Mr. Speaker, today, people around the world are celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.
This year's theme focuses on empowering persons with disabilities for an inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. To that end, I would like to pay tribute to the Association des personnes avec problèmes auditifs des Laurentides, or APPAL, which has been working for 30 years to improve the quality of life of hearing-impaired people in the Laurentian region.
I would like to take this opportunity to salute the volunteers of APPAL. I especially want to thank Marylyn Laurier, the executive director, for her tireless dedication to helping hearing-impaired people in our region.