 Member statements. I recognize the member for Essex. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On March 11th of this year, the LaSalle Police Forces and the Windsor Police Forces joined forces to create something called the Offender Management Unit. Now, this is a special unit whose job it is to seek out and re-arrest people who are found or alleged to be found in breach of their bail conditions. In the first three weeks of operation, the police officers re-arrested eight individuals and issued warrants for three more. Yes. And these are people who have already been charged or convicted with serious offenses such as murder, attempted murder, robbery, or sexual assault. The Offender Management Unit was made possible through a grant from this government under our programming and our specialized attention to the enforcement of this issue. LaSalle Police Chief Duncan Davies said, we are grateful to our provincial partners for coming through on funding for this very important initiative. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful too. I am grateful to our police for catching offenders, putting them behind bars, and keeping our communities safe. I want to thank this opportunity to say thank you to our police officers. Member statements. The member for Nickel Belt. Thank you, Speaker. April is Be a Donor Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness about organ and tissue donation. The Trillium Gifts of Life tells us that 90% of Ontarians want to be a donor, but only 35% have registered. Right now, there is 1,400 Ontarians that are waiting for life-saving organ, and sadly, every three days, one of them dies. Three years ago, Nova Scotia implemented an organ donation system where all Nova Scotians are considered donors unless they opt out. The first year saw an increase of 40% in tissue donation, and the numbers continue to rise. Ontario is ready for this, Speaker. I have tabled the Saving Organs to Save Life in Memory of Peter Carmel's sixth time. There is no opposition. Let's get this done. But until it happens, I want to thank every Ontarian that have registered to be a donor and save lives. I want to thank Richard Saint-Amour in my writing that has helped Nickel Belt achieve 57% registrations to be a donor. Yesterday was Green Shirt Day. Logan Bullet Organ Donation inspired 100,000 Canadians to register as donor after the tragic Humber Bowl Broncos Junior Hockey Team boss crash in Saskatchewan. We were green to recognize Logan and all the donors that have given and saved lives. Remember, Speaker, be a donor. Member Statements. The Member for Kitchener South-Hesburgh. I'm talking to some of the politicians in the room, the stuff we don't always talk about and how it can be quite interesting to be a politician, a person with social anxiety, and then you have to walk into a variety of events often by yourself, having no idea what you're going to get. And because of that, when you find a group of people or an organization that you connect with as a politician that make you feel incredibly welcomed and supported, it is quite a remarkable thing. And so I actually have some guests today that I will introduce later, but from the Grand River Malayali Association. I first met these people during the Onam celebrations from last year, and I feel like I mentioned this type of thing a lot, but we connected initially because I turned up in a sorry that I hadn't pleaded properly, met the President, immediately asked to speak to his wife and ended up having their emcee and another person essentially unwrap me and re-wrap me in my sorry before I went on stage, which is a really wonderful bonding experience that I recommend to everybody. But since then, I've been to several of their events and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever met a group of people that are more proud to participate in Canadian society. Every time I look, they're canoeing in Algonquin Park, they're at Tim Hortons, they're at Canada's Wonderland, they're doing something that shows just how much they love being part of this country. And it's such an honour to have them here today and I will introduce them later, but thank you Speaker and the Grand River Malayali Association. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Waterloo. Very much, Speaker. Caitlyn Rother was a bright, successful, beautiful young woman. She was a third year University of Waterloo student who had dreams of working with children with special needs. On April 28, 2022, just four days shy of her 21st birthday, we lost Caitlyn to mental illness. Long wait lists and gaps in the system meant she fell through the cracks. Her parents and members of the Ruth family are here today. The Ruths are focusing on helping others. The mental health system failed them but they are fighting for positive change. Approximately 4,500 people die by suicide each year in Canada and suicide is the second leading cause of death among young adults. This afternoon I will be tabling a petition with over 7,000 signatures. It calls on providing mental health services with a focus on evidence-based trauma-informed care and to provide funding for alternative destination clinics in Ontario. Waterloo Senator Marty Deacon also supports the Ruth family with a call for compassionate, consistent and caring responses at all levels of intervention, support and recovery. Supporting this petition is a strong step forward. Thank you very much. To honour Caitlyn's legacy and the many Caitlyn's out there, the Ruths created a foundation to help fill in the gaps because there were so many gaps in Caitlyn's journey. From her parents, Caitlyn, our beautiful brown-eyed girl. With the million-dollar smile, we love you always and we cannot let others slip through the cracks of this broken mental health system. Thank you very much. Member Statements. The Member for Leeds, Grenville, Thousand Islands, Rideau Lake. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the province of Ontario recognised the significance of organ donations and the impact of the Logan Boulet effect. The devastating Humboldt Broncos bus crash deeply affected both our province and our country. Among the 29 passengers, 16 lost their lives while 13 had life-altering injuries and among those was Broncos defenceman Logan Boulet. On April 7th, 2018, Logan tragically lost his life, but despite this tragedy, Logan and his family's decision to donate his organs saved the lives of six individuals demonstrating the life-saving power of organ donation. While April 7th continues to invoke painful memories across Canada, it has also become an opportunity for us to promote organ donation awareness. This has led to the establishment of Green Shirt Day and the profound impact of the Logan Boulet effect. Just like Logan and his family, everyone who is comfortable and willing should sign up to donate, and that has the power to save so many lives. I'm proud that a teenager in my riding, Ethan Boss of St. Mary Catholic High School in Kentville was the impetus for Bill 112, the Green Shirt Day Act. The bill was sponsored by the honourable Michael Parsa and received royal assent on April 11th, 2022 that promotes organ donation across the province. If you or someone you know wants to register to donate, you can do so at any service Ontario location near you or go online at serviceontario.ca be a donor to check if you're already registered to be a donor as well or have an existing registration. Anyone who is OHIP-eligible, an Ontario aged 16 or up, can register for this life-saving service. I want to thank Minister McCarthy for all the promotion through service Ontario. I encourage all members to recognize the Logan Boulet effect and support be a donor this month. Thank you. Member's statements. Member for Ottawa Centre. Thank you very much, Speaker. Ottawa lost a warrior last week and warriors come in all shapes and sizes. Vula Sardelis was barely five feet tall. She was living in her 101st year of life, but her stature was towering all the same. From very humble beginnings in rural Greece, three years ago she actually inspired unanimous agreement in this house. By then I had worked with Maria, Vula's daughter, for two years and I learned how some caregivers faced unfair retaliation based on complaints they raised which were legitimate on behalf of loved ones in retirement homes, long-term care homes and group homes. In 2018, after Maria raised those concerns with her mum's care in an Ottawa-based retirement home, she was issued a trespass notice and she was separated from Vula for 316 days. But that act of cruelty sparked a movement for change and I'm proud to say in Vula's name as they celebrate her life back home in Ottawa today and on March 4th in this place, Vula's law passed. Motion 129 passed and it was a victory that Vula inspired. I met Vula personally for the first time on her 99th birthday. She smiled, she reached for my hand, she kissed it. I did my best to dance to Greek music with Maria. It was a remarkable day for a remarkable woman but let we always remember the power of our elders and the responsibility for us as legislators to ensure that people with disabilities and seniors get access to their caregivers when they want. Thank you, Speaker. God bless you, Vula. Thank you very much. Member's statements. The Member for Brampton East. Thank you, Speaker. This April marks the 10-year anniversary of Sick Heritage Month, a celebration highlighting the contributions of the sick community in Ontario. Ontario has one of the largest sick community diasporas in the world with over 200,000 sicks residing in the province. Six believe in five key principles taught by Guru Nanak Dev Ji. They are Vandeshakko, sharing whatever God is giving you and helping those that are in need. Ketikaro, meaning a making an honest living. Namjapal, chanting the name of the true God. Sir Bhattapala, asking God for everybody's happiness and speaking the truth without any fear. This year, Sick Heritage Initiative has organized many events across the city of Brampton and the province, including flag raising, art exhibitions, concerts and a number of workshops. I encourage everyone to attend and also there will be a Sick Heritage Month celebration here at Queen's Park and I encourage all members to attend as well. Speaker, April is also significant to the sick community as they celebrate Vasaki, a spring harvest festival and the day the kalsa was created. Vasaki is celebrating by visiting a Gurdwara, doing seva, a selfless act to service others. Vasaki will also be celebrated through the annual Kalsa Day Parade, which takes place in Toronto from Exhibition Place to Toronto City Hall. Speaker, I would like to take this moment to wish all sick Ontarians and all those celebrating a Happy Sick Heritage Month and Happy Vasaki. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Algoma, Nana Tula. Well, thank you, Speaker, and we're just getting back from an awesome constituency week and it's great to see everyone here. And like everybody else, I dealt with issues across my writing and some of them that came across were landlord and tenancy issue, paramedic coverage, particularly that is lacking in the horn pain and white river area, municipal integrity commissioner office issues that are happening at municipal level, the Northern Health Travel Grant, the lack of French services in the healthcare fields, particularly in home care in the community of Duberville and other road maintenance is a high priority. But there's something I really want to bring to the floor of the legislature and I want to thank two constituents. There's still scams that are going on and these scams are targeting seniors. The one scam that is going on on the North Shore, we had a really bad storm a couple of weeks ago and there was a lot of power outages. There's a 1-800 number that came out that charges people to report power outages through Hydro. I'm happy to say that Hydro is aware of it and they're dealing with that scam and they're trying to find out how people are being charged for reporting their calls. There's also the antivirus McAfee boondoggle that is going on. That scam is also targeting many seniors. What I want to say to seniors is reach out to your family members and make sure that you have the discussions with them because if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Oxford. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Last weekend I had the pleasure to attend the Norwich Firefighters Association annual pancake breakfast. Volunteer firefighters spent all morning flipping up delicious pancakes and collecting donations for the Norwich youth unlimited. Also known as the upper deck. They're raising funds to renovate their space and provide even more programming for youth in our community. It's a wonderful opportunity to support great organizations in Oxford and thank our volunteer firefighters for their service. All while enjoying a delicious breakfast. This event was made sweeter not only because of our volunteer firefighters but also because of the maple syrup that was flowing. With the support of amazing local sponsors like Hupa Tree Line and Lot 17 families in Norwich enjoyed delicious Oxford maple syrup with their pancakes. It's been great to see yet another successful syrup season in Oxford. Thanks in part to our government's investment of $1 million through the sustainable Canadian agriculture partnership which supports the province's maple syrup sector. We're proud to keep producing delicious maple syrup and bring the rest of the world to taste Oxford. Overall this was a great weekend highlighting the very best of what Oxford has to offer coming together to support a local community organization, dedicated volunteers making it happen and of course maple syrup. I'd like to thank everyone who put this event on Mr. Speaker and all those who came out in the support. I'm already looking forward to next year. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Etobicoke Lakeshore. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Nice to be back. You know smiles in the community sphere were full swing in Etobicoke Lakeshore, especially with all the Easter bunnies hopping around at our BIAs on Easter weekend. And especially at the Mimico Square where our local artists sold many other products. And of course I'm a shopper so I indulge with a little necklace from a local artist. You know from seeing our youngest artists to more experienced artists, I want to highlight the importance of art and the talented and creative individuals from Etobicoke Lakeshore. We are all blessed every day to see murals on our business walls, on our utility boxes and underneath our bridges, statues and structures and even the architecture that stands tall on Humber Bay Shores. We are so proud of the community of South Etobicoke. Etobicoke Lakeshore is a home to many creative people and today I'd like to highlight a few. With thanks to the staff and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, each year youth from 12 to 18 across the province are invited to display the works of art throughout the legislative building through the Youth Arts Program. And I'm sure many of you working in here admire the beautiful art display throughout our halls. This year two young constituents, Stefania Dita and Sofia Lobadovic, have the pleasure of showcasing their artwork. Thank you for decorating the halls of Queen's Park with your talent. Through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and their $60 million budget to encourage art and culture, we continue to see wonderful programs at Franklin Horner, Arts Etobicoke and Medibals Arts to Mame a Few. Thank you for your continued support of arts and our local communities. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements for this morning.