Mr. Speaker, one of the joys of representing a riding with a collection of lovely small towns is participating in the annual Santa Claus parades. This year I took part in five of six parades in Durham because I still have not mastered the art of being in two parades at once.
These parades are great for the community. They bring the community together, celebrate the fun in Christmas, and highlight the importance of shopping locally. However, these events would not happen were it not for the hard work of volunteer committees, so I rise to thank them.
In Bowmanville, I thank Terryl Tzikas; in Courtice, Dale Gibbons; in Orono, Wendy Partner, Scott Story, and Shelley Rivers; in Newcastle, Karen Bastas and the Newcastle BIA; in Port Perry, the Lions Club of Port Perry and Kenna Kozak and the Scugog Chamber of Commerce; in Uxbridge, Bernice and Chris Brown and the Uxbridge BIA. I would also like to thank the army, navy, and air force cadets and my volunteers for helping to hand out thousands of candy canes along the parade route.
I would also like to take this time to wish the citizens of Durham a very merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.