Mr. Speaker, this weekend Canada will welcome Mr. Sakuji Tanaka, the president of Rotary International. Today he will join celebrations marking 100 years of Rotary in Toronto and tomorrow he will highlight the leadership role of Rotary in the effort to eradicate polio.
Rotarians are the voluntary backbone of their communities, and Canadians appreciate their work with youth and seniors and on important local projects. Canadian Rotary Clubs are also making a tremendous impact around the world. In my riding, the Rotary Clubs in Bowmanville and Port Perry have supported clean water projects in Laos and the Rift Valley region of Africa. The Rotary Club in Uxbridge has been working with Dignitas in Malawi to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to infant. My own Rotary Club in Courtice has worked with the Michael “Pinball” Clemons Foundation and Free the Children to build schools in Africa.
Today also marks the conclusion of the Pennies and More for Polio program, through which our government and the Gates Foundation each matched dollar for dollar the millions raised across Canada by Rotary. As Rotary's founder Paul Harris once said, “Great things happen when good people come together”.
Today I salute the good Rotarians working across Canada and the great impact they are making around the world.