Mr. Speaker, there were two special events that took place in my riding of Markham–Thornhill. Both of these organizations and their initiatives are close to my heart.

On October 6, I attended the grand opening of Gifted People Services in Markham, which provides vital support for children with special needs. A special thank you goes to founder Dianna Jiang, who started this service in Scarborough and expanded into Markham. On the same day, I also had the honour of being part of the Cherish Integrated Services Love Gala. I have known this organization for about 15 years, as they have been dedicated to helping children with intellectual needs and challenges. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Ivy Lam, Hugo Lam, Kyoko Leung, and everyone involved in this service, who wholeheartedly serve the families in their community. Even though they are independent organizations, they collaborate to make sure people can access all the programs they need with maximum benefits.

Gifted People Services and Cherish Integrated Services can empower families in our community with knowledge, passion and advocacy skills, helping them to enjoy life to the fullest through their programs. I believe many other organizations can learn from this example to better serve our community.

Speaker, I’m proud to co-sponsor this bill with the member for Thornhill, Laura Smith.

The bill amends the Change of Name Act to provide that certain offenders are ineligible to apply to change their name. The offenders who are ineligible are those who are required to comply with Christopher’s Law (Sex Offender Registry), 2000.

Mr. Dave Smith moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill Pr30, An Act to revive Rapati Design and Construction Ltd.