 It is time for member statement and I will look over to whoever stands first and that happens to be the member from Sudbury. Thank you very much Speaker. Speaker 38% of Canada's opiate overdose deaths happened in Ontario last year and that's the highest number of opiate overdose deaths of any province or territory in the country and it's the highest by a long shot. But those aren't statistics speaker, those are people, those are families whose lives were shattered, those are sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles, those are best friends, work friends, those are our neighbours and those are people who are desperate for help. And while the Conservative government continues to talk of the game, it's all sizzle, it's no steak. Every year the federal government provides Ontario with $175 million for mental health and addictions. Do you know how much the Conservative put towards this in their 2019 budget? Zero. Zero in 2019, zero in 2020 and zero in this budget too. Gildan O'Brien sent me this letter about his brother, he said Dennis O'Brien Jr., it's my brother's name. He died last month on January 13th, he died alone, he did not have the proper resources to seek help for his mental health and addictions problem. That's the fault of improper funding to mental health and addictions programs. It's time to start taking action, we get it, you're working on it, we heard that for months if not years. Our homeless populations and vulnerable populations can't afford to keep waiting. The safe consumption site cannot come soon enough. I work downtown as a security guard and we usually see one overdose per shift where we need to administer Narcan. In police foundations I learned about how bad our downtown core had gotten in terms of the vulnerable population but it's much worse than anything you can expect from reading about it. I challenge you to spend a day downtown observing and you may begin to realize that those on the street, although unlikely to vote in elections, are still human beings that you should care about. Thank you. Please. Thank you very much. Apologize. Time is up. Further member statement to member from Oakville. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and it's an honor to rise in the legislature today to discuss a truly important campaign. April is be a donor month here in the province of Ontario. Starting tomorrow it is critical to raise awareness and encourage individuals to register and become an organ or tissue donor. The need for organ and tissue donors is becoming even more apparent. There are almost 1600 Ontarians currently on a wait list for a transplant. Currently there are more individuals on a wait list than there is organ availability. Sadly every three days somebody in Ontario dies a preventable death while waiting for a transplant as a result of limited liability. Since April 1st 2020 registrations for organ and tissue donations in Ontario have decreased by more than 50% versus the same time a year ago. I cannot stress how important it is to being a donor and the impact on other people's lives. One organ donor can save up to eight lives and enhance the lives of 75 individuals. I want to clarify any potential misconceptions there are about registering to be a donor. Everyone has the potential to be a donor regardless of their age, medical condition or sexual orientation. April 7th is also a national green shirt day. Green shirt day was inspired by Logan Boulet who was one of the humble Broncos who tragically passed away. Logan, a registered donor, saved six lives. In his memory and to the champion organ and tissue donation I encourage everybody to wear green on April 7th. Thank you. Member Statements. The Member for Scarborough, Southwest. Chair Speaker, this is the sixth day that Ontario has seen over 2000 daily cases. Today is the highest. We're now into a third wave which is projected to be far worse than we have experienced so far. There are over 1100 schools which reported COVID-19 cases and 58 schools which had to close down as of yesterday. Parents, families, children and youth are facing an incredible amount of uncertainty. The government had more than a year now to prepare for what was coming. They had the opportunity to invest in safer learning environments for our children but chose to do otherwise. I recently heard from a constituent, Donna, who is a mom to a 15-year-old. The kids had been pivoted and bounced around a law during this pandemic, she shared, as she continued to tell us about how difficult it is to see her teenage son not have the opportunity to take a break. Students are facing burnout and an unprecedented amount of mental health strain as they have to consistently switch between learning methods and see their safety and well-being undermined. In the wake of yesterday's confusing back and forth between the Premier and the Minister about whether or not to postpone the March break, Donna, like many parents, are first-rated with this government and their inability to provide clear messaging for students and families. Parents are worried, worried for the safety and mental health of their children as they navigate this pandemic. Mr. Speaker, it's time this government prioritizes education for the sake of families across this province and takes responsibility for parents, kids and education workers so that they're not left behind. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next member's statement, the member for Mississauga Lakeshore. Thank you, Speaker. Recently, I was honored to join the Minister of Infrastructure, along with the Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Catherine McKenna, and the Federal Minister of Transportation, Omar Algabra, and the Mayor of Mississauga, Bonnie Cromby, to announce a joint investment of over $158 million in a modern public transit infrastructure for the people of Mississauga. This includes $56 million for a new two-way bus rapid transit corridor along Lakeshore Road in Mississauga Lakeshore with three new stations between East Avenue and Delta Road and connecting to the Go Transit Network, the Hero Ontario LRT, the TTC, and Pedestrian and Cycle Network. Together, we're building a modern and accessible interregional transit system that will support our growing population along the Lakeshore Road corridor with 20,000 new residents in Lakeview Village on the site of the former coal plant and 8,000 new residents in Brightwater on the site of the former Texaco refinery. It is critical that we build the transit infrastructure we need to support this growth, both for our economy, recovery, and for the community's future. Speaker, this announcement is also a great example on what we are able to achieve when we are working in partnership with the federal government and the municipality. So I'm looking forward to continuing working together, both as we respond to the impact of COVID-19 as we lay the groundwork for our recovery and for a stronger, better, and more progressive Ontario. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Niagara Centre. Thank you, Speaker. Many seniors in Niagara in their 70s have been patiently waiting for over a month to receive their vaccine. On the weekend, those over the age of 70 were told by the province that they could finally book an appointment. But on Monday, when the opportunity arrived, they found only disappointment. Dozens of seniors could not book online and could not get through on the hotline. Those that got through were told that there were no vaccines in Niagara and they didn't know when they would be there. My office was flooded with calls from people like Angie Demeray from Port Coburn who said she spent all day on the website making phone calls. She says seniors have transportation and mobility issues and this system makes things even more confusing. Another senior from Port Coburn said she was offered an appointment at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre. John Neely was told to just keep calling every day there were no vaccines in Niagara. Mass confusion, Speaker. The chief medical officer of health stated he wasn't confident that there would be enough vaccine to vaccinate the 70 to 74 age group and public health could only say that they were working with the province to let them know the issues and working to try and figure out what had happened. This government had months to organize, Speaker. It is extremely disappointment that this system is having so many issues and is so unfriendly to seniors who are trying to protect themselves and others by following the rules and attempting to book their vaccine appointments but are unable to because this government has not organized the system properly. We must do better for our seniors and their families who have already endured so much throughout this pandemic. Thank you. The next member's statement, the member for Ottawa, South. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker and April is be a donor month and next Wednesday, April 7th will be Green Shirt Day. We won't be here. I'm gonna remind all my colleagues to wear a green shirt next Wednesday. And green shirt day is, of course, in honor of the late Logan Boulet whose organ donation saved six lives and inspired 100,000 donor signatures. Almost 1,600 Ontarians are on a wait list. Every three days, one of them loses their life while waiting to receive that really important donation that they need. Ontario's Triumgift of Life Network has called that for a reason. Organ donations can save up to eight lives and enhance up to 75 others through tissue donation. With the pandemic, transplants are down and registrations are down over 50% from pre-pandemic levels. So while 90% of Ontarians support organ donation, only 33% have signed up. In my writing about Ottawa South, it's 35%. And there are families in my writing like the Terry family and Suzanne Camus and Mark and many others who are strong advocates for increasing organ donation. So we need to do more to help them. We need to do more to make people aware. And we could do that, all of us who haven't already, by taking two minutes and going to be a donor.ca to register. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. The next member statement, the member for Etobicoke Lakeshore. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm elated to rise this morning to share groundbreaking news from my writing of Etobicoke Lakeshore. In 2017, Trillium Health Partners and the Government of Ontario announced an unfunded plan to support a major development in the expansion of the Queensway Health Centre located in the south end of my writing. As outlined in the 2021 budget, our government took action and we are moving forward and finally getting shovels in the ground. The South Etobicoke community is growing rapidly and I am glad that the need for greater access to localised healthcare is being recognised and actions are being taken. Founded in 1956 as the Queensway General Hospital, the Queensway Health Centre is the product of an amalgamation between Etillium Health Partners and the Queensway General Hospital in 1998. The health centre has served the needs of our diverse community for decades and this announcement is important to the continued development of South Etobicoke. The Queensway Health Centre expansion will include the creation of a modern post-acute facility in a complex continuing care and rehabilitation patients to receive care and recover in a purpose-built environment as well as new parking structure. Trillium Health Partners is Canada's largest hospital with over 1.7 million patients visits annually and more than 277,000 visits per year to the emergency department and urgent care centre. Over the next 20 years, no hospital in Ontario will experience more growth in demand for services than the Trillium Health Partners Hospital. Thank you to the Government of Ontario. The next Member's statement, the Member for Parkdale High Park. Speaker, people on social assistance are increasingly forced to make do with less. A disabled person on Ontario Disability Support Program is expected to live with an income of $1,169 per month to cover rent, food, utilities and all other basic necessities. The rate is even lower for a person on Ontario Works who is expected to cover all costs of living with only $733 per month. Social assistance rates fall well below the poverty line and have remained stagnant despite skyrocketing housing costs, inflation and increasing prices of basic necessities. Speaker, people on social assistance have been ignored for decades by successive governments, both liberal and conservative and even ignored during the pandemic. Through the federal SERP program, we know that $2,000 per month is the minimum that people need to survive. Yet, when the government announced the budget last week, there were no rate increases to either ODSP or OW. In fact, poverty was not even mentioned once in the budget document. At a time when it is more important than ever to ensure that no one is left behind, the government is turning its back on poor and disabled people. The government claims that the budget aims to protect people's health and Ontario's economy. But without providing long overdue rate increases, this budget cannot achieve either role. I call on this government to listen to Ontarians, to increase rates and directly support people on ODSP and OW. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next member's statement, the member for Markham Thornhill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm honored to rise today to speak about the cause close to my heart. Each April, Ontario commemorate via Donor Month to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. I want to thank the staff of the Trillium Kept Up Life Network for advocating on behalf of this important issue. Currently in Ontario, over 1,400 people are waiting for life-saving organ. Every three days, someone in Ontario die waiting for transplant. Only 35% of eligible health card holders are registered and organ donors. Restation for organ and tissue donation in Ontario have decreased more than 50%, Mr. Speaker. As we recover from the pandemic, the need for life-saving organ is higher than ever. Mr. Speaker, on April 6th, 2018, the Humphold Broncos Hockey Team met a tragic accident which took the life of 16 people, including 21-year-old Logan Boley. Logan organ donation saved sick life and inspired almost 150,000 organ donors registration across Canada. Everyone is a potential donor, no matter your age, medical condition, or sexual orientation. This April, I encourage all Ontarians to sit down with your loved ones to discuss the registration as an organ donor. You can do it online at padonor.ca. It's only take a few minutes to register online and all you need is your Ontario health card number, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next member's statement, the member for Milton. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Milton is one of the fastest-growing communities in the province, but remains very tight-knit, Mr. Speaker. That means more and more families are calling Milton home each and every day. As our community continues to grow, I'm proud that our government continued to support our growth. This past Friday was a perfect example, Mr. Speaker, it was a pleasure to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of yet another new school in Milton, a Catholic elementary school number 10 at Kennedy Circle. I was proud to be joined by the Minister of Education, our longest-serving Mayor in the country, Mayor Kranz, Councillors Mike Cluitt and Rick DeLorenzo and our two Catholic Board Trustees, Marvin Duarte and Patrick Murphy and also the Director of Education for the Catholic Board, Mr. Speaker, Patrick Daley. Speaker, this is the sixth new school for our community since June 2018, totaling over $150 million investment from our government for new schools in Milton. This is in addition to the $18 million expansion of Bishop Redding and the $3 million to St. Peter's Elementary School for New Child Care Center. As a proud father of three, Mr. Speaker, I know how important investments like these are for our community and I'm proud that our government continues to deliver for students and families for Milton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. That concludes our member statements for this morning.