Francesco Sorbara

[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act, September 17th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague from Northumberland—Peterborough South is a great long-time friend of mine.

I completely agree with you. Seventy-five per cent of our exports are to our great friend and neighbour, the United States. We must continue to ensure we are on the path to further trade diversification. It is a pillar of our economy and a pillar of our government. It is great for our economy and it creates great middle-class jobs.

[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act, September 17th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, on the CPTPP, if we look at the overall benefits to the Canadian economy, they are quite significant and quite material. As a country, we need to always be pushing forward our trade agenda. We must be opening new markets for stakeholders from coast to coast to coast.

We could look at a trade deal and have five folks screaming that it is great and other folks maybe not. What is important is that we consult with those stakeholders, sit down with them and ensure that the benefits are known to all stakeholders and all Canadians and that we understand a trade agenda like NAFTA, CETA, and CPTPP is important to continue to grow our economy.

[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act, September 17th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member from Quebec for his question.

For the CPTPP to enter into force, six countries, six signatories are needed and then it comes into force 60 days after. Even at that time in July there were not six signatories yet. I stand to be corrected, but having looked at it this morning, I believe that is correct.

If one looks at our progress on the trade file with regard to CETA and the negotiations in Latin America and Central America, we are making progress on several fronts with those countries to increase trade volumes here in Canada and create those good middle-class jobs.

[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation Act, September 17th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, it is great to be back after the summer.

It is with great pleasure I rise today to talk about trade and Bill C-79, which will bring in ratification of the CPTPP.

When we talk about trade, I like to talk about it as real progress for middle-class Canadians. It is a theme our government has mentioned many times and CPTPP, much like CETA, is real progress for middle-class Canadians.

I think about my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge and the folks back there. I think about the Canadian Pacific intermodal facility, which is the busiest intermodal facility in all of Canada, and all the jobs connected to that facility, all the jobs connected from out west and bringing all the products to Vaughan, Ontario and to my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge. I think about CN's MacMillan Yard located in the city of Vaughan, the largest such facility CN Rail has in Canada. I think about the FedEx distribution centre located in my riding and the UPS distribution centre located in the city of Vaughan. I think about the Costco facility located in my riding. I think about all those middle-class Canadians who go to work every day and are dependent on what are called trade dependent jobs. It is important that we think about that and contextualize what CPTPP means. It means jobs for middle-class Canadians.

Before moving to Ontario, I grew up in a place called Prince Rupert, British Columbia. It sometimes astounds me that the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley and the entire NDP caucus would be against trade. The first benefit of increased trade volumes is for those folks doing those longshoring jobs, whether in the port of Prince Rupert, port of Vancouver, port of Halifax or the port of Montreal. Those are great jobs, jobs that pay well over $100,000 a year with great benefits. They are unionized, middle-class jobs. It astounds me that in their interventions today, NDP members would talk about the CPTPP and that all trade is bad for the economy. No, Canada is wealthy because of trade. Our linkages to the outside world are dependent on trade and investment flows.

I look at CETA, which has been ratified by the House and some of the European countries are slowly but incrementally following along. The Globe and Mail reported this week that trade through the port of Montreal is up 20%. If we look at international merchandise trade statistics, which came out for July from StatsCan about a week ago, trade volume is at record levels, led by energy and energy exports. Trade to Italy, France and the Netherlands is up for imports and exports. What does that imply? It implies jobs for middle-class Canadians. I always take it back to that because I know when I go back to my riding, the individuals I speak to want to have a good future for themselves and their children.

Economic growth for Canada is very important to me. Economic growth for Canada translating into good middle-class jobs is very important to me. When I visit the Home Depot distribution centre on a tour, I see all those lovely folks working very hard bringing in products from all over the world. I did a tour of the CP intermodal facility with CP's management and saw how it is. I personally worked at a grain elevator growing up. The ships would come in and we would bring in that beautiful western Canadian barley, wheat and canola to be shipped out of the port of Prince Rupert to go to export markets. That is what we are talking about, and those are the issues I am proud to be fighting for here in the House of Commons.

CETA is a progressive trade deal. The first question I ask myself is how CPTPP aligns with Canada's progressive trade agenda. Does it align with our labour rights and environmental regulations? I think the answer is yes. Does it align with social responsibility? I think the answer is yes. Does it grow our $2-trillion economy that many Canadians contribute to day in and day out? The answer is yes.

Now, we know with trade sometimes there are winners and sometimes there are losers. We need to make sure the winners do well and we need to make sure anybody impacted also receives a little help. However, I would argue that trade rises all boats and when done properly, the benefits are enormous. We see that with CETA these days. Over 9,000 products come in tariff-free now to Canada and vice versa, benefits from procurement.

There is another angle that needs to be added: the entrepreneurial spirit that Canadians have from coast to coast to coast. In the city of Vaughan, there are over 13,000 small and medium enterprises. Those companies compete domestically and internationally, and CPTPP opens up new, exciting markets, including in Japan, Australia, and a bunch of other countries. I think there are eight or nine more.

We can look at where our economy is today and how we are making real progress for middle-class Canadians, whether it is through the Canada child benefit or the tax cuts for nine million Canadians. When we think about it holistically, trade fits into the picture, and we need to keep pushing that needle forward.

In today's world where sometimes doors are being closed rather than opened and where countries are maybe too myopic and do not look at the big picture, Canada needs to remain at the forefront of pushing for liberalized trade markets and for a liberalized investment agenda to allow people to invest.

I look at our immigration policy with regard to high-skilled workers. I note that over 10,000 workers came into Canada because our government brought in a change that allows the best and brightest to come here sometimes within two weeks. That is why when we sign the CPTPP, it is so important that we connect with the rest of the world.

When I look at the progressivity of this trade deal with regard to corporate social responsibility, cultural identity and diversity, environmental protection, gender equality, indigenous rights, labour rights, inclusive trade and sustainable development, I ask myself if it does all that. The answer is yes.

I ask myself the same thing when I think about the auto sector. In Ontario, the auto sector is very important. In the city of Vaughan, we are blessed to have the headquarters of Martinrea. In the York region, we have the headquarters of Magna, which is one of the top two largest auto parts providers in the world, with over 50 plants in Ontario and operations in Europe, Asia, the United States and Mexico. This is a trade deal that opens up markets for us and allows companies, such as Martinrea and Magna, to compete to provide those services to tier one OEMs, as we like to call them.

If we look at the revised CPTPP versus the other one, it is clear our government sat down at the negotiating table and negotiated a better agreement. I will read a short comment:

To provide market access for Canadian auto exports to Japan, Canada reached an agreement on auto standards with Japan that brings into effect important commitments on automotive standards and regulations that Japan made to the United States and Canada in the original TPP, but which Canada lost when the United States withdrew from the TPP. Canada also secured a most favoured nation clause on auto standards in a side agreement with Japan to capture future liberalization that Japan would make in this area. The CPTPP would ensure that treatment of Canadian autos are not disadvantaged compared to autos of other countries. Moreover, Canada concluded an autos’ rules-of-origin side letter with Malaysia to allow the Canadian auto sector to benefit from preferential tariff treatment...

Our negotiators, who are the best in the world, negotiated a better agreement, one that I hate to tell the opposition is better than the one that party negotiated. It is the truth.

I always talk about real progress for Canada's middle class, but let us remove the words “middle class”. How about just real progress for Canada's farmers and fishermen? On the east coast, we have seen lobster exports to Europe explode. On a recent family vacation to Boston, I had a conversation with someone who said that their fisherfolks would love to have access to Europe like our Canadian fisherfolks do. I grew up in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which has canneries. I cleaned fish to pay for university. We have increased access for fisherfolks, loggers, and western Canadian farmers who farm grain, beef and other meats. We need to support them. That is what CPTPP does. They want us there and they want this agreement signed.

I look forward to swift ratification of this agreement.

It is good for our economy, it is good for the middle class, and it is good for Canada's economic growth. In my opinion, it is very good for the future of my children and children across the country.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, June 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, looking back at the 10 years when the Conservatives were in power and TFSAs were at $5,500, they allowed a lot of Canadians to save and to put away something for their retirement.

Retirement savings are important. However, the $11,000 limit was foolish, to be frank. I do not know many Canadians who could set aside $11,000 of after-tax income a year to be saved for their TFSA. We reversed it, and left it at $5,500. It will gradually increase as inflation increases.

We put in place a number of measures. If we wanted to look at the marginal propensity to consume or spend, it is where Canadians need it the most, and those who need it the most are benefiting. That is showing up in our 3% economic growth rate last year. It is showing up in the 2% above-trend growth rate this year, as commented by the Governor of the Bank of Canada.

It is something we are proud of, whether it is the Canada workers' benefit, the Canada child benefit, or how those programs have been designed. They have been designed to give to Canadians who need it the most.

If I could just add, we have done more than that when it comes to skills training. We also need to get Canadians trained for those jobs of the next century and the next decade, so we can ensure their success. That is something that is big. It was big in our fundamental research within the budget. It is big within our government. It has been in the last three budgets, including this one. Skills training and fundamental research are things we can be proud of. We know the world economy is changing very rapidly, and we need to make sure that all Canadians have the skill set to enable them to maximize opportunities for themselves and their families.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, June 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, in the province of Ontario, and I have to give credit where credit is due to the Ontario government and the provincial Liberals, we have OHIP+. All children are covered up to the age of 25. It is universal. It was introduced last year. I am very proud to say that. It is going to be a legacy measure.

Federally, we have indicated that Dr. Eric Hoskins, a former Liberal cabinet minister from Ontario, is leading a task force on this. Frankly, 80% of Canadians are covered with some form of pharmacare coverage, but there is a gap.

We need to sit down with all the provinces to come up with a pan-Canadian solution. We are looking at taking measures to lower drug prices all around. We recognize that, and that has been ongoing. We need to sit down with all stakeholders to have a substantive, prudent, consultative process on how we can reach the point where no Canadian family is impacted by the cost of prescription drugs.

That is something we can all come to an agreement on in this House. There are different ways of getting there, but the ultimate goal is that no Canadian family should go to bed at night worrying about the cost of prescription drugs or how they will be covered.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, June 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I believe my hon. colleague is reading information from the Fraser Institute, so I will leave it at that and put that aside.

In terms of how tax credits work, some can be refundable, and some can be non-refundable. You need taxes owing or taxes payable. A lot of the tax credits that were introduced by the prior government were for families that would not benefit from them because they did not have taxes payable. It is unfortunate. The CCB goes to all families that need it, up to $200,000, and it is something we are proud of.

The member brought up income splitting. If we look at the evidence, that benefited more well-to-do families than anything else. It is something I have read about extensively and something I do not support as an economist. There are other policy measures that would have been much more effective, which could have been but were not adopted by the prior government. Conservatives were actually warned not to adopt income splitting by their prior finance minister, God rest his soul.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, June 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is great to work with my hon. colleague from London North Centre and be on the same side of the aisle with him.

The Canada child benefit has had a profound impact on families and our economy, to the point where it actually boosted GDP in a year. The approach we took was to send cheques to the families that need them the most. It is kind of an interesting approach, when one thinks about it. We thought we should the cheques not to millionaires, but to the families that need them the most.

Yes, it is means-tested. For those who make over $200,000, it will be diminished. For someone like myself and my family, we do not receive it any more, but we are fine. It is for Canadian families who are working hard to make combined family incomes of $70,000, $75,000, or $80,000, who have one, two, or three children at home. I have two daughters at home, and I know how much it costs. It will help families. It is going to be tax-free. At the end of the year, those with higher incomes will not get a bunch of tax back, because that does not make sense. That was bad policy under the prior government. We fixed it, and we are proud of that.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1, June 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-74 on behalf of the Government of Canada, as well as our government's planned investments to strengthen the middle class and maintain the strength and sustainable growth of the Canadian economy.

Budget 2018, entitled “Equality + Growth: A Strong Middle Class”, represents the next stage in our plan to invest in people and the communities where they live in order to provide the best opportunities for success to the middle class and all Canadians.

The bill we are talking about today, budget implementation act, 2018, No. 1, is the next step in the plan that our government launched over two years ago. When we took office, we jumped into action by helping develop a confident middle class that stimulates economic growth and that is currently benefiting from more opportunities for success than ever.

Giving Canadians the opportunity to reach their full potential is not only the right thing to do, but it is also the smart thing to do for our economy. The decision to invest in the middle class is the right decision. Targeted investments combined with the hard work of Canadians across the country have helped create good, well-paying jobs and will continue to strengthen the economy over the long term.

Before I go into some of the measures introduced in Bill C-74, it is always a good thing to step aside and take a holistic approach to what is going on in the Canadian economy. For example, if we look at the first quarter gross domestic product, we see some continuing good signs. As an economist, I love these terms. We had real final domestic demand rise by 2.1%, driven by a 10.9% increase in business investment.

Recently, off those numbers, the Bank of Canada governor, Stephen Poloz, commented on the signs of the economy of exports and business investment continuing to pick up. Despite the uncertainties in the global economy and the continuing NAFTA negotiations, business investments remain strong.

Those are great signs for our economy, but what does that really translate to? Quite simply, it translates to 600,000 new jobs, 600,000 people working today who were not working two and a half years ago. Those Canadians are our neighbours, our friends, our family. Also, 300,000 kids have been lifted out of poverty because of the Canada child benefit, which we introduced and which is arriving monthly, tax-free, to Canadian families, such as the families in my riding, Vaughan—Woodbridge. Those are great things that we are doing.

The A.T. Kearney foreign direct investment confidence index came out two weeks ago, making comments on what our plan for the economy is doing for Canada. Canada was ranked number two. I would like to read what the A.T. Kearney index said:

Canada moves up three spots to its highest ranking in the history of the Index. An update to the Investment Canada Act, a newly established Invest Canada agency, and new trade agreements [CETA, CPTPP, entering into negotiations with Mercosur] could be boosting investor optimism.

What does a boost in investment translate to? Very simply, it means jobs for middle-class Canadians in my riding, and coast to coast to coast. I am very proud of the measures introduced in Bill C-74.

One of them is the Canada child benefit. We have spoken about it quite a bit, and we should continue to do so. In my riding, Vaughan—Woodbridge, over $59 million was sent via the Canada child benefit to families in a one-year period. It assisted approximately 19,400 children. The number of payments was 10,900, with an average payment of $5,400.

We can throw lots of numbers out there, but behind them are Canadian families like the ones that reside in Vaughan—Woodbridge. These funds are being sent tax-free, not to millionaires but to real Canadian families, families that are working hard to pay their bills every day, assisting them to pay for their kids' sports, lunches, new clothes, and so forth, and maybe save for an RESP for when their children go to university.

I am so proud of the fact that our government indexed the Canada child benefit. What does that mean? Let me simply tell members.

For example, the Canada child benefit is an important government initiative aimed at making a positive change for the millions of Canadian families with children. Close to 3.3 million families with children are receiving more than $23 billion in annual Canada child benefit payments.

A single mom of two children aged five and eight with a net income of $35,000 in 2016 will have received $11,125 in tax-free Canada child benefit payments in the 2017-18 benefit year. Naturally, this $11,125 is absolutely tax free. That is $3,500 more than she would have received under the previous child benefit system.

This means that, for a family making $35,000, once the Canada child benefit is indexed, it would add up to almost $560 more per year. For families in Canada, $500 more a year is a lot of money, to pay for their kids' lunches and school clothes, to bring their son or daughter to a soccer game in the evening or to a soccer practice, and so forth. I am proud that our government has looked at this initiative. I am proud that our government has lifted 300,000 kids out of poverty because of this. I am proud that our government has indexed this. These are real, tangible measures that are assisting families from coast to coast to coast on an everyday basis, and our party should be proud of that.

I am proud to represent a riding, Vaughan—Woodbridge, within the city of Vaughan, that is one of the most entrepreneurial areas of the country. We have approximately 13,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in the city, and I meet with these folks regularly. We are also blessed to have many large organizations. We have Canadian Pacific's busiest intermodal facility in the country, a key barometer of trade and investment. We have Home Depot's eastern Canada distribution centre. We have the FedEx distribution centre for eastern Canada. We have UPS's distribution centre for all of eastern Canada. Again, UPS made that wonderful announcement of investing $500 million in the Canadian economy, creating thousands of additional jobs. We have a furniture maker, Decor-Rest, which employs 700 Canadians, competing globally against furniture makers both here in Canada and in the United States and Mexico, and winning in competing.

I am blessed to have all these entrepreneurs. I am also blessed to have a number of bakeries and great pastry shops, which I have talked about before, especially during Italian Heritage Month. I visit them and we talk about what makes these companies successful.

One big thing we have done, which is contained in Bill C-74, is the reduction in the small-business tax rate from 11% in 2015, which will eventually fall to 9%. We should be proud of that. For small businesses making $500,000 a year in active income, the savings would be $7,500. That can offset other increased input costs they may face. They can use those savings to invest in their businesses, or whatever they choose. That is something we need to applaud.

Looking at our corporate tax system in Canada, the combined federal corporate tax rate in the province of Ontario, roughly 12.9%, is one of the lowest small-business tax rates globally. We have seen that turn up in the job numbers, with 600,000 new jobs, most of them private sector jobs. That is a good barometer for the economy. That is why we have larger companies like CN or CP hiring. However, we also have small companies, because we know that small and medium-sized enterprises and businesses are the backbone of our economy.

That measure, introduced in Bill C-74, is something we should be very proud of. Cumulatively, that measure would result in approximately $3 billion in tax savings due to lower taxes for small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada through the 2022-23 period. This is a substantial reduction in taxes. When we brought in the tax cut for middle-class Canadians, people said, “Whom does it affect?” It affected nine million taxpayers. We brought in a multi-billion dollar tax cut that benefited millions of Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and here we are doing the same thing for small businesses.

We also undertook extensive consultations with small businesses on how we could best work with them to grow their business, because we want to increase jobs and investment and achieve better productivity and a better standard of living for Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

We also want to ensure that the businesses that benefit from that low small-business tax rate are the appropriate ones. We undertook a consultation and arrived at a point where we introduced measures where 97% of businesses remain unaffected. If people have an active business, they can continue to invest in it and continue to grow. That is wonderful. These are measures contained in Bill C-74. However, we also have what I think is a very prudent measure. If they have actually accumulated $3 million, $4 million, or $5 million in what is called passive income, which is a little technical to describe, something they can save for retirement or set aside and invest in a separate business, which may not be connected to their own business, that is great. They can continue to do that, and we are not going to change the tax structure within their passive investments. However, at a certain point they will no longer benefit from the small-business tax rate of 12.9%, and we will move them up to the 24% tax rate. It is a fair measure.

Canadians expect fairness and progressivity in their tax system. Canadians expect us to do a thoughtful job. When others take a risk, they should be rewarded, but at the same time they should understand that when they have done very well and have been able to set aside some monies within passive investments, they are also going to move up to the corporate tax rate, which is very competitive globally. Even with the United States' adoption of its recent tax reform, our corporate tax rate is very competitive with the U.S. tax rate, and we need to point that out.

There are a lot of good measures contained in Bill C-74, and I am very proud of them. Another one I would like to talk about is the Canada workers benefit. This is something a lot of low-income working Canadians are going to benefit from. There are a couple of measures that I think are very good and long-lasting, and they will proceed beyond this Parliament and many others.

One is working with CRA and undertaking automatic enrolment. Automatic enrolment means that those in society who do not have the means or access that many of us here enjoy are automatically enrolled to receive these benefits. According to the estimates, just this measure alone is going to lift 70,000 people out of poverty and provide additional benefits. Someone making $15,000, a student or a retiree, can receive up to nearly $500 more with the new Canada workers benefit. It is something I am very proud of. My progressive roots cheer this on. It is something that all Canadians can be very proud of.

We realize that some people, especially indigenous people living in northern and remote communities, have often faced barriers when it comes to accessing essential government services and federal benefits such as the Canada child benefit. With Bill C-74, our government will take steps to ensure that anyone who is eligible for support receives it.

Through Bill C-74, the government proposes to expand outreach efforts to all indigenous communities on reserves and in northern and remote areas, and to conduct pilot outreach projects for urban indigenous communities so that indigenous peoples have better access to a full range of federal social benefits, including the Canada child benefit.

Now I would like to talk about the Canada worker's benefit. Canadians working hard to join the middle class deserve to have their hard work rewarded with greater opportunities for success. We know that these Canadians are working to build a better life for themselves and their families. Low-income Canadians are sometimes working two or three jobs so that they can give themselves and their children a better chance at success.

That is why the government is proposing a new benefit in budget 2018 and in Bill C-74: the Canada workers benefit. This benefit builds on the former working income tax benefit and would put more money into the pockets of low-income workers. It would encourage more people to join and remain in the workforce by letting them take home more money while they work.

Through Bill C-74, the government would increase the overall support provided for the 2019 and subsequent taxation years. In particular, the government proposes to increase maximum benefits under the CWB by up to $170 in 2019, and increase the income level at which the benefit is entirely phased out. As a result, low-income workers earning $15,000 could receive up to almost $500 more from the CWB in 2019 than they could receive this year under the current working income tax benefit. That is $500 to invest in the things that are important to them, and to make ends meet.

The government is also proposing changes to improve access to the Canada workers benefit to allow the Canada Revenue Agency to calculate the CWB for anyone who has not claimed it starting in 2019.

Again, having the CRA automatically register people who are eligible for these programs and others is a large step forward for our tax system.

One thing I would like to comment on is the framework we have introduced for the pricing of carbon. We have done this in a very thoughtful and prudent manner. It is a backstop, and 85% of Canadians are covered by a form of carbon pricing system. The provinces are permitted to do what they wish with the revenues.

However, I agree with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. It was very disappointing that the NDP government in B.C. would move away from a revenue-neutral price on carbon. I am very disappointed. It speaks to fiscal foolishness. We need to allow provinces to do what they wish, but we need the provinces to be transparent. Our carbon pricing system is transparent. The funds flow back to the provinces and the provinces then decide how to allocate those funds, but they should also be transparent about it.

We have an opportunity in this world that we are moving into. Many countries have already adopted this pricing system, and many industries in the private sector, which I am a big champion of, have looked at this. We have companies all over the world, such as Daimler in Germany, FCA, Ford, or any automotive company, looking at adopting electric vehicles, at technology on clean tech, and at renewable energy. We have the system going on. We have this shift going on. We need to be a part of it.

However, this is not, as my Conservative colleagues are saying, scaring away investment. It is not. We saw it in the first quarter GDP numbers. Business investment in Canada is rising. We see that every day, whether it is Samsung announcing its AI facility in downtown Toronto, or Montreal being the gaming sector of North America when it comes to enterprise arts. We see it in Vancouver, with the clustering that is going on, and in the Kitchener—Waterloo area. We see it with many auto parts suppliers in Ontario, and then there is Toyota's announcement. Foreign direct investment in Canada is creating jobs. It created jobs yesterday, it is creating jobs today, and it will create jobs in the future, because we are making those conditions very strong.

Finally, when we talk about Canada's fiscal position, we maintain a AAA credit rating, which we have had for so long. It has been affirmed recently. Our debt-to-GDP ratio is declining. I would argue that we have the best fiscal position of any G7 country on any fiscal measure, and that is something we need to be proud of. It is something our government is proud of.

Therefore, when I hear the banter from the other side, I would love to sit down and chat with them and show them a couple of measures on the economy. These measures that show how well we are doing include the 600,000 new jobs we have created, the 40-year low in the unemployment rate, the increase in wages that Canadians are seeing from coast to coast to coast, and the infrastructure we are building in this country.

[Canada-Italy Day, June 5th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I invite all of my colleagues to come celebrate the third Canada-Italy day on Parliament Hill this evening and to participate in Italian Heritage Month this June.

I would like to pay tribute to the sacrifices of the trailblazers who came before us, including the nearly 2,000 men listed on the Italian Fallen Workers Memorial, and to my parents and that generation of immigrants who sacrificed so much.

I am fortunate that, along with my wife Rose, we can pass this pride on to our daughters Eliana and Natalia, and the entire Italian-Canadian community can continue to educate, reflect, and celebrate our heritage. I look forward to celebrating my Italian heritage with everyone this evening, and to recognizing the community's vast contributions to Canada.

[Member spoke in Italian]