA in Quebec City and mayor of the fine city of Hull. He then became a member of the House of Commons for two parties: the Liberal Party and then the Bloc Quebecois, of which he was a founding member, along with Lucien Bouchard and others.
He was a good MP, and I think the Outaouais has lost a great defender. He was widely known. For a number of years, when I came to Ottawa, I lived in Aylmer. He was very popular, widely known and a strong defender of Quebec.
On behalf of my party, I offer my condolences to his family and friends.