Mr. Speaker, as I rise to address the House for the first time, I must express my sincere gratitude to the residents of London North Centre. I am extremely humbled that they have entrusted me to be their member of Parliament.
In my riding, the Bethanys Hope Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary. This not for profit foundation was established by Dave and Lindey McIntyre in 1996 with the goal of finding a cure for metachromatic leukodystrophy, or MLD. This disease usually leads to early death in children.
The McIntyre's lost their little girl Bethany to MLD in 2000 at the age of 7.
To date, Bethanys Hope Foundation has invested $4 million into its cutting edge research program in London, Ontario, under the guidance of Dr. Tony Rupar. I commend this organization for giving hope to those battling with the devastation of MLD.
I encourage all of my colleagues in the House to congratulate the Bethanys Hope Foundation on 20 years of fighting for those suffering at the hands of this terrible disease.