Madam Speaker, it is an honour today to present a petition concerning the "On to Ottawa" trek.
These petitions are historically important in that they bear the signatures of some of the original 1935 "On to Ottawa" trekkers, including Mr. Robert Savage, the last living member of the delegation of eight to meet with the then Prime Minister R. B. Bennett.
Sixty years ago Prime Minister Bennett ordered the arrest of the "On to Ottawa" trek leaders at a public meeting, hence provoking the Regina riot. The trekkers, citizens of Regina who witnessed the riot, family members and other Canadians draw the attention of the House to the "On to Ottawa" trek and its abrupt end in Regina on Dominion Day 1935, and the then federal government's role in the police riot in Regina.
These petitioners call on Parliament to extend to the 1935 trekkers, the Regina citizens and their families its unequivocal and official apology for its part in provoking the police riot.