Mr. Speaker, Canada is home to 1.3 million people of Ukrainian heritage. We have a very special relationship with Ukraine. On September 17, 2014, President Poroshenko from Ukraine addressed this very chamber about the strong friendship between our two countries. Among other things, he talked about the importance of trade. On July 16, 2016, our current Prime Minister went to Ukraine, and a Canada-Ukraine trade deal was signed.
Canada has stepped up in other ways to support our special relationship with Ukraine, such as operation Unifer, an agreement that sees 200 members of our Canadian Forces having a physical presence in Ukraine. More recently, Canada and Ukraine entered into a military co-operation agreement. On that note, I want to thank the Minister of National Defence for coming to my constituency earlier this year, where we met with members of our Ukrainian heritage community.
Speaking of Ukrainian heritage, I would encourage members to participate in International Vyshyvanka Day on May 18. Let us celebrate our Ukrainian heritage with pride. We can promote that day by wearing a vyshyvanka, tweeting, Facebook, and so much more.