 Member Statements, the Member for Essex. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. For senior citizens, social isolation is enemy number one. And the best way to fight social isolation is to stay active and connected. And that's why I'm pleased to say that on April 3rd, the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility designated the creation of two new seniors active living centers in the writing of Essex. One is in the town of Kingsville at the Kingsville Community Center where seniors can participate in Tai Chi, take guitar lessons and learn massage techniques. The second is located in my hometown of Amersburg at the Amersburg Community Center where active seniors can participate in line dancing and play in Uker tournaments. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank our Minister of Seniors and Accessibility for creating these two new seniors active living centers. I want to encourage all of our super seniors in Amersburg, in Kingsville and across the province of Ontario to join one of our 300 seniors active living centers across the province. Stay active, stay connected and be a super senior. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Humber River, Black Creek. Thank you, Speaker. Auto theft has become a scourge in Ontario, up 319% since 2020 according to some metrics. The cost last year alone was north of a billion dollars. Speaker, collaborations have been announced by different levels of government yet the numbers keep growing. If we want to stop it, we must make ending this a priority and not just lip service. Speaker, we know the root of the problem. We know where the cars are going. We must clamp down on the ports and railway yards which is where most of these cars end up. Are shipping companies doing enough to stop this or are they just feigning ignorance while they collect their fees? Are automakers doing enough to protect their cars? Or are they just sitting by while replacement cars are purchased? Are the overall penalties enough of a deterrent for this crime? Speaker, at the end of this month I will be hosting a town hall meeting to discuss this growing auto theft crisis. And I will be joined by Toronto Police to discuss solutions and ways to protect ourselves. And Speaker, at this meeting we will also be discussing a growing type of fraud through the use of liens against our properties without notices of security interests or nosies for short. Most people don't even know these liens are registered against their own homes. At this meeting we will discuss our bill to end this growing tool of extortion. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements? The Member for Niagara West. Thank you very much Speaker. Just over a week ago I joined the Minister of Transportation at the intersection of two critical transportation corridors in Niagara. The QEW and the Welland Canal to announce that we have issued a request for proposals to twin the Garden City Skyway. It marks another key milestone in our plan to reduce gridlock, connect more people to jobs, and provides a crucial link between Ontario's international border crossings and the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Now as I'm in my Niagara might ask why twin the Garden City Skyway now? First, this is proactive infrastructure, which means instead of falling behind we're getting ahead of the curve of growth for our region. Because the reality is Speaker, it's impossible to widen the QEW in the future without first twinning the Garden City Skyway now. Second, the original bridge cannot be rehabilitated by working on one or two lanes at a time. The entire width of the bridge deck must be rehabilitated simultaneously, meaning that without a second span the entire bridge would need to be shut down. With over 106,000 vehicles crossing the Garden City Skyway daily, we need to ensure that this critical link remains open. Drivers in Niagara know that under the leadership of Premier Ford, our government is getting it done for drivers by building better roads to reduce gridlock and get people moving. By twinning the Garden City Skyway, we are not only supporting our province's supply chain, we're strengthening our economy and building a better Ontario. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for London West. Thank you Speaker. I have some exciting news. EarthFest is returning to London this Saturday, April 20th. This year's event will build on last year's huge success, which saw attendance of more than 3,000 Londoners and over 100 exhibitors celebrating environmental action in London. EarthFest brings active hope to our community by profiling the good work and achievements of the many organisations working to make London one of the greenest cities in Canada. Activities include practical hands-on solutions to help Londoners reduce their carbon footprint, as well as music, art, food and fun. Londoners know that we are facing an urgent climate crisis that demands urgent action, even in the absence of a serious provincial climate plan. Climate change is real. It's human-caused and it's affecting us today. We see that all around us in the freakishly warm winter, raging wildfires, torrential rainstorms and the devastation of Tornado Alley. Speaker, I want to give a shout out to some of the leaders in my community who have responded and continue to respond to London's 2019 declaration of a climate emergency. These include Green Economy London, which engages local businesses in setting and achieving sustainability goals, London Environmental Network, which has reached thousands of Londoners through education and emission reduction projects, as well as Climate Action London, Citizens Climate Lobby and the new London Greening Health Collaborative. I invite Londoners to come up this weekend, visit the exhibitors, drop by my table and learn how individuals can make a difference. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much, Member Statements. The Member for Oakville North, Burlington. Speaker, our government under the leadership of Premier Ford and Education Minister Lecce is committed to providing state-of-the-art learning environments for students. I'm honored to rise today to recognize a significant investment from the Ministry of Education of $16 million in my community of Oakville North, Burlington, which will be used for the expansion of Oakville Northeast No. 5 Public School. This will result in the creation of 138 additional student spaces helping working families in my fast-growing community. This investment is part of a historic $1.3 billion commitment, the largest single-year funding commitment in the province's history to get more shovels in the ground faster and to build more schools. Speaker, this investment will build 16 new schools and school expansions across the province, create more than 27,000 new student spaces, and 27 of the projects will create more than 1,700 childcare spaces. Since 2018, a total investment of $142 million in Oakville North, Burlington will build five new schools, add over 4,000 student spaces, and 352 childcare spaces. I'm so proud of the work our government is doing in my community and across the province as we prepare students for a future with good paying careers. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Member Statements. Member for Hamilton West and Castor Thunders. Thank you, Speaker. I along with many of my colleagues joined the Ontario Nurses Association information pickets that they were held across Ontario. In Hamilton, it was a very lively turnout, lots of entities, lots of community support, folks honking. These 3,000 nurses, personal support workers and other healthcare professionals who work in long-term care homes will begin bargaining this week, and their demands are reasonable. They're looking for safe staffing ratios so they can provide the quality of care our vulnerable residents need, and they want wages on par with their hospital counterparts. ONA Provincial President Aaron Aras said, we are fighting for care, not profit, advocating for the vulnerable residents of Ontario's corporate-owned long-term care homes. Our residents deserve to receive quality care, yet what we see is wealthy corporations making record profits on the backs of our residents and those who care for them. It's not right, and it's not safe, and I agree. ONA members that I spoke with on Friday continue to face pushback from the profit-driven corporations that run many of these homes and that they work for, and what they said they see are companies prioritizing their bottom line over the well-being of residents. So I, along with my colleagues, stand in solidarity with these frontline workers, and I urge the government to start listening to the voices of nurses. Their fight is our fight to ensure quality, not for profit care for our seniors and all vulnerable residents in Ontario. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Member statements. Member for Glen Gary, Prescott, Russell. Thank you very much, Speaker. This is the national week of volunteer action. We gather to celebrate the important work that volunteers do across the province. Just yesterday, I had the opportunity to participate in a brunch for volunteers at La Plateige-Nay and also an opportunity to congratulate the many volunteers gathered. It's always wonderful to meet these wonderful people who contribute so much to our community. Last week, there was also a supper to dinner to recognize volunteers in the nation municipality. It's so enriching to discuss with these volunteers and to learn more about what they do and what their organizations do. One thing I can tell you, Speaker, is that even if I represent small towns, small communities, our volunteers have the biggest hearts and they make an extraordinary contribution to our communities. Just to wrap up, I'd just like to highlight the importance of volunteer work. It's a wonderful way to make friends, to learn so much all the while achieving a sense of contribution to the community. Congratulations to all the volunteers in Glenbury Prescott Russell. Thank you for your wonderful work. Thank you, Member Statements, the Member for Don Valley North. Thank you, Speaker. I have exciting news about Ontario's incredible achievement at the Harvard's World Schools Debating Tournament. Last month, almost 300 students from across the globe gathered on the Harvard campus to compete in one of the most prestigious high school debating tournaments in the world. After ten rounds of debate on relevant issues of our times, a team of five talented Ontario high school students won the tournament. The debate champions are Andi Lane, Angelo Chee, Michael Penn, Kevin Fang, and Jerry Zhang from the Extraordinary Education Center debate group team from my riding of Don Valley North. This tournament includes Canadian, American, Brazilian, and Mexican national debate teams. The EEC debate winner defeated Team Canada in their grand finale. Becoming the first non-national team to win this tournament. Thank you, Speaker. Understanding key issues, critical thinking, logic, and wear soccer delivery, prepare students on Sunday on their global stage of competition today, and their bright lights will make the positive impact on the world tomorrow. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. The next Member's Statement, the Member for Peterborough Co-Order. Thank you, Speaker. Special Olympics Peterborough is dedicated with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport. The Special Olympics motto is let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt. This is an organization that is very active in ensuring that every opportunity is given to these exceptional athletes. I've said a number of times that everything you need to learn to survive socially in life can be learned through team sport. Sometimes you score, sometimes you're scored on. Sometimes you compete with your friends, sometimes you compete against your friends. But most of the time you're on the bench and your job is to cheer on and lift up your teammates. The camaraderie that you gain from working together to achieve something will help you succeed in so many other aspects of life. With the upcoming Provincial Spring Games in Waterloo, Peterborough will be sending a basketball team, 10 swimmers, and two athletes for 10-pin bowling. Find out how you can help by going to peterborough.specialolympicsontario.ca And in the final seconds, Speaker, I have to give a big shout out to the Peterborough Wolves Special Olympics floor hockey team. Here, here. They were the defending champions in floor hockey nationally, and this year when they went to Calgary, they came home with the silver medal. Congratulations to the entire team. We're very proud of you. Well done. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Leeds Grandville, Thousand Islands, and Rideau Lakes. Thanks, Speaker. I have some sad news to share with the house today. I ask the house to join me in honouring the life of Whitney McWilliam, a dedicated public servant, and most importantly, a beloved daughter, sister, friend, and new mother to son Finn, who tragically lost her life to cancer last week. Whitney was the long-time executive assistant to Geoff Hurrick, the former member for London, and she later served in the Ministries of Natural Resources and Forestry, Transportation, and Environment Conservation and Parks before becoming a program adviser at the Ontario Provincial Police Headquarters. She was a wonderful person. Her love for her family, for her community, for our province was evident in everything she did, and her memory will live on to the many lives that she's touched with her incredible kindness and her grace. On behalf of the house, my sincere condolences to Whitney's family and friends at this devastating time. Rest in peace. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements for this morning.