Mr. Speaker, I want to tell parliamentarians and Canadians a story of courage, compassion and cooperation from my constituency.
It starts with the Filipino Seniors Group, an integral part of the Point Douglas community for over 20 years, which, in the most amazing display of generosity, recently opened the doors of its Euclid Hall to the surrounding neighbourhood and entered into a beautiful partnership with the SISTARS Community Economic Development Co-op , which stands for Sisters Initiating Steps Towards a Renewed Society.
The Filipino seniors and the Point Douglas women then worked together to set up the Eagle Wing child care with 63 licensed spaces and a Red River College early education training program right in the Filipino Centre, which means moms in the community have the day care they need to access the training to become paid child care workers.
This means jobs instead of social assistance. This means a good start for children, hope for moms and help for parents in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada. This means Filipino and aboriginal Canadians working side by side. What an amazing lesson for all of us.
As the song says, on the wings of an eagle we will fly. I want to say to all involved, Megweetch and Salamat po.