Mr. Speaker, in February 2014, Hamilton City Council passed a motion declaring itself a sanctuary city. Since then, Hamilton has opened its arms and its resources to Syrian refugees.
I am very proud today, on International Women's Day, to share a success story with this house. This has to do with three Syrian refugee women: Rawa'a Aloliwi, Dalal AI Zoubi, and Manahel AI Shareef. For these women, English was not their first language, so they had to think of a way to communicate, and what better way than through food? Karam Kitchen was born. Within four days, they had reached their first goal, and shortly after they had raised more than $15,000. Months on, the business is booming and they are cooking up a storm.
On International Women's Day, I want to celebrate the success of these three entrepreneurial women and also celebrate my great, beloved city, Hamilton, the sanctuary city.