Mr. Speaker, last week Laurent Pellerin was elected president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. He is the first Quebecker to take the presidency of that organization, which represents over 200,000 agricultural producers.
Mr. Pellerin owns a family farm in the Centre-du-Québec region and served as president of the Union des producteurs agricoles for 14 years.
Devoted to the cause of agriculture in Quebec, he was instrumental in the creation of the Financière agricole du Québec and the establishment of agri-environmental advisory clubs. He has also been a great ambassador at every opportunity, particularly with the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, and at Europe-America agriculture conferences. It was also under his watch that UPA Développement international came into being. This agency has staff in a dozen developing countries working to introduce a Quebec-inspired collective model.
In 2005, he was recognized for his remarkable achievements by the Quebec government, which awarded him its highest distinction, the designation of Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Québec.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to congratulate Mr. Pellerin.