Mr. Speaker, on May 26, tens of thousands of Canadians participated in the 18th annual World Partnership Walk to fight global poverty.
An initiative of the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, the walk took place simultaneously in Calgary, Edmonton, Kitchener, London, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg, raising $2.6 million to support social development projects in Asia and Africa without regard to race, religion, political affiliation or gender.
One hundred percent of the money raised in the walk goes to support efforts by Aga Khan Foundation Canada to address the root causes of poverty by finding, using and sharing solutions that help to end human suffering and improve quality of life at the local level.
I was pleased to join 3,000 of my fellow Edmontonians in raising over $250,000. I want to thank Narmin Hassam and her team of Edmonton volunteers who organized a very successful event.
I encourage all Canadians across the country to participate in next year's event. We can make a difference.