Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues in the House for allowing me to table this petition and thus act as the spokesperson for the 12,558 people who signed this petition asking for the establishment of a regional passport office in Sherbrooke. This initiative is also supported by 59 municipalities from the Sherbrooke region.
The need for such an office in Sherbrooke is easy to justify. For example, the number of passport applications from the Sherbrooke region is twice that of the Saguenay region, which already has a passport office.
Many people must travel to Montreal and thus spend time and money to obtain a passport. The population of Sherbrooke has a real need for a passport office. Such an office would be financially sustainable.
This is why I am tabling this petition signed by 12,558 people.