 Now time for Member's Statement will continue further debate in the afternoon session, Aurora Newmarket. Thank you Speaker. Today is Pink Shirt Day and I'm so grateful to be speaking to this topic today with my colleagues. In 2007, two young men in Nova Scotia stood up for a fellow classmate who was being bullied. At Child's Crime, he was wearing a pink polo shirt. Bullying has no place in our schools, in our workplaces, or anywhere in our province, full stop. We must ensure that students across this province are treated with respect and dignity at all times. Pink Shirt Day is all about being kind and lifting one another up. Moments of kindness, empathy, and understanding can mean so much to children impacted by bullying. Quick fact, one in five kids are affected by bullying. It is important that bullying behavior is called out when you see it. It is also important to simply offer support and connect with people being bullied. In this house, we may not agree on everything, however, I am truly impressed with so many members showing their support by wearing pink today. As we are lifting each other up, let's encourage others to lift one another up. Ms. Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to stand in this chamber today to raise awareness against bullying. The member from Windsor West. Two hundred and fifty workers from Windsor Salt Mine and over four hundred workers at Highbury-Canco. Windsor Salt workers, members of Unifor's locals, 240 and 1959 are on strike for job security and to fight the company's move to contract out their jobs to third party and non-unionized workers, classic union busting. Over four hundred workers from the Highbury-Canco plant in Leamington, members of UFCW Local 175, are on strike for wage improvements. Speaker, their employer is busing in replacement workers, SCABs, paying them more than the permanent workers and offering them benefits. Again, union busting. From beverages, food products and even road salt, these dedicated workers in Windsor and Leamington work hard every day. SCAB labour undermines collective bargaining, prolongs labour disputes and removes the employer's incentive to negotiate in good faith. New Democrats have tabled anti-SCAB legislation numerous times, but neither the liberals, the previous liberal government or the current conservative government has passed it. To be clear, conservatives showing up for photo ops on picket lines isn't solidarity. Passing anti-SCAB legislation is, conservatives claim to be friends of labour, but real friends don't allow SCABs to cross picket lines. Friends don't attack education and health care workers like conservatives did with Bill 28 and Bill 124. 98% of collective agreements are settled without a strike. With the conservatives consistently undermining the collective bargaining process at every opportunity and refusing to pass anti-SCAB legislation, strikes will continue to happen. To Unifor Locals 1959 and 240 and UFCW Local 175, I stand with you in this fight. One day longer, one day stronger. Thank you Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise, Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to rise to speak about a constituent of mine from Greeley, Anna Bailey. Anna is a tireless advocate for Ontarians with congenital heart defects and has been working with other board members of the Canadian Congenital Heart Alliance to raise awareness through congenital heart defect Awareness Week, which took place from February 7th to 14th. This is a part of February itself being heart month. Congenital heart defects are structural problems that are present in the heart from birth. While once considered a disease that was fatal during childhood, progress has been made over the last 50 years in diagnoses, surgery and in the interventional catheter-based procedures. Because of these advancements, about 90% of children born with heart defects survive into adulthood. For congenital heart defect Awareness Week, the Canadian Congenital Heart Alliance organized several events to raise awareness, including lighting monuments across Canada, Red and giving proclamations in major cities. I would like to thank Anna Bailey and the Canadian Congenital Heart Alliance for their hard work and advocacy to educate Ontarians about congenital heart defects and to continue to raise money for research to ensure that Canadians with congenital heart disease can receive the most innovative treatment. As Ontarians, let's support the hard work of Anna Bailey and the Canadian Congenital Heart Alliance. Thank you. Member Statements. The next one is the Member for University of Rosedale. Thank you Speaker. This Saturday, February 25th, I will be participating in the coldest night of the year event, joining thousands of Canadians who walk to raise awareness and funding for groups and organizations that are helping the homelessness and the needy. And the need is very great. In my writing, people are sleeping in tents, in parks, they're living on the TTC, they're sleeping in foyers, they're raising their children in shelters, they're being evicted because they cannot pay the rent, they're dying of cold and they're dying of exposure. I want to recognize the volunteers, the people and the groups, the fabulous groups in my community who are participating in the coldest night of the year. Fort York Food Bank, Street Haven, Canada's first women's shelter, Young Street Mission that helps families and youth living on the street in need, and Sistering, a welcoming drop-in shelter on Bloor. Please go to cnoy.org and find an organization to support. They need your help. They are looking forward to walking and working with you. And I want to issue a challenge and the additional challenge is this. As we provide our charity and our support on Saturday night, I urge us to emphasize our support with a call to action to push this government for province-wide change, to call on this government to have a plan to address homelessness and poverty, to call on this government to double social assistance rates, to bring in affordable homes and to bring in strong rent control to people housed. I look forward to seeing you on the 25th. Thank you, Member Statements. The Member for Kitchener, Conestoga. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I was very excited to attend the grand opening of House of Friendship's new shelter care facility just over a month ago. Our government provided over $10 million in funding to help purchase and operate a former hotel site and convert it into a new 100-bed emergency shelter. But it goes beyond shelter space. It includes around-the-clock onsite staff as well as health and housing supports, which is very important. I want to quote Jessica Bondi, the Director of Housing Services at House of Friendship. And I quote, Mr. Speaker, having those services and supports right on site for people who are struggling with homelessness goes an incredibly long way to helping them improve, Mr. Speaker. I've been a big advocate for this project for the last few years since it came across my desk. And I want to thank all the volunteers, the staff, everybody that's helped make this happen. John Neufeld, the Executive Director of House of Friendship, and of course the fantastic team led by Minister Clark with Municipal Affairs and Housing and all the staff there that have helped see this come to fruition. It's a very, very big project. I was glad to see the member of Waterloo there as well for the grand opening. And this is something that the whole community can get behind, a great nonpartisan project and was really great to be part of. Thank you very much, Speaker. Member Statements. The Member for Spadina, Fort York. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Friends deserve better health care. In the last, there was a recent report that showed that ERs have been closed across Ontario 158 times over the past year. It's absolutely inexcusable. And this government's actions have worsened that crisis. Bill 124, which illegally caps healthcare workers wages at 1% over the last four years, has driven healthcare workers, has made them feel completely unappreciated, has driven healthcare workers out of the system. Now this government has introduced legislation to privatize our public healthcare system, to transfer our tax dollars and our healthcare workers from the public system into private for profit system. This is only going to worsen the crisis that we are already facing in healthcare. Ontarians deserve healthcare. They deserve healthcare when they need it. This government is playing an ideological game and all of the people who are waiting in emergency rooms, all of the people who are waiting for hip surgeries and knee surgeries know that your suffering is part of this government's ideological goal of privatizing the system. And if you think that you're going to be better cared for in that private for profit system, just look at the armed forces report on long-term care during the pandemic and see how poorly the private for profit system created by the previous conservative government treated the seniors in our province. Next the member for Mississauga Lakeshore. Thank you, Speaker. Today is Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day. Over a million Canadians are living with heart valve disease. Cardiologists have described this as the next epidemic of heart disease. It is easy to dismiss the symptoms as normal signs of aging, or in my case, the effect of working 12-hour shifts at Ford Motor Company, but my wife knew something more. I had a physical, including a simple stethoscope check. When the doctor listened to my heart, he heard a murmur. Fortunately, when valve disease is detected early, treatment is effective. Twelve years ago, I had an aorta valve replaced with a mechanical valve. Today, I'm living a normal life and healthy. Some patients can have valve repaired and it's increasingly and surgically minimal invasive. Unfortunately, based on recent Heart Hub survey, only 3% of Canadians over 60 are aware of most common type of heart valve disease, and only 26% of Canadians had a stethoscope check within the past year. Improving public awareness is critical, and that's why days like today are important. Later today, I'll be introducing a private members bill that would proclaim February 22nd as Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day, and I'd like to invite all members to join us in room 247 after question period. Cardiologists from around the province are here today. You can learn more about heart valve disease and get a free stethoscope check. It saved my life. It could save yours. Thank you. Members' statements. The member for Orleans. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, everyone in Ottawa knows that there's a need for a new interimitial crossing in the national capital. Thousands of semi-trucks travel through the heart of the downtown every day, putting pedestrians at risk and creating an environment that is not conducive to a modern capital city. And this is not a new problem. As far back as the Graeber plan from the 1940s, the National Capital Commission has studied options for new interimitial bridge over and over again. And for decades, every study ever done has said that a new bridge on the east side of Ottawa should be built over Kettle Island, which would connect Highway 50 at Montepay-Mah and Gatineau to a corridor leading to the 417 in Ottawa. The most recent study from 2020, which builds on the previous study from 2009, concludes that Kettle Island corridor would be the least costly of the three proposed routes, would attract the most truck traffic and public transit, and offer the most manageable environmental effects, and provide the biggest boost in terms of economic development. Instead of making this decision, the National Capital Commission continues to drag the process out, leaving in limbo thousands of concerned residents in Orleans and other communities in Ottawa. These ongoing processes have been time-consuming, expensive, and generate enormous anxiety for residents. It's time for the NCC to get it done. Kettle or kill it? Thank you. The next member's statement, the member for Eglinton-Lawrence. Thank you, Sir. Ladd Canada's Who Are the Jews, travelling exhibit, along with City Councilor James Pasternak, Ladd Canada's Director of Advocacy, Sam Eskenazi, and representatives of Hasbro Canada. We joined Bruno Pallagy and others at the headquarters of the Toronto Catholic District School Board in my neighbouring riding of Willowdale for the launch of this new exhibit. The Jewish people have been around for millennia. Unfortunately, anti-Semitic incidents have also happened throughout history, and they've recently been on the rise again, including sadly here in Ontario and Toronto. In 2018, Ladd Canada commissioned a survey of Canadians to gauge their understanding of Jews and Judaism. The results unfortunately revealed Canadians have little knowledge about the Jewish people, and more concerningly, that much of the information people thought they knew about the Jews was either false or based on anti-Semitic tropes. When the cause of anti-Semitism is misinformation or no information at all, the solution begins with gaining knowledge, and that is an understanding of who the Jews are. Exhibition visitors here will learn about where they come from, who they are, their connections to the land of Israel, and how anti-Semitism differs from other forms of racism. Also, visitors can ask a Jew anything, and they will answer the question, someone is on hand to do that. The exhibit is funded through our anti-racism and anti-hate grant. It's a perfect example of how education will fix racism and anti-Semitism. I encourage all school boards to adopt this exhibit and have it go through their schools. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Whitby. Well, thank you, Speaker. I'm pleased to report that Ontario Tech University in Oshawa was the first to build partner for Project Arrow, Canada's pioneering full-build zero-emission concept vehicle recently revealed that the consumer electronics show by our Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, the Honourable Vic Fidelli. Project Arrow is Canada's business card to demonstrate that the Canadian automotive ecosystem can build EVs. Speaker, post-secondary institutions like Ontario Tech play an important role in this ecosystem, driving research and innovation and developing Ontario's future automotive talent. This vehicle speaker was built in partnership with the innovative automotive supply sector at Tarot Tech University, utilizing its world-class core research facilities, faculty and students. The project showcased once again how Ontario Tech University offers unique experiential learning opportunities for students to make once-in-their-lifetime contribution to Ontario Canada's technology future. Congratulations to the students. Congratulations to Stephen Murphy, the President of Ontario Tech University. Thank you. That's it for Member Statements. Point of order, Member for Newmarket, Aurora. Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to wear pink shirts to promote the National Day for Anti-Bullying. For Newmarket, Aurora is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to allow members to wear pink shirts to promote the National Day for Anti-Bullying. Agreed? Agreed. It all worked out.