I thank my hon. colleague for his kind tribute on behalf of himself and his party. I have had the honour to work with a number of them for a long time.
I still see Quebec, my birthplace, as having a very important place within this country. Born in Quebec to a Franco-Ontarian mother and a Quebecois father,I grew up in Ontario. I believe that Quebec's presence in our country is a considerable advantage to francophone minorities, even I would say to all minorities within this country. Quebec is an important component of this country and lends us a character we would perhaps not have otherwise.
I am not being egotistic with that remark. I feel that this is not only for the good of trhe rest of Canada, but for the good of Quebec as well. As we all know, this country was born in 1759 or 1760. Then there was the Treaty of Paris, of course, and later the two colonies, then the union of the two Canadas in 1840, followed by Confederation in 1867, and so on.
The great challenge has always been to know how to deal with people with differences and to create from those differences a greater and finer country for both those components as well as the newcomers who have come to these shores since then. A strong and united Canada hasalways been my wish, and continues to be my wish.