Madam Speaker, I am extremely pleased to mark the return of Quebec's delegation from the 2016 BioMarine Business Convention, that was held in Oslo, Norway.
This trip was organized by Technopole maritime du Québec, in Rimouski, with the participation of the Société de promotion économique de Rimouski. My riding boasts institutions and organizations that work in education, science, research, and technology, and that make Rimouski the largest francophone hub for science in North America in the field of marine science.
More importantly, I want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the next BioMarine Business Convention will be held in Rimouski from October 1 to 3, 2017. The only problem with hosting this major maritime convention is having to do it from a crumbling port. The west pier, which was used to moor the ISMER ship the Coriolis II, was closed last year and the vessel now has to be moored in Quebec City and Halifax.
If the government believes in science, research, and development, then it must invest in those things immediately.