Mr. Speaker, I am blessed to be a Canadian with two distinct cultural backgrounds. My last name, Dzerowicz, betrays me as Ukrainian, but what is hidden is my Mexican heritage. My mother is Mexican, and thus I am also a proud Mexican Canadian.
I mention all this as background to acknowledge the hard work of His Excellency Agustin Garcia Lopez. The Mexican ambassador to Canada is finishing his term in Canada at the end of this week. His hard work was instrumental in building closer ties and stronger relations between Canada and Mexico, paving the way for a successful visit of the Mexican president last June, for the Mexican visa requirement to be lifted, new education partnerships, stronger cultural and social ties, and greater economic opportunities between our two countries.
As the co-chair of the Canada-Mexico Friendship Group and the proud representative of a growing Hispanic community in my riding of Davenport, as well as a proud Mexican Canadian, I would like to extend my best wishes to Embajador Lopez, his wife Katya, and family.
[Member spoke in Spanish as follows:]
Senor Embajador, quisiera agradecerle por todo su trabajo y desearle muchisima suerte, sabiendo que siempre podemos contar con su apoyo.