Mr. Speaker, in 1955, a 22-year-old Italian man from Treviso, Italy, got on a boat and took that courageous trip across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada. He ended up settling in Woodbridge, Ontario. When he arrived, he worked at a mushroom farm, then a steel factory, and then he started a business. He lived the Canadian dream. That man was my grandfather Nico Guglielmin, who passed away last year at the beautiful age of 95.
My grandfather truly was the inspiration in my life. He was strong and strict, full of decency and integrity, and he was also kind and understanding. He never lost his temper. No one ever saw him sweat. He was accomplished and qualified.
They say we can judge a person by what people say about them when they are gone. I say that Nico Guglielmin was a great man. He was a risk-taker who achieved his dreams, an entrepreneur of incredible accomplishment and a gentleman who carried himself throughout his life with dignity and honour.
I wish a happy Italian Heritage Month to the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge and all Italian Canadians, like my grandfather Nico.