Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade and in these uncertain times with NAFTA negotiations, I cannot think of a better time to share a story of friendship between two nations.
In Canada's “Chocolate Town” of St. Stephen in my riding of New Brunswick Southwest, I have been honoured to participate in “Hands Across the Border”, an opening ceremony for the International Homecoming Festival, a long-standing festival of 45 years, celebrated with the city of Calais, Maine in the United States.
To open the ceremony, customs officers close traffic lanes on the bridge that span the St. Croix River between St. Stephen, New Brunswick and Calais, Maine. Government representatives, legion members, RCMP officers and residents meet midway on the bridge to display flags from both countries and shake hands. This is not an ordinary handshake. This symbolic handshake signifies the importance of friendship, solidarity, good will and good faith between two communities and two countries, Canada and the United States.