Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of the tsunami, Canadians showed their true character and tremendous compassion in coming together and giving in a historic way.
I want to say that in the Durham region, the region which I am from, I had the honour, along with the members for Whitby—Ajax and Pickering—Scarborough East, to get together with members from across the community in a truly historic fundraising effort. I want to recognize all their work.
Over $200,000 was raised on the weekend. Over $700,000 was raised overall in just about a three week period. To the chairs, both Maurice Brenner and Bill McLean who are councillors and former colleagues, I congratulate them. I also want to recognize Tony Doyle who was instrumental with the Metroland paper, the Durham Tamil Association and the Pickering Islamic Centre.
As the spotlight turns away, as the media focus turns away from southeast Asia, it is imperative that we keep up the effort. I commend the government's move to give $160 million over the next five years and $425 million in total.