Mr. Speaker, during this holy month of Ramadan, I rise today to pay tribute to a trailblazer from Scarborough: the late Danish Memon.
Danish was a community builder, a dedicated community leader, entrepreneur and mentor to countless young people in Scarborough and beyond. Sadly, Danish struggled with mental health and ultimately took his own life.
Recently, Ahmed Ismail and Ginella Massa, two Scarborough trailblazers, hosted a virtual online event seen all around the world to acknowledge Danish’s work and his impact in our community. They highlighted the necessity of challenging the stigma of mental health and ensuring proper mental health supports are available to all, especially to those from marginalized communities.
I want to thank his wife, Yasmin Merchant, and his children, Usamah, Mariam, Safiyyah and Aaminah, for their extraordinary courage in sharing their story so publicly. I thank Brother Danish for his inspiring work. We miss him and we honour him, his legacy and his family today.