Mr. Speaker, the former Premier of Quebec, René Lévesque, died on this day 15 years ago.
A symbol of Quebec's Quiet Revolution, René Lévesque was the incarnation, for a quarter century, of a nation's daring decision to affirm its existence and promote its identity through a series of reforms that modernized Quebec, socially, culturally, economically and politically.
Two parts of his legacy I would like to particularly emphasize are the nationalization of hydroelectric power culminating in the creation of Hydro-Québec, and the political reform that has made Quebec democracy a model for the world.
René Lévesque passed on his conviction of Quebec's nationhood and his pride in that nation to an entire people.
I pay tribute to the memory of this great democrat, to the courage, generosity and integrity that characterized his actions throughout his entire career, to build a modern Quebec with an awareness of its dimension as a nation with the potential to participate in the community of nations.