 all for introduction to this therefore it's time for members statements to member from Simcoe great well thank you very much Mr. Speaker it's a real honour for me to stand in the house today and talk about a wonderful recognition that was recently awarded to the town of Colling in Collingwood in my writing of Simcoe great Mr. Speaker on October 17 2016 the Canadian Federation of Independent Business CFib announced that Collingwood leads its list of the top 10 most entrepreneurial communities in the country the CFibs director of provincial affairs Mrs. Julie Kwasinski stated and I quote CFib congratulates these municipalities for their tremendous leadership in helping create the right environment for entrepreneurs to succeed and quote Mr. Speaker the CFibs top 10 most entrepreneurial communities is a list that's part of the Federation's 2016 entrepreneurial communities report it's a great read Mr. Speaker CFib chief economist Ted Mallett said the report is quote a great tool for communities and business owners to gauge what's working and what's not when it comes to laying the groundwork for entrepreneurial growth Mr. Speaker Collingwood is well known for its many entrepreneurial businesses as the member of provincial parliament for Simcoe great I want to thank everyone involved with our local business community for their hard work dedication and great customer service the community is truly deserving of this recognition from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business thank you. Good afternoon Speaker this is International Living Wage Week I'm standing here in the provincial parliament today to brag about that why you may ask well because we have more employers in Windsor and Essex County paying a living wage than any place else in Ontario more than 40 thousand seven hundred employees are being paid at least a living wage in Windsor and Essex County and that is something to be very proud of it has a bit of an easy journey and it wouldn't have happened without the efforts of pathway to potential P2P is funded by the city of Windsor and the county of Essex they work to reduce and prevent poverty my hat goes off to Adam Vasey and his staff at pathway to potential they're just convinced another 10 employers to sign on as a kickoff to International Living Wage Week Jeff Smith at Jeff Smith Chevrolet and Essex says we believe social justice and a living wage are two of the reasons we attract the very best in our industry Kelly Stack at Essex Community Services says we choose to pay a living wage to ensure our staff are healthy happy and feel taken care of in our region we defined a living wage based on our cost of living as thirteen dollars and ten cents an hour with benefits and fourteen dollars and fifteen cents without benefits speaker as you know we the new Democratic Party have for a long time called for an Ontario minimum wage of at least fifteen dollars an hour we're going to keep up that fight but in the meantime we'd really like to see more regions in Ontario take up the living wage challenge. Thank you. Well thank you speaker in the spirit of our members day today I'm wearing my father's legion tie he was a veteran major general sorry major general Arthur Potts that was my grandfather but Mr. Justice Joseph Potts my father is legion tie I'm a proud member of branch 11 in my riding of beaches East York but today's speaker I want to speak of a Holocaust Education Week beginning yesterday we are now in the 36th annual Holocaust Education Week this commemorative an educational week will run till November 9th culminating in the 78th anniversary of Kristallnacht the night of broken glass which many consider to be the start of the Holocaust and this year speak theme speakers the future of memory and will focus on new scholarship and Holocaust studies including cultural and literal literary analysis and providing an inquiry based medium for new generations to hear firsthand the account Holocaust survivors digital recordings apps and interactive technologies are being utilized as part of a continuing legacy of remembrance and this outstanding awareness week is planned and delivered by Sarah and shame new burger Holocaust Education Center which runs year around Holocaust education events and programs and over the next six days a variety of panels and workshops survivor testimonies and exhibits will be provided and are open to the public as every year the atrocity of the Holocaust and the Second World War fall farther into the past we unfortunately lose more and more of the voices of those who experience genocide this makes initiatives like Holocaust Education Week vitally important to ensuring that their experiences and the history of this dark time are not forgotten I hope my fellow MPPs will also offer their support and help promote this meaningful undertaking and improving and preserving Holocaust remembrance. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker it is my pleasure to rise on behalf of the Interior PC Party and my constituents to welcome representatives from the Interior Chiropractice Association who have joined us at the legislature today and to reiterate our support to them and their patients. The Association is some 3,000 strong representing practicing chiropractors in every riding across the province and who collectively deliver care to over 1.2 million in Terence. It may be of interest to share with the House that as many as 75 percent of our population including many of my constituents in Bruce Gray owned sound received complimentary and alternative medicine as part of their overall health program including chiropractic care. This includes assessment diagnosis treatment and hands-on preventative care for conditions related to the muscular nervous and skeletal systems. OCA members are committed health care professionals who go above and beyond to keep residents in their communities healthy and helping them rehabilitate after falls and injuries. Two such doctors are Dr. Dennis Yurku and Dr. Linda Montgomery in Owensound. Their daughter Larissa Yurku is a stellar example of the amazing work our chiropractors do. Despite suffering a severe knee injury that sidelined her for two seasons, Larissa recovered from injuries and proudly represented us at the Olympics. She has also ranked top 10 skier in the world. I encourage members to personally welcome chiropractors from their riding by attending the reception at the Ontario Chiropractic Association. It s hosting today in room 228 until 2 p.m. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Speaker. Hotels are an important part of the physical infrastructure that sustains a regional tourism industry and they also have major economic benefits. A large supply of mid-scale downtown hotel rooms allows the city to compete internationally for large conferences and conventions. Right now, Speaker, downtown Toronto hotel industry is under serious threat. The hot housing market has generated immense economic pressure to convert existing hotels into condominiums. There are redevelopment applications for five hotels in downtown Toronto and three have recently closed. Over 3,000 rooms are under threat of disappearing from Toronto s hotel stock. Eliminating thousands of downtown hotel rooms would severely damage Toronto s ability to be competitive in the conference and convention market. Furthermore, most hotels in downtown Toronto are unionized. Unionized hotel workers have spent years transforming their jobs from precarious work into stable jobs that they pay living wages and that are decent benefits and pensions. This group of workers has been one of the most effective eliminating precarious work in this sector. They are all a real Ontario success story. If these hotels close, these stable jobs will likely never be replaced. The workers at these hotels contribute to the tax base of all three levels of government. What will the government of Ontario do to protect the hotel supply that is vital to the success of our largest city's tourism industry? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to begin by wishing all of my friends here in the legislature today a happy Diwali and a happy Bandit Chord Divas. This past weekend was packed with many events throughout the city of Brampton. It is a great feeling to celebrate Diwali with family and friends. Diwali is an important time of year for the Sikh, Hindu and Jain communities in Ontario and across the world. Bandit Chord Divas is the celebration of the Sikh community for the release of Guru Amr Dasji from the Mughal regime and has become the second most important celebrated religious holiday after Vasaki, which is in April. Along with spending time with family and friends at home, I was able to attend a number of events in my writing and ended the weekend off by celebrating Bandit Chord Divas with the community at the Guru Nanak Mission Gurdwara in my writing of Brampton Springdale. The celebrations throughout the week were fun packed with sweets, divas, lights and children enjoying themselves with fireworks. Once again, I want to wish the entire community that celebrated over this past weekend a happy Diwali and a happy Bandit Chord Divas. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Further member Seamus, the member from Dufferin, Caledon. Thank you, Speaker. I recently met with Barb Squirrel, who's rightfully proud of her work at the local sheltered workshop, QPAC, operated by Community Living Dufferin. She presented me with a great argument as to why it's important this sheltered workshop remain open. She also provided me with a petition calling on the government to halt the closure of the facility, which has been signed by over 300 individuals. I'd like to share some excerpts of that petition with you. The Ministry of Community and Social Services has said all sheltered workshops will be closed. What we want is to not have our sheltered workshop, QPAC, shut down. We are happy to work at Community Living Dufferin in QPAC. Some of us do not want to work in the community. If you close QPAC, you are taking away our comfort zone where we feel safe in our way of making money. Some of us have been hurt trying to work in the community, so we want to stay in QPAC where we are safe and sound. Some people say we don't make enough money in QPAC, but why should we make more so you can take it away? In QPAC, we have lots of different jobs that come in. QPAC is a safe place to work for people with developmental disabilities where there is no discrimination and no one uses the R word. Please do not close QPAC, our sheltered workshop. Speaker, that's a pretty powerful argument. In a letter to Barb, the minister said she is not immediately closing the sheltered workshops. The local community living boards should be making the final decision on whether sheltered workshops are part of the services they provide to their clients. I agree. Thank you. Thank you for the member statements, the member from London West. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to congratulate London Free Press reporter Randy Richmond on his eight-part series Indecernable, The Story of Jamie High and also to thank the editors who gave Mr. Richmond the two years it took to write Jamie's story. Jamie High died on December 23, 2014 after being found unresponsive in a segregation cell at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre. Unlike Adam Capay, Jamie's stay in segregation was brief. Like Adam, however, he was left shattered and incoherent by the experience. The title of the series refers to the 26 times that Jamie's words could not be deciphered by the court reporter hours before his death. His response is noted in the transcript as indecernable. Jamie High fell victim to the gaping holes in Ontario's mental health, justice and corrections systems, systems that consistently fail, those struggling with addictions and mental health. Indecernable provides a thoughtful critical analysis of complex issues uncovering a map of problems that the London Free Press is planning to follow for years. In an age of citizen journalists and hobby bloggers, this kind of comprehensive and in-depth coverage backed by editorial fact-checking and review shows the value and ongoing relevance of traditional print media. I congratulate the London Free Press and also reporter Randy Richmond on this very vital series. Thank you Speaker. Thank you for their members David, the member from the Public Center. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of joining my colleague David Zimmer, the MPP for Willowdale at the Korean Canadian Cultural Association's inaugural fundraising gala commemorating their 50th anniversary. The Korean Canadian Cultural Association has played an important role in strengthening the community, representing it and amplifying its contributions for 50 years. I was so pleased to join the Korean Canadian community in celebrating this 50th anniversary. For decades Speaker, Korean Canadians have thrived in Canada as they've contributed immensely to our province. It is important to recognize the great social, political, economic and cultural influences that the Korean Canadian community has had and continues to have on Ontario. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Korea and Canada have developed strong ties and I am proud that our government not only recognizes those ties but also honors them. An excellent example of this speaker is the fact that Premier Wynn will be heading out on a business mission to South Korea in a few short weeks. Premier Wynn will be the first Premier to visited Korea in the last 30 years. I am proud that in my riding of Etobicoke Center, we have a strong, growing and vibrant Korean Canadian community, one that I've worked hard to work with, learn from and represent. The community's contributions to Etobicoke are numerous as well. Their history and culture continues to provide my community with irreplaceable diversity while their commitment to family and to hard work is second to none. I'd like to congratulate the Korean Canadian Cultural Association on their 50 years of leadership and successes. Thank you for helping to build a stronger community, a stronger Ontario and a stronger Canada. Kamsa Hamidah. Here, here. Kamsa Hamidah. I thank all members for their statements. The member from Windsor to Kamsa on a point of order. Thank you, Speaker, with your indulgence and a point of order. As you know, this is Ontario Chiropractic Lobby Day. My favorite chiropractor from Windsor to Kamsa, Dr. Madeline Sernick, has driven up this morning. I'd like to welcome her to Queen's Park. Thank you. Welcome. Reports by committees. Reports.