Mr. Speaker, this will undoubtedly be the hardest minute in my time as an MP, where I honour my father, who passed away on March 29 this year. He was born Howard Hong to a Musqueam matriarch and Hong Tim Hing, a Chinese immigrant. He grew up without a father; his father died when he was 10. My dad was the greatest father that my five siblings and I could ever have.
He was Dad to many other people because of his large shoulders that we all stand upon. He built bridges between communities and between cultures, and he became a bridge himself, a person who would bring people together. He told me to come here to the House of Commons and to shake the hands of each and every person here because we are all working together. That is the Canada he wanted for his children and his grandchildren.
Today I have a little secret: My name is Howard Wade Grant. He named me after him. If I could say something to him today, I would say that the love that I shared with him, the love that we shared, is so much better because I got to share his name.