Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize the ninth anniversary of the tragic Armenian earthquake of December 7, 1988.
The magnitude of this natural disaster is almost unimaginable. Over 25,000 lives were lost and hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless and injured.
Armenians are forever grateful for the response of Canadians to the tragedy. The Government of Canada provided over $6 million in aid to Armenia through the Red Cross and Canadians from all regions of our nation donated an additional $2.5 million in humanitarian relief.
On Friday, December 5, I joined many Torontonians to donate blood to the blood donor clinic sponsored by the Armenian Relief Society to commemorate the anniversary of the earthquake.
I urge my fellow members of Parliament to join Canadians of Armenian origin and Armenians everywhere in mourning the loss of family and friends as a result of this horrible tragedy.