Transcript - One Heartbeat Statue, Autism Support - Council Meeting - Wednesday, April 8, 2026 - 9:30 a.m.

One Heartbeat Statue, Autism Support - Council Meeting - Wednesday, April 8, 2026 - 9:30 a.m. - City of Richmond Hill

Okay, uh good morning everybody and welcome to the council meeting for Wednesday, April the 8th. Uh it's 9:30, so we'll get started. I'll call this meeting to order. We're gathering on lands that have been home to First Nation people from time immemorial. We acknowledge that what we now call Richmond Hill is on the treaty lands and territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Mississauga and Chippewa nations of the Williams Treaty. We also recognize that we're on part of the traditional territories of the Hodinoshonee and the Huron-Wendat. We would also like to acknowledge all First Nation, Inuit, and Métis people from across Turtle Island who now reside in the city of Richmond Hill. We are committed to rebuilding constructive and cooperative relationships. So, at this time, if you're able, I'd ask you to stand for our national anthem. [music] [music] [music] [music] Thank you very much. And uh our first item uh on the agenda is public forum. We do have one person signed up, uh Mr. William Ho, uh about the One Heartbeat um statue in Richmond Hill. And Mr. Ho, oh, there you are. Sorry, I thought maybe you were online. I was looking at the screen, and there you are in three dimensions. So, come on up. You've got 5 minutes to address council. I think we need the slide. Thank you very much. Very happy to speak at home. Again, I'm a global ambassador uh partner with United Nations and Richmond Hill. All of us know that Richmond Hill is a One Heartbeat City. Canada is a One Heartbeat Country. United Nations is a One Heartbeat Global Partner. Um You can see the photo. This is One Heartbeat at the Security Council of UN. Now, there are four global mandates of One Heartbeat: helping the suffering people of the world, particularly children, saving the global environment, uh fighting global diseases, and helping uh seniors. Number four, um promoting art, culture, uh technology, and uh um sports. About 20 About 20 years ago, Mayor Dave Barrow wanted me to elevate Richmond Hill into international arena. I told him that I would do that at the right time and the right occasion. Today is the time that we can do it all together. Now, honestly, outside Canada, not too many people know about Richmond Hill. Um we need to be a international city. And we need global landmark of art and technology. Now, Canada, we have Niagara Falls, which have more than 12 million people visiting it every day every every year. China, they we have the Great Wall, more than 10 million people visiting it. And we need a uh um a portable landmark here. One Heartbeat is creating the One Heartbeat Global Statue, which will connect uh five continents and bring about 5 million visitors annually to Richmond Hill. Um It's important to note that this one will be the first one in the whole world. In fact, we are making history for Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, and the world. The global and local visitors actually can put their hands on the statues, and that will communicate their heartbeat to the rest of the world. And combine it, and they will have their lifetime experience of feeling that. We will share with the world love, hope, peace, and harmony, which we need that so much today. There are two styles. One is about 100 ft tall. The other is about 45 ft tall. And also it's a good investment because it can bring about $55 million annually. The uh local spending for the visitors. And you can also bring about 1.5 $1.8 million income because every one of the visitor can pay maybe four or five dollars to bring back the record of the heartbeat. Um and the smaller one is about 1/10 of the of the result. There are three possible uh locations of the of the sculpture. Yonge and Highway 7 area for the larger one, which have been discussed among um Mayor West, uh Councillor uh Michael, and Councillor uh Joe 1 year before already. Secondly, is the Dave Barrow Square, where late Mayor Barrow really wanted to have the One Heartbeat Statue there to connect with the world. Number three, the smaller one, the um the one that Richmond Green Park, where we have the Richmond we have the One Heartbeat March every year. I think most of you have been there already. I am very happy that uh the best scenario would be we have the two One Heartbeat uh sculpture, large and small, finished and connected first and communicate with the world. And then the the at Dave Barrow Square and also Richmond Green Park. Then the larger one in Yonge and Highway 7, and the other One Heartbeat sculpture of the world will connect with us in the future. They are both only suggestions only. But today, we can make history for Richmond Hill, Ontario, and Canada. And uh I know that uh Mayor West and uh other um council already provided some information to the staff already. I'm very happy to work with all of you, the good council and the staff, to make it happen. Your heartbeat, my heartbeat, one heartbeat. Thank you very much. Thanks very much, Mr. Ho. Okay, um so, moving on, uh we have council announcements. Is there anybody for council announcements? Okay, Councillor Thompson. Uh thank you very much uh through you, the chair. Just like to uh let folks know that on uh Thursday, April 30th, I will be hosting a community uh safety and well-being um uh seminar panel discussion uh over at Elgin Barrow Arena starting at 6:30 p.m. Uh for more details, please go to my website. You can certainly pre-register. You As a matter of fact, you can also pre-register questions that you would like the panel to discuss. So, uh looking forward to that. We will have uh the York Regional Police uh York Region Community Health Services, our Bylaw Department. The mayor will actually be there, as well as our Fire and Emergency Services. So, uh if you have particular questions you'd like uh circulated to the uh panel in advance, please go to my website and and uh join there. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm looking forward to that. Is there anybody else? Okay, seeing none, I have a couple announcements. Um first of all, uh Orthodox Easter is on April the 12th. So, all folks in the our celebrating Orthodox Easter. Uh happy Orthodox Easter on April 12th. Uh also today is the International Day of Pink. It's a day of awareness to make a stand against bully bullying, discrimination, homophobia, and transphobia. Uh this is an important date recognized on the second Wednesday in April annually. Uh in fact, it has a Canadian origin uh when in 2007 uh Nova Scotia students wore pink in support of a fellow student who was bullied. Uh from this simple kind uh gesture, a worldwide movement has been created encouraging people to wear pink to support um the two LGBTQIA+ inclusion and diversity in schools and in workplaces. So, um important day here in Richmond Hill, we certainly um uh stand behind folks that are are standing up for um uh bullying for people who are being bullied. So, thank you very much for that. And I think is that it then nobody else? Okay, moving on. Uh introduction of emergency or time-sensitive matters. Okay, seeing none. Mr. Clerk, I need a motion to adopt the agenda. We have um I think we have everything actually could go on consent if that's the wish of council. Okay, Councillor Solicits, you'll move the that. Okay, uh I need a seconder. Councillor Thompson, all those in favor, opposed that carries. Thank you. Uh disclosure of a pecuniary interest or the general nature thereof. Anybody? Seeing none. Okay, adoption of previous council minutes. We have one council meeting held on March the 11th, uh 2026. I need a mover and seconder for that. Councillor Davidson, Councillor Tree, all those in favor. Opposed that carries. Okay. So, items uh requiring separate discussion. Uh Regional Councillor Di Paola. Are you going to move it or Yeah, I'd like to move all items unless there's someone pulling. Uh get a hopefully a good value uh volume discount there. That's right. We probably do get a volume discount. That's good. Okay, uh anybody want to second the volume discount? Okay, Councillor Solicits. Okay, so all those in favor, opposed that carries. Thank you very much. Okay, um we have no public hearings. We do have a presentation though. Um so, we have a presentation by Nancy Marchese, uh founder of Breakthrough Autism regarding April, which is importantly uh uh Autism Awareness Month. So, welcome Nancy and it's it's great to have you here to speak about this very important topic. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I am um thrilled to be here today to celebrate World Autism Month. A special thank you to Councillor Castro Leu who supported me in speaking in front of you today. Thank you to Mayor David West and all the city council for supporting and celebrating World Autism Month. I'm grateful to you all for the opportunity to be here. I'm Nancy Marchese. I'm a psychologist and behavior analyst. I'm the owner and founder of a small business, Breakthrough Autism. We proudly run two centers in Richmond Hill serving children and teens with autism. And we've been around for about 15 years. We employ approximately 50 staff, many of whom call Richmond Hill their home. I've been working in the field of autism for over 28 years. Back in 1998 when I started, autism was um estimated to affect approximately one in every 500 to one in every 800 children. At the time in Ontario, we had no funding for treatment for children with autism. In fact, across Canada, we weren't even monitoring prevalence rates. That is, we didn't know back in 1998 how many children were diagnosed with autism in Canada. All of our prevalence data came from the United States. Canada only began collecting prevalence and other related data when it came to autism in 2015. Most of the time back in 19 19 1998 when I started, when I shared with people that I worked with individuals with autism, most people would have no idea what I was talking about or and I'm dating myself, they would often reference the movie Rain Man. And that includes my own family. Uh today, on the other hand, there are one in every 44, about 2% of children and youth in Canada who are diagnosed with autism. This represents a dramatic increase in the prevalence rates over the past 28 years. And I've had a grassroots seat to watching this all unfold in Ontario. So, yes, there has been a rise in the prevalence of autism, but most importantly, what are we going to do about it? As prevalence rates rise, so has awareness. Awareness that autism involves a social communication challenges and repetitive restrictive behaviors. Broader community awareness often captures notions such as autistic individuals may have challenges forming friendships or learning within a traditional classroom environment just doesn't work for them. Having conversations and so much more. And certainly, increased awareness is a wonderful thing. The challenge is that autism spectrum disorder is in fact a spectrum. What someone may see on TV or in a movie or even learn by meeting one individual with autism doesn't represent the entire spectrum. There is a saying in the autism community and that is, if you've met one child with autism, you've met one child with autism. In my experience, this is most definitely true. There is also a growing shift to celebrate the successes of autism and it is certainly incredibly important to celebrate them. At the same time, it is equally important to not lose sight of the challenges associated with autism. And lately, talking about the challenges associated with autism, never mind treatment that's needed, has become controversial in some circles. I want to emphasize that while we must talk about challenges, every autistic individual has incredible strengths. And talking about their challenges in no way overshadows this. Rather, it is the opposite. Talking about and helping individuals with autism work through the challenges empowers them to live their best life. On the flip side, if we don't talk about it, if we don't recognize the real-life profound challenges that some individuals with autism face, we can never help individuals who need it most. With growing awareness, the consideration for the voices of those most impacted by autism, those requiring the highest levels of support, those with severe or profound autism, is getting lost. [snorts] These individuals, they can't speak. Even with assistive tech technology, their communication is often very limited. So, now is the time to talk about profound autism. It is time to speak up for those that can't speak for themselves. For those with severe autism who have substantial communication challenges, including the fact that they cannot vocally speak. This can lead to enormous challenges in life, including problem behavior, mainly due to the inability to communicate. Individuals [snorts] with profound autism can't perform most day-to-day tasks like using the bathroom or dressing independently. This makes them incredibly vulnerable to very risky situations. Individuals with profound autism can put themselves or others at great risk of danger. For example, they may leave the home and wander the street. They may hit themselves repeatedly, so much so causing severe tissue damage or severely aggressing against others. Individuals with profound autism require adult supervision to keep themselves and others safe all of the time. They may have other medical needs such as seizures. And finally, their parents and their caregivers. They need help, too. In fact, about 28% of the autism population is considered to be profound. So, what does profound autism look like in real life? Here are some examples. Children who have left their homes in the middle of the night without families knowing. Relying on police to find them and praying that they come home safely. Children who have smashed their heads into windows, shattering windows, putting themselves at risk for life-threatening injuries. Adults who are in diapers and need someone to change their diapers. Typically, one parent can't work as they never know if their child may need to be picked up from school or other community environments. And I know firsthand that all of these examples I've just listed have happened here in Richmond Hill. Not just once, but far too many times. The Profound Autism Alliance notes most home- and community-based services exclude people with profound autism because of their intense support needs. Caregivers are left with nowhere to turn. So, here's the good news. We can help. Those with profound autism, like many others on the spectrum who have skill deficits, need treatment. In fact, those with profound autism need intensive treatment. Typically, those with profound autism rely on multi-disciplinary teams to help them. And one discipline that can help is applied behavior analysis. And that's what we do at Breakthrough Autism. Applied behavior analysis or ABA is used with individuals with autism. It's evidence-based. It's a treatment that focuses on skill-building, on optimism, on teaching communication skills, self-care skills such as toileting, hygiene, grooming, and so much more. ABA procedures are also effective at reducing challenging behaviors and such as tantrums, aggression, and self-injury. And we do that through skill-building. ABA is researched and evaluated for over five decades, has been endorsed by federal and provincial organizations in Canada, as well as the US Surgeon General, National Institutes of Health, NIH, and so much more. [snorts] In short, ABA for autism is known as evidence-based treatment. I'm very proud to say that at Breakthrough Autism, we service the spectrum. We offer ABA to autistic children and teens that are moderately to severely impacted. We're blessed to have an incredible team of over 50 staff who work tirelessly to support hundreds of children and teens in our community, including Emily here, a wonderful behavior analyst who came in in a pinch to help me out today. Um at Breakthrough Autism, we empower children and teens by teaching them to communicate their needs and wants, what they like, also what they don't like. [snorts] Uh teaching them to use the bathroom independently, dress themselves, asking a friend to play, reducing challenging behaviors. We work a lot on that through empowering them with replacement skills, and so much more. In short, we help children and teens with autism live their best lives right here in Richmond Hill. We also work hand in hand with families. We always say parents and caregivers are a part of the team. We may be the experts in ABA, but they are the experts in their child. And together, we make an incredible team. In closing this World Autism Month, I hope that each of you reflect on the entire autism spectrum, including those with severe and profound needs and their families. They deserve access to life-changing treatment and support within our community. Children and teens with severe autism, like all individuals with autism, deserve the chance to reach their full potential and live their best life. Thank you. Thank you very much. Is there any questions for the presenter? Uh go ahead. Thank you. Through you, Mr. Chair, and I appreciate all the work you're doing and um I I want to know what at a municipal level how can we help? You're here because I think you can use help, but what is it we can do as a council here in Richmond Hill? That's a great question. Um so, autism touches all of us. Um there are many individuals that live in Richmond Hill within the community um and need our support. And it can be anywhere from if there are any interactions at the local level with um the police, ambulance services, firefighters who um may need support. We personally have helped educate uh individuals uh across those various um helping community-based professions. They've even come into our center uh to um teach the kids about community helpers as well. Uh so, you know, any encouragement for education, uh I am sure there are people that work in city council in various roles um that may need special consideration for their work. I mean, we have families who I've written many a letters for where they are asking for adjusted work hours so they can pick up and drop off their kids uh for treatment. Um anything and everything, including just having a listening ear, considering events that may involve individuals with autism and how they can be included. Give you an example, it's for some individuals, it's hard for them to wait. So, if there's any exciting events in Richmond Hill, if they can skip the line or enjoy um you know, some special time on their own uh with whatever's going on, that can make a huge difference in their lives and help include them in the community. Those are just a few things uh to name a few. But even just thinking about it when you're planning events, um and we're always happy to support if you have questions on how to be inclusive for those individuals. Oh, and helping small businesses, which many of you did, get our centers up and running in Richmond Hill. We would very much appreciate that. Especially, thank you, Councillor Liu, for that. And everybody here, and many of you I've met and you've come to our center. So, we we we have a lot of needs. So, if there's any opportunities to help us help individuals at the local level, you guys are in a position to do that. Thank you. Um in my last question through you, Mr. Chair, what about um setting you up with an opportunity to meet uh firefighters and uh the regional folks can do it with the ambulance and police so that they understand what they're dealing with when they come to a home that may have someone with autism who's having a tough day. Is that at all helpful cuz I mean, I I'm a first-time councilor. I've never had these connections, so I'm happy to help, but if there's anything we can do in terms of a broader education, not just for the kids, but for the actual um EMS people, if that's useful. Absolutely. We've actually had We had an incident uh once at our center where did not involve any of our clients, but um an officer had picked up an individual with autism who was wandering and was just having a really hard time and was nonverbal, and they happened to see our sign, and they came to our center saying, "We don't know what to do." And so, we were able to help support the officer um and help that individual reunite with their family. We are more than happy to do so at a broader level for many of, you know, our our community helpers in uh across Richmond Hill, for sure. Okay, thank you. Um it sounds like you have a great relationship with Councillor Liu, so but we're all here. I think I can speak for all of us and say if there's something you feel free to reach out to us, and thank you for coming. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Regional Councillor, Deputy Mayor Gordon Chan. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you. Thank you very much, Nancy, uh for making a presentation. You have come well below 1/3 below the allocated 15 minutes. Congratulations. Uh we have met before, and I've been to your um place at um on 16th Avenue as well. Sorry, as well as opening in the Ward 3 on Bayview. Uh we met there, and thank you for doing a lot of work for the community. And just two things. One is uh you did mention in the beginning in the 15 year um in business, and I'm probably about 50 staff. I may have missed it. Um how many families or children that the two centers are currently serving? Through you, Mr. Chair. Just try to get an idea. Yeah, so at this time, give or take, we are servicing about 100 children Okay. uh across uh our lifespan as a as a business. I I've lost count, admittedly, but it's well over 500 children and teens that we've serviced in the community. At the two centers. At the two centers, yeah, across the two centers. So, that's [clears throat] really um it helps us to help you in terms of knowing what the magnitude is because you described the spectrum. Yeah. But in terms of magnitude because um you're absolutely right, and I personally have seen the uh increase in terms of the number of places um that have been serving autistic families, not just children. You kind of touch on. I think it's um there's a quite a number of them actually around even not too far away from here, including the two centers. Um I wasn't really thinking uh to ask that way, but since my colleague, Councillor Davison, I'm wondering um whether in fact that there may be in the past the opportunity to visit the York Regional Police uh uh Children's Safety Village in Stouffville. Um just wondering through you, Mr. Chair. Sure. Just for a reason. Sure. Yeah, we are always happy to support individuals in the community and those that support them. So, I infer that hasn't had the opportunity to visit the YRP uh Children's Safety Village. We have not, no. Okay, thank you. Uh I did say I asked that for a reason. So, tomorrow when I go up to Newmarket for York Regional Council, perhaps I will touch base with the police and see whether opportunity to extend invitation to your Breakthrough um right here in Richmond Hill serving 500 children, uh the opportunity maybe to visit uh Children's Safety Village. Yes. Thank you, Councillor Davison. It kind of what you talk about is just pops me to think about uh with the YRP. And also, with the incident you just shared, maybe it's also uh education awareness among our frontline um uh responders, including the police. Thank you, uh Mr. Chair, and thank [clears throat] you again for all the work, Nancy. Um and uh I will pop that question to uh YRP tomorrow at the region. Thank you. That's great. Thank you. Okay, anybody else? Uh Councillor Thompson. Oh, sorry, Councillor Liu first, and then Councillor Thompson. Yes, Mr. Mayor. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor, and uh um thank you very much, Nancy, for taking the time to come here and address council. Um not only to raise awareness, I think we should, you know, talk about autism, you know, explicitly, publicly. And and thank you for that. And and your presentation is is very inspiring and very touching. And thank you. Um just wanted to I don't have any questions because you're already doing a good job. So but I just want to say thank you to you and your team for the continuous support and care uh providing to um all the families, all the children in Richmond Hill and beyond. And uh and and and and and really really appreciate. So well, as you can see, you know, you got the the support of the whole council. And I I know it's is is a federal and more on the provincial side, but uh anything we can do, let us know. And uh you got our back. Thank you. Thank you so much. I very much appreciate that. And I do want to mention I cannot be here without a wonderful team of staff. Emily is one of many that they really do work tirelessly. Um and they do, you know, we have our wonderful days and we celebrate our successes, but in order to get there, there are challenges and they are there on the front line. So I can't be here today without them. So we we are very blessed to have an incredible team of people, many, as I mentioned, who call Richmond Hill home um and beyond, but um that are happily working in Richmond Hill, that work very hard so that uh the children and teens we service can reach their full potential. Thank you. Uh Council Thompson. Uh thank [clears throat] you very much and and thank you for the presentation. Definitely appreciate that. Just a a couple of quick questions. Um you're talking about the the skills building could be in communications so forth. And I'm assuming that that goes further than just the individual. That could also be for the families, you know, trying to also understand how they can be a part of that solution. Um how do how do the families get to you in that Like what is the requirements for them to be able to avail themselves of your services? Like what what's the process for something like that? Yeah, so families will hear about us uh from various uh avenues. It may be from their family physician or if they're in in early intervention in York Region, um you know, they may suggest if they are there for, you know, a certain period of time that they their child may benefit from further services. Um families may find us on Google, all sorts of or just word of mouth with other other families. In terms of accessing our services, we don't even have a requirement of a diagnosis of autism. We basically, you know, share with families that if your child is in need of skill building and there are some concerns around their development, particularly when it comes to social communication or challenging behaviors or, you know, those daily living skills, you are welcome to come. And we customize the plan for every child. So um many of them do have a diagnosis, but we do have some children who families are concerned about development, who have are waiting for a diagnosis that can also join. Um diagnosis opens the door for other options for them. Um albeit takes some time for that, too. Uh whether it's funding or, you know, um even the diagnosis itself can take take some time. So hear about us through different venues. Once they come in, very important for families that, as I mentioned, that they're part of the team. So we I always emphasize we don't expect families to be therapists. That's not fair to families. We do the heavy lifting. It's like when you go to the gym, like we build the bulk, we build the muscle, we we lift the really heavy weights um and we help kickstart a lot of the skills. But that's never enough because what we do is just a small microcosm of that child's life. Like we're in the child's life for a short period of time, hopefully. That's our goal. Um even if it's a couple years, relatively speaking, in the lifespan it's short. So families must be integrated as part of the team. For us, that comes to goal setting. We have our thoughts on the child's development and where we can help, but the family's goals are priority for us. Um treatment extension. So we teach families strategies that they can use in everyday life. So let's say we have a child who does need assistive technology to communicate, then awesome. Um we can help get that going and then we'll show families what they can do to help encourage that at home. So they we call it parent coaching. They come in, people like Emily here, uh help show the family all the wonderful things and showcase what the child's learning. And then let's figure out how to keep that going in the home environment. So those are just one a few of many examples that we integrate families into our services. But anybody's welcome to come if they feel that their child doesn't isn't getting what they need from the natural environment. It's just not enough. The natural educational environment, natural community-based events, whatever it might be. They're not learning that way enough. So we can help boost that for those families. Definitely appreciate the answer and certainly the the welcoming environment. So sticking with that, you you uh touched on it very briefly. Uh I'm sure people would be wondering how how funding uh is handled in that situation. Very good question. So there is uh provincially the Ontario Autism Program or the OAP. Whenever a child is diagnosed, I, you know, typically um whoever's doing the diagnosis, even myself, I don't do much of it anymore. Back in the day, I was doing diagnostics as well. Um we say to families, get on the list right away. So unfortunately, as we mentioned, prevalence rates have increased exponentially uh globally and including in Ontario. So there is a wait. We strongly recommend for the core clinical services, that's what we do, the direct treatment, get on the list as soon as you can. There are some intermediate programs that can help them. There's some early intervention programs and whatnot um that they can get access to if it's appropriate for their child in the meantime, but get on that list cuz that is where the bulk of the funding lies. There are in some cases uh insurance providers, at times extended health care benefits insurers, may cover some costs. Um it depends on your insurance policy and whatnot. Um we do have a couple clients of ours whose families are incredibly fortunate that their insurers actually cover the entire treatment. But they're few and far between, but I always tell the families, check. Even if it's going to help subsidize treatment, it's worth checking. And then we do have a number of families who do pay privately, and I don't say that lightly. It is um a major financial commitment for those families while they're waiting for the funding. They don't want to wait. And bless them because they do everything they can to help their children. They do the best they can. And we are always flexible. We'll say, well, this is the ideal amount of treatment your child may need, um but we understand you're waiting for funding. Uh let's what's feasible for you? Let's let's really beef up the parent coaching or let's prioritize your top priority goals. Let's work on what we can in the meantime. So I always encourage families, do what you can. Well, thank you very much. It's very good information to know. Um and through the chair, I just want to uh say if you do have any of those difficult questions that you wanted to get over to the service your our service partners that are going to be at my community safety and well-being seminar, you know, then uh go to my website and submit that question. Thank you. Absolutely. Okay. Thank you. Okay, thanks very much, counselor. Is there anybody else? Okay, seeing none, uh thank you, Nancy, for being here. That was a a real masterclass in uh in in everything you need to know to begin the to know about uh that subject. So thank you very much. Um you know, it's interesting because um you know, one of the things I always find interesting about you municipal politics is it's very very very much on the ground stuff. Like we deal with everyday needs of people and and I mean, that's why I'm proud to be able to be at this level. But you know, what you're describing is very much on the ground for many many many families. And and the the rise in numbers of um people, children that are being impacted by autism is just astounding. I I remember when I I was a teacher way back in my career and my very first teaching gig was a with this young child. I think he was in grade one. And um he there was no autism in in my training in teachers college at that time. I don't ever recall hearing that word. And um and we didn't I don't think he had a diagnosis at that time. But um he ended up uh graduating from my class a few years later in grade [clears throat] five and he was doing great. And you know, I often wonder how much more we could have done for him had we had the technologies and the procedures and so on uh that we have today. And um but he was I remember him very clearly. Uh he was certainly a a really wonderful kid with a lot of really great gifts that made him very different and unique from the rest of the kids. And I have a lot of friends uh that have children that are being affected by autism and it is amazing to see their progress in in and I think the early intervention um and getting help is really really important. And um you know, we certainly hope that there would be more and more um resources available for for people in our community to help them deal with those types of of challenges because the end result really is quite an amazing thing. Um when you see kids improve to the degree that they're capable of. So anyway, thank you very much. I did have a chance with Councillor Liu a little while ago to visit your new facility and and it's it's great and uh the work you do is really life-changing for a lot of families. So, thank you very much for that. Okay, so I think we should have a motion to receive the presentation. Uh Councillor Liu and Councillor uh Davidson, all those in favor? Opposed? That carries. Thank you very much for coming out. Thank you. Thank you again for your time. All right. Um so, uh I think that pretty much brings us to the end of our meeting here today. We have no closed session. We need a uh motion for a bylaw order to confirm the proceedings of this council meeting. Uh Councillor Tree, Councillor Shoe, all those in favor? Opposed? That carries. Thank you very much. And now the the really highlight moment of this uh Councillor, I need a Councillor to um move a motion to adjourn. Councillor Liu, you're looking like you might want to do that. Go ahead. Take a chance. All right. And Councillor Thompson, you want to second that? All right. All those in favor? Opposed? That carries unanimously. Thank you very much, everyone.

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