Mr. Speaker, every year 23,000 Canadians die from heart attacks, and more than half of those die before reaching hospital care. Lives could be saved if more Canadians were trained to administer CPR.
This year 600 grade 10 students from the Wolf Creek School District in my constituency of Wetaskiwin are learning how to recognize the early warning signs of heart attacks and strokes, and how to apply CPR. Just last week in British Columbia, the friends of a drowning 13 year old girl saved her life because they knew CPR. Like insurance, we hope that we never need it but CPR training is invaluable in an emergency.
Locally, the STARS Foundation donated 80 mannequins, the St. John Ambulance trained high school teachers to be CPR instructors, and the Ponoka News donated the printing of the student manuals.
Thanks to the ACT Foundation and the generosity of the private sector, this important technique is now part of the Alberta school curriculum. This is a win-win program for the community, and I want to commend all involved.
On a personal note, I would like to announce the safe arrival this morning at 4:30 Mountain Daylight Time of my very first grandchild, and congratulate my daughter Dalene and her husband Andy who have made us very proud.