Mr. Speaker, this past November 27, I had an opportunity to take part as a panellist in a very special evening. All parents of secondary school students in Saint-Hyacinthe were invited to visit 15 displays set up by organizations involved in the fight against substance abuse. They were also able to hear from a group of specialists and ask questions on topics that were of concern to them.
We in Saint-Hyacinthe have made a choice to face the problems of drug use head on. The Info-Crime committee, co-chaired by myself and the head of the school board, Raymonde Rivard, wanted to start our action by addressing young people, who are the first victims of increased drug use, as well as a captive market for the criminal element.
As a result, an exceptional collaborative effort was initiated by the various stakeholders: the school, health workers, community groups and community police workers such as Claude Denis, who is on the Info-Crime committee. All of these work together to provide parents with operating tools for understanding and prevention.
My warmest congratulations to the organizers of this great project, and in particular to Richard Gingras, drug abuse prevention coordinator for the Saint-Hyacinthe school board, and Gilles Charest, principal of the Hyacinthe-Delorme polyvalente, which hosted the event.
Thank you very much, and the warmest of holiday wishes to everyone in the House as well as everyone in my wonderful riding of Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot.