Mr. Speaker, it is International Day of the Midwife. My three daughters were born at home, thanks to midwives. Back then it was not even recognized by the province, so my bandmate Jason Collett and I had to barter the services for our daughters' births by building a deck for midwife Bridget Lynch, who, of course, has gone on to be a world leader on child maternal health.
Things have changed dramatically since then. In Ontario there are over 82 midwives just serving rural and isolated regions. I would like to thank the team at Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming, and the teams serving James Bay, Attawapiskat, and communities like Moosonee and Fort Albany.
Amy Moland-Osborne has come home to Timmins with Boreal Midwifery.
These women offer incredible service and mentoring.
Childbirth should be a sacred time and midwives and doulas have restored the power of this moment to the mother, to the child, and the family.
Let us praise the midwives.