Mr. Speaker, for over 20 years, communities across Canada and the United States have welcomed the CP Holiday Train. It is 1,000 feet long, with every car and locomotive brightly decorated with seasonal symbols.
The train has travelled across our two countries, bringing the holiday spirit and supporting local food banks. At every stop, people enjoy the train and its live music show on a specially designed rail car stage. They bring food and cash donations and the railway presents a large cheque to the local food bank, over the years, raising almost $18 million and 4.8 million pounds of food.
The president and CEO, Keith Creel, promises that the tradition will continue virtually this year, with a holiday train concert online on December 12, and CP will donate $1.24 million to the 201 food banks along the route. When it is safe to do so, the train will get rolling again.
Hamilton has proudly welcomed the train with huge crowds and so many needy families have had a better Christmas. We thank CP Rail.