Mr. Speaker, students at Parkdale collegiate in my riding of Parkdale-High Park deserve to be congratulated. The collegiate itself is found in a less affluent area of Toronto; however, this has not dissuaded the students from believing and living the Canadian dream.
According to Jim Craig, the high school English teacher, 99 per cent of his students go on to university despite the fact that most came as immigrants from non-English speaking communities. Sadly, many came as refugees from war zones.
Recently these students have compiled a collection of prose and poetry describing their views of life, Images of Parkdale . Images of Parkdale is truly unique in that it allows us to see life through the eyes of young people who have endured very difficult times and have yet gone beyond this by putting together a truly remarkable and inspirational book.
I fully commend the staff and the students of Parkdale Collegiate Institute for their excellent work.