Stephane Dion pays a visit to Vélogik

On Friday, February 29th Stéphane Dion attended a presentation at Saint-Laurent High School which was given by a group of young men and women from the organization Vélogik. The Saint-Germain campus second year students received a visit from the local Member of Parliament who wanted to witness the work of members of Vélogik who are completing a reintegration program. The Vélogik project is an initiative of Jeunesse Emploi of Saint-Laurent which allows these teens, who would otherwise drop-out of school, to gain valuable experience through on-the-job training, which includes instruction on the environment, climate change and the use of bicycles as an alternative method of transportation.

Eight young members of Vélogik gave a presentation to students of Saint-Laurent High School. They performed two sketches and presented a video which illustrated the effects of climate change as Mr. Dion looked on with keen interest. This was followed by an animated discussion where our MP’s teaching skills were put to the fore as he used a globe to illustrate the disastrous effects of climate change on the planet.

Following the presentation by Vélogik and Mr. Dion’s lecture, the students were very enthusiastic. Mr. Dion told them that ¨We must preserve the environment so that future generations will be able to enjoy a quality of life as rich as that enjoyed by preceding generations. It is the Government’s duty as well as ours to make environmentally friendly choices in our daily lives¨.

Stéphane Dion congratulated the Vélogik team: Randy Markowsky, Jonathan Lamontagne, Christopher Grandcourt-Houle, Yannick Denis, Olivier Meunier-Demers, Yves Mukania, Ernest Chery, Sébastien Fernandez, Anita Nana Boakye, Maryam (Ida) Sedghi Abbassi, Josée-Anne Ouellette-Diotte, Frédérick Morel-Dupont, Senai Mehari. Mr. Dion also thanked Richard Dugas and Annabelle Bérubé for their hard work and for taking charge of the project. “Your intervention within the community is very important and it assures that these youth will reach their full potential” said Mr. Dion. The MP took advantage of the occasion to have lunch with the Vélogik team at Pizzeria Ville St-Laurent where they were warmly greeted by its owner Mr. Tarsem Bal Singh.

(Source: House of Commons)