Madam Speaker, this past weekend we learned of the death of Claude Filion, justice of the Court of Quebec and PQ member of the National Assembly for the riding of Taillon, in Longueuil, from 1985 to 1989.
He was vice-president of Oxfam-Quebec in 1975, as well as head of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec from 1996 to 2001.
A well known figure in Quebec political circles, Mr. Filion was second in command and then chief of staff for Pierre-Marc Johnson between 1977 and 1982.
During his mandate as MNA for Taillon, he headed the National Assembly's Committee on Institutions as well as being the official opposition's language policy critic.
This wonderful man will be missed by those of us who have known and worked with him, but we remember him as an upright and loyal individual who loved life, who loved his friends and family, a man with a passion for justice and a profoundly genuine human being.
On behalf of the residents of Longueuil and my colleagues in the Bloc Québécois, may I extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.