Madam Speaker, it is not really a right of rebuttal because I am going to agree with everything we have heard already.
First, I want to thank somebody from my riding, a man named Jeff who runs Branch 101, a local legion in my riding. He arrived at my doorstep just two days ago and because I had just renewed my membership, he brought me some gifts. One of them was a mask covered in shamrocks. He did not know I was doing this today or that this was happening, so perhaps it was a bit of Irish fate. In fact, perhaps it is a bit of Irish fate we are doing this today in the month of March. It could be luck of the draw or it could be luck of the Irish. Regardless, I am incredibly proud to be here and, frankly, a bit overwhelmed.
This is a motion to recognize the month of March as Irish heritage month. It has been a long time coming for me. It has been six years in the making. For others, it has been centuries. In fact, the idea was hatched in the Speaker's office. Madam Speaker, I know this is near and dear to your heart because your son-in-law hails from Galway and you have two Irish grandchildren of whom you are very proud. Therefore, I am glad you are in the chair tonight.
While we would ordinarily be celebrating all things Irish this month, this motion, I want to remind people, is not about green hats and green beer. It is my hope that from this day forward, and every year, the month of March will be known as Irish heritage month.
This motion is for those people who left Ireland for better opportunity, for those who did not make it to the shores of Canada. This motion is for those who did and devoted their lives to building our country into what it is now. This motion is for those who continue to do that today. This motion is for future generations that are proud of their Irish heritage. I think of Thomas D'Arcy McGee, our Irish founding father, for example.
Last December, in the first hour of debate, I was struck by how many of my colleagues claimed that their part of the country was the most Irish and had the strongest Irish traditions. In fact, my colleague from Miramichi—Grand Lake, if I am not mistaken, just tried to lay claim to the presidency of the United States, which is a bit of a stretch. In any event, they are all right. Whether people live in Newfoundland, Vancouver Island, Montreal or the Ottawa Valley, where my ancestors hail from, this motion is about that. We can all lay claim to having that proud Irish heritage and we can all lay claim to having the greatest Irish community in the country. We are all right.
If we think of the speeches we heard today and at first reading, they were about pride, they were about history and they were about integrity. We heard stories of hard-working heroes from our past and present who continue to make our country great. We even had some spontaneous singing in the first round of debate. It must have been spontaneous because clearly it was not rehearsed. This motion celebrates Irish spirit.
I drove through Ireland a couple of years ago with my father-in-law and brothers-in-law. It was at night and we got lost. They were concerned. I told them that there was nothing to worry about because all it meant was that we would end up in another beautiful town, with welcoming, beautiful Irish people, and we would enjoy ourselves. I was right. The same can be said throughout Canada.
We have talked about our Irish history, our Irish culture and our economic ties. I discussed that at first reading. I do not have time to go into so much today, so I will just say this. The ties between Canada and Ireland are emotional, historical, economical and genetic. It is very powerful.
I do want to name a few people. Our ambassadors, Ray Bassett, Jim Kelly and Eamonn McKee, come here as ambassadors and they leave as our friends. I want to thank them. I want to thank my friends in the Canada-Ireland Interparliamentary Group. When we are back together in Ottawa, we are going to have one heck of a bash. It is going to be the third annual and best ever.
I hope today we can adopt this motion unanimously. During this month of March, when ordinarily we would be celebrating throughout the country, we cannot, and rightfully so. Let us adopt this motion and give Irish Canadians and all Canadians something to celebrate this year, next year and every year thereafter.