Mr. Speaker, my community of Castlegar, B.C., won the top award at the Communities in Bloom National Conference held in Edmonton last month. Castlegar came first in Canada in the 6,501 to 10,000 population category for 2012.
Many dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly to make this happen. I would especially like to single out Darlene Kalawsky, our Communities in Bloom volunteer coordinator, as well as Gail Hunnisett, Roxy Riley, Pam Johnston, Kari Burk, Mielle Metz, Denise Talarico, Kathy Gregory, Mac Gregory, Angie Zibin and Marilyn Pearson for their extraordinary effort.
That is not all. The city itself, under the leadership of Mayor Lawrence Chernoff and members of council, played a major role in this project, especially the public works employees.
Our Castlegar Communities in Bloom team is but one example of those countless volunteers who labour day in and day out to improve the quality of life in our rural communities. Bravo, Castlegar.