Mr. Speaker, on May 12, the 7th gala of excellence for the Étudiant Outaouais newspaper was held at the Maison de la culture in Gatineau. Over the course of the school year, more than 170 student journalists from 14 high schools tackled some formidable challenges. Three hundred texts were written as part of the competition for the 2009 journalism awards gala.
The 2009 gold trophy was awarded to Joé Charbonneau Laurin, a grade-ten student at Érablière comprehensive high school. The silver trophy was awarded to Gabrielle Falardeau, from Mont-Bleu high school, and the bronze trophy was awarded to Sarah Lemelin-Bellerose, from Versant high school.
I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to these three winners for their remarkable talent, their determination and their brilliant success. As well, I congratulate the student artists who also demonstrated exceptional talent.
I would also like to congratulate the Amis de L'Étudiant Outaouais group, and especially Martin Godcher, Sylvain Dupras and Marie-Ève Bouchard, for their dedication and for generously volunteering their time. A special thank you to Jacques Blais, from Médias Transcontinental—