 It is now time for Member's Statements to recognize the Member for Toronto's Centre. Thank you Speaker. The Investing in Women's Futures Fund supports more than 20 organizations across Ontario that provide frontline services to women, including counselling, career programs, referrals and more. With only six days remaining until the end of this fiscal year, the government has yet to confirm that these organizations will receive any funding at all come April 1st. As a result of this uncertainty, many organizations are being forced to make tough decisions, like laying off staff and in some cases shutting their doors completely. Times Change is an organization in my own writing that provides free employment and training services and has had to give a layoff notice to one employee and is being forced to reduce hours for others. Speaker, this government is letting down dozens of women's organizations and we're hurting women across this province. Thousands of vulnerable women and families rely on the services these organizations provide and this government's decision to leave them in the dark is callous and cold. Women across this province deserve better. The women's organizations who work day in and day out to support women deserve better. I am calling on the government to commit to funding the Investing in Women's Futures Fund for next fiscal year and the years beyond. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements. Member for Kitchener-Conestoga. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise today to commend our government's recent announcements affecting the municipalities in my great writing of Kitchener-Conestoga. More specifically, I am referring to the recent funding announced by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing providing a one-time investment for Ontario's small and rural municipalities. Since taking office, our government has made one thing crystal clear. Mr. Speaker, modernization matters. Red tape and inefficiency hurt job creation and economic growth. Mr. Speaker, it is refreshing to be part of a government that places a strong emphasis on the modernization of services not only at the provincial level and relating to the biggest industry players, but also to those municipal levels of government impacting everyday Ontarians. On March 18, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced a one-time investment for Ontario's small and rural municipalities through the Municipal Modernization Fund. Three townships from my writing of Kitchener-Conestoga will directly benefit from this investment. Wilmot Township received $725,000. Wellesley Township received $676,040. And Woolwich Township, Mr. Speaker, received $725,000. And I see you smiling over there. This is good news as we share writing borders. Our government is committed to modernizing the way we do things here in Ontario across both levels of government. We are here to support our rural municipalities, including opening up a $30 billion over a 10-year joint federal provincial infrastructure spending fund. And the first stream of that went to rural and northern municipalities, Mr. Speaker. I will continue to advocate strongly for Waterloo Region municipalities, both rural and urban, in the coming years. Thank you very much. Member Statements. Member for Scarborough, Southwest. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, it was my honour this morning to join leaders of the Bangladeshi Canadian community along with yourself outside the Legislature today to raise the Bangladeshi flag. March 26th is the Independence Day of Bangladesh. As a proud representative of the diverse riding of Scarborough, Southwest, whom too many Bangladeshi Canadians, including myself, it is an honour to stand today and recognize the over 70,000 Ontarians of Bangladeshi origins and their contributions to this province. The community has worked hard and integrated well in Canada. They contribute to our economy, enrich our society in many ways from local businesses, entrepreneurs to the arts and culture. You'll find Bangladeshi Canadians thriving in every sector. Forty-eight years ago, on March 7th, one great leader stood and Bengali declared, Amadir Syongram, Amadir Mukthir Syongram, Ebarir Syongram, Amadir Shadinotar Syongram. Let me do that again. Ebarir Syongram, Amadir Mukthir Syongram, Ebarir Syongram, Amadir Shadinotar Syongram. This fight is for our liberation and this fight is for our freedom. These words were from the father of the nation of Bangladesh, Bangumundu Sheikh Mojibur Rahman. And on March 26th, another brave man, Major Zia Rahman, made this declaration on behalf of Sheikh Mojibur Rahman. The nine-month-long war of liberation cost three million lives. Many were displaced and hundreds of thousands Bangladeshi women were systematically raped. It was one of the most brutal genocides in history. But the people of Bangladesh took up arms to fight for their freedom. And in December 1971, Bangladesh got its independence. We also recognized March as Bangladeshi Heritage Month. Andrea Horvath and I look forward to hosting community leaders here at Queens Park on Thursday to celebrate the vibrant culture of Ontario's Bangladeshi community. Thank you very much. Thank you. Member Statements, a member for Barry Innisfil. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my great honor to have Jason Hellman from Barry Innisfil here today with his mom Michelle and his daughter, his sister Catherine. Jason is a multi-sport athlete who in the winter competes in bowling, swimming, alpine skiing and curling in the summer. He competes in track and field, golf and bachi. Jason is an active advocate of the riding of Barry Innisfil and has always wanted to give back to his community. He volunteered for a variety of community events such as Barry Out of the Cold where he helped serve dinner to the homeless as well as helping coordinate a Christmas cheer for the less fortunate. Jason, this winter, also participated in the Polar Plunge where he raised 5,000 for Special Olympics. Jason is in the middle of organizing his fourth annual head shape to support cancer research and over the last three years, Jason has raised $12,000 for the cause. Jason is a true inspiration. You are a true inspiration Jason and you always go above and beyond every single day. On behalf of the Government of Ontario, I would like to thank you for your hard work and your devotion to our community. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for London West. Thank you Speaker. Speaker, as of April 1st, Kids Country Club in London West will be forced to close for 29 days over the next fiscal year, leaving southwestern Ontario families of medically fragile children with 2,000 fewer hours of respite care available to them. Kids Country Club is the only facility across our region that provides 24-7 respite care for medically fragile and or technologically dependent children. The children whose families rely on Kids Country Club have conditions ranging from autism, epilepsy, Down syndrome, FASD, leukemia and other rare syndromes. They may have feeding tubes, home oxygen or tracheotomies. About three-quarters are in wheelchairs. Exhausted parents use respite services about four times a year to spend time with their other children, catch up on their sleep or attend appointments. Here is what one parent had to say. Knowing I can drop my son off at Kids Country Club with no fear is huge. I sleep like I'm in a mini coma because I know he's having the time of his life learning new things and yet staff are trained to deal with his G-tube as well as if his skin changes color due to his heart or if he goes clammy or blue lips. Speaker families of medically fragile children have enough to deal with. They need respite. I call upon this government to act now to maintain respite services at Kids Country Club. Thank you. Thank you. Member statements? The member for Ottawa, Vanie. President, sexual assault and sexual harassment are serious issues. Going through a situation of sexual misconduct in a workplace is a terrible thing. As leaders of this province, we all have a duty to do the right thing when someone comes forward with allegations. When Kathleen Finley reached out to my office to tell me about her experience, I wanted to ensure that I did everything in my power to get her the outcome that she needed to heal. A long time ago, Ms. Finley told me about her violent assault while she was in the employ of an agency of this government. She told me that she reported the assault to her boss and he gave her a choice. Keep quiet or lose your job. Inspired by the Me Too movement, Ms. Finley wrote to the Premier to ask for his help in rectifying the situation. She never got an answer and indeed some things that were done by the office made things worse for her. So I wrote to the Premier to simply ask him to revise the protocol in his office for dealing with sexual assault or sexual harassment allegation and make sure that they are victim friendly. Ms. Finley has come a long way in her journey to heal and she's looking for action from this government to get closure. So I wrote to the Premier's office twice with Ms. Finley's permission and I never received anything and Ms. Finley this week wrote a piece in now Toronto where she says, we all have a duty to ensure that women are protected not harm whenever they decide to come forward. She's paid the steep price for this with her own health and peace of mind. So I hope the Premier is serious about taking a leadership role in ending sexual violence and I hope that today it will start with this case, that they will answer Ms. Finley's case and respond to her and fix the position in her office. Thank you. Member Statements. Member for Markham Stovall. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to rise today Mr. Speaker I had a wonderful opportunity over the weekend to join with the Mayor of Stovall, a number of councillors and residents of the, or participants at the 55 plus coven Stovall to have the grand opening of the new centre and I was the Federal Member of Parliament I had the distinct honour to be able to provide funding through Canada 150, a 150 grant. I was there with my Federal counterpart, the Honourable Jane Philpott, Liberal Member of Parliament who had been working very closely with in order to make sure that the centre was completed on time and they did a spectacular job so I just want to congratulate the town. I want to congratulate the seniors who were part of the committee to make sure it happened. Later on Mr. Speaker I was also joined of course by the Minister of Health and Long Term Care for another very exciting announcement honestly Mr. Speaker, since I was elected in June we have announced over 500 long term care beds in my riding alone. I was joined of course by the Parliamentary Secretary, Effie Pran the Philopolis. They are doing extraordinary work not only in my riding but across the province of Ontario ushering out over 7,000 new long term care spaces for the people of this province and it's one thing I heard it's something I heard at the senior centre opening it's something I've heard door to door is that we have to do a better job of bringing people closer together bringing health care into our communities and when those need to transition into long term care beds to make sure that they're available so I just want to congratulate the Minister for two great parliamentary assistants and the entire staff at the ministry for doing an extraordinary job. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements the Member for Humber River Black Creek. Thank you Mr. Speaker. It's an honour to rise in the house today and speak about my old alma mater York University. I'm also proud to say that my mother Aileen Rokosovic worked at York for 25 years and earned the coveted Ronald Kent Medal there in 2005. Mr. Speaker today marks 60 years since the passage of the York University Act here at Queens Park. What started out as a small liberal arts university in northwest Toronto has now grown to be Canada's third largest university including two campuses in India and Costa Rica. With one of the campuses located in my riding of Humber River Black Creek York has a distinct identity as a forward looking and progressive institution that is committed to the public good. It's renowned programs in law and business as well as the expansion into programs that represent emerging needs such as artificial intelligence and global health are enabling future graduates to be better suited for the demands of an increasingly competitive job market. With students from over 178 countries York is one of Canada's most diverse universities and embodies everything that is great about Ontario. Mr. Speaker several members of this house are proud alumni of York University. I ask them and all members of this house to join me in wishing York University a happy birthday happy birthday York University. Member statements the member for Oakville North Burlington. Thank you Speaker. March 25th this year marked 198 years since the declaration of Greek independence and Canadians of Hellenic origin and Hellenes around the world celebrate the revolution against the Ottoman Empire that began the liberation of Greece. On Sunday Hellenic Canadians and their friends and family marched along the Danforth to celebrate this day. This traditional parade dates back more than 60 years in Toronto and I want to thank the Premier and many members of our PC caucus and other parties who joined us on this joyous occasion. Today's Hellenic Republic lives proudly as a free and democratic nation and remembers that it was the ancient Greeks in the Athens of Pericles who first practiced and developed democracy. Hellenes are proud to have given the gift of democracy to the world and to share the culture literature and history of their civilization. And in the words of the Greek patriot Regas Fereros better one hour of freedom than 40 years of slavery and prison. Ontarians of Hellenic origin today contribute to every field of work in our province and modern Greece is a friend to Canada and part of the European Union and NATO. In this spirit I will be leading the debate this Thursday on my private members bill entitled the Hellenic Heritage Month Act which if passed will recognize Hellenic heritage every March in Ontario. Thank you to all who joined in celebrating Greek Independence Day and may I say Zito Yelada. A member for Mississauga Malmon. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker 60 years ago today the York University Act was passed here at Queen's Park. In the fall of 1961 with only 76 students York moved to its first campus Glendon College and began to emphasize liberal arts and part time education. In 1965 the university opened our second campus the Kiel campus. Miss Speaker I stand here today as a proud York University alumnus. Today York University is Canada's third largest university home to over 50,000 students 7,000 faculty and staff with over 300,000 alumni across the globe. York is graduating leaders in all areas of society. The university offers many experiential learning opportunities to equip students with job readiness skills, provide training in the areas that are highly sought after by the employers and has expanded entrepreneurship offering that empowers students to start and grow the business. Business that meet market and society needs. York is helping to develop Ontario's talent pipeline and its important partner in helping us grow Ontario's economy. Miss Speaker as a graduate of Schulich School of Business I'm proud to say that my post secondary school is ranked among the leading business school in the world and number one in Canada. I'm also thrilled to share with you that York University is also the key NASA and Canadian Space Agency partner. York University has accomplished many things over the past 60 years and I'm proud to be a York U lawyer. Miss Speaker on behalf of all York University stakeholders I'd like to say happy 60th anniversary York University. Thank you so much.