Mr. Speaker, today muslims around the world are marking Norouz, the Islamic new year. This is a very special day of celebration for Muslims everywhere, and a particularly momentous one for the people of Afghanistan who for the first time in 20 years can freely celebrate this joyous day. With the help of Canadian and alliance forces, the Taliban tyrants are on the run, hopefully banished forever from Afghanistan.
There are a billion Muslims around the world and 350,000 resident in Canada. The Canadian Alliance Party is proud that we have Canada's first and only Muslim member of parliament in our midst, the member for Edmonton--Strathcona and our deputy leader.
From all of us in the Canadian Alliance, I extend a happy new year to everyone in the Muslim community.