Mr. Speaker, on August 22, 2015, one of my best friends, a former roommate, died in a cycling accident at the corner of Saint-Denis and Jean-Talon, in Montreal. His name was Bernard Carignan and he was 27 years old. He was a decent man, lived life to the fullest, and he was a brother, a son, a friend, and a hero.
His life came to an end when a car door was carelessly opened in front of him. His death could have been prevented with a very simple technique: the Dutch reach. Instead of opening the car door with your left hand, you use your right hand, which forces you to look for approaching cyclists in the rear-view mirror.
Every year in Canada, 7,500 cyclists are seriously injured or killed in the country, and some of these accidents are preventable through a simple technique called the “Dutch Reach”. It is easy.
I encourage all Canadians and all members to practise all winter long so that when the summer comes, in this land, from coast to coast to coast, we do the Dutch reach.