Mr. Speaker, on November 16, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of an organization dear to the people of Soulanges, the coopérative de solidarité du Suroît. Coop-CSUR is a citizen initiative founded in 2006 by Benoit Guichard, Guy Guénette, Lise Couët, and Norman Molhant. They galvanized phenomenal citizen involvement and succeeded in providing the people of Très-Saint-Rédempteur and neighbouring municipalities with quality Internet service.
Coop-CSUR branched out, setting up Csur la télé, a community television station, and a telephone service. To encourage people to adopt environmentally friendly lifestyles that support local businesses, the co-operative created an eco-local market in Rigaud, giving the people of Suroît an opportunity to consume local products. Recently, a new pick-up location was added at La Factrie de Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
After years of determination in pursuit of its vision, Coop-CSUR now has 1,120 members, 14 communication towers in Vaudreuil-Soulanges and eastern Ontario, and 60 kilometres of fibre optics.
I see Coop-CSUR as an outstanding example of what people can do when they work together. Long live the co-op.