Mr. Speaker, during the night of Sunday to Monday, the unspeakable happened in my community, off the coast of La Tabatière on the Lower North Shore.
The Silver Condor sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, taking the lives of three fishermen. Dean Lavallée, Yves Jones and Damon Etheridge worked in one of the most noble, but also the most dangerous, professions. The sea gives, but it can also take away, and that is what it did on September 25.
These three men were our men. They were husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, cousins and friends. Coasters are one big family, and their hearts beat as one.
On behalf of everyone on the north shore, the members of the Bloc Québécois and everyone in the House, I would like to send a message of solace to all coasters. We all feel devastated in this difficult time, but we still have love to sustain us.
Damon, Yves and Dean, today we salute you from down here with gratitude and admiration. Thanks to you, the star that twinkles above us in the night sky to guide fishers and sailors now shines a little brighter.