Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician who was dramatically freed last year, received the Quebec national assembly's medal of honor and glowing praise from politicians including Premier Jean Charest.

But she returned the adulation.

Betancourt, who also holds French citizenship, thanked that same Quebec legislature for raising international awareness of her plight with a 2002 motion in support of her. She says that began an international chain-reaction that concluded with the daring rescue operation of her and 14 other hostages last year.

"If I'm here today, it's thanks to you," she told Quebec parliamentarians.

"You were the first _ the forerunners in the fight for the hostages' liberation. There was Quebec, then Belgium, then France, then Europe, then the world _ and then finally Colombia."

After the event, she gave a speech at the famed Chateau Frontenac. The choice of venue was not without irony; she recalled fond memories of visiting the ornate hotel with her first husband, French diplomat Fabrice Delloye.

"I'm a Canadian at heart," she said. "I traveled around your country. I camped here. I fell in love here, with the father of my children."

The premier paid tribute to the human-rights activist, saluting her courage and saying the world needed more people like her.

But Betancourt pointed to her own all-too-human flaws.

In a recent book, three Americans who were fellow hostages painted a less-than-flattering portrait of Betancourt, casting her as a spoiled, self-serving politician who used her celebrity status to get special treatment in captivity.

Betancourt admitted that during her confinement she occasionally saw things that were "ugly," like "egotism" and "cowardice."

"And I didn't see this in others _ I saw it in myself," she said.

She urged politicians to keep up the fight in Colombia, and noted that 24 of her fellow hostages remained captive in the jungle at the hands of FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas.

Betancourt will also receive an award this week from Governor General Michaelle Jean on behalf of Reporters Without Borders Canada. Jean is representative of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as Canada's head of state.

Betancourt was rescued in an elaborate ruse along with three U.S. military contractors and 11 other Colombians.

She was running for president in Colombia in 2002 when she entered rebel territory without military protection and was kidnapped.

In March, FARC freed the last known foreign hostage held in Colombia, Erik Roland Larsson, a partially paralyzed 69-year-old Swede who was held captive for nearly two years.