Madam Speaker, I am happy to welcome a new local newsroom serving Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster and Burnaby. It is called Freshet News, and its first edition went online on Sunday.
Local news is not a luxury. It is how neighbours learn what councils have decided, what local sports team won the game and what small businesses recently opened. The launch follows a community effort to save local news after local newspapers closed. Four veteran reporters stepped forward with a plan to build trusted coverage.
I thank Janis Cleugh, Cornelia Naylor, Mario Bartel and Theresa McManus for their leadership and service. Freshet News will value verification, reflect our diversity and ask tough questions to make public policy better. I welcome that scrutiny and will keep an open line. I congratulate Freshet News.