- Member of Parliament
- Caucus Chair
- Liberal
- Châteauguay—Lacolle
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $108,181.16
- Government Page
Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate the speeches I have heard today.
I acknowledge my colleague from Manicouagan, who has such a nice riding name. I wish my colleague from Brampton North good luck with the boundary redistribution. I would also like to acknowledge my colleague from Northumberland—Peterborough South. I am an anglophone too and some names are difficult to pronounce even in English. However, the fact remains that that name represents my hon. colleague's riding, and that is what I want to talk about in my speech today.
I am very pleased to rise again in the House to support Bill S‑207, which seeks to change the name of the electoral district of Châteauguay—Lacolle. It is a necessary change to correct a misunderstanding. Although this misunderstanding was not ill-intentioned, it still caused problems for my constituents seven years ago. I still remember well what happened during my 2015 election campaign. It takes a lot of time and effort to make the necessary corrections, but it is worth doing because it is important for my constituents.
There are other ways to make the necessary corrections. I will talk about them in a moment. Despite that, I am pleased to sponsor Bill S‑207, which originated in the Senate. Thanks to the work we have done since 2015, I am confident that the name of my riding will finally be changed to Châteauguay—Les Jardins‑de‑Napierville.
I will say it again even though it has been mentioned several times before: The name Châteauguay—Lacolle is inaccurate because the municipality of Lacolle is actually in the riding of my hon. colleague from Saint‑Jean. It is just as important to make this correction for the people of Lacolle, who live in the riding of Saint‑Jean. It is Saint‑Bernard‑de‑Lacolle that is in the boundaries of my riding.
During the 2015 election, several people expressed concern over this name, saying that it caused confusion and interfered with their sense of belonging and the pride that residents of Saint‑Bernard‑de‑Lacolle had for their community.
The late mayor of Napierville, Jacques Délisle, was behind this new name. He is the one who suggested the name at the time. It is true that it is the name of an RCM, but it is also an expression that designates our region in general. The words “Les jardins” or “the gardens” evoke a beautiful agricultural region. Municipalities such as Saint‑Cyprien‑de‑Napierville are found in the regional county municipality of Jardins‑de‑Napierville. It is true that the name “Napierville” adds something extra.
It is important to remember that this proposal does keep the name “Châteauguay”, evoking not only the most populous municipality in my riding, but also the greater Châteauguay Valley area, which includes several municipalities. It truly is an inclusive name.
Again, I want to thank my colleagues who have spoken out in favour of this bill today. I look forward to announcing to my constituents in Châteauguay—Lacolle that they are now part of the Châteauguay—Les‑Jardins-de-Napierville riding.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his thoughtful question, and it can be answered in part by the question that was asked earlier. There is a process going on now that is the thoughtful place for that kind of discussion, where MPs indeed can present their views in front of the commissioners. This was not done, unfortunately, in this case. This was an omission that occurred in the last redistribution. That is why I am here today: to correct a wrong.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I do remember the very good discussions I had with my colleagues about the fact that it is important for constituents to feel represented by the name of their riding. It is not a frivolous matter. It is truly symbolic.
My colleague can count on my support if he ever introduces a bill on the same subject in the House.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague. Saint‑Édouard is in my riding and is one of the municipalities in the RCM of Jardins-de-Napierville. It is truly a cornerstone of the region.
Frankly, my constituents have been asking me for this name change since my first election campaign. It was the late mayor of Napierville, Jacques Délisle, who first suggested it, and this bill is, in part, in honour of the late mayor, who was highly regarded and respected in the region.
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Mr. Speaker, it was actually a question that I faced back in 2018. It is because it is important to my constituents. It does have to do with this error in the fact that there is a municipality that finds itself in my name that is not in the riding. Yes, there is a separate process going on, but that is something that is separate from this House. As Senator Dalphond graciously had Bill S-207 adopted in the Senate, I am seizing on this opportunity to make this happen and I count on the member's support.
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moved that Bill S-207, An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Châteauguay—Lacolle, be read the second time and referred to a committee.
She said: Mr. Speaker, I just want to say what an honour it is for me to sponsor Senator Dalphond's Bill S‑207 in the House. The bill would change the name of my riding from Châteauguay—Lacolle to Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville.
I would like to remind the House why this bill was introduced. The name Châteauguay—Lacolle is a historical error dating back to the previous electoral redistribution. The name of the municipality of Lacolle is in the riding name, but the city of Lacolle is not in the riding. A correction is therefore in order, and the best name is Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville because the vast majority of municipalities in the RCM of Jardins-de-Napierville are in my riding and the other municipalities in the area I represent makeup the greater Châteauguay region.
The simple fact that the municipality of Lacolle is not in my riding and that this bill would result in a complete representation of my riding should suffice to convince my hon. colleagues here in the House that this name change is necessary.
However, some of my colleagues might be surprised that I am once again introducing this bill. Some may have thought that the issue was resolved because the House unanimously agreed to pass the bill in 2017. I will explain why the House needs to pass the bill again, after it already had the support of all members of Parliament.
This bill was first introduced in the 42nd Parliament as Bill C‑377. It was unanimously supported by the House of Commons, made it through committee without amendment, was passed at third reading and then sent directly to the Senate.
The bill was sailing from one legislative step to the next. However, the Senate committee was just preparing to study Bill C‑377 as the 42nd Parliament was drawing to a close, so there was a race against time to get the bill passed. Unfortunately, the Senate committee did not have time to study the bill before Parliament was dissolved. This meant that the bill, which my constituents had been waiting for, died on the order paper right before the finish line.
Today, I am continuing what the House started four years ago by introducing Bill S‑207. The bill has already been approved by the Senate, and once approved by the House, it will pass at last.
I would like to remind my colleagues in the House why this bill is crucial to the residents of my riding. I will tell the story behind it, which speaks to its fundamental necessity.
This name change has been close to my heart since the beginning of my political career. I committed to getting the name changed the first time I spoke in the House of Commons in 2015.
Since being elected, I have always encouraged achievements that benefit the people of Châteauguay—Lacolle. Whether it is through investments in local infrastructure that have a direct impact on my constituents or through financial assistance to help many farms in my region go green, I have long been at the service of the people I represent on a daily basis. Today, by introducing this bill, I am again at their service.
I could go into much more detail about the circumstances that led to my constituency being misnamed. However, as my time is limited, I am counting on the goodwill of my colleagues here in the House to support Bill S‑207, a crucial bill for my constituents.
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moved that Bill S-207, An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Châteauguay—Lacolle, be read the first time.
She said: Mr. Speaker, this morning, I am very pleased to introduce to the House the hon. Senator Dalphond's Bill S-207. I thank him for all the great work he does for our region.
Essentially, this bill seeks to correct a serious error that is unfair to my constituents. Three years ago, I got my bill passed to change the riding name of Châteauguay—Lacolle to “Châteauguay—Les Jardins‑de‑Napierville”.
I do not have time to repeat all of the reasons why this change is so important for the people of my riding, but I think that the fact that the beautiful municipality of Lacolle is not even located within the riding should be enough to convince my hon. colleagues of the legitimacy of our request to change the riding name.
The ball is now back in the House's court, and I humbly ask all of my colleagues to vote in favour of Bill S-207, to vote in favour of “Châteauguay—Les Jardins‑de‑Napierville”.
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