Mr. Speaker, as parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister for youth, I would like to welcome the first 15 Canadians who have been selected to serve on the Prime Minister's youth council, a council that will represent the diversity of our country and bring a strong voice for youth issues from coast to coast to coast. They were selected from more than 13,000 applications that have been submitted thus far.
These young people's enthusiasm shows that, if they are given the chance, they will seize any opportunity to make their voices heard.
I encourage the young people who applied but were not chosen to take heart. Your application will automatically be considered for the second wave of youth council recruitment, and the new members will be announced in early 2017.
I extend my congratulations to these incredible young Canadians. On behalf of the entire House, I welcome them to our nation's capital today.