Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the leader of the Bloc Québécois and the member for La Pointe-de-l'Île are disappointed that they could not be here to pay tribute to the member for Toronto Centre, because they are among his greatest admirers. I know they will join us, in spirit, in acknowledging the work he has done as a parliamentarian and also in acknowledging his ever-respectful attitude. All the Bloc Québécois members have a fondness for him and have greatly enjoyed working with him.
I had the opportunity to work with the member for Toronto Centre on the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade for four years. I can therefore attest to the fact that, as the Leader of the Opposition said, we were able to produce unanimous reports in large part thanks to his humanistic attitude, which would transcend party lines to get to the bottom of problems and find real solutions to the challenges facing the committee. His leadership on the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade made it possible to reach a consensus. Having worked on other committees, I can say that sometimes, the dynamic was rather different and we rarely produced unanimous reports. We owed it all to him, and I would like to congratulate him on that.
I would also like to point out that we have a special connection to the member for Toronto Centre because he was born in Montreal. I think that I am speaking not only on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, but on behalf of the entire Quebec contingent. In fact, a large part of his family has very deep roots in Quebec, and he even has roots in Lanaudière. That explains our close connection to the member for Toronto Centre.
The fact that he was born in Montreal accounts for his desire to learn how to speak excellent French, as someone mentioned. We should all consider him a role model. The member for Toronto Centre is a great francophile, not only in Canada but throughout Francophonie, and he has been recognized as a great defender of the French fact. That is just one more asset that he brought to the House of Commons.
As you know, he studied law both here and in France. He even headed up the Alliance française in Toronto for 10 years. I do not have to repeat that he was a brilliant academic, that he worked for and taught in the faculty of law, and that he was elected in 1993. Earlier, his two defeats were mentioned, but I would rather highlight his four consecutive election victories, which show just how much voters in his riding liked him.