Honourable senators, I have risen in the chamber on a number of occasions to highlight the important role 4-H Canada has played in my life. As a 4-H alumnus, a former staff member at the provincial and national levels, a past president of the Canadian 4-H Council and an honourary member of 4-H Canada, I can confidently say that this life-changing experience is the reason that I am in the Senate of Canada today.

For over a century, 4-H clubs across this country have been some of the most highly respected, positive youth development organizations in Canada, with close to 25,000 members and more than 7,600 volunteer leaders today.

Their goal is to help young Canadians “Learn To Do By Doing” in a safe, inclusive and fun environment. They believe in nurturing responsible, caring and contributing youth leaders who are committed to positively impacting their communities across Canada and around the world.

Next week on November 4, members of 4-H will celebrate Show Your 4-H Colours Day to kick off the month-long awareness campaign where youth members, volunteer leaders, alumni and 4-H friends and supporters wear green to demonstrate their pride in the good work of 4-H, which is performed in communities across this country.

Show Your 4-H Colours Day is 4-H’s biggest annual event here in Canada. The campaign celebrates the 4-H movement and highlights the incredible things 4-H youth are doing in communities in Canada and how the 4-H program is helping to create responsible, caring and contributing young people.

In celebration, landmarks across Canada will be lighting up in green in support of Show Your 4-H Colours Day. As an alumnus, this month-long campaign presents an amazing opportunity for supporters of 4-H in Ontario to join members of 4-H from the other provinces to celebrate, share experiences and build stronger communities. While we won’t be able to celebrate this November as we usually do because of the ongoing pandemic, we can share 4-H stories virtually and show our colours on social media.

Show Your 4-H Colours Day is also a chance for me to share with you and others my respect and admiration for and commitment to the 4-H program. As I stated earlier, I would not be sitting in the chamber today but for this important leadership development program. For 107 years, 4-H has been an integral part of Canadian communities with the simple mission of helping develop the potential of young people and ensuring that they have the tools to become responsible, caring and contributing leaders.

The sense of community and interest of many in supporting our youth is why this program continues to thrive. And 4-H members pledge their heads to clearer thinking, their hearts to greater loyalty, their hands to larger service and their health to better living for their club, their community and their country. For me, part of what it means to be a Canadian is embodied in this 4-H pledge as it outlines values I think we can all believe in. Thank you very much. Meegwetch.