In my riding, we have a number of exceptional and award-winning musicians, and one of those individuals is Melissa Knott, more commonly known as Missy.

I first met Missy when we were organizing the Special Hockey International tournament in Peterborough. Missy was already well known in the area as a singer and had released a number of albums at that point. She volunteered to sing the national anthems for us at the opening ceremonies, with teams from Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Not only is Missy an artist, but she’s also a music producer. Her production company, Wild Rice Records, is focused on helping Indigenous artists succeed. Missy is also an advocate in our community, helping to spread the word about various causes. One of those causes has been to spread the word about the tragic death of one of her friends, Cileana Taylor, a young lady from Curve Lake First Nation. All of this is to say that Missy is active in the arts, in the Indigenous community and as a spokesperson.

Speaker, I am so proud to announce my friend Missy Knott has been appointed to the Ontario Arts Council. She’s the first member of Curve Lake First Nation to ever be appointed to the OAC. Her experiences as an artist, as a music producer and as an Indigenous role model will serve her well in this capacity. She’ll provide an invaluable voice at the table and will be someone other Indigenous artists can look up to as an example for success.

Congratulations, Missy. We’re all very proud of you.