 It's now time for member statements and I will recognize the member from Spadina, Fort York. Okay, thank you very much Mr. Speaker. One of the challenges and one of the criticisms that we have of the current government is that they continuously take measures that strip communities and municipalities of the ability to plan the future of their neighborhoods. And, you know, I'll give you some examples. The MZO, there was an MZO issued on the foundry site and then in late January suddenly with no warning whatsoever, demolition crews arrived on that demolition, on that site which is in my colleague from Toronto Centre. It's in her writing and it's a valuable, valuable heritage property and they began demolition. And the other thing the government has done, they've been talking about and negotiating and looking at RFPs on Ontario Place for the last three years. But they haven't been public about it. There's been no public consultation, there's been no public process and the RFPs, the proposals that were received were kept secret so we don't know what the future of Ontario Place is. And this is one of the most valuable pieces of property that is owned by the people of Ontario. And the final one I want to mention is the rail deck park. Last week, LPAT ruled in favour of a developer over the City of Toronto, over the future of the rail deck park. It was supposed to be a 21 acre green space right in the middle of Toronto, over the rails, the train tracks that are over the Union Station tracks. And now it's been scuttled by this government's giving more power to developers through LPAT than to municipalities and local communities. So I'd ask the government please, please listen to communities and listen to municipalities. Thank you. Thank you. For their member's statement I recognize a member from Flamborough, Landbrook. Thank you Mr. Speaker and good morning Mr. Speaker. As we near the end of this legislative session I want to take some time to recognize our incredible frontline heroes, our healthcare heroes. PSWs, doctors, nurses, paramedics deserve to be honoured this week and every week for the selfless work they do in healing and helping others. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have heard stories of frontline workers who have sacrificed their own well-being in an effort to save lives. Many are putting in grueling hours often under very stressful conditions. These hardworking men and women are courageous, they're committed and dedicating to helping those who need it most. They've taken time from their families to be there for their patients. I know personally how much our frontline workers give of themselves. My sister Sharon was a nurse in New Brunswick and in communities across Ontario. She served in Moose Factory building trust in healthcare systems among members of our First Nations communities. My aunts Catherine and Helen had worked in hospitals across Ontario balancing a grueling nursing career with the obligations of young mothers. My nephew, rookie nephew, Liam, is a paramedic and just helped deliver his very second baby. By their nature all of our frontline workers are generally caring and compassionate people. They wouldn't have entered these professions if they weren't. Throughout the pandemic doctors, PSWs, paramedics, nurses and all frontline healthcare workers have gone above and beyond in the battle against COVID-19. And for these reasons I want to say I appreciate and am truly grateful for all you do. Thank you. Thank you for their member statement. The member from Toronto Centre. Thank you, Speaker. 2000 people in Ontario died from a fatal opioid overdose last year. These deaths are preventable. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of those that we've lost this year. I can't imagine the pain and the grief that those family members and friends are experiencing. A study by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network and data from Toronto Public Health confirms that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of opioid overdose deaths during the pandemic. COVID-19 has contributed to a deadly and volatile drug supply and it's been devastating for our community. The crisis is impacting families across the province and from all walks of life but has claimed the lives of marginalized people to a far greater degree. The number of opioid-related deaths among people who are unhoused more than doubled during the pandemic speaker. In 2021 this crisis has become even worse. On May 6th, there were five fatal suspected overdose-related calls to Toronto Paramedic Services, the highest daily number recorded yet and on May 12th the Moss Park Safe Injection Site in my riding of Toronto Centre reversed 14 potentially deadly overdoses in one day speaker. The number of opioid-related deaths will continue to increase unless this government takes urgent action. Every day that they ignore this crisis is costing lives. People need help speaker. They need access to affordable supportive housing. They need access to treatment options, to harm reduction services and to a safe drug supply. I'm calling on this government to step up, establish a plan to end the opioid crisis and to save lives. Thank you. The next member statement. The member for Peterborough, Cawortha. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I've stood in this chamber on a number of occasions to speak about some of the exceptional people that have called different communities in my riding of Peterborough, Cawortha home. Today I have the honour of talking about a young gentleman who I'm sure all of Ontario as well as the entire country of Canada will come to know by name possibly as early as this summer. Trevor Jones is a 23-year-old young man who hails from the Hamlet of Burley Falls about 35 kilometres north of Peterborough on Highway 28. Trevor is the two-time under-23 world rowing champion in single skulls. Although he's a gifted athlete, his road has not been easy. In 2019 his rowing season was interrupted because of a forearm injury. The required surgery to mend compartment syndrome. Then with the restrictions and cancellations due to COVID, the Olympic qualifiers that were scheduled for 2020 were all postponed when the Olympics in Tokyo was postponed. Speaker, between May 15th and May 17th an Olympic qualifier for rowing was held in Lucerne, Switzerland. Between injuries and cancellations it had been almost 18 months since Trevor had been involved in this level of competition. But he rose to the challenge and took home the silver medal qualifying for the Olympics with a time of 7 minutes 1.48 seconds. Congratulations, Trevor. All of Ontario is behind you and good luck in Tokyo. Member Statements, the Member for Brampton Centre. Thank you. Good morning, Speaker. I'd like to take a moment to thank all of our amazing educators across the Peel region and in Brampton Centre and across our beautiful province of Ontario. They have been going above and beyond to keep students engaged throughout this pandemic, finding fun and creative ways to address the COVID and Zoom fatigue that we're all experiencing, but especially our young people who have been managing a lot of different stressors, many racialized young people not having access to the supports they need to thrive in the current conditions of this pandemic, Speaker, and we know that they've been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 as well. And, Speaker, this is why it is so beautiful to see school board after school board redirect hybrid learning models in the province of Ontario. I want to give a big shout out to our union members at the Elementary Teachers Federation of Peel and our local school board who recently also said no to hybrid learning because they understand that fractured learning will have a negative impact on students' outcomes, especially those that are racialized. What we need this government to do is invest in creating safer classrooms so that we can have a safe return to our schools for students and educators alike. This means improving our ventilation and air filtration systems, investing in smaller class sizes, and ensuring that students have every opportunity to succeed. Speaker, I want to join the chorus of school boards and union members and educators and students and parents who are saying no to hybrid learning and making sure that this government is going to invest to ensure that we have a safe start in September. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Guelph. Good morning, Speaker. I'm proud to rise today to highlight the unanimous vote by Guelph City Council to support a 32-unit permanent supportive housing project on Willow Road in my riding. This vital project will help Guelph take an important step to achieving our goal to end homelessness by 2023. I'm proud of Guelph's effort to build partnerships between nonprofit organizations and private developers, service providers such as our Community Health Center in all levels of government. Speaker, we need the provincial government to be an active partner to support permanent supportive housing in Guelph and in ridings across the province. No one wants to see the tent encampments that we've seen over the past year or witness the violent confrontation that took place yesterday in Toronto at Lamport Stadium Park. This province has a housing crisis. People are suffering. And the most vulnerable need more than a temporary roof. They need a permanent place to call home with wraparound mental health and addiction support services to stabilize their lives. As a society, we will be judged on how we treat the most vulnerable. And I believe everyone in this House has an obligation to stand up for permanent supportive housing. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Member statements. Member for Perth Wellington. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, when the pandemic began, communities everywhere came out to support frontline essential workers. They did it with good reason and they did it with enthusiasm. It's now well over a year later. Many frontline workers have been working nearly nonstop. They're ready for a break. We hear you. We thank you. And your community still supports you. I want to share just a few recent expressions of that support in Perth Wellington. On Saturday, the downtown Mount Forest Retail Committee held the second annual Chalk Up Mount Forest sidewalk drawing event. He was in honor of Heather Aitken who passed away from a rare disease. Dozens of driveways were decorated with creative messages honoring Heather and all frontline workers. Another example, last week, was National Nursing Week and National Police Week. Several local trucking companies took up the cause contributing to a creative tribute on the side of a transport truck. It featured a photo of a police officer, nurse, doctor, firefighter and a truck driver. Last Wednesday, Arthur-based Ivan Armstrong Trucking parked the trailer at Grove Memorial Hospital. It brought frontline workers together and encouraged them to celebrate their work and each other. Of course, these are just two examples among many. But whether on a driveway or the side of a truck, the message is clear. Frontline workers matter to all of us. Thank you for your service. Thank you, Speaker. Member Statements. Member for Toronto, Dan. Thank you, Speaker. This past week, I've been contacted by Emergency Room and ICU nurses to talk to me about their wages and their wage negotiations. The Premier calls these nurses and other frontline healthcare workers heroes and frankly, Speaker, he's right. They are. Daily, they risk their health, they risk their lives to treat people and in return, Speaker, many thousands of them have had to deal with COVID as an illness in their own lives and four of them have died. But how does the government treat these heroes? If anything shows that those words mean nothing or less, it's the government's Wage Suppression Bill, Bill 124. This bill keeps any wage increase below the rate of inflation for these nurses and for these healthcare workers. Seriously, these nurses who are risking their lives and dying are being told by this government that they can't negotiate a decent wage increase. Speaker, we need to treat nurses and other healthcare workers like the heroes that they are. Bill 124 needs to be thrown out and we need to be able to negotiate decent wages for people who risk their lives. Thank you, Speaker. The next Member Statement. The Member for... Recognize the Member. Thank you. It's wonderful to rise today and Speaker, I rise today to shine a light on an amazing partnership I recently became aware of in Northumberland, Peterborough South. Over the last 14 months have we spent more time on the screens as we watch daily newscasts that every day talk about case counts, ICU admissions. We often don't take time, enough time to talk about the positives. The positives of businesses pivoting in response to COVID-19. Teachers and students who've been responsive and pivoting to online learning. The students' routines who've changed as we know it's had an effect on their mental health and well-being. What do these two examples have in common, you might ask, Speaker? Well, let me tell you about Lori Kerr, grade 7-8 teacher at Grafton Public School. She's had her students participate in the free virtual workouts offered by CrossFit Cobra. This is a truly creative partnership with a local small business that benefits students, their mental health and their physical well-being. CrossFit's Cobra's goal is to empower and support our community. They're doing just that. At the helm are two great young guys in far better shape than I, Bud Tinney and Scott Carrera. Their virtual workouts are accessible for all ages, all levels of fitness. They've been helping people stay fit through this COVID-19 global pandemic and they've been doing a phenomenal job. This partnership is a great experience for students to interact with their community to get outside. We as a community are stronger together. Thank you, Ms. Kerr, for your creativity and thinking outside the box. Thank you to Bud Tinney, someone I've come to know through this pandemic for offering these virtual workouts at no cost to community members, including our students. We, what a great community we have these grade 7-8 students from Grafton Public School, yet another example of our small town community coming together through these difficult times. Thank you to the member from Northumberland. Next we have the member for Chatham Kent Leamington. Thank you, Speaker. Earlier this month I was pleased that my motion to create a working group to examine the issues surrounding stray current and to provide recommendations surrounding the best practices to protect livestock and people from stray current past unanimously. I brought this motion forward for many reasons. First of all, I just wanted to recognize the advocacy work of Chatham farmer, Lee Montgomery, who has done lots of work over the decades attempting to eliminate stray current on farms throughout Ontario. I've always been a safety advocate as I previously put forth a stray current bill back in my days in opposition, but sadly my bill died on the order table as the Liberal government of the day did not see the value in allowing my bill to go to committee despite passing second reading. Now as the MPP for Chatham Kent Leamington I strive to do the right thing. Thomas Edison, known as the father of electricity, always mandated that return currents be returned to the source through a wire capable of handling such loads and never be returned to the source through the ground because of the negative impact on living creatures. Stray current causes livestock to experience health issues such as mastitis, foot rot, open sores, miscarriages and even death. Resulting in huge financial losses for farmers. The speaker through the creation of an experienced expert working group it is my hope that our group will create an ethical and agreeable approach to eliminating stray current problems that have adversely affected livestock and people throughout Ontario for decades. Thank you. That concludes our member statements for this morning. I beg to