Mr. Speaker, on November 28, 1885, Canada's first national park was established around Banff, Alberta. This was an extraordinary far-sighted fact by the government and people of Canada.
Since then our park system has spread across the country to deliberately include a wide variety of natural heritage. Also, the protection, which our national parks provide for plants and animals, has been strengthened. Our national parks are sanctuaries for plants and animals, investments in the biological diversity of Canada and the planet.
I urge all members to celebrate the establishment of Banff National Park by pledging that our generation will build on the work of our ancestors by further extending and strengthening the national park system with marine conservation areas to provide similar sanctuaries in the oceans.
The Speech from the Throne pledged that we would do this. Let us do it.