Mr. Speaker, it is with profound sadness that I rise today on behalf of the NDP parliamentary group to offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those people killed in the crash of EgyptAir flight 990 early yesterday morning. Two hundred and seventeen people lost their life somewhere in deep water off the east coast of the United States.
We think particularly of the Canadians on this flight, including Claude Masson, deputy publisher of La Presse and his wife, Jeannine Bourdages. Mr. Masson had become known for his commitment to journalism and his editorials, which informed and often challenged the thinking of Quebecers.
We would like to express our sorrow to their two sons, Bruno and Philippe, and to the Quebec journalistic community.
I would like to offer to all families and friends in mourning my sympathies and the condolences of all my New Democratic colleagues.