Madam Speaker, last night in Toronto, the Elinore and Lou SiminovitchPrize for theatre was awarded to Montreal dramaturge Carole Fréchette.
This prestigious award goes along with a cheque for $75,000 for Ms. Fréchette and another for $25,000 for her protegée, the dramaturge Geneviève Billette.
The award was designed to be divided in this way by its founders, in order to recognize the great importance of mentoring.
We should applaud this support for mentoring and we should rejoice in the breadth and depth of the exceptional playwrights we have gracing the cultural life of our country; playwrights like Carole Fréchette.
I would also like to congratulate three of my constituents: Don Hannah, Daniel MacIvor and Jason Sherman, on being nominated for this award this year.
I also extend my congratulations to the creators of this fine prize. In particular let me salute Mrs. Elizabeth Comper who chairs the founder's committee.