Honourable senators, I’d like to make a brief statement to recognize Quebec’s national holiday, which was on Wednesday, and more importantly, to highlight how Quebecers marked the occasion while complying with the restrictions that have been limiting our activities for the past three months.

Every year, Quebecers are accustomed to gathering at major events, whether in Montreal, on the Plains of Abraham or in parks in our towns and cities, with local artists usually performing.

However, considering the ban on gatherings currently in place, we had to come up with a whole new way to celebrate. I must admit, this really served to showcase the talent of our artists and producers. From Montreal to Paris to Las Vegas, Quebecers have their own signature style when it comes to entertainment. The quality of our musical and artistic productions is unparalleled and has become an important source of national pride. This year, dozens of artists were invited to Trois-Rivières to celebrate at an outdoor amphitheatre on the mighty St. Lawrence. It was a musically and visually stunning event that I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end.

Creating that ambiance despite the lack of spectators was a technical tour de force, an exceptional achievement for which I want to thank producer Jean-François Blais, who allowed us to forget this dreadful pandemic for a few hours. Every performance was imbued with special meaning for Quebecers who could only watch the show on TV.

For me, it was also proof of how integrated Quebec society is. The show brought together people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations on one stage in a production we can all be proud of. Hugely talented members of our Indigenous communities, such as Elisapie Isaac, also shone during the performance.

What stoked my pride even more was witnessing those artists sing in unison of the beauty of Quebec, of the inclusivity we can achieve even though we sometimes hit snags that take up far too much space in our day-to-day lives. The themes and the song selections showed us that Quebecers know how to look ahead. The future is what’s important, not the past. In our thoughts and our everyday lives, we must be guided by hope, not hard feelings.

Truly, that’s exactly what I felt as I watched the amazing, one-of-a-kind show, an altogether unique spectacle because of the dictates of circumstance. We were treated to a performance that deserves to be applauded here in the Senate, a performance by artists who showed us how lucky we are to be living together in Quebec.

Thank you.