Mr. Speaker, I rise today in this House to pay tribute to our former colleague and friend, Senator Jacques Hébert.
I first met him as a young student and was immediately touched by him. An architect of Quebec's quiet revolution, he was the tireless voice of and for youth in Canada and around the world, for whom Katimavik was metaphor and message.
A man of words and intellect, he chose to brandish his pen in the fight against injustice.
An example is the wrongful conviction of Wilbert Coffin.
A writer, journalist, intellectual, voyageur du monde, and visionary, Jacques Hébert was the people's conscience, a man who dreamt of a better world and helped build it.
He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
We express our condolences to his family as well as our thanks for his tremendous contribution to our society and to the entire world.