Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is World Polio Day and I would like to thank all rotary clubs in Canada, including local rotary clubs at our binational Rotary District 6400, for their efforts to help end polio around the world. I congratulate Jennifer Jones, a fellow Windsorite, on her historic appointment as the first woman president in Rotary International's 115-year history.
The global polio eradication initiative has helped vaccinate 2.5 billion children since 1988, but we know that the job is not yet done. In May, our government announced $190 million in funding over four years for GPEI and I am proud of Canada's strong leadership on the global health stage.
Around the world, efforts to eradicate polio have already prevented 18 million cases of paralysis. This is one of the great global health success stories of the last 30 years and our government will remain a partner every step of the way as we move closer to eradication.