Hon. Dennis Dawson:

Honourable senators, I would like to take a moment to take a trip back in time. Imagine it is June 6, 1919, in this very chamber, and new adventures are on the horizon for the Canadian National Railway.

[English]

It was on June 6, 1919, that Canadian National incorporated and started its journey to become the longest railway system in North America. For Canada’s regions that are far and wide, our rail system has been at the root of forging communities, moving Canada’s economy and physically connecting us as a country. CN over 100 years has taken this role seriously.

[Translation]

If you ask people who work for CN, they will tell you that their objective is to ship goods from point A to point B, but it’s much more than that. All along its network of 20,000 miles of track are municipalities where CN is part of the community.

[English]

CN’s 25,000 employees play a key role in fostering the community they serve. To put it simply, if you eat it, it drive it and use it, chances are they had something to do with it. However, it is more than that. CN’s employees and retirees are encouraged to contribute to society through CN’s community.

Honourable senators, today is the one hundredth anniversary, and CN will be commemorating the anniversary. On June 6, from here on out, it will be the day that CN employees dedicate themselves to their community on behalf of their company.

I want everyone to celebrate the fact that these have been a very good one hundred years and the best is yet to come.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.