Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of rising in the House today to pay tribute to a former captain of the Montreal Canadiens and member of three all-star teams, who was admitted to the Hockey Hall of Fame back in the 1960s, played on four Stanley Cup winning teams, was the president of the Montreal Royals, as well as a businessman: Émile “Butch” Bouchard.
This upright man and proud Quebecker was a great source of moral support to his teammates at a time when team owners held all the rights and all the power.
The Bloc Québécois supports the efforts of his family and joins with them in calling upon the management of the Montreal Canadiens to retire his number and hoist his jersey to its place of honour in the rafters of the Bell Centre alongside those of all the other hockey greats who helped build the dynasty that is the Canadiens, for he is definitely one of them.
Let us hope that the Montreal Canadiens will not repeat the mistake the club made with Bernard Boum Boum Geoffrion, and that the jersey of Émile “Butch” Bouchard will be retired while he is still with us.