Mr. Speaker, this past weekend the Hartland Volunteer Fire Department held its 15th annual trade show at the Hartland Arena and grounds.
This is the volunteer department's largest annual fundraiser. Over the past number of years, through this event and others, the department has raised over $1 million for firefighting and rescue equipment to serve not only the town of Hartland but also the surrounding local service district.
Over 8,000 people visited the trade show this weekend, which was held in a town of less than 1,000 residents.
The Hartland Volunteer Fire Department is just one of the many volunteer fire departments in my riding and in fact across the country whose members put their lives on the line every day and not only work hard to keep their training up to date but also work hard to raise the money needed to do their job even better.
I want to extend my congratulations to Chief Mike Walton and the over 70 volunteers who made this event happen, including department volunteers, community members and 15 up and coming junior firefighters. I congratulate them on a job well done and thank them for all they do for our communities.