Joseph-Achille Verville
Liberal
Mr. VERVILLE (Translation) :
Mr. Chairman, since the committee is giving these citizens of Nicolet to Lotbiniere, I must tell the hon. member for Nicolet-and I ask him to transmit the message to his constituents -that the electors of Lotbiniere are happy to welcome them, because they entertain the same sentiments and ideas, and they hope to see them continue as always to vote for the right party.
Certain manoeuvres affecting the county of Megantic have to be explained. The first plan laid before the committee would have placed in Lotbiniere county the residence of the hon. member for Megantic. When my friends opposite noticed this was not sufficient to bring him into Lotbiniere, they said: We
will take this county seat, and they placed Inverness in Lotbiniere. Following numerous discussions and adjustments and, I suppose, after invoking the Holy Spirit, the members of the committee concluded that the project was nonsensical. They left the hon. member for Megantic in his own county and they left him his county seat, but they insisted on transferring part of his territory to Lotbiniere, and this is what they did: they took Lyster, Ste-Anastasie, Nelson township, Leeds, Leeds-East and St-Jacques-de-Leeds, with a population of 4,532, and placed them in Lotbiniere. And, mark you well, in order to do that, they managed to carve out what I may call a flute with the county of Megantic, thereby joining it to Frontenac county. To these citizens of Megantic county, as to those of Nicolet and of Levis that are being transferred to my constituency, I extend, on behalf of the people of Lotbiniere, a most cordial welcome. May they always follow the example set by the people of Lotbiniere.
I must further state, as the hon. ex-Minister of Justice (Mr. Lapointe) so eloquently said this morning, Nicolet has its natural neighbours: on one side, Nicolet, on the other side, Levis, and on the south, Megantic. I have been lengthened, or, I should say, my constituency has been lengthened in the direction of Beauce.
I{(distribution-Mr. Verville