Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today with a heavy heart, to pay tribute to the Richardson family of Ottawa. This past Friday, their beloved 14-year-old daughter Daron took her own life. A beautiful girl, an excellent student, a competitive athlete, Daron was well known and well liked, which makes her passing all the more difficult to comprehend and to come to terms with.
Unfortunately, Daron’s story is not unique. Canada’s youth suicide rate is the third highest in the industrialized world.
I would like to commend the Richardson family for their courage and their valiant effort to raise awareness of the need to make further investments in research and treatment of mental illness for all our teenage kids.
I would ask all members to join me in extending our sincerest condolences to Daron’s father, Luke; her mother, Stephanie; her sister, Morgan; and the entire Richardson family.
