 Next, we have Member Statements. I recognise the Member for the Mississauga Centre. Thank you so much, Speaker. Good morning. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, aiming to promote screening and prevention. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer, celebrate the progress made and support those affected by it. This past spring, a U.S. Health Task Force recommended women get screened for breast cancer 10 years earlier than the current mammogram recommendations, starting at 40 years old. I was pleased to hear shortly after the Minister of Health say that Ontario is currently exploring a similar change regarding breast cancer screening. As a registered nurse, I have seen and heard stories from countless women about how deadly breast cancer is and how early screening can save lives and reduce the toll of this disease. I recently met with a breast cancer survivor and advocate, Ellen Robinson, who introduced me to a photo essay campaign that brings together the images and voices of numerous Ontarians affected by breast cancer called I Want You to Know. It can be accessed at densebreastscanada.com. In my own life, two survivors, my adopted grandma Shirley Bray and my Francophone friend and leader Melinda Chartrand, have also emphasised to me how beneficial early screening can be. How important self-examinations are on the first of every month to feel for lumps or bumps for women of all ages. How we need to show up for screening and book mammograms, even if the truth is something that may terrify us. To all women who advocate for breast cancer screening and prevention, to the survivors and advocates, you are not alone. We see you. Thank you for your work. Member Statements. The Member for Toronto Centre. Thank you very much, Speaker, and good morning. On Friday, I held a press conference highlighting the plight of small business owners who took out the federal SIVA loan during the COVID lockdown. Toronto itself was a victim of over 400 days of lockdowns, one of the longest in the world. This loan, the SIVA loan, was essential and allowed small businesses to stay open. Now the federal government is undermining their good work by not extending the forgivable portion of the loan, but only doing so by 18 days instead of the requested year. The federal government is behaving as if the businesses should have fully recovered from the pandemic, and we know, Speaker, that they have not. This is simply not true for at least two-thirds of those businesses. The Premier must use his political capital to push the federal government and their counterparts to extend the forgivable portion of this loan until the end of 2020-4. And without this, thousands of jobs will be lost, as we know businesses will be forced to close. Ontario has already felt the majority of the pain as we've seen the loss of jobs and the closing of our main streets. As we have heard from John Carew from the Toronto Association of BIAs, small businesses must be at the table of these decisions, otherwise we're only on the menu. The state of small business overall can be best described by their recent dashboards of CFIB. 51% are experiencing below sales, 57 are carrying pandemic debt, and an average of $107,000 is what the small businesses are carrying in debt. Speaker, we must do more to support small businesses in Ontario. Thank you. Thank you very much, Member Statements. The Member for Thunder Bay Atacocan. Thank you, and good morning, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to celebrate the significant work being accomplished in Thunder Bay Atacocan. Since being elected as MPP, I have been privileged to meet with a vast variety of constituents, community organisations, and industry stakeholders. From forestry, bioeconomy, and mining advancements to policing, housing, health, and education services, we have come together to better understand the tremendous opportunities in the writing and work towards securing a better future for all, and there is much to celebrate. By example on September 9th, I was privileged to attend the 2023 Annual Recognition Awards of the Ontario Native Women's Association's 52nd Annual General Assembly and Leadership Conference in Thunder Bay. ANWA has observed yet another year of successes and growth. An organisation that has been dedicated to the well-being, empowerment, and recognition of Indigenous women and girls for over five decades. As we all know, Indigenous women are a tremendous source of strength and resilience, and have helped shape and influence their communities as nurturers, caregivers, providers, teachers, and leadership. I have been privileged to meet with the leadership at ANWA on several occasions now, and their dedication to generating solutions for protecting the integrity and security of Indigenous women and girls has inspired me. For these reasons and more, I remain a very proud resident and representative of the Thunder Bay Atacocan region. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Sudbury. Thank you very much, Speaker. Last March at Science North, Lars Sudbury launched a project called It's Home. There was a video message from the Associate Minister of Housing, who is now the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. I took a photo and I shared it with him when we sat again, and he just said, I love that place. And there was a lot to love, Speaker, about Lars Sudbury. Lars is an example of a better community where people with and without intellectual disabilities live, work, and play together, where instead of clients and staff, core members lead their own lives with the support of assistants. Now, I imagine you take that independent living model beyond a typical Lars Sudbury home, you take it beyond core members and assistants. That's what Lars Sudbury Place will be. Lars Sudbury Place is a combined residential complex. It'll have 28 units and a gathering space, 10 will be affordable housing for Lars core members and the rest for the general public. Think about that. Affordable housing for people with intellectual disabilities, market rentals for the general public, and a truly accessible community gathering space. It's a great idea. It is so good that last Thursday, Desjardins donated $500,000 from the GoodSpark Fund to support it. It's half a million bucks, Speaker. So thinking back to the minister who said, I love that place, I want to remind him that Jennifer McCauley, Lars Sudbury Executive Director said, if we had all the funding and dollars that we need, we could be shovel ready for spring of 2024. And Speaker, I look forward to hearing about the potential investment into Lars Sudbury Place soon. Thank you. Thank you. Member statements to member for Perth Wellington. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to recognize and celebrate some of recent investments our government has made in my riding at Perth Wellington. Recently, I was able to announce on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs that five worthy initiatives in my riding would be receiving a combined $270,000 in Rural Economic Development Funding. The municipality of North Perth will be receiving $137,000 for its Agriculture Excellence Action Plan, which will support our flourishing agriculture and agriculture technology sector. Perth County will be receiving $50,000 for its workforce attraction and retention kit for employers. Drayton Entertainment is receiving more than $49,000 to modernize operations and support the adoption of more environmentally friendly practices. The town of Minto was receiving $200,000 for their move to Minto business attraction campaign and encourage all businesses to move to Minto. And Lynn's Blacksmith Shop in Kenilworth is receiving $17,000 to help maintain a historic and culturally significant landmark. Our government has provided over $4.3 million to support 80 projects across rural Ontario in this recent round of red funding. Speaker, as you know, rural Ontario is the backbone of our provincial economy. Annually, businesses in rural Ontario contribute $99 billion to our provincial economy. I am proud to be part of a government that continues to support our small businesses and rural economic development. Thank you, Speaker. Member statements, the Member for Niagara Centre. Morning, Speaker. Back in May, I tabled the Captain Craig Bowman Act, which, if passed, would change workplace safety and transport regulations to ensure more firefighters have access to cancer care coverage. Captain Craig Bowman was a professional firefighter for the City of Welland for 20 years and a volunteer firefighter for the City of Thorold for nearly three years. Captain Bowman passed away Sunday, May 21, 2023, from stage four esophageal cancer. He went to the doctor about a sore back. An ultrasound revealed lesions on his liver. Further testing led to the heartbreaking news of his advanced cancer. He had no family history of cancer. Firefighters face a number of health hazards as they work to keep our communities safe. They put their lives and health on the line for us every day, and I'm honored to bring forth legislation that will help them navigate these hazards and improve access to insurance coverage for their families. This is not a partisan issue and should not be a political issue. After I brought this bill forward, the former Minister of Labor personally promised the Bowman family he would act on this. Nothing would make me happier than for the new minister to work with me to pass legislation to get justice for the Bowman family and all firefighters. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Mississauga Air and Mills. Happy small business week, Mr Speaker. Over the summer, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting dozens of local businesses in my writing from Saga Air and Mills. From retail and services to manufacturing logistics. Mississauga is becoming a place for business to thrive. Speaker, small businesses are the lifeblood of our province. They strengthen neighborhoods, provide jobs and stimulating greater connection with the local community. That's why our government will continue to support local businesses, allowing them to achieve all that they can offer. With tax credits such as Ontario made manufacturing investment tax credit, our government is fostering the condition for growth. This is the reason Ontario has become the economic engine of Canada, and that's why we have been able to welcome almost 40,000 new manufacturing jobs over three years. By supporting the thriving economy, our government is building a stronger Ontario. Mr Speaker, I'm believes that our government is also building Ontario through investment in healthcare. I recently attended an announcement at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga where the premier and the minister of health announced Ontario first women and children hospital. This will be the province largest center of specialized care for women and children, providing high quality care families. This will be just one bar too far larger Mississauga hospital that will serve our growing community for the kids to come. Mr Speaker, our government is saying yes to building thriving Ontario. Very much. Member statements. The member for beaches east York. Thank you. Good morning, Mr Speaker. I'm always proud to sit rise in this beautiful chamber to speak about special happenings in beaches east York. On Labor Day weekend, I attended the Toronto International Busker Fest at Woodbine Park. A four day fun filled entertainment extravaganza. It's an annual donation based event brought to us by Epilepsy Toronto and one that is a highly anticipated mainstay with a 23 year history. Busker Fest is one of the biggest street performer festivals in North America and is the largest epilepsy event on the planet with the goal of creating a unique and memorable experience that brings epilepsy out of the shadows and into the public eye Busker Fest delivers. There is much we can all do to raise epilepsy awareness and the stigma and improve quality of life. Epilepsy Toronto is the place where Torontonians can learn more about their condition, get the help they need and be a part of a family of caring people. Approximately one in every hundred adults is in Ontario, is living with epilepsy. In 70% of the cases the cause of epilepsy is unknown. Organizing a vibrant event like this takes much dedication and hundreds of volunteers. We've seen critical cuts to organizations like Epilepsy Toronto. We have an obligation to make sure that they are able to continue to do the hard and important work needed in all of our communities. The countdown to next year's Busker Fest has already begun. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Simcoe Gray. Thank you Mr. Speaker. It is a pleasure to rise this morning on behalf of the residents of Simcoe Gray to speak about our environment. Speaker Ontario has committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below the 2005 levels by 2030. By 2020 Ontario's emissions were 27% lower than the 2005 levels. On a per capita basis Ontario's emissions is the third best in Canada at 10.1 tons per resident annually. That is 43% below the national average of 17.7 tons per resident. We know we have more to do which is why this government is working with our steel producers in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie to convert the coke furnaces to electric art furnaces by the end of 2027. That will remove 6 million more tons of GHG gases per year. Speaker in addition to adding 9,400 acres to the Greenbelt this year this government committed 14 million dollars to our partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Canada the Greenland Conservation Project. This is the largest provincial fund to secure, restore and protect sensitive natural areas and it has a mass over 167,700 hectares since 2020. That is more than 20% of the total land mass of the Greenbelt. Ontario's energy grid is 90% GHG free and we are committed to increasing that number with a new state-of-the-art small modular nuclear reactor in Clarington, Ontario that will generate 300,000 megawatts enough to power 300,000 homes. Speaker Ontario's leading candidate in reducing our carbon footprint and this government is committed to making our province a leader in sustainability environmentally, economically and socially. Member statements? The member for Sarnia Lampton. Thank you, Speaker. As always it's a pleasure to rise in the chamber today. On this occasion I'd like to spend a few moments congratulating and extending congratulations to my colleague, longtime friend, the Honourable Monty McNaughton, who is now officially left public office after a long and successful career. I rehearse this, not a lot of as many know, Monty first came to Queen's Park as a legislative page back in 1991 and he would some time in some 20 years later return as an elected member of this legislature in between Monty learned the ins and outs of local politics as a three term municipal councillor and developed his understanding of an honesty's work while serving customers at his family hardware store in Newberry, Ontario. At this time I'd like to wish an Irish proverb, blessing, may the road wise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sunshine warm upon your face and the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, Monty, Kate and Annie may God hold you in the palm of his hand. So motivated. Thank you very much. That concludes our member statements for this morning. Introduction of visitors. Recognize the member for Nicolet.