 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 3839, in the name of Fiona Hyslop on celebrating the 200th anniversary of the union canal and its contribution to Scotland. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put, but I encourage members who wish to participate to press the request-to-speak buttons now or as soon as possible. I call on Fiona Hyslop to open the debate for around seven minutes, Ms Hyslop. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am delighted to bring my member's debate to Parliament this afternoon, marking the 200th anniversary of the union canal, which flows through my constituency and to celebrate its economic, environmental and social value to the communities that it connects. I have crossed the bridge at the Llythgow canal basin almost every day for 25 years, and it is a very special place to me. I would also note the 200th anniversary of the Caledonian canal. The celebration extends to the contribution that is made by the many staff and volunteers who are involved in the upgrading, maintenance and championing of the union canal and the boaters. I would like to welcome in particular those from the Scottish Canals and the Llythgow union canal society to the gallery today. I would also like to thank the MSPs who signed my motion. Our infrastructure connects us from place to place, but it also connects people. It connects communities, ideas and livelihoods, and, if done correctly, it has the power to change the world. The union canal is no different. The union canal was conceived in 1793 as part of the Industrial Revolution to be a direct route for the people of Edinburgh to access cheap sources of coal from the west and was named as the union canal as it connected Edinburgh and Glasgow. In 1813, a survey was undertaken to link the proposed canal to the Forth and Clyde canals and construction was approved in Parliament in 1817. The 30-mile union canal was built between Edinburgh and Falkirk in just four years and opened in 1822. I also want to pay tribute to those who built the canal. The construction work was hard, laborious work with horses, carts and shovels, and men lost their lives building it. It is said that the red paint on some of the canal bridges marked those deaths in constructing the canal. The increase in use of rail and road led to a steady decline and the canal was formally closed in 1965. It then reopened in 2001 as part of the £83.5 million millennium link and was the largest canal restoration anywhere in Britain. I had the pleasure of attending the touching ceremony at the Broxburn Basin in 2001, where the late Mel Gray, one of the founders of the Lunlithgow union canal society, extended a finger to connect with the finger of the captain of the boat that had travelled from Edinburgh, a dramatic moment reminiscent of the creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel and marked the first time in many years that boats could again travel from Falkirk to Edinburgh. The Falkirk wheel was built in 2002 by reconnecting the 4th and Clyde canal for the first time in 70 years with the union canal this Saturday to mark the last 200 years that will see a flotilla of 200 boats pass through the canal. It is clear that canals were the lifeblood of the past and they firmly have a place in the future. The union canal supports the protection, conservation and enhancement of the biodiversity of the waterway and is an integral part of the green infrastructure promoting sustainable active travel. Scottish canals, working with partners on pioneering projects, is helping to combat flooding and driving positive transformation in some of Scotland's most disadvantaged areas. The Falkirk wheel, alongside the Grangemouth Kelpies, are two of the most significant tributars in terms of tourism in the Falkirk valley, worth £110 million to the local economy, supporting 2,000 jobs. The Falkirk wheel replaced 11 lock gates, cutting the travel time between the two canals from almost 24 hours to just 10 minutes. Both the wheel and the Kelpies are within the top 10 of Scotland's most visited attractions. An independent research shows that spending time on or by the waterways can make people happier and improve life satisfaction and social wellbeing. The union canal towpath is regularly used by my constituents for cycling, walking and wheeling, encouraging physical health and mental wellbeing, and the national cycling and walking network runs along the union canal towpath. However, the success of the union canal would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of a number of people. I welcome those who have joined our gallery today from the union canal society again and to those from Scottish Canals. The late Mel Gray, I mentioned previously, was a driving force in revitalising the canal long before the millennium project, and the education centre at the canal basin is named in his honour. Another founding member is the formidable and remarkable Barbara Brathwaite MBE, and I sent her my best wishes. Chris Matheson is the current chair of Lux, who has been in the post since last year, and I wish him well for the future in this role. Pat Bowie was the manager of a union that aims to encourage communities to engage positively with the canal. Richard Miller, the brains behind the Falkirk wheel and the Kelpies, Billy King, worked with the canals for decades and has been responsible for the upkeep and maintenance along the union canal. George Burnie was instrumental in the reopening of the waterways as part of the millennium link and has played a crucial part in the union canal for the past 40 years. Of course, the late Ronnie Rusick, MBE owner of the Bridgin in Rathall, who in 1974 created a floating dining experience on the union canal and became chairman of the Segal Trust. Ronnie was instrumental in the reopening of the union canal, receiving an MBE for his efforts, bringing press and prime ministers alike to the banks of the canal to drums up support for the reopening. Ronnie was chair of the Scottish Waterways for all until he passed away in 2020. Scottish Waterways for all should also be commended as an organisation as should the Segal Trust formed in the 1970s to offer free boat ships for those with disabilities along the canal. Scottish canals are a key stakeholder in the £1 billion winch for development The union canal is at the heart of the project in my constituency with a new canal marina that has residential houses as well as moorings alongside and is an attractive and central part of Winchborough as it grows. Countries across the world look to Scotland for inspiration, innovation and education on many things and our impressive canal structure is certainly one of them. They look to us because we are a nation that puts place making at the heart of our infrastructure. We put communities and people at the heart of planning. I commend the work undertaken by Scottish canals and local groups such as the Lithgow Union Canal Society of whom I am very proud and look forward to working with them to ensure that the union canal remains vibrant and accessible and pares the way for the next 200 years. Thank you very much. Ms Hislop, we now move to the open debate. I call first Graham Simpson to be followed by Gordon MacDonald for around four minutes. Well thank you very much Deputy Presiding Officer and can I thank Fiona Hislop for bringing this motion to the chamber. It's a very long motion I have to say but it covers a lot and there's a lot to say. I haven't written out a speech Deputy Presiding Officer because I just want to say what I think about the canal actually and I might be the only person in this chamber, I don't know, it could be wrong but I might be the only one, we'll put it to the test who's actually cycled all the way along the canal from Edinburgh to Glasgow but if anyone else has they can raise their hands. So it looks like I'm the only one that's done it. I then made the mistake of also cycling back to my home in East Kilbride which is uphill and that rather ruined what would have been a very fine day and I've done bits of it as well. I really love the Union Canal bit but I think the Falkirk element of it is particularly special and Fiona Hislop mentioned that it's the 20th birthday party of the Falkirk wheel, a quite incredible structure linking the two canals but if you're coming from Edinburgh in order to get to the Falkirk wheel you have to pass through the Falkirk tunnel which is quite long and could be quite eerie but it is lit. It's 630 meters long, 18 foot wide, 19 foot high and it has a five foot wide towpath and at one end of the tunnel there is a plaque which tells us that mass murderers Burke and Hare worked on the tunnel and the local interest is that Burke's mistress Helen McDougall was a local girl and of course Burke and Hare then went on to murder 16 people and sold their bodies to an anatomy school and it's thought rather concerningly that they're disposed of bodies in the canal. I'm sure they're not there anymore but I think I mentioned this because there's a rich history to the canal, both the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde canal and from my point of view the value of it for me is just that sort of that getting people out in the open it's such a great resource to have on so many people's doorsteps going from Edinburgh across the Glasgow the two canals now connected so it's fantastic to have you can get out you can walk it. I've seen people fish in the canals and of course there will be that great flotilla which should be a marvellous sight to see I think this weekend so I'll end it there I think Presiding Officer just to thank Fiona Hyslop again I think you know the canal has a great future Scottish canals are to be commended for maintaining it keeping it going and I hope that more and more people get the opportunity to go and see it and use it. Thank you very much. Is there something I call Gordon MacDonald to be followed by Sarah Boyack for around four minutes? Thank you Presiding Officer and thanks to Fiona Hyslop for bringing this debate forward. The Edinburgh and Glasgow Union canal to give it its full name runs through my constituency of Edinburgh Pentlands from Slateford through Kings now and Westerhales to Rathol in the west. The canal joined Edinburgh to the Forth and Clyde canal linking Edinburgh to Glasgow, thus uniting the two cities. The canal was planned by Hugh Baird so that it would follow the 250-foot contour line through its 31-mile length and was on a level sorry and as it was on a level meant that it had no lock gecks making transit along its length quicker. To achieve this three aqueducts are required of the water relief at Slateford, the River Armand near Lynlithgow and the River Armand at Rathol. The canal opened in 1822 and was initially successful carrying minerals from the mines and quarries in the Lanarkshire to Edinburgh but in 1842 the Edinburgh and Glasgow railway opened and it fell into slow commercial decline and was closed to commercial traffic in 1933 and finally closed in 1965. The building of the Westerhales estate in my constituency began in 1967 at Drumbriden and over a mile of the canal from Drumbriden road to Calder Crescent was filled in and culvert piped water through the new estate due to concerns about child safety. In 1994 British waterways after neglecting the canal for over 30 years decided to restore both the union and the Forth and Clyde canals to link up the west and east coast of Scotland with fully navigable waterways for the first time in over 35 years. However, there was a problem. The Westerhales section needed to be reopened with a new channel, new bridges and diverted roads. Work began in late 1999 and it took nearly two years to complete. During this period when the new channel was being built it was found that the original stone arched hails bridge had been buried inside the Drumbriden road embankment back in the 1960s. It was repaired and is now in use as a foot bridge over the canal. Tomorrow Scottish canals will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the union canal in Edinburgh Pentlands by organising a flotilla of canal boats accompanied by musical performances that will travel from Loughran Basin in central Edinburgh to bridge 8 in Westerhales. The aim is to celebrate the on-going commercial, social and historical value of the canal to the economy and the local community, bringing together canal users and canal-side communities in a celebration of the past, present and future use of the waterway. As part of the celebrations that will be a world premiere of Union Caledonia 200 at Harrison park, a song written to commemorate the union in Caledonia canal's spice interior, as well as a variety of musical acts on and off the water. In my constituency in Westerhales, residents supported by Whale Arts and Edinburgh art festival have organised local activities to coincide with the passing of the flotilla, including a canal trail stretching from Hales quarry park to Bridget hub, and Paddle's cafe with a treasure hunt, raft building, art activities with artist pester and Rossie and a free community meal at Whale Arts. When I came to Edinburgh in 1982, the union canal was a neglected ribbon of water through the south west of the city. Now it is a valuable leisure space, whether you are walking or cycling, canoeing or indeed holidaying on one of the canal boats. What a transformation in 40 years and long may it continue. Thank you very much. I thank Fiona Hyslop for giving us this opportunity to debate the 200 years and to celebrate the 200 years of the union canal. As she said in her opening remarks, it is an incredible piece of engineering infrastructure, and all of us need to ensure that it continues to get the investment that is needed going forward, whether it is keeping the canal bridges usable or making the canal navigable and on-going for canoeists or canal boats. I have personally been interested in it as a part of our history and culture, the fantastic connecting route that it is through central Scotland, from my time as a town planner in central region to being a minister in Donald Dewar's Cabinet, when I was privileged to see the plans for the Falkirk wheel and be part of the Millennium project. Donald Dewar himself cut the first sod of turf in 1999 at the start of the reconnection of the Forth and Clyde canal with the union canal. As an Edinburgh resident, I also love walking or cycling beside the canal. I can tell Graham Simpson that my route is to Edinburgh or Falkirk to Llynyddgo. That is quite enough for me. However, the point about the canal is that you can choose your route, you can choose how long you want to go and it is accessible to people. That is what we really want to celebrate today. It is at the heart of the city of Edinburgh and it is an incredible popular green space. The regeneration of the city centre, where we used to have a historic brewery, that at one time produced 2 million barrels a year and was a key local employer. In recent years we have moved from that to see a welcome regeneration, with the Burmure High School opening in 2018, new homes, cafes, art venues such as the Edinburgh Printmakers Gallery. Most recently, I have been involved in the inspiring project proposed by the late Chris Wigglesworth, a former Labour councillor, geologist, church minister and community activist. He came up with his proposal called A Fountain for Fountain Bridge, which uses Archimedes wheel principles, a gravity-led fountain, which we were able to get being included in the development plans and the proposals to provide new homes and regenerate the area. It is in the plans and I very much want to thank the Fountain Bridge canal side members, community activists and the work of the Harriet Watt academics and students who took Chris's project and developed it and said how we could implement it. I want to thank all the local activists today, not just for their commitment in supporting the Fountain for Fountain Bridge project but for all of the work that they do, promoting access to the canal. It is a key part of our community. It is a mix sustainable environment, it is biodiverse, it improves people's quality of life, it is socially inclusive and it gives us a wellbeing neighbourhood. That is something to celebrate and that is just the city centre part of the canal. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's flotilla celebration organised by Scottish Canals and I want to thank them for all their work too. I am also looking forward to networking with our new councillors, our local community and businesses and to continue to maximise the positive impact of the canal as a fantastic feature. As Fiona Hyslop's motion highlights, it brings joy to all those who use the canal and the access that it gives to our communities. Let's hope that it continues to do that for years to come. As others have done, I want to thank Fiona Hyslop for securing this afternoon's debate celebrating the 20th anniversary of the union canal. It is important to celebrate our canal not only as historical structures, a visual testament to our industrial heritage, but also as thriving waterways being increasingly utilised to assist driving community regeneration and providing an important immunity for communities nearby our canal topaths. That is certainly the case for the Forth and Clyde canal, which winds its way through my constituency of Maryhill and Springburn. I again thank Fiona Hyslop for now giving me the opportunity to say a little bit about that. The Forth and Clyde canal was first discussed during the reign of Charles II, but work did not commence until June 1768 when the canal fully opened some 22 years later. By 1775, the canal opened as far as Stogfiel junction in Maryhill. That is crucially significant. It is later this summer a £13.7 million new bridge will open there, funded by the Scottish Government to finally compete the canal topath network. It will connect the communities of Ruckill, Maryhill and Gilshell for the first time and finally be the final link in completing that canal topath. Our canals once again connected communities, not cutting them off, and I pay tribute to the work of Scottish canals for the work they do championing such improvements and reiterate the passion of Richard Miller who is here today that Fiona Hyslop mentioned earlier. I know that many members will be aware of the wonderful work that Scottish canals have done at the Claypits at the Forth and Clyde canal on the north bank of which sits in my constituency. It is Glasgow's only inner city nature reserve and is a magnificent parkland with breathtaking views. It is also the area where Claypits was extracted to line the Forth and Clyde canal over 200 years ago. Members should visit it. Of course, visit the English canal first, because that is what the debate is about, but they should visit the Claypits at its stunning. However, it is to be commended not just for its views and vibrant habitat, but because it benefits the communities on the doorstep, such as Hamilton hill and Wester common in my constituency. The Claypits are a key community asset of national significance right in the heart of areas but impacted by deprivation and associated issues for many years. I thank Bob Dorr for taking the intervention. I would just like to wholeheartedly agree with him about the Claypits. It is a wonderful area, but I think that Sustrans and indeed Glasgow City Council should also be commended for some of the new routes that link into that canal. That enables people in his constituency to get to it far easier. I am pleased for the intervention, because due to time constraints I cannot talk about all the partners who have supported this wonderful initiative, so I thank Mr Sysman for putting that on the record. In fact, it is an £8.8 million investment, which has so much activity, which is actually community led just like the young canal that Fiona Hyslop was talking about. It is community led through the Claypits local nature reserve management group, and I want to put that on the record here today. Commencing this year at Hamilton hill, which has much derelict land caused by demolitions in years gone by, there are over 670 new homes, including hundreds of social and mid-market rent properties, starting to be built between Glasgow City Council and Queens Cross Housing Association working partnership. The canals of canal network for positive change and the smart canal being used for flooding solutions will see over 3,000 homes built in that area in the years ahead. However, by the time I have got left, we can take you back up to Stockingsfield bridge, my constituency, where I started. I encourage members to walk the towpath back up there, carry on past up Codder, where the council have agreed to turn Codder woods into a local nature reserve, although much work still needs to be done, and head up on up to Lambhouse tables, a wonderful community anchor facility there. However, if some do not want to walk that far, just stay along the Maryhill area and go to Maryhill walks and the White House, which is also there, where you can look up at Osprey heights of still game fame. The area below is known affectionately as the botany, or the botany shot for botany bay. The location where those being deported to Australia used to start their journey many years ago. No such fate awaits visitors in this chamber here today will, I certainly hope not. It is just one part of a great walking day out celebrating the Forth and Clyde canal network within Maryhill and Springburn, but I will finish by saying that it is remiss of me that I have not walked along the Gigan canal. Can I assure a few of his lot that is something I will rectify and to thank a few of his lot for lodging this motion here today, reminding all of us in this chamber and beyond the wonderful legacy that we have for Scotland's canal network, not least of all the union canal. Thank you, Mr Doris. I am sure that Mrs Hyslop will hold you to that undertaking, and I call Alexander Stewart to be followed by Michelle Thompson in four minutes. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, and I also thank Mrs Hyslop for bringing this debate to the chamber. I think that it is very poignant and very right that we are waiting at this afternoon. As we have heard, Tuesday 3 March, 1818, was a poignant day in Scotland's canal history, as the first pickaxe was struck to mark the beginning of the construction of the Edinburgh and Glasgow union canal. That was a monumental project at the time, to a contra canal designed by the engineer Hubert and supported by the great Thomas Telford. The new canal was to navigate from Edinburgh through the lands of Lord Bucking, eventually joining with the Forth and Clyde canal at Falkirk and opening in 1822. Rooting at the initial plans from Edinburgh followed the contour lines, and it traversed through Rathol and Buxburn, and just after on the school, there was a real hurdle that the construction met. That was the base and surrounding the river Avon, which crossed the path at the new canal route. Hubert consulted Thomas Telford in the plans to overcome what became a hugely innovative designer. That resulted in the construction of a 12-art aqueduct, the second largest in Britain and the largest in Scotland at the time. All of that amazing achievement came over 30 years, and the Forth and Clyde canal was initially opened when we had decided to join them at Falkirk and central Edinburgh. 30 miles of lock-free-level topath was there, constructed, river-ing and dropping down to a single flight of 11 locks at the top of the Forth and Clyde 0 and 16 locks. Canals bring truly fantastic engineering to the Forth. As we have heard, the whole idea of that was magnificent in making sure that that happened. We have also heard how the Forth Aqueduct became part of that process. That opened 20 years ago this month as part of the millennium link project. It was the largest engineering project to have been undertaken by British waterways in Scotland. £78 million was spent on the Forth and Clyde union canals within that process. It succeeded in linking the west and the east coast of Scotland for the first time since the 1960s. Founded by the Millennium Commission, the Millennium link has been invaluable to kick-start the interests and attractions and the microeconomics that it will bring to that. The lockdown and the pandemic has brought many difficulties to the For, not least via isolation and loneliness and poor mental health. All of that can be dealt with when you look at something like the canal that we have here. Society needs to have attractions close at hand because it indicates and gives the opportunity for joy of the communities. The canal has generated interests across many visitors and many organisations. As has already been said today, walkers, cyclists and boating enthusiasts all have taken part in the process. I turn many of the famous canal infrastructures. It is the envy of the world. There is no question that it was so poignant and so fundamental. The volunteers and partner organisations that I have participated in and supported down the generations all need to be congratulated and commended for what they have done. The Scottish Canals and Waterways, the Trust, the Lowland Canals Volunteer Group and the British Waterways Scotland have all played their part and it is through them that we can enjoy and participate today. I hope that that continues for many years to come. In common with others, I thank my friend and colleague Fiona Hyslop for bringing this debate to Parliament. Despite a frankly all-encompassing motion paying such a fitting tribute that managed to fit all of that in, I hope that my short contribution brings some further insights including the need for imagination and future ambition as we address the economic needs of Scotland today. When first built, the Union Canal and we can't underestimate that was a tribute to the ingenuity and innovation of both the designers and the builders of the day. Thirty-one and a half miles along and Scotland is only contour canal known locally at the time as a mathematical river for very good reason. In following this 240 foot contour through its length by waves 62 fixed bridges, quite a remarkable innovation is allowed for traffic to flow at speed and rendering locks unnecessary and that can't be underestimated. If it was a considerable feat of engineering today, it was utterly remarkable and inspiring all those years ago. Of course in the Anders room, my constituency of Falkirk East and I have to lay claim that it was Burke who worked in the canal at Madison in Falkirk East, also from the west quarter in the west, traversing Pullman and then on towards east side, near Avons side and eventually heading across the quite remarkable Avon aqueduct and onwards to Edinburgh and much of that has been covered today. Of course not only was it a source of employment for many people in communities that are now part of Falkirk East then and now its smooth supply chains created spin-off enterprises and supported community development. It is remarkable to think that such a huge infrastructure development with its innovative design built around the great ambition to improve and facilitate trade remains a great symbol of the imagination and skills of Scotland. The ingenuity and innovation is relected today in a quite frankly wonderful year-long programme of events already mentioned. We have to aspire to be similarly imaginative about the future. I would like to see Falkirk East and indeed the fourth valley become the hub for new investment aimed at sustainable international trade. We have got to set ourselves today the task of emulating the foresight and drive so evident in designing and building the canal 200 years ago. I give tribute and a great many thanks to the people involved but I also want to mention in particular the leadership and board of Scottish canals. Given my own debate held last week on the subject of women in business, it is inspiring to note that such an innovative programme is overseen by a board where four of the six members are female with the chair of the board being Maureen Campbell and chief executive Catherine Toplay. Presiding officer, much of today's debate is focused on both the history of the canal and the many types of events that are forming the celebrations that are now in place. Perhaps my short plea is the greatest tribute that we can pay all those involved from the time that the canal was merely an idea through to today is to mobilise the imagination, the knowledge and skills once more in a major and ambitious programme to better engage Scotland with the wider world. Ms Thompson, the final speaker in the open debate is Stephen Kerr for around four minutes. My goodness, I have found myself in complete agreement with Michelle Thompson. We do not always agree but on this occasion every word she has said I completely agree with and I do congratulate her colleague, Fiona Hyslop, on bringing this debate to the chamber. One of the wonderful upsides, there are many upsides to campaigning, I love campaigning, but one of the upsides of it is that you get to know the area that you live in and represent much better. That has been true of me in Falkirk over the past few months and it has given me an opportunity to really appreciate the importance of the Union Canal to the central Scotland economy, particularly in Falkirk, in the way that Michelle Thompson so ably described. The Union Canal is home to the Falkirk wheel, the world's first and only rotating boat lift. When opened by Her Majesty the Queen as part of her golden jubilee celebrations in 2002, it connected the Union Canal and the Forth and Glide Canal for the first time since the 1930s. 15 years later, Her Majesty the Queen visited Falkirk once again to officially open the Queen Elizabeth 2nd Canal beside the Kelpis, Scotland's newest inland waterway. The Queen Elizabeth 2nd Canal is a world-class marine hub in and out of Scotland that shows the economic importance of our canals, including the Union Canal, and the Falkirk wheel and the Kelpis just show how our canals remain one of Scotland's great tourist attractions, with both venues receiving over half a million visitors a year before the Covid pandemic. Despite that, of course. William Simpson. Thank you, Stephen Kerr, for taking the intervention. Can I suggest to Stephen Kerr that he may want to take advantage of the fourth bike hubs at the Falkirk wheel? He could cycle by electric bike from the Falkirk wheel to the Kelpis and back again. It's a great resource, and I would suggest that Michelle Thompson might like to do likewise. Over to you, Stephen Kerr. The words riding an e-bike, I'm attracted to that idea because I enjoy riding e-bikes. As long as it doesn't involve returning to Eastco, I'll ride up all the hills that you were describing. I'm going to come on to the importance of the active travel dimension of the canals in a second, if I might. I was about to say that despite the success I was describing, we cannot afford to become complacent. I think that we must continually seek ways to promote the benefit that the union canal brings to the people of Falkirk and the economy of Falkirk. That's why I was delighted to hear that, as part of the Falkirk growth deal signed by the UK and Scottish Governments and Falkirk Council, it will result in the development of Lock 16 in Camelon. That development will see the union canal directly resulting in job creation, training and community engagement throughout the Falkirk area. As part of the Falkirk growth deal, there is a commitment to create an active travel network that connects Falkirk's tourist sites with the high street, which is very much needed. I and Falkirk colleagues believe that the network must utilise the union canal, making it easier to walk, cycle and, indeed, use e-bikes along the bank of the canal. We also want to conserve the natural beauty of the union canal. That means that, during the construction of the active travel network, we must focus on a design that complements the natural beauty that the union canal already provides. That means that we need to address something that has not been mentioned so far, and that is the litter problem that we often find alongside the canal. When walking the canal recently, I must confess that it wasn't as pretty as a site as it should have been because of the discarded empty drink cans and packets of cris and all the other detritus that you find alongside the very beautiful sites that we have in Scotland. In an appropriate way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the union canal, would, therefore, perhaps be to launch a campaign to clean up alongside the canal? Local authorities would work with the community groups that exist along the whole of the canal to see the project to its completion. During its 200-year history, the union canal has continuously demonstrated how important it is for central Scotland's economic development tourism, and I do not believe that we are yet fulfilling the full potential that it can provide. To support the Falkirk Whale, the Kelpies and the natural beauty of the canal, we must continue to invest in the canal by cleaning up the view that it provides its visitors and delivering a state-of-the-art active travel network alongside its bank. That, I am sure, must be music to the ears of the minister who will now speak, I presume. Thank you, Mr Kerr. We will soon find out. I invite Patrick Harvie to respond to the debate minister for around about seven minutes, please. Presiding Officer, like other members across the chamber, can I warmly congratulate Fiona Heslop for bringing this motion for debate? Unless I am wider than Mark in reading the room, I do not think that there has been anything dry about any of the discussions and contributions today. Members across the chamber have taken real enjoyment in sharing their own personal experiences of the Union Canal and Scotland's other canals and discussing not only the older history and more recent history of their regeneration but also hopes for the future. I am really pleased to have this opportunity to close the debate on behalf of the Government, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Union Canal and its contribution to Scotland. Scotland's canals have been on an extraordinary journey over those 200 years, and it is a fitting opportunity to celebrate that impressive, enduring example of Scotland's engineering past, the contribution that it makes in the present and that it will continue to make in the future. It is amazing when you travel down what is today a relatively peaceful Union Canal to think of it as once having been at the beating heart of an industrial revolution, transporting coal from Falkirk and further afield, powering the factories of the capital. The Union Canal's relevance has changed remarkably since then, but it is still very relevant indeed. Its refurbishment back in the 1970s with volunteers' amazing efforts to turn the canal around is something that Scotland and those communities must be proud of. Its transformation over those years has seen its uses evolve dramatically, creating fantastic outdoor spaces that are used in so many different ways. My favourite recollection is when I was appointed convener of Parliament's Transport Committee. Back in those days, Parliament's committees were a little too enthusiastic to book boring, sterile, overpriced meeting rooms in posh hotels for their annual away days. I thought, how dull! I persuaded our committee clerks to book a canal barge, operated by a social enterprise and decked out as a board room for us to conduct our away day. I am various, slightly surprised committee members and expert witnesses discussed our work programme as we potted up to Rathaw and back. It was a much more enjoyable day than any other committee committee had in their boring hotel rooms for their away days. The Union Canal is now that vibrant space that it deserves to be, compared even to what it was 20 years ago before the investment through the millennium-length project. It was really encouraging and rewarding to listen to members, including Fiona Heslop, Gordon MacDonald, Sarah Boyack and others, remembering the steps that have been taken towards that journey, towards the regeneration of the canal. Today, people live on the canal. Barges are used for private and community use, canoe activities for clubs and schools and people walk, wheel and cycle on the towpaths in increasing numbers. That is being replicated across our other canals in Scotland. I believe that around 115 boats are currently moored on the Union Canal, more than 70 of them are houseboats, which is fantastic. The public value that we place on the Union Canal is very different to those earlier industrial purposes that it had when it was built. However, it and the wider canal network are real contributors to some of the contemporary modern themes that are facing Scotland today. From tourism to health and wellbeing, sustainability and, as nature corridors supporting biodiversity, they are hugely important. The importance of outdoor spaces, as some members have reflected, during and since the pandemic, cannot be overstated. Our canals and their towpaths have performed and continue to perform a major role in relation to that. That is true of the Union Canal but also of Scotland's other canals. I have seen some of the fantastic work undertaken by Scottish Canals and its partner organisations to build creative active travel infrastructure. The first visit that I had since taking on the job as minister, in fact, was the pleasure of attending the Bowling Harbour opening of the bowline. An excellent piece of work was done there to redevelop 18th century infrastructure and transform a disused railway viaduct into a fully accessible active travel route that will benefit the local community and beyond. I very much enjoyed being one of the first people to cycle on that fantastic new linear park. Not only as minister for active travel but as someone who uses the canal towpaths regularly to visit family. I see firsthand the importance of redeveloping that outdoor infrastructure for the 21st century, improving people's health and wellbeing and encouraging green commuting. I did not put my hand up when Graham Simpson asked about doing the whole Glasgow to Edinburgh route, being based in Glasgow. I am more often bound on the 4th Clyde canal out to Loch Lomond and back. I have done the Glasgow to Falkirk leg and I will be doing that again early in the summer recess. Who knows if I feel energetic and I might make the whole trip through to Edinburgh. I might feel a little bit too much like coming to work though. I also recently visited the Stockingfield bridge, which Bob Dorris mentioned, which is another example of Scottish Canals working well collaboratively with others. I am reconnecting, in that case, three communities of Rockhill, Gilswick hill and Maryhill in north Glasgow, and completing the last linkage in the 4th and Clyde canal towpath. I am not someone who particularly likes the use of the word iconic. I think that it is often overused for those kind of structures, but I have seen the development of that so far. I am really looking forward to opening and it is going to feel so special once it is there. Yes, I happily give way to Bob Dorris. The minister will be aware that there is a vibrant community art project or projects multiple wrapped around the Stockingfield bridge getting real proper community buy-in. Do you think the use of community art for such large infrastructure developments are really important to get proper community buy-in to such iconic structures? I could not put that better. Is there something about encouraging people to celebrate or to feel that they have created something themselves? The Stockingfield bridge is going to be a very good example of that. I will encourage all members once it opens to go and see it for themselves. Communities do have to play an important part in regeneration. It cannot be something that is just done to people. It has to be done with and by and amongst people. The kind of people that I have met on many of those visits are examples of where communities have been involved in the way that Bob Dorris describes in taking a sense of ownership of the future of their local spaces. There are many of those community groups along Scotland's canals doing great work. Some of them others have been mentioned today. There is also still a strong boating community using our canals and exciting developments that improve that experience. As Fiona Heslop noted, the £1 billion Winchboro project, which is currently being developed with the Union Canal at its heart, is an exciting project. Once complete, it will include a new marina with residential houses as well as moorings. There are some other great examples of inclusive projects on the Union Canal, such as the Segal Trust, which adapts boats to take disabled people out on the canal. I would like to take that opportunity to thank everybody, the people and communities that live and are active on Scotland's canal network. Through their efforts, they are making the canals the fascinating and colourful places that they need to be. I can see you looking at me that we perhaps are coming to the end of the time, but I want to note one final important point. Research is showing very clearly that the wider regeneration work around Scotland's canals has a social purpose as well. Regenerating the fourth and Clyde canal has been shown to reduce mortality rates and lower risk of chronic health conditions among those living alongside the canal. We need to take responsibility for some of the issues that have been mentioned around litter as well as safety. In particular, there have been concerns around women's safety in our canals. Everybody has the right to enjoy those wonderful assets in an inclusive and safe way. The Scottish Government will continue to support Scottish canals and many others in looking after those historic assets for the benefit of those communities. I join everybody in celebrating the historic, economic, environmental and social value of the union canal and others in this bicentenary year. I look forward to participating in some of the activities that are planned for the celebration. I wish the very best to everyone taking part in tomorrow's flotella and once again thank everyone who lives and walks around Scotland's canals for making them what they are and I look forward to seeing that relevance continue for many years to come. Thank you very much minister. Your reading of body language is impeccable. That concludes the debate and I suspend this meeting of parliament until 2.30.