It’s my privilege to rise here today to highlight the amazing work of a constituent in my riding of Perth–Wellington: Jacqueline Ussher, a paramedic with Perth county emergency medical services. She recently won the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs—OAPC—Humanitarian Award. The award was introduced in 2012, and it recognizes acts of unselfish donation of time or money by paramedic or emergency medical services professionals to relieve the suffering of humanity.

Jacqueline has shown an unwavering commitment to the well-being of the community of Perth county, particularly during the tough times of COVID-19. Not only did Jacqueline serve our community as a paramedic, but during the chaos of the pandemic, she identified a local issue that was exacerbated by the pandemic: food security. Jacqueline proceeded to dedicate her time and effort, working with the House of Blessing to ensure a continuous supply of food for people in need in Perth county.

Her volunteerism and dedication to the well-being of our community is commendable, and she is a great role model for many who want to see our neighbours and friends prosper.

I know I speak for our community when I say that we are grateful for the hard-working and caring people in Perth–Wellington, like Jacqueline.

Jacqueline, thank you for making our community a better place to live and raise a family.

It’s a privilege to rise here today to speak about one of the most important days of the year: Remembrance Day. It’s the day when we all take pause to remember the immense sacrifices that Canadian men and women made in World War I, World War II, Korea, Afghanistan and countless peacekeeping operations around the globe.

It is truly hard to imagine what our veterans have done and continue to do to fight for the freedoms that we all so enjoy in Ontario and Canada.

In my riding of Perth–Wellington, we are fortunate to have a great sense of patriotism and pride in our veterans. In my own family, Speaker, my great-uncles helped liberate Rome in World War II.

The town of Arthur is known as Canada’s most patriotic village because of its extraordinary effort in the Second World War. It holds a series of beautiful murals and monuments in the downtown core to honour those who have fought.

Earlier this year, the city of Stratford lost an amazing World War II veteran: Art Boon. He was a veteran of the Normandy invasion on D-Day, a tank crew member, someone who shared his stories with the next generation countless times and was the long-time MC of the Stratford Remembrance Day ceremony. This will be the first year without Art’s presence.

Speaker, I know all of us in this place are truly grateful for Canada’s men and women who don the uniform day in and day out. Lest we forget.

Today, I would like to recognize and congratulate Alex Mustakas, the founder and artistic director of the not-for-profit Drayton Entertainment in my riding of Perth–Wellington. Alex is an important and active member in our local community and someone who has done so much for one of our cultural industries in Ontario.

Earlier this year, Alex was presented with the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada. The medal recognizes Canadians for outstanding contributions in any field. Alex received the medal for his lifelong commitment to making the performing arts affordable and accessible to those in Ontario and beyond.

Alex has achieved a truly formidable feat, building Drayton Entertainment from the ground up, operating theatres at seven locations across southern Ontario. I had the pleasure of meeting with Alex and seeing a couple of their performances earlier this year, which I greatly enjoyed.

In addition to Alex’s Meritorious Service Medal, his work with Drayton Entertainment has gained him and the organization six Lieutenant Governor’s awards for the arts, a prestigious honour bestowed on arts organizations that exemplify outstanding private sector and community support. The team at Drayton Entertainment was able to do this with an unorthodox but promising business model: one that’s fiscally responsible, utilizes strong networks and gives back to the community.

Some of the organization’s good work includes annual donations of over 2,000 tickets to more than 750 charities, aiding them in their own fundraising efforts. And unlike many other organizations, Drayton Entertainment relies on volunteers, with over 30,000 hours of volunteer activity per year.

I want to congratulate Alex again. Under your guidance, I know Drayton Entertainment will continue to be very successful for years to come.