Madam Speaker, I would like to thank all of the members who took part in the debate this afternoon on this motion. I appreciate hearing the words of the member from the Canadian Alliance Party from Saskatoon-Wanuskewin.
To address his concern about cost, it is a simple matter of declaring this as a national rivers day. What we have to think about are the wonderful opportunities in our communities, for example, around community economic development. There are a lot of festivals, fairs and opportunities for local merchants to be involved with the community in the clean up, promotion and celebration of our rivers.
To the member of the PC/DR coalition from Dewdney--Alouette, I was very heartened to hear about the work of his local community organization. It is not only just the national rivers of Canada that we would be celebrating, we would also be celebrating the work of our community members.
To the member whose motion this originally was, the member for Vancouver--Quadra, I would like to thank him very much for giving me the opportunity to move the motion in the House. The Fraser Bason Council, of which he spoke, is a very important opportunity that looks at how people, different levels of government and first nations can all work together. Our rivers in Canada connect us through our activities and the projects that we undertake to preserve them.
I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for her wonderful description of some of the major rivers in Canada. I appreciate her fine support and would like to mention to the House how much we miss her on the environment committee now that she has her new duties.
To the NDP member for Churchill, as a member who represents a northern community, it is so vitally important to remember the contribution that the northern rivers have made to our communities in the south through the advances of the early explorers. Imagine setting out on a vast expedition onto one of those northern rivers. What an exciting, exhilarating experience that must have been. It is so important to our history, to the economic development of our country and indeed to our natural heritage.
It is often said that people always remembers the first time they see Lake Superior. I grew up on Lake Superior. It is an incredible expanse of water. It is an image that never leaves one's mind. A variation on this is what the writer Lynn Noel said:
The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in pools and eddies to remind you who you are.
I am sure those of my colleagues who have paddled would agree.
The member for Churchill talked about the soothing qualities of our rivers. I remember as a child the creeks and the rivers that I paddled on and their cool, quiet shores with their leafy vegetation crowding the water's edge. There are many times in this place and related to this place that I look to that image for some soothing and calming.
The same rivers that have so informed our lives and speak to the very soul of us as a nation can inform the lives of others. Therefore, let us celebrate them. Let us once a year talk about rivers, clean up rivers and float down rivers. Let us swim in them, paint them, read by them, plant trees by them, sing by them, dance by them, learn from them and enjoy them. Let us honour them as they honour us.
I have included some of my favourite words from poets to best describe our understanding and feelings of rivers. A favourite prime minister of mine, Prime Minister Trudeau, wrote in “The Exhaustion and Fulfillment: The Ascetic in a Canoe” the following:
I know a man whose school could never teach him patriotism, but who acquired that virtue when he felt in his bones the vastness of his land, and the greatness of those who founded it.
I believe that formal recognition of a national rivers day can help people come to such a place and it is a journey we should well consider. Unfortunately, the motion is not a votable motion. Therefore, I would ask for the unanimous consent of the House to declare this a votable motion.