Mr. Speaker, today we celebrate the official birthday of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix. This year the Netherlands will bid farewell to Queen Beatrix and welcome the investiture of King Willem-Alexander. The heir will be the first king of the Netherlands since 1890.
Canada has had a strong bilateral relationship and a long-standing history of co-operation with the Netherlands. This was further evidenced by our Prime Minister's visit to Holland in May 2010.
I am one of more than one million Canadians of Dutch ancestry, and I am very proud of this heritage.
I wish to congratulate King Willem-Alexander on this special day.
I also honour Ambassador Wim Geerts for his years of dedication and service with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Canada. There will be a reception this evening at Ottawa City Hall that will also serve as the ambassador's farewell reception.
On behalf of Parliament's Canada-Netherlands Friendship Group, I would like to extend best wishes to Ambassador Geerts and his family.