Mr. Speaker, for a long time, the St. Lawrence schooners, those beautiful, traditional wooden boats, were the only means of transportation available. They delivered supplies to the towns and villages along the St. Lawrence River and enabled them to flourish long before the railways and roads were built.
As the daughter and granddaughter of schooner captains, I know how courageous and knowledgeable the men who sailed these small but noble hand-built vessels were, and how much they loved the river. I want to highlight the importance of preserving these schooners, which are full of memories, history and pride.
The well-known Musée maritime de Charlevoix has been working hard to implement a major schooner conservation project. The Government of Quebec has just confirmed its contribution of $5 million for that project.
As a daughter of the river, I would be remiss if I did not reach out to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and ask him to follow suit and confirm the $700,000 requested by the Musée maritime de Charlevoix. This would round out the funding we need to preserve our remaining schooners, the jewels of the St. Lawrence.