 My apologies to the government house leader. It is now time for members statement. I recognize the member from Niagara. Well thank you very much Madam Speaker. Read my lips. No new taxes. That's right our government is getting it done for the people of Ontario by investing in housing infrastructure, highways, transit and healthcare without raising costs on families, businesses and municipalities. Yesterday our government tabled the 2024 budget building in Better Ontario and Speaker our government is getting it done for the people of Ontario and Niagara. Now like the rest of the world Ontario faces uncertain economic times due to high interest rates and global instability but in this time we're continuing to press forward and ensuring that we're getting the job done for the families in my riding and the rest of this province. Despite the challenges facing us Ontario is continuing to deliver on its plan to build by investing in infrastructure to get more homes built faster, attracting better jobs with bigger paychecks all while keeping costs down for families and businesses and retaining a prudent path to balance. For Niagara building a stronger Ontario means extending the gas cuts for families, expanding go rail service to our region, increasing service levels, twinning the Garden City Skyway over the Welland Canal in St. Catherine supporting the redevelopment of the West Lincoln Memorial Hospital to completion and adding more primary care for 11,000 Ontario Niagara's supporting the New South Niagara Hospital to completion and supporting local grape and winemakers by cutting the 6.1 onsite farm tax strengthening local economic development. Speaker as the Minister of Finance said yesterday our only option in these uncertain economic times is to move ahead and we're going to continue to get things done for the people of Ontario and all of Niagara. Members, I recognize the member from Tennyson Crocker. Thank you Speaker. In early March Englard Hospital had to close their ER for a couple days due to a physician shortage and like many rural hospitals are also facing ballooning budget problems because of agency health care staff, agency nurses so we were very interested in looking at the budget yesterday what that was going to do for rural hospitals and there was an increase in base funding to hospitals. That's a good thing but the base funding increase was less than inflation. So actually that was a cut. It was less than inflation and it didn't do anything to address one of the biggest issues in hospitals. It's paying for agency nurses, agency PSWs. It's a huge issue and it's an issue that this government seems to want to ignore or actually almost seems to want to perpetuate. When we see in our hospitals the biggest budget item is agency nursing and we know that the cost is massively inflated by the profit margins of the agencies and it's an issue that has to be addressed. Is there a role? Do we need agencies in some cases? In some cases yes but not at the extent of what's happening now. This government has missed the mark on this and we don't know why but they need to act now. Thank you. Thank you. Member statements? The member for Newmarket, Aurora. Thank you, Speaker. I'm hosting a community safety discussion at the Aurora Town Hall with the York Regional Police. In response to recent incidents of auto thefts and break-ins in our community we organised a town hall to provide our residents with updates on local safety initiatives led by the York Regional Police Services. With the rising crime over the last few years as a provincial government we have committed to fighting this crime by investing millions of dollars to combat various forms of crime. From auto thefts to enhancing court resources to prosecute criminals to standardising investigative practices particularly for eight crimes as well as addressing guns and gangs and a violence reduction strategy. The message was clear from the residents in attendance an increased police presence and greater CCTV monitoring as well as stricter bail reform to ensure perpetrators who are committing multiple crimes over and over will be kept in prison. A heartfelt thank you to York Regional Police as they are on the front lines to support our community to protect us and keep us safe. Thank you to all of the vigilant residents whose partnership and proactive stands when it comes to help safety drives our communities forward. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements. The Member for Niagara Centre. Thank you, Speaker. Kathy Carries of Port Coburn is grieving the loss of her beloved husband Ernie Carries who died on Monday, October 16, 2023 at the age of 67. Her journey on the loss of her husband of 20 years is deeply personal and emotional. Ernie was a healthy, intelligent husband, father and grandfather very active in his family's lives and they continue to struggle with this overwhelming loss. Kathy, a registered nurse for over 35 years, knew a delayed cancer diagnosis would lead to serious consequences or death and that's what happened. Classic symptoms were either heart failure or cancer and his heart was fine. But Ernie couldn't get an oncology appointment until he had a cancer diagnosis. That dragged on for months with several painful biopsies. One of those biopsies was sent to British Columbia when there was a clinic in Toronto that could have done it. Kathy said she witnessed so much wasted money and resources as she continued to advocate for her husband. The process was exhausting. It is stressful for Kathy to watch her husband suffering this whole time and the ongoing hardships and getting the proper treatment for him. As she grieves, she wants other families to know what happened to Ernie. She says there is a lack of coordinated care in our region and across the province which contributes to high costs and poor, inconsistent care across different facilities. There's a direct correlation, Speaker, between the decisions this government makes in budget and the way the health care system works. Right now it is in crisis. I will continue to advocate for people like Kathy and her family as they are impacted by doctor shortages, underfunding, lack of staffing, and hospital plans that are shrinking our health care services in EMS, urgent care, and emergency surgical care at a time when our population in Niagara is growing. We must do better, Speaker. Member Statements, the Member for Kitchener, Conestoga. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, and you'll be delighted to hear that this year on April 6th is the 60th anniversary of the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. Friends, this is the largest single-day maple syrup festival in the world. It holds a Guinness World Record, and this year we're expecting roughly 80,000 people in a city that's built for about 15,000, so you can imagine how busy it's going to be. But this year is going to be a little bit different. In late December this year, we lost a champion of the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. Doug McClain passed away. He served on the festival committee for over 35 years, twice as Chair, and also ran the toy show for many years. So, Doug, on the 60th anniversary, this one's for you, my friend, all the best to your family, and can't wait to be in Elmira on the 6th. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. The Member for Thunder Bay Superior North. Speaker, my former artistic home, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, continues to bring world-class performances and music education programs to communities throughout a very large region. The three orchestra concerts I attended this month alone were not only huge artistic successes, they were full houses. And there are always full houses for the collaborations between Indigenous artists and the TBSO. Everything that is under the control of the organization is on solid ground. But unfortunately, not even full houses can make up for years of funding cuts. Yesterday I was shocked. There was no mention in the budget of restoring funding to the Ontario Arts Council. In fact, apart from some supports for film production, there's no mention of the arts at all. This is short-sighted. The TBSO is the epicenter of a unique industry in our community that diversifies the economic landscape. In recruitment materials for professionals and workers in all categories, the orchestra is a key selling point for the City of Thunder Bay. And I know that the centrality of arts organizations to community life is true throughout the entire province. Artists in all disciplines have a lifeblood of our communities. And it is long overdue that the government recognizes this and restores funding to the organization that supports it all, the Ontario Arts Council. Thank you. Miigwetch. Merci. Thank you. Member Statements. Member for Markham, Thornhill. Thank you, Mr. Chair. The housing crisis is the primary cause of the affordability crisis in this province. That is why, last week, the Premier announced that Ontario will be investing over $1.8 billion in housing enabling infrastructure in order to help build 1.5 million homes by 2031. That investment is part of the commitment our government has made to help build more affordable homes across the Ontario. So, Speaker, the new $1 billion municipal housing infrastructure program will help support core urban infrastructure that growing and changing communities need such as roadways or water work. This funding support our existing $1.2 billion building faster to help promote communities that meet our exceed their housing target. Our government is investing to build homes that Ontarian can afford and looking at new method of housing such as modular homes. Mr. Speaker, the York Region and my city of Markham is looking forward to working with our government in order to get more shovel into the ground that will help build more housing especially affordable housing. I would like to thank the Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Associate Minister for the hard work to help create more housing supply. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Kingston and the Islands. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to honour an outstanding citizen of Kingston. Mr. Jamshad Hassan, affectionately known as Jimmy. From Pakistan to California to Toronto to Kingston, 21 years ago, Jimmy fearlessly worked his way to where he is now. He opened a pizza pizza franchise when he got to Kingston. The store he still owns and where he still sweeps the floors today. Jimmy treasures the diversity of Canada and he founded the Canadian Colors Kingston Foundation seven years ago to promote just that by gathering community together. Through his business he has donated to local charities every year and used his contacts to organise drives to collect blankets and food for the homeless. He's the producer and host of his own cable TV show, Community Voices about local and political, social and political issues. And in 2022 was elected to Kingston City Council. You'll find Jimmy at community events, at the mosque, in his store, at political events or maybe he's away visiting his family in Pakistan. He's a husband, father to three boys, successful businessman, community leader and most of all proud to be Canadian. Sometimes it takes an immigrant to remind all of us what Canadian citizenship really means. It's an honour to call you a friend Jimmy. Thank you very much. The next member's statement, the member for Mississauga Centre. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Yesterday's budget building a better Ontario was a very exciting day for Ontario families, residents, seniors and workers including those in the healthcare sector. When we got elected six years ago we made a commitment to ending hallway healthcare, investing into infrastructure, growing our healthcare workforce and supporting those on the road to recovery in their mental health journey. In contrast the previous Liberal government wreaked havoc on our healthcare system with hospital budgets and their inability to sit at the table with our doctors. Yesterday's budget had many wins for healthcare such as increase for behavioural support, $2 billion more for home care and 3,000 more nursing student spots at our colleges and that more seniors want to grow old in their home beside loved ones and not in a hospital hallway and this is true for seniors like dementia. Yesterday we announced an investment of $46 million to support the continued operation of 59 existing behavioural specialised units and to add more than 200 new BSU units. We are also investing $2 billion into home care bringing stability to the sector and helping people manage chronic conditions like dementia at home for longer. Speaker, our front line heroes have always been there for us to have their back. Thank you. Thank you. The next member's statement, the member for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Last Saturday evening I attended a local Purim celebration at Temple Sinai in my riding. During Purim Jews commemorate escaping from tyranny with the help of Queen Esther. Although Purim is normally joyous, this year it is clouded by uncertainty as over 130 hostages are still being held for 170 days after October 7. Temple Sinai also commemorated the life of Judy Weinstein, a member of its congregation murdered by Hamas whose body has not been returned to Israel or her family. Those present listened to a haiku recorded by Judy which ended with the sentiment now more than ever kindness and tolerance with an open heart. On Sunday I attended a rally at Queens Park organised by Women Against Antisemitism, CWA on public land the crowd sang along with gospel singers to Leonard Cohen's hallelujah and listened to women describe their experiences with antisemitism. People held up signs reading love thy neighbour and wave the Canadian flag and Judy Weinstein's haiku was shared again. At the same time as the CWA event occurred a shut it down for Palestine demonstration occurred. The objective as the name implies was to shut down communities of others including by blocking intersections and waving signs saying by any means necessary. Instead of persuasion that strategy relies on power and intimidation. Power and intimidation are not democratic tools and we cannot and will not be intimidated. This is our Queen Esther moment and we must fight back against antisemitism and all attempts to impose tyranny. Thank you very much.