Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to congratulate the parish of St. Maximillian Kolbe in the city of Mississauga, a parish that my family and I belong to, on the official opening of the Pope John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre.
The centre was built by the parishioners using volunteer engineers, designers and site supervisors. It was built entirely with funds raised over the past eight years. It was completed for just over $2 million and carries a very modest mortgage. Not one dollar came from any level of government.
The centre will serve more than 8,000 families of Polish descent and will throw its doors open for use by the whole Mississauga community. This is an excellent example of multiculturalism for the nineties: a self-sufficient ethnic group reaching out to welcome members of the Polish Canadian community while sharing its facilities with the surrounding neighbourhood.
Again my sincere congratulations go to the founders: the president Lottie Misek, Father Stanley Bak, Father Ted Novak and to the 8,000 families that have worked so hard to see their dream come true.