Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for Richmond Hill for his extraordinary hard work on Motion No. 36 to designate August 1 as emancipation day in Canada.
There is much work to be done in the fight against anti-Black racism in Canada. That is why $50 million was spent to support anti-racism initiatives, and the work of the Anti-Racism Secretariat was included in the fall economic statement. We have also introduced funding programs to help Black-owned businesses, to support capacity building in Black communities, to combat systemic anti-Black racism and to advance diversity inclusion in the workplace.
Sunday being the last day of February, I invite Canadians to join us in the Black History Month—