moved for leave to introduce Bill C-601, an act respecting a Government Awareness Day.
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise to introduce two private members' bills today, with thanks to my seconder, the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster.
These bills are particularly special, because they owe their existence to the imaginations and hard work of three young people in my riding of Vancouver Kingsway: Matthew Ching, Liam Kynaston, and Alan Zhou. They are present in the House today. All three students are winners of my Create Your Canada contest, which invites high school students to develop and submit their ideas on how we can make Canada and the world a better place.
Matthew's idea is captured by this bill proposing to establish July 8 as government awareness day. July 8 is the day of Canada's first Parliament, which began in 1867. This would be a day for all Canadians to recognize our democracy, reflect on its importance, and think about ways we can improve it. It would encourage Canadians to take an active role in our democratic process, perhaps by writing letters on topics of interest to their local government MLA, MPP, or MP. In a time of low voter turnout and democratic challenges around the world, this is a positive and creative idea that would strengthen Canadian democracy and citizenship.
I would like to congratulate Matthew and these fine young students on their contributions to Parliament and our country and thank their teachers and all who entered my contest from Gladstone Secondary School, Eric Hamber Secondary School, Windermere Secondary School, and Sir Charles Tupper Secondary School in Vancouver.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)