Madam Speaker, throughout this pandemic, my constituents have consistently gone out of their way to help their friends, their neighbours and those who have been isolated by COVID.
We recently celebrated these COVID community champions at an event in my riding. The stories we heard were amazing: about church board members and nurses stepping up for parishioners; about gardeners tackling anti-Black racism and gardeners beautifying neighbourhoods; there were advocates for the elderly and advocates for tenants; journalists for newcomers; musical entertainers for seniors; people fighting the pandemic on the front lines; and those fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities.
Hearty congratulations to Mary Oko, Angel Beyde, Dmytro Ilchuk, Anne-Marie Mohler, Brian Traquair, Julia Stewart, Gezahegn Demissie, Stella Joseph, Deborah Gold, Cathy Brown, and the entire team of volunteers at Roncyworks and those fighting food insecurity at Feed It Forward. They are all COVID community champions. I can say with absolute sincerity that on awards night, they inspired me to work hard to be a better neighbour.