I obviously support this bill. I’ve had my own challenges with mental health. The pandemic has been hard on everyone, including some of my staff at the restaurant. Whenever we were able to take off the masks—the majority of my staff at the restaurant struggled to take their masks off, not because of COVID, but because they were worried about having a maskless face in society.

My children were extremely lucky. My wife is a teacher, so they were able to have her at home. We have a fairly big backyard, so we’re privileged in that regard. But my son struggled last year when we went away for March break and went down to Niagara Falls. The first time he went into a pool that did not have a scheduled hour for family, he had the mask on. There were only two other people in the pool, and my son struggled to go into the pool enclosure.

So as much as I’d like to believe that my children were fairly okay throughout the pandemic, there are some challenges that they’ve gone through. My wife being a teacher, she sees it every day. The nine months that they were off, it was tough. It was challenging. The three months last January, she felt it pushed them back a full year.

So I fully support this motion. I thank the member from Brampton East for bringing it forward, because my daughter Norah is here today and, ultimately, I’d like to know that the children are looked after, so thank you.