 Next, we have Member's Statements. Member for University, Rosedale. Thank you. Monday was an emotional rollercoaster for democratically-minded people across Toronto. First, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Bella Barba ruled that the Conservative government's move to slash Toronto City Council, while the election is already underway, has substantially interfered with both the candidates and the voters' rights for freedom of expression as guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. People rejoice that their election would no longer be thrown into chaos. Then, to the shock of nearly everybody, Premier Ford announced that he would be invoking the non-withstanding clause to overrule the Court's decision. Doug Ford also intends to continue to use this power and this clause should any Charter ruling be used to stop his vindictive whims. This is the first time in Ontario's history any Premier has ever- Member again, we have to call the Premier by the name Premier, not by his personal name. Same thing with the cabinet ministers, same for everybody. And their rights. It's the first time in Ontario's history any Premier has ever tried to use this clause. It is shocking that other members of his caucus, such as the Attorney General, are not only failing to stop him, but are actually enabling this power grab. Doug Ford, the Premier, has violated the rights of Torontonians. The size of Toronto City Council is a decision for the people of Toronto. This election belongs to the people of Toronto. We do not support the use of Section 33, nor do we support any plan by the Premier to use public money to fund an appeal of the Court's ruling. Thank you. Thank you. Member's statements. Member for Thorne Hill. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. And we're in the high holiday period for the Jewish community. And it's high, holy, H-O-L-Y, in separate days, not holidays, which is what most people say, and it sounds like holidays, because it's actually a serious time. It's a time to really reflect on the past year, think about the next year. In the Jewish community, we understand that people are imperfect and that we can always do better. So it's a serious time of year, but yet a celebration. We dip apples and honey, or bread and honey, if there's no apples around wherever you are, and we want to wish each other a sweet new year. And I want to wish everybody here in the legislature a meaningful year, a prosperous year, and a year where you accomplish we set some goals, we all have our own personal goals, perhaps in our writing, perhaps something that we cared about, a reason why we wanted to be elected. And then we have goals that we're working on with the rest of our teams. This is the year, now we just had Rosh Hashanah, who is the head of the year, and it's not commonly called the Jewish New Year, and this is the year of 5,779 in the Hebrew calendar. It's a big number, and if we reflect on it, we realize how long the Jewish community has been around and has been at the forefront of a lot of our laws and a lot of our legal systems are based on ancient, ancient Jewish efforts. So, Shanatava, everybody, and Shanatava Umituka. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements, Member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. I rise in the House today to talk about a phenomenal woman. Her name is Sarah Dusset, and she is my local city councillor for Ward 13 in Parkdale High Park. Sarah has represented our community at Toronto City Council for the last eight years. So much of what we love about our community is thanks to Sarah's hard work. She saved our beloved High Park Zoo from closing. She brought our community together and rebuilt Jamie Bell Park when it was destroyed by Arson. She defended our public libraries from cuts. She protected our trees in their neighbourhoods. She has worked to preserve our city's heritage. She did all this and so much more. We all know how important it is to have a strong local councillor. From my experience, I can tell you Sarah knows how to do her job very well, and more importantly she always puts the concerns and the needs of our community at the heart of all of her work. It is a real loss to Parkdale High Park and to our city that a strong hardworking councillor like Sarah who has delivered results for our community is not seeking re-election in a 25-ward race. As another Parkdale High Park councillor said, quote, it is a crime that we are losing her end quote. Sarah, we love you. Thank you for everything that you have done for us. We are so proud that you represented us so well at City Hall for the last eight years. Thank you. Member Statements, Member for Mississauga East Cooksville. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I'm really excited about the amazing Mississauga my city that I love for the last 15, 16 years. Summer has come to an end students have gone back to school and we, or I am wondering how long I will have in retiring my barbecue for the summer. Looking back Mr. Speaker the residents of Mississauga hosted many events from small to largest in Ontario in celebrating cultural diversity. Just in August I took part in Pakistan, India and Ukraine's Independence Day celebration. Sri Lankan Friendship Cricket Cup matches, Ontario 55 plus games ceremony, a multitude of multicultural festivals ranging from a few hundred to a few thousands. Art festivals, the Italian Filipino, Latin and Polish festivals and Muslim Fest where our premier made an appearance in front of thousands of guests celebrating various cultures from many parts of the world and Islamic art. Mr. Speaker Mississauga is known for its diversity and we know how to celebrate it. Thank you. Thank you. Member Stevens Member for Kitchener Center. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak as the anti-racism critic for the official position. In this role I am tasked with keeping an eye on the ways that the system is used to embed inequity into law and practice. Over the course of the last two days since the premier invoked the notwithstanding clause which suspends our charter rights, I've received over 200 emails from Kitchener Center residents asking me to speak out against this abuse of power. His vow to invoke this clause whenever he disagrees with the judiciary and I quote from Kitchener Center resident would establish a very dangerous precedent and I'm concerned about the effects on our province's democracy. The reason that the official opposition keeps emphasizing the gravity of this decision is that the suspension of our constitutionally protected charter rights has historically led to the attempt to embed injustice into law and normalize it in practice. Historically governments have invoked this clause to attack the most marginalized among us. For example under a conservative government in Alberta this clause was invoked in bill 26 to limit financial damages a person could receive from the government after a woman successfully sued for being part of a eugenics project. It was later invoked by the PC government in Alberta as an attempt to block same sex marriage. So I asked the government this if slavery was legal in Ontario today would it be just to engage in the slave trade or would it be right to make a change? Thank you. Order. Member statements. Member for Scarborough Gilderwood. Thank you speaker. I want to first begin by thanking the many brave and vocal citizens who joined here today and yesterday speaker those who joined in this chamber out front on the lawn of the legislator at City Hall in the square to ensure that their voices were heard in opposition to bill 31 and the immoral use of the notwithstanding clause. It's clear to me that people understand that the charter of rights and freedoms represents deep meaning in Ontario. Ontarians are waking up to the harsh realities of this premier and his government. Why should Torontonians have less? Why should Toronton be singled out? The premier is doubling down on his decision despite the ruling and despite five years of consultations that led to the 47 seat council decision. The premier and his conservatives are attempting to divide our great city a move that I and my constituents in Scarborough Gilderwood feel is deeply damaging for the city of Toronto. I've received hundreds of emails to this effect. What I'm hearing from the people of Scarborough is that their trust has been broken. People like Jane who wrote to say these are the tactics and the words of a bully a bully who seeks to divide rather than bring people together. Thank you. Member statements. Member for King Bond. Thank you Mr Speaker. Rich history in our cultural heritage lives in the village of Kleinberg in the city of On at the annual Biner Twine Festival. The roots of this festival began in the 1800s when farmers came into the village to buy twine to bind their weed together. In 1967, the year of our centennial a small committee revived the concept after a hiatus as Kleinberg centennial project and that included the late Pierre Burton who proudly hailed from the village of Kleinberg. Today continues on as a festival that brings thousands of people together, showcasing the incredible talent of our artisans, our small business people and our entrepreneurs. I want to thank the hundreds of volunteers from the riding of King Bond across the GTA who contributed to this festival and the strength and value it represents to contributing to our community and to our heritage. I'm encouraging all residents of the GTA to join me this Saturday in Kleinberg for this wonderful opportunity to come together in support of many local charities including the development of the Vaughan Hospital. And I'm reminded by a quote by Mr. Burton who said we still seek the countryside with nostalgia, affection and longing hope to see you this Saturday. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much Member Statements, the Member for Davenport. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I rise in the house today because Ontario is facing urgent challenges, the impacts of which I see every day in my riding of Davenport. I see it with seniors who simply can't afford or find adequate housing in young people who can't find steady work and with children studying in schools so badly in need of repairs that they are literally crumbling around them. I see the impacts in the overcrowded street cars, buses and subways where riders wedge themselves in just to make it to work on time. And I see it in the rising death toll from the ongoing opioid emergency ravaging our communities. Instead of taking on these challenges this government is taking things from bad to worse with cuts to school repair funding, mental health funding and the outright cancellation of programs that would prevent opioid overdoses. But most egregious is the fact that the government has allowed the Premier's obsession with Toronto's municipal elections to consume the business of this house to the point that we are now debating the very suspension of Ontarians charter rights in order to protect our fundamental rights. I am deeply proud that our official opposition caucus has said no to this clear abuse of power and on behalf of the people of Davenport and all Ontarians we will continue to do whatever we can to safeguard our democratic institutions uphold the rule of law and protect our fundamental rights. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Earlier this week at the invite of the institutions for Delta elevators I visited the Whitby campus of Durham College to learn about their skilled trades programs. I was hosted by Don LaVisa President of Durham College Kevin Baker, Dean of School of Skilled Trades Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology and their teams. I learned the following the colleges post-secondary enrollment in skilled trades has grown 359% in the last 10 years. Apprenticeship enrollment at Durham College is unfortunately unchanged from 2011 to today. The college is performing over capacity with 1,445 students enrolled in skilled trades 1,300 apprentices and 150 youth apprentices. The elevating devices mechanic program has a wait list of 200 apprentices. This is a five-year backlog. A fully licensed elevator mechanic can start by earning $115,000 per year. One of Durham College's industry partners has recently forecast a shortage of approximately 3,000 skilled labour people. This visit was very informative. It was exciting to experience the attitudes, activity and engagement of the students especially in the first week back to school. As we execute our plan to make Ontario open for business it is important that we ensure the availability of skilled labour in this growth. Thank you. Member statements? The Member for Cambridge. Speaker. Yesterday, Cambridge based ATS Automation Tooling Systems Incorporated and Industry Leading Automation Solutions Provider and Bruce Power celebrated the grand opening of the major component replacement or MCR integration testing facility on the ATS Cambridge campus. Bruce Power is helping to spur innovation and economic growth benefiting all of Ontario. This year ATS is celebrating 40 years of being a meaningful part of many local families' lives providing highly skilled employment opportunities while benefiting from the depth and breadth of the talent in the Cambridge Waterloo region. Meanwhile, Bruce Power is Canada's only private sector nuclear generator and the largest operating nuclear facility in the world. They produce 6,400 megawatts providing 30% of Ontario's electricity at 30% less than the average cost to produce residential power. Bruce Power's ongoing operations and MCR project will support 22,000 direct and indirect jobs annually and provide $4 billion in annual domestic economic benefit through direct and indirect spending on equipment supplies, materials and labour income in Ontario. At the same time, Bruce Power's supply chain acquires 90% of its goods and services in Ontario creating good jobs right here at home. Partnerships such as these between ATS and Bruce Power are innovating and creating jobs throughout the province and creating made in Ontario solutions for major infrastructure projects. This joint facility attests to Ontario's future-looking innovation which has always been a hallmark of the Cambridge community. I'm proud to bring this announcement into the house and demonstrate the strong work of Ontario businesses. Thank you. That concludes the time we have this afternoon for member statements. Reports by committees.