 It is now time for a member's statements. I recognize the member for Windsor to come see. Good afternoon, Speaker. This is a shout out to David Warner. As you know, he was the Speaker of this House between 1990 and 1995. These days, he's the editor of the Informer, a magazine published by the Ontario Association of Former Parliamentarians. In the latest issue, Mr. Warner chose to highlight the sculptures and monuments on the precinct grounds here at Queen's Park. What caught my eye was a feature on Walter Allwood. Most of us wouldn't recognize his name, but he's the man who created what perhaps is the most remarkable monument ever created by a Canadian, the Vimy Memorial in France. It took him 14 years to complete that extraordinary memorial to peace. David Warner writes that Allwood was a modest, self-taught, talented man who left school at 14. Around the legislature, Walter Allwood created the Northwest Rebellion Statue and William Lyon McKenzie, the struggle for democracy in Upper Canada, as well as statues dedicated to General John Graves Simcoe, Sir Oliver Moet and John Sandfield McDonald. His smaller sculptures and monuments still stand today in places such as Stratford, Peterborough, and, Speaker, I am so proud to say, in my own community of Windsor. Walter Allwood in 1906, 30 years before his Vimy masterpiece in France, created the Boer War Memorial Fountain, which still stands in the Queen Elizabeth II Sunken Gardens in Windsor's Jackson Park. In Ottawa, this talented man has two statues on Parliament Hill. Robert Baldwin and Louis Iplight Lafontaine and the Truth and Justice figures cast in bronze that flanked the entrance to the Supreme Court building. Speaker, on behalf of all of us, I say thank you to David Warner for reminding us of the significance of what surrounds us in this wonderful place, our provincial parliament. And David, thank you for informing me about the Windsor connection to that magnificent Vimy Memorial in France. Thank you very much. Member statements, a member for Richmond Hill. I'm proud to announce that my writing, Richmond Hill, being one of the largest town in Ontario, is renamed as the City of Richmond Hill. Yay! When the council reinforced its position in York Region and the province as an urbanized and competitive municipality. Indeed, the City of Richmond Hill is home to many successful businesses. Just last week, I have the honour to share the joy and success of Call for Inc. They have built an award-winning education software for over 30 years. Recently, their product, SB has won them the contract from all the school boards in New Zealand. The York Region District School Board is also one of their clients. SB is the most comprehensive learning and analytical platform. It engages students, parents, and available to them so that they can connect with all the devices. It enables personalized learning experience and gives school districts, states, and provinces or national government powerful new ways to measure and improve the education effectiveness. We are very proud of the level of innovation and creativity demonstrated by this team. Way to go, SB, and way to go, City of Richmond Hill. Yay! Member Statements, the member for Algoma Manitoulou. Well, thank you, Speaker. And the two individuals that I want to talk to you about today is, I think I mentioned them in my inaugural speech, so it's been a long time I haven't talked to them. They braved a pretty tough weekend. This weekend, they were with me. They actually braved the drive that we took from my place all the way down to Manitoulou Island. And, you know, they braved the discussions that they had with me as the member for Algoma Manitoulou. And they just were tireless and put up with me all weekend. And, you know what, Speaker? They're the most two individuals that make me so proud to take my seat each and every day. And I want to thank my son, Arak, and my other son, Metsir, for having spent this weekend and made last weekend so special for Dad. You guys have no idea what it meant to me, just the fact that we went out on the lake and we fished together, we laughed together, we ate together. I want to give a shout out to Liz and Rupert, who are our hosts, who put us up in this beautiful little cabin. Nothing fancy, a wood stove and just four walls and a couple of windows, a couple of cots. It was just a remarkable moment for me and my sons. And I encourage all members that when you have that opportunity to being a Dad, it's one of those rewarding things that you have is be a Dad or be a mom and just be there for your kids when they have that opportunity because you know what, this place takes a toll on you. And it's nice to go back home and get re-energized. And I want to say, Arak, Metsir, thank you so much. Dad really loved the weekend. The member for Kitchener Conestoga. Thank you again, Mr. Speaker and the member's statement here today. And I'm sure you're going to really appreciate this, Mr. Speaker. It is a true privilege to rise this afternoon to celebrate another successful year for the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, Mr. Speaker. For its 55th year, the people of Elmira and Woolwich Township welcomed over 60,000 visitors from across Ontario and beyond to enjoy the world's largest one day maple syrup festival. Beyond the consumption of golden brown pancakes topped with locally topped delicious maple syrup, Ontarians enjoyed a horse and buggy ride out to the sugar bush and various exhibitions for all ages. Team Harris was out and about all day welcoming visitors. And this included engaging and which I'm sure you've done over the years, Mr. Speaker, the pancake flipping relay. We were armed with spatulas, tennis rackets, scuba flippers and frying pans, and we were ready to take on all rivals. But we had a secret weapon with us, Mr. Speaker, a ringer, if you will, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the honorable member from Vaughan Woodbridge. I would like to thank the Minister for working the spatula in our victory over our local Liberal MP. And then taking some time to share his expertise at the crafts and collectibles market to join and to join Waterloo Region Chair Karen Redman, Woolwich Mayor Sandy Schantz and Event Chair Karen, sorry, my apologies, Kim Dixon, to tour the half mile long Outdoor Mall. I know the Minister shared his appreciation for Kim Dixon and the countless volunteers who make this event possible. And I would like to invite all of my colleagues to Elmira next year for the 56th annual Maple Syrup Festival. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member Statements, the member for DeMisqueming Cochrane. I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome and invite everyone from both in the legislature and those people watching to a very important event that's happening in my writing. It's called the Central Canadian Junior A hockey championship, better known as the Dudley Hewitt Cup. And it's happening from April 30th to May 4th. And the great thing about holding the Dudley Hewitt Cup in Cochrane, it's likely still gonna feel like hockey weather in Cochrane because they'll likely still be snow. And it's a combination of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Superior International Junior Hockey League. And it's hosted by Cochrane's own Cochrane Crunch. And it's gonna be held in a beautiful arena known as the Tim Horton's Event Center because Cochrane is the birthplace of none other than Tim Horton. They're very proud of that. They're very proud of their hockey. They're very proud of their young people. And I wish, I wish them a great hockey tournament. And if people come to Cochrane and you're wondering what else could you do in Cochrane? Lots. Lots of things, but I particularly recommend the polar bear habitat. It's a research facility where they have, they do research with polar bears and one of their main goals is to see how polar bears are going to be able to adapt and if they're going to be able to adapt to climate change, which we all know is happening and we all have to be cognizant of it and Cochrane is taking steps to help the world see how it's gonna affect them. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Don Valley West. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday I had the opportunity to go and visit my sister and I stopped at one of the enroutes to pick up a cup of tea. It was early, it was quiet and there wasn't much activity. And I had the opportunity to have a conversation that I have had over and over again with young people in their workplaces, in their colleges, in their universities or in their high schools, Mr. Speaker. The two young women working behind the counter are both part-time employees and they are part-time students. What they wanted to talk about was their anxiety about next year. They shared their worry about whether they would be able to continue in their courses, whether they'd be able to go to school at all because of the cuts to student assistance, Mr. Speaker. These are enterprising young people. They're working hard to complete their degrees. They're eager to make a contribution to their communities and they're telling us that they may have to give up that path because of the changes that have been made and the concern that they have about debt. Our government put in place the free tuition program, Mr. Speaker, for low and middle income families because our advantage in Ontario with our huge geography and our small population is our young people. We need everyone at their best and, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of those young people who are on the brink of their future all across this province, I encourage the government, I implore the government to think again about those cuts to student assistance because we need them, our economy needs them, all to be at their best, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements. Member for Perry, Salma Skolka. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to tell members of the legislature about an amazing young woman from Perry Sound. Megan Oldham is an 18-year-old freestyle skier who, in her first season on the World Cup circuit, won a gold medal in slope style in Switzerland on March 30th. This gold medal completes a set with a bronze medal. She won a mammoth mountain in the U.S. and a silver medal she won in Italy in January. With the gold medal, when Megan also won the 2019 Crystal Globe for slope style, an award given to the competitor with the most World Cup points. Megan learned to ski right here in Ontario, just off Highway 400 at Mount St. Louis. Megan started freestyle skiing with her older brother, Bruce, who himself won a bronze medal at the 2019 Canada Winter Games. Megan follows in the footsteps of another skier from Perry Sound, Muskoka, Olympic gold medalist, Dara Howell from Huntsville. I hope the successes of both Megan and Dara can inspire more young women to take up freestyle skiing, just like both Megan and Dara were inspired by another Ontario athlete, Sarah Burke. On behalf of all the members of the Legislature, I want to express our congratulations to Megan on an outstanding first season on the World Cup circuit and her gold medal and Crystal Globe. Congratulations. Well done. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Kitchener's Center. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Dear government, it has been 25 years since the Rwandan genocide as the Toronto Star explains. Those who survive say they always strive to keep the balance between moving forward with life and remembering and paying homage to the departed. So what does it mean to pay homage to the departed? How can we join those who have survived to heal in Ontario? Well, last Thursday, this House voted unanimously to condemn and address Islamophobia. However, that same day, a concerned settlement organization contacted our office having just received word that the Attorney General is considering cuts to legal aid for immigrants and refugees. A coalition of settlement organizations quickly came together to alert the Attorney General that, and I quote, cuts will put at risk the lives of thousands of people seeking safety here in Ontario. And last Thursday, we agreed that our choice of language matters in our fight against racism of all kinds. But yesterday, this conservative government was once again referring to asylum seekers as, and I quote, a legal border crossers. A term that purposefully or not serves only to degrade the dignity of real people and dismiss the stories of hardship that brought them here to safety. So I asked, does defunding legal aid services for refugees pay homage to the victims of the Rwandan genocide who came to Canada as refugees? Does calling asylum seekers derogatory names pay homage to the survivors of the Rwanda genocide who found asylum in Canada and in Ontario? Dear government, please do better. Ontario is watching. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Carlton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Fifth of April, the province approved the construction of a new Catholic French school in Ottawa, which welcomed students from K to great sex. There will be daycare services for their families. Our government is very proud to approve the construction of this French elementary school for the Francophones in the area region. We have us, we focus our resources on the educators for their work to find better jobs in the modern economy. Once done, this school will offer a new space who will welcome more than 400 students and three rooms for daycare services that will welcome 49 students. Mr. Speaker, we know that high quality learning space will make sure students are successful. We prove that we invest in the future of Ottawa and Carlton students and their families. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Flamborough-Planbrook. Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to rise today to recognize an historic investment of $105 million U.S. in fusion pharmaceuticals, a McMaster University startup company. It is the largest single investment ever in a Canadian startup and one of the largest single private investments in Canadian biotechnology. Fusion Pharmaceuticals, based at the McMaster Innovation Park in my hometown of Hamilton, develops cancer therapy products that target cancer cells by delivering a precise dose of radiation. It is designed to attack drug-resistant tumors that do not respond to traditional therapies, including lung, brain, prostate, and breast cancer. This multimillion-dollar international investment reflects strong support for McMaster University's work, its people, and its product pipeline. As a result, they will be able to broaden their team and develop new therapies. This investment will allow Fusion to design products for the marketplace directly out of university research. Commercializing McMaster's research is achieving real results. More than 100 people will be hired over the next three years. The first clinical trial is already underway in Hamilton and Montreal. More trials are expected to be added around the world. Once again, I would like to congratulate Fusion Pharmaceuticals on this investment, and I wish them all the best as they continue their groundbreaking work. That concludes our member's statements for this afternoon. Member for Orlean, it's informed me she has a point of order. Yes, Mr. Speaker. I'm seeking unanimous consent, so my colleague from the Liberal Caucus and I can split our five minutes of response to both ministerial statements, so it'll be about two and a half minutes each. Thank you. The member for Orlean is seeking unanimous consent of the House to split the time between her colleague in response to the ministerial statements. Agreed? Agreed. Reports by committees, I beg to inform the House that today the...