Mr. Speaker, September 13 will mark the 250th anniversary of the battle of the Plains of Abraham and of the defeat that holds sad memories for Quebeckers.
General Wolfe had warned our people. He wrote that if they resisted, their homes would be pillaged, their churches exposed to mobs of angry soldiers, and their crops completely destroyed. Wolfe took action, and burned the entire lower St. Lawrence.
Quebec was bombarded for two months. More than half of its population was lost between 1758 and 1762. Its main teaching institution was shut down to house the occupying troops. Our nation experienced a real social breakdown.
Despite the defeat, Quebeckers defended their language. The members of the Bloc are carrying on that battle here in this very House.
Our compatriots can now boast of expertise in all disciplines, a network of institutions and an advanced democracy in many respects. Today, they are ready to become a free country.