Mr. David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Celebrated each year on April 22, Earth Day is the most popular ecological event in the world.
More than 6 million Canadians are joining 1 billion people in over 170 countries to organize activities and projects about local environmental issues. Almost all schoolchildren in this country will participate in an Earth Day activity.
This yearly celebration increases our environmental awareness at a time when Canadians want much more national leadership on the environment.
The phenomenal success of local environmental programs such as One Change, launched in my riding of Ottawa South, which has now gone international, demonstrates that Canadians want to do the right thing when it comes to the environment.
On this 40th Earth Day, I want to encourage and congratulate all Canadians taking part in Earth Day activities, and encourage the government to show leadership on the environment.
