Mr. Speaker, June 24 is Quebec's national holiday. This year, it was also a day of collective mourning for an entire nation. Serge Fiori, the great Serge Fiori, Fiori the wise, Fiori the madman, Fiori the gentle, affectionate soul, our friend Serge Fiori is now among the angels, singing the most beautiful melodies they have ever heard.
Fiori of Harmonium, Fiori with Séguin, Fiori solo, Fiori the Quebecker left us in the midst of his nation's celebrations. Even in the depths of my grief, I thought his timing was apt. He left behind a people whose hopes he often sang about and whose sovereignty he supported. I still cherish the support he offered me.
On behalf of the Bloc Québécois and in the presence of Mario Lefebvre and Serge Grimaux, his collaborators and close friends, who are my friends too, I again extend my condolences to his partner, Hélène Lévesque, his family and all those who loved him.
He went away before he could see the national dream become reality.
To Fiori, my friend: “It will be our turn, it won't be long.”
When that day comes, we will think of Serge.