Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to acknowledge Small Business Week and recognize the incredible small business owners in my riding of Richmond Hill.
The pandemic has hurt our small businesses the hardest, and owners have shown incredible resilience by continuing to serve their communities. I want to highlight the effort of Aneal Swaratsingh, owner of Aneal's Taste of the Islands: a Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Richmond Hill. Aneal's restaurant has faced its challenges during the pandemic. Still, he has donated meals to the local peer support centre and is consistently serving the most vulnerable in our city.
Through programs such as the Canada emergency wage subsidy, the Canada emergency business account and the new Black entrepreneurship fund, we will continue to support our local small business owners, who are doing great work for their communities.
I want to encourage the residents of Richmond Hill, and all Canadians, to support their local small businesses this week and especially during the holiday season. Small business owners like Aneal make our nation strong. I thank them for their resilience, strength and services.