Mr. Speaker, seven years ago newspaper columnist Ann Landers initiated a program called Valentines for Vets, encouraging her readers to send a message of gratitude to veterans. Sadly, Ms. Landers has passed away but Veterans Affairs Canada is continuing to invite Canadians to create special valentines for our Canadian veterans.
Valentines can be sent to the department's head office in Charlottetown where they will be sorted and mailed to veterans in health care facilities across the country in time for Valentine's Day. Last year more than 2,000 valentines were distributed.
We know that these special greetings are warmly received by our veterans. As our veterans are aging, let us this year make an extra effort to send our heartfelt thanks to those who put their dreams on hold to defend our values and way of life.
I encourage all Canadians to refer to the Veterans Affairs Canada website for more information on this wonderful campaign. The address is vac-acc.gc.ca.