Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Edem Awumey, whose second novel, Les Pieds sales, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Goncourt literary award. This native of Gatineau, of Togolese origin, joins other Quebeckers in the literary awards race.
I would also like to honour Dany Laferrière, whose narrative L'Énigme du retour is on the short list for the Medicis, Wepler and Femina awards in the French novel category. Quebecker Neil Bissoondath was nominated for the Femina award in the category of foreign novels for Cartes postales de l'enfer. Le Ciel de City Bay by Catherine Mavrikakis was also nominated for Wepler and Femina awards.
I must also mention the awards handed out yesterday to several author-composers by the Fondation de la Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec. Congratulations go out to Clémence DesRochers, who received the Sylvain Lelivère award in honour of her exceptional career, and to the other winners: Fred Pellerin, Jim Corcoran, Daniel Lavoie and Renée Claude.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I congratulate all of these Quebec artists who are making us proud here and around the world.