Mr. Speaker, in 1912, in the small community of St. Marys, St. Marys Cement was born, and 38 years later it made its best decision by opening a plant in Bowmanville, Ontario.
For 50 years, St. Marys in Bowmanville has literally built the greater Toronto area. The iconic CN Tower, Roy Thomson Hall, the Darlington generating station next door were all built with St. Marys cement. It remains one of Durham's largest employers. There are 130 families who are part of the St. Marys story, a story that includes being one of the greenest plants of its kind in North America.
Its motto is “Life is made to last”. In the last 50 years, St. Marys has contributed greatly to our community life, from schools to hospitals to the Highway of Heroes LAV Monument, to Valleys 2000, to Durham College.
I want to thank St. Marys for being a great corporate citizen, wish it well on its celebration and wish it a great next 50 years.