Mr. Speaker, I would also like to pay tribute to Senator Jean-Robert Gauthier, who served both Houses of Parliament for 32 years.
Mr. Gauthier is leaving the Senate because of a mandatory retirement provision in our Constitution. The fact that he is 75 prevents him from continuing his public service in the Senate.
Mr. Gauthier sat as the member for Ottawa—Vanier from 1972 to 1994, and as a senator from 1994 to the present. During this time, he was a vocal and consistent advocate for the rights of Franco-Ontarians and French language minority populations across the country.
The first time I met Mr. Gauthier was in June 1993, the same day Kim Campbell was sworn in as Prime Minister. Mr. Gauthier was the guest of honour, roughly one kilometre west of Rideau Hall, at another event that we both felt was just as important.
He had been asked to unveil a mural called “Tribute to Franco-Ontarians”, which my father had commissioned for the wall of the Giant Tiger store at the corner of Dalhousie and George Streets, which had once been the headquarters of Ottawa's French language newspaper Le Droit .
It seemed appropriate for a man who represented the centre of French Ontario for such a long time to unveil a work of art in honour of the Franco-Ontarian community. This mural had been commissioned by my family's business, which has achieved great success in the area of bilingualism.
Later, we sat together on the Standing Joint Committee on Official Languages. We did not always agree, but no one on the committee ever doubted Mr. Gauthier's sincerity when he was defending the rights of Franco-Ontarians and minorities.
Jean-Robert Gauthier has assumed many roles and has been involved in the work of many committees. He will be recognized especially for his work at sessions of the official languages committees of the House and the Senate. He devoted his career to the citizens of Ottawa-Vanier, of Ontario and the entire country.
In conclusion, I would like to offer him my best wishes for success.