 It is now time for member statements. I recognize a member for Niagara Center. Thank you, Speaker. It's an honor to rise today to speak about a great initiative of volunteers created and led in my writing of Niagara Center. It's called Beyond the Streets Welland. The volunteers at Beyond the Streets have a mission statement, nobody gets left behind. Together they serve at risk low income seniors and the homeless population of Welland. I'm at Deanna, Cindy and Jade of Beyond the Streets at the pilot of the new breakfast program at Holy Trinity Church. Where Beyond the Streets has undertaken the important work of finding those experiencing homelessness in our community and connecting them to the new program. Every Thursday night, Beyond the Streets provides a free hot meal at the Welland Farmers Market. They also hand out fresh produce donated by small scale farms. But there's a reason behind the name. These volunteers undertake important outreach work in hopes of connecting those in need to other services. These passionate volunteers teach us that homelessness is more pervasive and complex than people realize. They tell me that many of the people they serve are experiencing invisible homelessness where an individual only occasionally has a place to stay. Unfortunately, this leads to situations where the person is so desperate to have a roof over their head that they stay in extremely dangerous situations. Those at risk of homelessness are often neighbors who have to choose between groceries and paying the increasingly unaffordable cost of rent. Beyond the Streets runs on volunteer time and donations alone. Anyone who would like to volunteer or donate can contact them on Facebook or through their email at Beyond the Streets Welland at outlook.com. I hope this house will join me in thanking the team from Beyond the Streets for their vital work with the homeless and invisible homeless in our community. Thank you. I recognize a member from Oakville. Thank you, Speaker. And it's great to rise in the legislature today to bring attention to Little Canada, which is an experience unlike any other. We are truly fortunate to live in the best country in the world and Little Canada provides the opportunity to connect to see every part of this vast nation. You can visit towns, cities and special landmarks and journey through the spectacular landscape on a miniature scale. This special attraction offers a chance to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for our great country. Located at the Young Dundas Square in Toronto, I had the honour of touring this attraction and it is truly impressive. Over 200,000 hours of work have been put into constructing and building this facility to date and the work continues. So far over 5,000 trees cover the landscape and 300 autonomous cars move around Little Canada. In Little Canada, you can see locations such as Little Toronto with a 14 foot CN tower, Little Niagara with its majestic horseshoe falls and our nation's capital, Little Ottawa with a replica of Parliament Hill and much more. The President and Founder, Jean-Louis Brennickmeyer is an Oakville resident. Of course, downtown Oakville is also in the miniature replica. Our charming downtown offers different cuisine stores and waterfront parks. Whether you stop for food or one of our great restaurants such as Seasons, Piano Piano, Pasquale's or Justino's Wood-Oven Pizza or visit one of the many great storefronts in our downtown, there's something for everyone. I encourage everybody to visit Little Canada to see our whole country in miniature and also, of course, my home riding in the beautiful downtown Oakville. Thank you very much, Speaker. I recognize a member from the State of York, James Bay. Thank you, Speaker. I'm always honored to rise in this house to speak on behalf of my constituents. Even more so, when it's to bring to attention a very important issue happening in my riding. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring our attention to the community of Constance Lake First Nation who declared a state of emergency last Monday because of a suspected outbreak of lung infection known as blastocomplicosis. We have been working closely with the community, the public health unit, the local partners to ensure their needs are met and support they're required in place. The community is working hard to identify the source, but unfortunately they have yet to identify. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the community, friends and families affected by the outbreak, and we will continue to support them as they go through the state of emergency. With that being said, I understand that the government has reached out to the community and are working with them. I am encouraging the government to continue to be there for the community, to maintain the support and make sure the resources are in place as we are required. We must ensure the community gets through this crisis safely and get the answers, DNA, our prayers and thoughts with the community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member Statements, the member for Markham Thornhill. Let me just remind us of the fundamental human values that we should embody as a community. We should respect one another or one another more than anything else, we uplift one another. As we continue in our fight against COVID-19, these values and entire your spirit and resilience are sown through the work of the organization of Markham Thornhill. In my writing, many organizations have stepped up to support their community numbers during this challenging time. Mr. Speaker, today I'm proud to recognize some of these organizations. Famestar Group, KFEST, Center for Immigrant and Community Services, Markham Federation of Filipino Canadians, Buddhist Association of Canada, Samshan Temple, Verde Cultural Center, Sanatana Mandir Cultural Center, Acros, UHAB, the Taiwanese Merchant Association of Toronto, Federation of Chinese Canadian of in Markham, Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, Shabab Lubavitch of Markham, Millicent Gospel Church. Mr. Speaker, now that we are in the new phase of the pandemic, these organizations and many others continue to provide programs and services to help the community. They are committed to meet the diverse needs of the people of Markham Thornhill. Thank you to this individual and organization for your compassion, hard work, and valuable contribution to our community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Next, we have the member for Oshawa. Thank you, Speaker. Everyone understands how important paid sick days are to keeping folks healthy. Everyone except this government, that is. The Ontario NDP has shown leadership since the start of the pandemic and have constantly been championing paid sick days in Ontario. We are listening to people who are desperate. This Premier and government have voted consistently against paid sick days and workers choosing 27 times to stand against workers and their health. Most recently, they voted against Bill 8, to stay home if you are sick act, introduced by the NPP for London West and opposition members. Our office is hearing from workers and parents and teachers and healthcare workers across the region about the continued need for paid sick days, because they are choosing between taking care of their health and keeping a roof over their head, because they're choosing between staying home with sick children and putting food on the table, because they're seeing COVID-19 and other seasonal illnesses spread through their classrooms, and because they are working nonstop taking care of patients who might not have been there in the first place if they had had paid sick days. My constituent Lyle Hargrove writes, quote, far too many people have died preventable deaths during the pandemic for us to learn nothing. I am asking as your constituent that you keep up the fight to legislate 10 days of job protected employer paid permanent sick days for all workers regardless of employment status. Protecting the lives of workers shouldn't require a second thought. This government has a duty to protect its citizens, end quote. Speaker, this pandemic is not yet over. Instead of sitting back and waiting for things to get worse again, this government needs to listen to workers, parents, teachers, nurses, and their own science table and implement 10 permanent paid sick days now. Thank you. Next member statement, the member for Orleans. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's an honor to rise today to highlight a gem in East Ottawa, the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum. The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum is a living museum that provides an immersive and educational experience by showcasing life throughout the roaring 20s, the Great Depression in the 30s with dozens of true era buildings. And during the Christmas season, the live museum is turned into the vintage village of lights. Mr. Speaker, the vintage village of lights always offers a unique experience that encourages you to play in the past and make memories for the future. The village is lit up tastefully with over 30,000 lights and there are festivities for the entire family to enjoy. Families can enjoy the vignettes, highlighting traditions of days gone by, see the portable printing press in action and travel back in time with a festive soundtrack from the interwar years. Children can have the chance to meet Santa Claus, decorate a gingerbread house, partake in tree lighting ceremonies, and much, much more. It provides a wholesome evening out in the town for the entire family. Now, safety has always been a number one priority and so last year, staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to transform the village into a drive through experience. And I'm very happy to say that this year, with the help of Ottawa Public Health and local community leaders, the vintage village of lights is back in full swing and with proof of vaccinations in place and it starts this weekend. It's a wonderful tradition in East Ottawa and I'm so proud that I had a small part to play to get it started about a decade ago. I encourage everyone to go check it out and partake in this important Christmas tradition. Next member statement, the member for Scarborough Rouge Park. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to speak about one of the most important people in our communities, the volunteers. December 5th is International Volunteers Day. This day was established to shine a light on the impact of volunteers' effort and promote volunteers' work. In the past 18 months with the pandemic, we have seen so many people step up in our communities to help their next door neighbors, share letters of gratitude and so much more. I'm truly humbled to have met so many dedicated volunteers in my riding of Scarborough Rouge Park, whether it through the spread kindness campaign where volunteers help to deliver groceries to seniors who need them or my volunteers who helped out with shoreline cleanup at Port Union Waterfront and Great Lakes Waterfront Trial near Beach Grove or the volunteers who have helped me from day one or those who participated in summer and volunteer programs. I'm so proud to have met so many talented and committed young volunteers and young leaders, community leaders in Scarborough Rouge Park. You all continue to inspire me and motivate me every single day. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all your efforts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Ottawa Centre. Thank you, Speaker. It wasn't that long ago that we were all wearing orange t-shirts in Canada and remembering the horrors of our colonial past and present. But sadly, the unrelenting push for new fossil fuel development has made us forget that. The wet soot and people have become a target on their own territory, a pristine area in the north of British Columbia. Speaker, as our friends in British Columbia deal with the real-time impacts of climate change, massive floods and horrendous fires, somehow millions of dollars can be found to send the RCMP into wet soot and lands with snipers and police dogs. And today, 30 people have been arrested, including land defenders and journalists. My friend, Premier John Horgan, has said, quote, free, prior and informed consent is what everyone would expect of their neighbour, and it's what we would expect from those who want to do business in BC. I agree, Speaker. But consent is meaningless if no is answered with the barrel of a gun. As the member from Kiwetanong has said, the law is very clear. Wet soot and hereditary chiefs are the title holders of their land. They have the right to refuse development on their lands, despite agreements signed by other parties. And the wet soot and hereditary chiefs and grassroots people are actually giving Canada an opportunity right now. We can right now reinforce our unequivocal support for Indigenous rights entitled. We can truly meet the challenge of the climate emergency by declaring an end to any massive expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. And that is what we are talking about, sadly, with this project in BC. So, Speaker, through you, I call upon my friends in the British Colombian government and the federal government to respect the wet soot and people and do better. Member Stamets, the member for Perry Soundless School. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to remind everyone that local is the new black. I have to admit that when my staff first suggested that slogan, I asked them what they were talking about. Of course, it means that local is the new fashion, the new trend. As we do our Christmas shopping, I hope this is a trend we will all follow whether buying gifts, food, or a treat for ourselves. I encourage residents of Perry Soundless School to support the many businesses that make and sell local products. I can't list them all, but one example is Middle River Farms in McKellar where Katie and Cameron Ward carry not only their own locally grown products, but they also carry other local food products and gifts. I also want to recognize our local Chamber of Commerce and BIAs that are promoting local shopping. For example, last weekend, the downtown Huntsville BIA hosted SAD and other special guests at its inaugural Muskoka Market Huntsville Holiday Edition. This event brought families back to the Main Street businesses after a long summer of construction. And it isn't just about local products. For those people who are hard to buy for, consider a local experience. This could be dinner at a local restaurant, tickets to a local attraction, or take advantage of the staycation tax credit and treat someone to a weekend retreat, a resort here in Ontario. Check your list and check it twice. I'm sure we can all find local gifts that will put a smile on the faces of our loved ones this Christmas. Give the gift to your community shop local. Thank you. That concludes our member statements for this morning.