Mr. Speaker, today is a special day for us, as we witnessed the first official address to our Canadian Parliament by a Dutch Prime Minister, the hon. Mark Rutte.
As a Canadian of Dutch heritage, I want to highlight the importance of Canada's friendship with the Netherlands. In 1945, during the liberation of the Netherlands, more than 7,600 Canadians died and were buried on Dutch soil. Following the liberation of Holland, my parents immigrated to Canada, along with 160,000 others. Today there are more than one million Canadians of Dutch descent living in Canada.
Many Canadians may not realize that not only do we have a rich history and a large Dutch community, but trade between Canada and the Netherlands has more than tripled over the past 10 years, and it will continue to grow with the ratification of CETA.
I encourage all my hon. colleagues and all Canadians to learn more about the rich history of our two countries, both economically and culturally. May we always remain allies and friends.