 I'm sorry to interrupt the member who will have the opportunity another time to continue his debate. It is time for member statements. I recognize the member from Windsor West. Thank You Madam Speaker. I rise to speak to a profoundly serious issue that is currently happening in my riding of Windsor West. The two largest shelters for people experiencing food and security and homelessness are facing massive COVID-19 outbreaks. Between the Salvation Army in the downtown mission there are 65 COVID-19 cases among guests and staff with more test pending. The City of Windsor's isolation and recovery center is full as of Tuesday this week. The downtown missions executive director Reverend Ron Dunn was left scrambling to find a temporary space shelter space for our most vulnerable in the face of a wicked winter storm that swept through our region Monday night. The mission receives no sustained funding from the province or the city. They raised four million from the community but this is not a sustainable practice especially during the pandemic. Shelters must be given the proper support to help vulnerable people survive during this pandemic. Many Ontarians have been left without any additional supports during the COVID-19 pandemic often living with food insecurity, precarious housing, chronic illness or a disability. Social assistance rates remain well below poverty level and recipients aren't receiving any additional support from this government to buy what is needed to keep them safe. Social assistance rates must be increased to reflect the rising housing and living costs across the province. Instead this conservative government is enabling evictions at record speed pushing more people into homelessness. We need an eviction ban. We must invest in helping and protecting those that are being left behind in this pandemic. Member statements. I recognize a member from Mississauga East Cooksville. Thank you very much speaker. This Valentine's Day Mississauga's very own Hazel McAllian turned 100 years young. Hurricane Hazel even at 100 years old remained an unstoppable force and an engaged contributor in her community. From her earliest days in in the office Hazel was a remarkable leader. In 1979 the newly elected Mayor McAllian led the city of Mississauga through the events of the shocking derailment of a CP train and corresponding explosions that released deadly liquid chlorine requiring 200,000 homes to be evacuated but resulted in no casualties. She has had and continues to have a lasting impact on what makes Mississauga such a great place to live and work. Hazel's leadership is apparent through her ongoing mentorship of new parliamentarians such as myself inspiring me to be a better leader communicator and public servant for the people of Mississauga and Ontario. I am privileged to have had many great talks with Hazel who is always happy to share her wisdom and experience. I'm certain and I speak not only myself when I wish one of Ontario's finest a very happy birthday and many happy returns of the of the day. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member statements? The member for Windsor to come see. Thank you Speaker. When I get back to my office this week I had a number of Christmas cards in my mailbox and they came in after we broke for the holidays. Now I sent cards to the Premier and key cabinet ministers back in December and those cards I wrote all I want for Christmas is funding for the next planning phase for a new regional hospital in Windsor and Essex County. Speaker in case those Christmas cards were never passed along to the Premier and key cabinet ministers from their constituency offices I'll put the issue back on the table again this morning. About 10 years ago we saw the need and began the planning for a new regional hospital. We knew the band-aids and temporary fixes we kept paying for wouldn't do for the long term. Committees were struck, a location was chosen, the Health Ministry approved funding for phase one. In December of 2017 the previous Liberal government approved moving us to phase two but didn't allocate the funding. Speaker since the Ford government was elected we've answered a ton of questions but have yet to receive the funding and hasn't been approved. The ask is simple ten million dollars to move ahead with the essential hospital planning process. Speaker since there are no public consultations on the spring budget this is as public as it gets I call in the government to finally recognize the need and commit the necessary funding for this in Ontario's spring budget. Thank you the next member statement the member for Ottawa West Nippian. Well thank you speaker it's an honour to rise today for my first statement of 2021 to share a truly heartwarming story from my riding of Ottawa West Nippian that displays the Ontario spirit. Debbie Abfalter owner of senior solutions in Ottawa started the seniors in isolation Facebook group encouraging members to write to seniors in the area that are feeling increasingly isolated during the pandemic. Everyone loves receiving a surprise letter and that was certainly the case for some of my constituents at Stirling Park Retirement Community. Bob Ford was one of those residents. Before long Mr Ford was writing back and even sent flowers to the family that had let him know that although they had never met they were thinking of him and doing what they could to keep him safe. He told CTV News Ottawa I didn't realize the significance of it and how much I enjoyed it. More than 6000 Ottawa area seniors have received cards so far. Let's keep it going. I encourage everyone who sees this to reach out to a senior in their community and let them know that you care. If you'd like to send a card you can get in touch with Debbie and cards etc for seniors in isolation through her email Debbie at seniors dash solution dot com. Thank you for your work demonstrating the Ontario spirit. Thank you very much. Member statements number for London North Centre. Speaker this government sluggish vaccine rollout has left seniors and their families in my riding feeling anxious uncertain and confused about when they will be able to access their vaccine. Some seniors have gone months without seeing their grandkids or loved ones. They've sacrificed followed public health advice and now they deserve answers. This government talks about protecting the vulnerable and yet seniors are finding it impossible to obtain basic information such as when will they be eligible for the vaccine. How will they be contacted and where will they get their shot. Too many of these questions remain unanswered. One of my constituents Myrna asked me to think about how seniors suffer from many ailments that make them even more susceptible to COVID and others have pointed out the seniors with mobility issues are being forgotten. How will seniors with mobility issues obtain the vaccine. Will all vaccination centres be wheelchair accessible. Ben and Judy Goldberg who are 90 and 91 asked Jane Sims from the London Free Press how are they going to find us. Are we supposed to put a flag out front. Judy said they wonder if their age groups last minute addition to phase one was made just to shut down the criticism. On behalf of London seniors. I'm asking this government to finally release answers to these essential questions about the vaccine after months of enduring this pandemic often in isolation is the least this government can do for them. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Ottawa South. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. Paid sick days save lives. Virtually everyone in this province medical officers of health municipal councils doctors nurses public health experts and even the government's own experts say paid sick days will save lives. That's the message they're sending. The majority of low wage workers workers with precarious work don't get paid sick days. So in 2018 when this government came in one of the first thing they did was take away a race minimum wage and take away equal pay for equal work and then they took away. Wait for it. Paid sick days. That was a mistake and we can now so see how clearly that was a mistake in this pandemic. It was a big mistake. People are struggling to make ends meet. They shouldn't have to decide between putting food on the table. And going to work sick on this side of the legislature. We're all agreed. We're all agreed that Ontarians need paid sick days. All of us. It's fair to workers. And most importantly it's going to save lives. Especially as we're heading into a third wave. My colleague from Don Valley East has put forward a bill just yesterday and I'm so proud to support that and I encourage all members of the legislature to support that. And I encourage the government to reverse its opposition to paid sick days for Ontarians. Thank you speaker. Thank you very much. The next member statement. The member for flamboral land. Thank you Mr. Speaker. This morning I want to recognize the incredible women nominated for the 2021 YWCA Hamilton's women of distinction awards. This year's awards are particularly significant because they shine a light on the extraordinary efforts of women who have shown courage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Women have been disproportionately impacted by COVID. Women have been on the front lines of care and contact throughout the pandemic. The YWCA of Hamilton reimagined the award categories this year to acknowledge individuals on the front line of this battle. The awards recognize the courage of frontline workers, innovators, advocates, change makers, community champions, young trail blazers and everyday heroes. There is also a lifetime achievement award. There are 97 nominees this year representing a wide range of ages backgrounds and experiences. They are women who have shown courage and leadership on the front lines. They have improved and enriched the lives of others. The 2020 award ceremony was held a year ago just before our world was turned upside down by COVID. The event was one of the last large gatherings in the city before everything was shut down. But this year in keeping with COVID protocols the awards are going online. All of the nominees deserve recognition for their contributions to their communities and their courage in the face of challenges caused by the pandemic. Thank you very much. Member for Algoma Manitoulin. Thank you Speaker and to the good people of Algoma Manitoulin. I left Algoma Manitoulin on Sunday and left with a list of priorities. Some of the priorities that my leader Andrew Horvath and our caucus had been coming forward. Some of them included paid sick days, the time to CARAC, more than a visitor, a return to school plan and surprisingly this was the priority of the government to present legislative reform, a non-substantive motion which catch this which means it enables the standing committee to sit while the legislature is recess or adjourn. It gives the government house leader the chance to start on Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 1 p.m. and for the deferral slips to be delivered from where I stand to the clerk's table. God forbid there was a tripping hazard there that would happen. Those are the priorities of this government. We didn't talk about the real priorities that you have been relaying to me in regards to small businesses and tourism, them losing 95% of their clientele in their business. We didn't talk about a PSW recruitment program. We didn't talk about northern shortages in regards to doctors. We didn't talk about the pandemic and long-term care homes. We didn't talk about the northern highways and the fact that people are dying on the roads. We didn't talk about broadband. We didn't talk about autism services. We didn't talk about the mental health or opioid crisis or disability, WSIB, ODSP and OW workers. It's all about priorities folks. This government doesn't have them. Thank you. The next statement, the member for Peterborough Co-Ortham. Thank you, Speaker. With all the focus we've had on COVID-19, it would be very easy for us to forget about some of the random acts of kindness that still occur. On January 14th of this year, one such act of kindness occurred in a hamlet in my riding. A neighbor spotted a deer that had wandered out onto the ice on Lower Bacorn Lake. And as I'm sure you can guess, the deer fell through. Rob, a local resident, grabbed his kayak and a rope and ventured out onto the ice and eventually into open water to rescue the deer. Rob was able to rope the deer and pull her alongside his kayak and paddle back to the ice. After repeatedly struggling to get onto the ice on her own for almost an hour, Rob decided he needed to lift her out himself. So he climbed out of his kayak, laid down on the ice to distribute his weight and pulled the deer up. Of course, the deer was exhausted because it had been in cold water for that long struggling to get out. So he picked her up and carried her to shore, dried her with towels, and his wife wrapped the deer in warm blankets. After resting for about three hours, the deer stood up and was on her way. It's nice to know that throughout all of this stress of a pandemic, there are still people like Rob willing to help simply because they can. Thank you. The next member's statement. The member for Perth Wellington. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, last fall I recognized Ontario Agriculture Week. I thank farmers and agri-food workers for growing some of the best food in the world. This morning, I want to acknowledge that many are struggling. There's a growing conversation around mental health and agriculture. As someone who farmed for a number of years, I can say that mental health is not always a familiar conversation. However, mental health affects every one of us and National Survey of Farmer Mental Health found 35% of farmers surveyed met the criteria for depression. 45% reported high levels of stress. 58% met the criteria for anxiety. But Speaker, many organizations are supporting them. They include the Perth County Federation of Agriculture, the Wellington County Federation of Agriculture, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. Just to name a few, I also want to acknowledge the tremendous work of CHMA here in Perth and CHMA Waterloo Wellington. These organizations are working around the clock to help those who are in crisis. Our government is also supporting them and I want to thank the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions for his leadership on this issue. Last year, the Listerol Agriculture Society launched the Farmers Toolbox. It's an online resource created to connect farmers through local mental health resources. I would encourage anyone who is struggling to visit their website, thefarmerstoolbox.com. I want to thank everyone who made this project possible, including Elana Connybear and Steve Goulson and others. To every farmer in Ontario who is struggling, please know that you are not alone. We hear you, we support you, we thank you, and we want the best for you. Thank you, Speaker. That concludes our member statements this morning. I recognize the leader of the opposition on a point of... Thanks very much, Speaker. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent for the House to observe a moment of silence to pay tribute to the hundreds of Ontarians who have come to COVID-19 since December the 3rd the last time we were in the legislature. Leader of the opposition is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to observe a moment of silence to pay tribute to the hundreds of Ontarians who have succumbed to COVID-19 since December 3rd. Agreed? Agreed. I'll ask the members to rise. Thank you. Members may take their seats. Member for Don Valley East has a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to move a motion regarding the immediate passage of Bill 247, the paid personal emergency now act. Member for Don Valley East is seeking the unanimous consent of the House for the immediate passage of his private members Bill 247. Agreed? No. Point of order, the member for Kitchener's Centre. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to move a motion regarding the immediate passage of Bill 196, the senior's advocate act, to help better protect Ontario seniors from COVID-19. Member for Kitchener's Centre is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to move a motion regarding the immediate passage of Bill 196, the senior's advocate act to help better protect Ontario seniors from COVID-19. Agreed? No. Heard and all. Member for Essex. Thank you Speaker on a point of order. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to immediately pass private members motion 136, calling on the Ford Government to provide assistance for small businesses not eligible for other supports. Member for Essex is seeking unanimous consent of the House to immediately pass private members motion 136, calling on the Ford Government to provide assistance for small businesses not eligible for other supports. Agreed? No. Heard and all. Member for Brampton Centre has a point of order. Speaker, seeking a point of order here, I seek unanimous consent to immediately pass private members motion 139, calling on the Ford Government to address inadequate pay for PSWs and other healthcare sector workers. Member for Brampton Centre is seeking unanimous consent of the House to immediately pass private members motion 139, calling on the Ford Government to address inadequate pay for PSWs and other health sector workers. Agreed? No. Heard and all.