[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 19, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CANADA LOVES NEW YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. AMO HOUGHTON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 2002

  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, as we passed the six month mark since 
September 11th, I was reminded of one of the more exuberant showings of 
support from one of our nation's strongest allies. Our good neighbor to 
the north, Canada.
  On September 11, 2001, Canadians shared the pain brought on by the 
events of that morning. Many Canadians wondered what they could do. Our 
good friend, Canadian Senator Jerry Grafstein, Co-Chair of our U.S.-
Canada Interparliamentary Group, was one of the first to contact me to 
express his condolences and to commiserate. He, like everyone, wanted 
to know what he could do to help.
  Then, following Mayor Giuliani's speech at the United Nations where 
he invited the world to come to New York to help get things back to 
normal, Jerry and many of his friends decided that the best thing they 
could do would be to organize a weekend for Canadians to visit New York 
en masse, contribute to the economy of New York, and physically show 
their support.
  Almost immediately, Jerry, his wife Carole, and a handful of 
outstanding volunteers from the Toronto area went to work.
  Publishers of the leading newspapers in Toronto ran full-page ads. TV 
and radio quickly followed suit. Canadian stars in sports and 
entertainment rallied to create several ads in support of the venture, 
each taping 30-60 second spots at no cost. Even movie theater owners 
offered to run the ads when the Harry Potter movie opened in cinemas 
across Canada.
  Other businesses made in-kind and monetary donations to the effort 
including Air Canada, who made discount air fares to New York available 
from across Canada.
  New Yorkers also made generous donations to the effort. The Roseland 
Ballroom was made available at a very nominal rate and venue insurance 
was donated. Owners of the large screens in Times Square offered to run 
the ads for free to attract the thousands of Canadians living in New 
York to the event. Mayor Giuliani issued a proclamation declaring 
December 1, 2001, ``Canada Loves New York Day'' in New York City. 
President Bush also sent a message commending the volunteers for their 
efforts.
  It was thought that three to four thousand Canadians would attend the 
rally on December 1st. It is estimated that over 26,000 people actually 
did attend. Many of them didn't even get near the Roseland Ballroom, 
but no one complained. It was a tremendous event--one that I will not 
soon forget.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to thank Senator Grafstein and all of 
the volunteers who worked tirelessly to make that effort a tremendous 
success. It is another in a long list of reasons as to why the United 
States and Canada are the closest of allies.

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