Mr. Speaker, the pandemic has taken an enormous toll on the most vulnerable, but we have also seen so many volunteers step up and show us the very best of our community.
I want to highlight the efforts of York Centre constituent, Emily Gampel. Since the pandemic began, she has reached out and kept in touch with Holocaust survivors, arranged support for first responders and front-line health care workers, and organized donations of winter clothing to vulnerable Canadians in Nunavut with the support of the Uquutaq Society in Iqaluit. Like so many volunteers, it is not just about helping others but also a key to supporting her own mental health.
I want to close with Emily's own words about her motivation, “In Canada, we may have different religious, ethnic, and cultural roots, or we may look different from one another. But despite it all we have one powerful commonality. We are all Canadians, and we live in this beautiful country that we are lucky to call home.”