 had to cut a little bit short. There will be additional time for you though at a later point in time but it is time for member statements at this point in time and I recognize a member from Ottawa Centre. This is Mental Health Week in Ontario and I want to with this speech tip my hat and offer my sincere thanks to every single mental health worker every single advocate for mental health in the province of Ontario. Thank you for all you do. For a minute speaker I actually want people watching this clip to pause this clip and follow the link that will be embedded in this video to a terrific song that was recently composed to honour the work of street health workers in the city of Ottawa. It's called Rise Up Strong Speaker and I want to quote one verse from the song it says we're working in a system that's bursting at the seams the money the resources there's so few and far between but poor is not on purpose and illness is not a crime there's a lot that's got to change. Rise up people it's time. When I think of that verse in that amazing song speaker I think about a tragedy in our community because we lost a street health worker and his name was Karl Rheinbach. He worked at the Somerset West Community Health Centre and on April 23rd Karl lost his life. He was killed by someone in mental health crisis and when I think about the legacy Karl and so many other folks at the Somerset West Community Health Centre have to offer to us I want to make an urgent plea that we not think about a ramp up of police resources for mental health issues as Theresa Tam Canada's mental Canada's officer for public health has said we are not going to police our way out of mental health crisis. We need resources to the Somerset Community Health Centre and their number for crisis folks is 613-447-0029. Call it. Thank you very much. Thank you speaker. Further member statements of member from Mississauga East Cooksville. Thank you speaker. I rise today to call on the federal government of Canada to immediately secure our international and inter-provincial borders against deadly variant of concern. Just a single person speaker just a single person carrying the UK variant of COVID-19 into Canada resulted in hundreds of infections and over 70 deaths at Roberta place. Over 12 million people have entered Canada by land air since March 2020. According to the Toronto Star over 5000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival since February of this year and almost one third of them carried a variant of concern into Canada. Speaker some will some will say that only a small percentage of cases in Ontario can be linked directly to travel. But I firmly believe that the only acceptable number of cases and variants of concern coming through our borders is zero. The federal government needs to start listening and act now to protect Ontarians. Thank you speaker. Thank you. Member statements. The member for Kiwet. Because speaker in March Pecanchacum chief and council voted to remove the OPP from the community. They took action over serious allegations of assault involving the service and community members. The day after the OPP left and the business service Canada removed nursing staff from Pecanchacum. Even though Pecanchacum has its own police first nation police and peacekeepers. Speaker 3800 people live in Pecanchacum and it's almost comparable to the size of Sulacoat a municipality that has its own hospital. Pecanchacum did not have 24 hour nursing services because the feds had concerns about their community safety. Chief Dean Owen said the more we talk the more we are resolved to move as quickly as possible towards running our own standalone police service. And and then due to the negative impacts of the nursing station we are looking forward to taking over our own health services. It is evident that these systems are tied to each other at the government level leaving our community helpless and the solution out of control and quote. Can you imagine speaker the government shutting down your hospital in the evening and overnight because police wasn't available in the middle of a pandemic. Speaker pulling out the sexual services in Pecanchacum is racism and colonialism in action and the double standard is no longer acceptable. We thank the peacekeepers the rights holders and the leadership and Pecanchacum for your step towards nationhood. Miigwech. Member statements the member for Markham Thorne Hill. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today to talk about community spirit during this unprecedented time. The Canadian Tamil Congress and the Tamil chairing spearheaded an extraordinary initiative to create the chair in Tamil studies at the University of Toronto. Mr. Speaker I would like to thank President Sivanilankar from CTC, writer Aparthuray Mutulingam and all the members and volunteers who worked with the global Tamil community to reach its target. With over 3,800 supporters they have raised $3 million to this position. This is the first community funded chair at the University of Toronto. Tamil language is over 3,000 years old. It is the oldest and longest surviving classical language in the world. Spoken by more than 80 million people, this creation of a Tamil chair will leave a mark in our history. When the Tamil fled Sri Lanka due to the war, 300,000 of them escaped to Ontario, Canada as a safe haven. They fled because of embracing the identity as a Tamil wasn't accepted. But here today we are showcasing that the Tamil community is rebuilding what we lost for cough of sensory. Now the Tamil studies at the University of Toronto will institutionally continue the richness of our culture, language and heritage that was almost systematically lost in Sri Lanka. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Algoma, Manitoulin. Thank you Speaker and today normally I'd be in Serpent River or another community on Red Dress Day with my tobacco in hand. I would like to deliver this message to the communities. Red Dress Day is just one way that we can demonstrate that we have not forgotten the mothers, sisters and daughters that have been taken from us before their time. To those left behind, the loss can be highly traumatic and long lasting. The effect upon entire communities can be like waves that overwhelm us if we allow it to do so. That is why it is important to stand together shoulder to shoulder as sisters, brothers, parents, elders and youth to ensure the tragic losses we experience are recognized as significant and real. It is essential that we ensure that the issues of the missing and lost in dinners, girls and women receives the national attention and actions that it deserves. We must ensure that we draw the attention of the world to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against the dinners women. As well, we must ensure that the issue is not seen as to be simply a women's issue, but rather an issue for all people of every gender, race and nationality. By wearing red on this day, we signify that these loved ones are not forgotten, but remain in our hearts for eternity. Support and participation in this movement is essential if we are to build a future in which Indigenous girls and women can focus on their future rather than looking over their shoulders in fear. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This upcoming Sunday is Mother's Day and I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge that supporting women and mothers is a tangible benefit for the province. Access to childcare, education, counseling or good jobs is essential to making sure women are included in the economic recovery that province needs. I am looking not only to be the mother of four wonderful children, but also to have my mother by my side living with us and being part of our daily life. I owe it to her in a large part to be here today. I am certain that all of us in this house know of women and mothers that have made incredible contribution to our families and communities over the last year. Women in sectors such as healthcare and social services, education, accommodation and food services have continued to work on the front lines throughout this pandemic. While some continue to put their lives at risk for our sakes, others were forced to leave their job to take on childcare and schooling at home, once again putting others ahead of themselves. So this Mother's Day let us all show extra love and appreciation for the women and mothers in our lives and let us commit to using the abilities we have here in this house to do better by them. Wishing a happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in this house and to all the mothers in Ontario. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next member's statement, the member for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you, Speaker. The month of May is Jewish Heritage Month in Ontario and Canada. Formerly recognized by the Ontario Legislature in February 2012 and by the Federal Parliament in March 2018, Jewish Heritage Month provides us with a unique opportunity to learn, share and celebrate the history and culture of Jewish Canadians. Canada is home to the fourth largest Jewish population in the world and Jews have played a vital role in every sector of our society, establishing themselves long ago as crucial and vibrant contributors to our multicultural society. Unfortunately, this community continues to be the target of unwarranted attacks of hatred and anti-Semitism. According to Benay Brith, there were 2,610 anti-Semitic incidents in Canada last year, an 18.6% increase over 2019, and this translates to the equivalent of 7 incidents on an average day, every day, making the Jewish community one of our country's most targeted minority groups. According to Benay Brith's annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents for 2020, about 1 in 10 of them involved the promotion of conspiracy theories, vandalism or violence related to the COVID pandemic. Sadly, some 44% of violent incidents last year were COVID related and half of those were against visibly observant Jews who were denied service at various retailers, spat on, assaulted, randomly pelted by items and shot with air pellets. Speaker, last October, Ontario adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, and our government wants to stand with the Jewish community and every other community to defend their rights and their freedoms. Thank you. Thank you. The next member's statement, the member for Brampton Centre. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. Last week, Speaker, I held a small business forum with businesses from Brampton Centre and many of them raised very troubling concerns about this government's lack of support for small businesses in our community. I heard from businesses who are basing bankruptcy, frankly, Speaker, because they haven't been able to get any support from this government. I spoke with driving instructors who are not able to qualify for the small business grant because of the eligibility criteria. I've also spoken with folks in the personal care services who are at their wits end with lockdown after lockdown that has not provided them the support they need as a small business to continue to sustain their business while keeping their doors closed. The expenses for many of these businesses, Speaker, are piling up and this government is failing those businesses. I've also connected with independent producers and ethnic media who are wondering why they haven't received any supports from this government through an ethnic media stabilization fund. Something that new Democrats have been calling on this government to implement since the start of this pandemic. It's unfortunate, Speaker, that Brampton businesses are being forced to close their doors and are waiting and waiting weeks and weeks on end to hear even an email reply from this government with respect to their small business grant. I encourage this government to step up to the plate, help support businesses in Brampton and across Ontario, get them the supports they need so they don't have to close their doors forever. Thank you. The next member's statement, the member for Mississauga Centre. Today, my beautiful and strong grandmother in Poland is turning 90 years young. I miss her very much as I have not been able to see her in two years now due to travel restrictions and keeping her health and safety in mind. Thankfully, technology is a wonderful thing and I was able to see her via Zoom to personally wish her a happy birthday and even toast her with champagne. Joanna Gratkowska, maiden name Dudek, was born on May 5th, 1931. She gave birth to five children, two of whom passed away, unfortunately. Widowed in her 30s, she lived through the Second World War and the communist regime, raising three children as a single mom, including my mom Anna. To me, she is the embodiment of courage, perseverance, generosity and motherhood. I fondly remember my summer and sometime winter holidays spent at Babcia's house in Poland, playing in the fields, collecting flowers, feeding the rabbits and chicken, watching grandma make pierogies and, of course, attend the Holy Mass religiously every Sunday. My grandma is a great orator and storyteller. She passed on to me and my brother her memories of war and hardship, but also her wisdom in having faith in God and always helping those less fortunate than us. Even though she struggled as a single mom, she took in an orphan whom she raised as her own. So today, even though I'm thousands of miles away, my heart and my thoughts are with my babcia Asia. Babciu żyj nam zdrow i długo, kochamcie bardzo, sto lat. Happy birthday. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next member statement, the member for Don Valley North. Thank you, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Springtime typically signifies new beginnings, warm signs sign signs, garden growing. Yet during the third wave of the pandemic, many of my constituents say the fear stuck inside, yelling for outdoor activities, wishing they could wish their loved ones. They are tired of the restrictions and the sacrifice required to help stop the spread of the virus. Yes, COVID-19 fatigue is real. I understand. However, as doctors and nurses continue to work around the clock on the front line with COVID-19 patients and hospitals, and especially in the ICUs, they helped us overcome the darkest day of this pandemic. The fatigue, the experience is overwhelming and exhausting. Our gratitude for their sacrifice and service is endless. We must show them our support. Aksin always speaks louder than words. Speaker, I ask all Ontarians to acceptlessly and comply with the stay-at-home order with these healthcare heroes in mind. It is our best opportunity to help them save lives. Speaker, together we look forward and hope and courage to the better days ahead. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements this morning.