Mr. Speaker, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada has made all 253 of its company operated restaurants, including the three in my riding, smoke free as of today. In addition, approximately half of the 422 restaurants not directly controlled by McDonald's of Canada are also becoming smoke free.
The health consequences of exposure to secondhand smoke are well known and the establishment of smoke free environments in family restaurants is to be congratulated. McDonald's will help tremendously in the move to prevent children from taking up smoking.
Ronald McDonald should be adopted as the mascot for the Canadian Lung Association. I congratulate McDonald's for taking a giant step toward the eventual elimination of smoking in all restaurants in Canada and I ask members of this House to join with me in identifying this day, March 7, 1994, as McDonald's smoke free day in Canada.