Mr. Speaker, at a time when the fate of the Mirabel terminal is more than uncertain, my thoughts today go back to the expropriated people of Mirabel. I remember October 4, 1975. A few students, including myself, joined Jean-Paul Raymond and about 100 expropriated people who gathered behind the fences to helplessly watch the first Concorde land. Opposed from the start to their lands—the most fertile lands in Quebec—being sacrificed for the sake of progress, they were weeping at the loss of their heritage and identity.
Up on the platform, champagne in hand, Liberals Trudeau and Chrétien were celebrating the opening of this white elephant that was supposed to secure our growth for decades to come.
Today, when large-scale pipeline projects are threatening our lands, rivers, and oceans, let us remember the wisdom and visionary resistance of the expropriated people of Mirabel. We deserve development that respects our local communities and the environment, with a view to passing on a legacy to future generations.