Mr. Speaker, the Amherstburg Freedom Museum is in my riding in the town of Amherstburg. The museum tells the story of Black slaves seeking refuge in Canada via the Underground Railway: pioneers who built homes, businesses, schools and churches in Essex County. It is the first Black national historic site in Canada, founded in 1966 by Melvin Simpson, and showcases this community's vital role in the Canadian tapestry.
Elise Harding-Davis, curator emeritus and celebrated Black Canadian history consultant, can trace her own Canadian ancestry back seven generations. Elise has worked tirelessly to preserve Black history in Canada for the next generation.
Finally, I give a salute to Claudius Thomas. Claudius leads the local chapter of Black Boys Code, a national organization founded to prepare Black youth for success in today's technology-dominated economy, each of them leaving the world a better place than they found it.