Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour the Pitt Meadows Citizen of the Year, Mr. Sandy Wakeling.
Sandy has been a model of the true community servant since moving Pitt Meadows 14 years ago. His local community work included schools, government offices, the chamber of commerce and the Friends in Need Food Bank. He spent countless hours volunteering with non-profit groups too numerous to mention. Much of this was done while he battled a very serious illness.
Sadly, Sandy passed away this past July at just 42 years of age. He is survived by his wife, Ali, and their two young sons, William and Sebastien.
Sandy, in his own words, exemplified true community spirit when he said:
Live life to the fullest and seize the day. Take pride in everything that you do, while remembering never take yourself too seriously. ... Always remember to think about the big picture, and work to make the world of our children a better place than the world we were born into.
That is good advice for us as parliamentarians.
I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to an outstanding Canadian who will be deeply missed.