Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with other colleagues in the House who spoke on behalf of their parties in congratulating the credit union movement and the co-op movement on the occasion of National Co-Operative Week and International Credit Union Day.
Needless to say, the New Democratic Party has political roots in the co-op movement, of which all members of the House will be aware. We are very pleased to be able to join in marking this week and this day.
It is important at a time when the language of competition is prevalent to remind ourselves that there is another way of looking at the world. It is a way of looking at the world that is rooted in a very Canadian way of doing things in the co-op movement.
Co-operation is also a good word. Whatever benefits may come from competition, and I would be the first to debate some of them, we ought to realize that co-operation is another way of doing things and one that has been represented very well in the country over the decades by the credit union movement and the co-op movement.
I call upon members of the House and the government to protect this tradition in everything they do. Various things are under attack from various places, whether it is the budget for co-op housing, the attack on the wheat board or various other things, all of which represent manifestations of this co-operative spirit in our political, social and economic history.
I am pleased to join with other colleagues on behalf of the NDP in marking this occasion. I hope we will keep in mind at all times the value of this tradition and the value of advancing it in every way we can.