 It's now time for members statements. Once again, the member for Niagara Centre. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to speak for my constituent, John Parisi, and Rick Brown, who are here with us today, and for countless others like them who survived their time in Ontario's training schools for children and teenagers. Mr. Parisi, whom I'm happy to tell you is here with us, is part of a class action lawsuit against the province of Ontario. The suit alleges the province failed to protect children who were detained in 13 government-run training schools between 1953 and 1984. Their allegations of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse by some of the adults who were hired to care for them and protect them have been widely reported in the media, including a recent report from W-5. While the merits of the lawsuit are for the courts to decide, it is this government's job to ensure Ontario's children and teenagers' in-care are kept safe. Mr. Parisi was sent to a training school when he was 10 years old because he stood up to a bully. He ended up stuck there until he turned 16. When his parents learned of some of the things that happened while their son was in care, they turned their backs on him. Mr. Speaker, we need to understand how a child could have been left in such a tragic and vulnerable situation under the province's watch. We need to hear from some of the other survivors about what they experienced so that we can consider what could have been done better, especially since this government has fired the Ontario Children's Advocate. We are at a crucial junction where we can learn from the past to create a better future for Ontario's children and youth in care. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements. The Member for Simcoe North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this month, I joined residents of Simcoe North in celebrating the grand opening of a new LifeLabs site in Penitanguichine. LifeLabs is a Canadian-owned company with over 50 years of experience providing laboratory testing services to help healthcare providers diagnose, treat, monitor, and prevent disease. LifeLabs serves more than 54,000 Ontarians every day at its locations across the province. Before this location opened, some of my residents had to travel up to an hour away for blood collection and ECG services. With this new investment by LifeLabs, the residents of Penitanguichine will have less distance to travel for diagnostic services. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, patients, staff and community members learned more about the programs and services LifeLabs is bringing about to improve patient experience and support local healthcare providers. One of these features is Save My Spot, which allows patients to check in and reserve a spot in line from their phone or computer, saving time by allowing them to wait from almost anywhere. The location also offers the Serving Patients with Autism program. It is Canada's first specific and comprehensive guidelines for specimen collection for patients with autism spectrum disorder. I'm glad that I was able to attend the opening ceremony of this new LifeLabs site. Their commitment to improving patient services aligns with our government's focus on our government in supporting timely access to care. Its innovative and supportive new features will make access to healthcare easier for the residents of Penitanguichine and the people of Cinco North. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Stavins, the member for Kiwit and Nong. Miigwecha, Mr. Speaker. Last week I introduced my private members bill to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Ontario. I would like to thank all my colleagues for standing up and supporting this important bill. I look forward to working with you on the next steps that we need to take. As leaders in this house, we need to change the way decision making is done with First Nations people. We can work together for real reconciliation. A recent update and review process for the Far North Act will give the government the opportunity to provide First Nations with a larger role in decision making. Chief Donnie Morris of Kishinameksep wrote to the Premier this month and called Ontario to respect and uphold Kishinameksep and Inouye Law so that we can live in peace. Repay your laws but respect our laws, he said. Again I respectfully remind my colleagues that First Nations are not an obstacle to resource development and nor that we are opposed to it. We just want to have a say in a very important decision that affect our lands. The identity of who we are as people come from the land. The languages that we speak comes from the land and our self determination comes from the land. But the economic development that is needed in the Far North must happen with free prior informed consent of our people, Kishinameksep. Member Statements. Member for Perth Wellington. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker as you know, anyone who visits Perth Wellington knows that two things await visitors, home grown hospitality and tasty treats. It is fitting that Wellington County is not home to only the renowned Buttertart trail but to Ontario's Buttertart champion, Drayton's own Helen Moffitt. Helen's Buttertart's delight sweet tooth across southwestern Ontario. A regular prize winner at the annual Drayton fair this past fall, Helen took her champion Buttertart to the District 7 annual general meeting. She dazzled the judges taste buds and placed first in the District 7 competition, competing against other award-winning recipes from across the region. And after her first place finished at the District 7 competition, Helen went on to the province wide competition at the Ontario Association of Agriculture Society's annual meeting. Beating out contenders from across the province, she won the Ontario Buttertart Grand Championship this past February. I want to congratulate Helen on this tasty achievement and thank her for all the smiles she puts on the faces of young and older life. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Member statements, the member for Brampton East. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. April is the carriage month. It's a time for six to celebrate our unique heritage, meditate and really work to connect and understand this concept that we're all one. And inspired by this oneness, fight for a world where all humanity is free from oppression. A world where we are all sovereign. It's also a time when six reflect. And sadly, many six are reflecting about how truly difficult this past year has been. The media took a very irresponsible role in painting a story about six that described us as a threat, as dangerous, as terrorist, a basis label that has found legitimacy in the federal liberal government's public safety report, which continues to label six as a current terrorist threat to Canada without any evidence to substantiate it. Meninder, a mother with two beautiful kids, was sharing with me how this report made her feel. It made her angry. It made her feel upset. But more than anything, it made her feel scared. She feared for a future where her children could be discriminated against and be described as a threat purely because of their sick faith. The public safety report made her feel unsafe. The sick heritage month, we will recognize our achievements, but we'll also contemplate the injustices that we continue to face. And we will continue to resist those who try to label the sick community or any other community as terrorist, not only because it's wrong, but because these labels threatens our very life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Orleans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last Friday, I was very glad to go to the 13th Rendez-vous de la Francophonie in Ottawa with the Mayor Jim Watson to underline the importance of Francophonie and bilingualism in our collectivities. It was also a very special moment because we have celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Francophone Implication Movement in Orleans. From daycare to seniors. Within the beautiful writing of Orléans, Mr. Prisida, and resting in the heart of Karlsbad Springs, I as a youth now farm, which I had the privilege of visiting last Friday. I cannot express how thankful I am for the work this organization is doing to ensure that at-risk youths are provided opportunity and services through either animal care or agriculture experience. Youth now farm puts theory into practice, taking this vulnerable demography allows allowing those participating to gain volunteer and work experience. And I know that I'm set for time, so I'm also going to talk about another event that I attended on Saturday, Mr. Speaker, with bright young French people. It was about a contest. It's called Moi Canada. And I want to say thank you to all the volunteers and everyone who participate. Congratulations to Giselle Lalande for hosting and all organizers, volunteers. Thank you for being so involved in the Francophonie. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Aurora Oak Ridge is Richmond Hill. Thank you, sirs. Speaker, today the Ontario Chamber of Commerce released an economic impact report on Bruce Powers' major component replacement project undertaken as part of Bruce Powers' life extension program. The results of the report clearly indicate that Bruce Powers' MCR project will inject billions of dollars into Ontario and Canadian economies. By stimulating our manufacturing industry, creating good jobs, increasing GDP, generating tax revenue, and providing opportunities for local workers and industry. The size and spoke of the MCR project will also benefit the province's workforce development due to the unique work experience offered and the project's demand of advanced skills. Bruce Powers currently produces 30% of the province's electricity. At 30% less than the average cost to generate residential power. Their current life extension invests and operation program projects to create and sustain 22,000 yearly jobs and inject 4 billion in Ontario's economy. When this project is completed, Ontarians will have low cost, clean, reliable, and nuclear power for the next 50 years. In my writing of Aurora Bridges Richmond Hill, nuclear supply chain companies like Compagant and the Curtis Wright Nuclear Canada will continue to experience opportunities for growth, hire new workers, and support families in my community close to my home. I'm proud to bring this announcement into the legislature and demonstrate the strong work of Ontario businesses and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Bruce Power and Nuclear Electricity is Ontario's energy advantage. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements and Member for Thunder Bay Attic Oakley. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to discuss an important issue for workers and their families. Workers' compensation in Ontario, now known as WSIB, was founded on a compromise. Employers are protected from lawsuits by injured workers and in return injured workers receive benefits promptly for as long as their disability continues. That compromise served Ontario well for decades, but today those founding principles have been eroded. The PC Harris government cut the premiums that employers pay in the 1990s. The revenue collected was no longer enough to cover the annual fiscal outlay. That led to a deficit. The WSIB then spent the last decade focusing on eliminating this deficit. In 2018 the WSIB announced that they had a multi-billion dollar surplus and this government reduced employer premiums by 30%. But over the past decade WSIB has cut benefits to injured and disabled workers by 50% and often shifting them to social programs funded by the public. It has also denied and set up a bureaucracy with endless red tape. Employers have saved on premiums while injured workers have their benefits cut. This is not fair or acceptable. We can and must do better. Let's focus on helping workers and their families recover from a workplace disability. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Stevens, Member for Durham. In Durham the area of the province I represent thousands of people take public transit from Oshawa, Bowmanville, Curtis and Scugog to their jobs and activities in the GTA every day. And over the last six months our government has been making it easier for Durham commuters to hop on the go. In September we announced the largest GO train service increase in five years. We added 400,000 more train seats every week for people travelling on the Lakeshore East and West lines. An increase of nearly 18%. Specifically that is 27 new train trips on the Lakeshore East GO. Doubling midday weekday service between Oshawa and Union. And to all those who drive around for 20 minutes trying to find parking at Oshawa GO on a weekday. Well I have good news. We announced mid-February that the Curtis Park and Ride and Ritz in Park and Ride lots are officially open. Bus service to these new lots will operate during rush hours on weekdays with a peak frequency of two buses per hour at Curtis and one bus per hour at Ritzen. These were two great announcements in the last six months and I look forward to seeing continued expansion on the Lakeshore East line to meet the needs of the growing number of commuters in our East Durham community and beyond. Thank you Speaker. Thank you Member Statements and Member for Whitby. Well thank you Speaker. It's time for me to brag about the town of Whitby again and their volunteer strategy. The strategy speaker was based on feedback from many current volunteers and those interested in volunteering and the focus speaker is on how the town attracts trains, retains and recognizes its event volunteers. Speaker, ultimately the volunteer engagement strategy and accompanying action plan are expected to instill and lead to a more engaged group of volunteers. Speaker, as more towns and cities are acknowledging without these volunteers many town-wide programs and events would not be possible. I'd like to applaud Whitby's Mayor Don Mitchell and the Council for their ingenuity once again and making sure that volunteers are able to do the great work that they do in the town of Whitby. Thank you. Thank you very much.