Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday in Convent Glen I was pleased to join Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada, at the Ecology Ottawa event called “Everyone Loves Trees!”.
This event coincided with Tu B'Sheavat, the Jewish New Year of Trees. With the counter-culture movement of the 1960s, this holiday has morphed into a Jewish ecology day and promotes ecological awareness.
As members know, I have been a tree champion since my Scouting days. In 2011, this House approved my private member's motion to declare the Wednesday of the last full week of September National Tree Day.
At last Tuesday's event, Ecology Ottawa urged each of us to adopt a tree. The typical Canadian produces enough carbon dioxide during his or her lifespan to feed 15 trees, so once again I urge the people of Orléans to get on with it and plant trees to compensate. Whether they want to adopt one tree or 15 trees or would like more information on caring for trees, I encourage them to go to treeottawa.org and adopt a tree today.