Mr. Speaker, Jean-Claude Germain passed away earlier this year, leaving behind a stir of words, stories and laughter that still buzz in our ears to this day. Two weeks ago, he was given a warm and colourful tribute at the Centre du Théâtre d'aujourd'hui. Playwright, screenwriter, writer, journalist, lyricist, historian and so much more: with Germain, the labels jostled for position like actors in the wings. He was larger than life and had a knack for capturing all of Quebec in a single well-turned phrase.
From Le Petit Journal to honorary chair of the Salon du livre de Montréal, he shook up Quebec theatre until it spoke in joual and stood on its own two feet. I knew him at L'aut'journal. Working alongside him was like taking a class where the professor laughed louder than everyone else in the room. His entire body of work is a mirror reflecting our wrinkles and our smiles back at us, and we say to ourselves, yes, that is us, and we can be damn proud of it.
I salute Jean-Claude and I thank him.