Mr. Speaker, in 1604, Samuel de Champlain arrived in Acadia. He explored the coastline in the hopes of finding an ideal place to establish a colony. This was the start of a fine and great adventure.
As we approach the 400th anniversary of Champlain's arrival in America, I will undertake to make several statements in the House to focus on this great page of history.
Canadians, and more especially our young people, must remember all these facts and discover this great explorer, who, with other men and women, helped build the new land called New France.
Samuel de Champlain did not hesitate to go in search of his dreams. He was a true empire builder. According to author Samuel Eliot Morison, Champlain is one of the greatest explorers in history, probably the person who played the greatest role in the history of Canada.
I will come back to this.