Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable: This year marks 100 years since the Holland Marsh was established.
A century ago, Professor W.H. Day and a group of hard-working farmers looked over a vast swamp and saw possibility. With vision and grit, they transformed the black muck into one of the most fertile farming regions in Canada. For 100 years, that vision has fed communities, nourished generations and sustained livelihoods. Today, farmers steward more than 7,000 acres and grow over 60 crops, including four pounds of carrots for every Canadian. If we look across the marsh now, we see why it has earned the title of the soup and salad bowl of Canada. It is not just canals and fields but opportunity.
It is an honour to represent the Holland Marsh growers in Parliament and to have helped make Bill C-280 law.
Here is to the Holland Marsh's proud past and to the farmers who will carry its legacy forward.