Mr. Speaker, on November 11, the Bridgestone company of Joliette won a gold medal at the best business practices show, an event organized by the Mouvement québécois de la qualité to showcase projects that improve productivity.
The Joliette company was competing against 37 other teams from 34 different corporations. Bridgestone presented two projects: the first, Six Sigma, to improve quality; the second, known by the Japanese name of suru-raku, is an approach that encourages the standardization of all activities. Fresh from this success, the team is going to Japan in April 2010 and it plans to take top honours at that event.
The company recently announced an investment of $40 million in the Joliette plant, including the Quebec government contribution of $4.8 million. The federal government contributed absolutely nothing. But let us look on the bright side. My Bloc Québécois colleagues and I congratulate the company on its success, which mirrors the dynamism of the Lanaudière region, and the trust it places in its employees.