Mr. Speaker, yesterday was Mother's Day, and it was the first one without my mom. Leona Laurent Romanado passed away suddenly at the tender age of 67 on November 30. She was married to my dad for 49 years.
Leona, or Lee, as she was known to her friends, was a stay-at-home mom who raised me and my two brothers. She was the grandmother of five grandchildren. She was the caregiver, the cook, the maid, the maker of Halloween costumes and thousands of cups of coffee, the disciplinarian, the doer of homework, the applier of band-aids, the one who united us all.
Lee was the queen of Christmas and spent weeks decorating the house. She loved spending time with my dad up at camp tending to her flower garden.
After my election, my mother would put CPAC on hoping to catch a glimpse of me speaking in the House. I know she is watching me from above.
Today and every day, I honour her and the lessons she taught me. Happy Mother's Day.