Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate a great Edmontonian who has served our city and raised Edmonton's national and international presence by leaps and bounds over the past two decades.
Mr. Martin Salloum has served for 18 years as president and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and has announced that he will leaving this position, unfortunately, in March 2013.
During his time as president of the chamber, Martin has transformed the organization from a struggling association to what is today the largest chamber in the country. The Edmonton chamber is nationally recognized as one of the most effective and influential business organizations in Canada. He has served over 30 years promoting business and working with chambers at both the municipal and provincial level in Alberta.
Martin is in Ottawa today as part of the Edmonton Chamber's EEDC annual delegation to Parliament Hill. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all my colleagues, especially those from Edmonton, to thank Martin for his 18 years of vision and leadership for the city of Edmonton. I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.