 for member statements and I recognize the member for beaches east York thank you speaker COVID-19 is bearing down upon Ontario and the government has yet to develop a solid plan for the most vulnerable among us people across the province experiencing homelessness overcrowded shelters and drop-ins a community whose health is already compromised many folks chronically ill and with poor immune systems a community made up increasingly of seniors and families evicted from rental units they can no longer afford people forced to migrate through cities and towns during the day unable to self-isolate or maintain safe social distance these conditions are inhumane and downright cruel for the individuals concerned they are also a serious public health challenge shelters where people are crammed in like sardines could become virus incubators the province has an obligation to keep all Ontarians safe that means listening to advocates like Kathy Crowe who has decades of experience with homeless health care among other measures it means extra funding to allow cities to open additional shelters to relieve congestion and allow for beds there are six feet apart to lessen the chance of transmission relaxed rules that allow people to remain in bed during the day enhanced cleaning protocols screening on addition on admission nurses on site pocket hand sanitizers extra funding for motels or other spaces where people can recover in isolation and I can't emphasize this enough the government needs to declare a state of emergency on homelessness in Ontario and it needs to begin with a serious plan for COVID-19 thank you thank you the next statement the member for Scarborough Agent Court good morning mr. Speaker the 30th anniversary of the back of my soccer was recently commemorated by its survivors and descendants who reside in Ontario on January 13 1990 nationalists in Azerbaijan launched widespread and predetermined massacres against the unarmed Armenian minority in the capital Baku hundreds of Armenians were killed tortured and forced to leave their homes during these atrocities the massacres were preceded by mass killing of Armenians in Azerbaijan cities of some guide Kirovabad and ganja in 1988 and 1989 these crimes against humanity resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Armenian population in the former Soviet Republic about half a million Armenian were deported from Azerbaijan and had to seek refuge in different parts of the world including Canada to silence the voice and the will of the people of Artsakh for self-determination Azerbaijan escalated the crisis into a war the impunity the criminals enjoyed only served as a fertile soil for new even more horrible crimes sustainable peace and development in the South Caucasus is impossible without facing the past and resorting justice based on the principles of international law finally mr. Speaker the survivors condemned the manifestation of exo no phobia intolerance and extremism thank you very much member statements the member for Mishki Gowak James Bay thank you speaker just yesterday the minister of health announced new protocol aimed at protecting what she calls the province most vulnerable people from COVID-19 pandemic an expert continues to indicate that the best preventive meant method is to wash your hands with water and soap but what can we do in dozen of communities on the water advisory and how will the minister contain a pandemic in remote and flying communities speaker just this week Nesca Katanga and Otto up a scatch shared their concern about arrival COVID-19 in their communities Otto up a scatch chief said the virus is going to spread like wildfire and this Katanga's chief said it's going to be devastating because people live in dreadful conditions and lack the essentials of health system worthy of this province speaker the minister of health needs to work with with the well-being of health of all Ontarians it's not about it's about equity not the distance from Toronto I does demand the minister of health and the minister of indigenous affairs to work quickly to provide proper health services to indigenous people living in remote areas thank you the next statement the member for Kitchener Conestoga well thank you mr. Speaker yesterday I had the honour of hosting the honourable Raymond show minister of seniors and accessibility active living fair in the great riding of Kitchener Conestoga I was excited or sorry I wish to extend the gratitude of the event organisers in the entire community in Waterloo region for the minister's strong advocacy for active living and comprehensive accessibility framework that will make real impact for Ontario seniors this government was elected with a clear mandate to stand behind the men and women who together built this province we have kept our promise to them by introducing free dental care for seniors most in need providing record spending on health and long-term care and investing over 14 million dollars in seniors active living centres across the province when I was outdoor knocking many seniors told me that they wanted to live out their years in their homes close to family and friends that is why I am proud this government is also investing an additional 155 million dollars to expand frontline home and community care services this includes a hundred and fifty thousand dollars to community care concepts take me home program which provides transportation for seniors to and from the hospital I am excited that these community organisations will be playing an active role in providing modern wraparound and continuous care within our new Ontario health teams I look forward to again joining the seniors in my riding at next year's fair and bring more good news about the things our minister of seniors and accessibility is doing for them thank you speaker the next statement the member for Niagara centre thank you speaker people my community of Niagara concerned about COVID-19 and I want to use this opportunity to provide them with an update Niagara region public health has been working with the province and the federal government on identifying travellers who might be carrying COVID-19 locally they have developed multiple scenarios for what may happen and plans for those scenarios are continually being revisited as we learn more from other countries I would join the association of local public health agencies in employing this government to put their modernization review of public health and emergency health services on the back burner health workers are working around the clock to contain COVID-19 and a modernization plan in the midst of a global outbreak creates unnecessary confusion in trying times public health units have been challenged for years due to ministry caps on budget increases my office spoke with Dr. Thomas Stewart CEO of Niagara health who informed us that quote the key immediate priorities are to get alternative testing sites up and running in addition given that occupancies are so high we need plans to move patients not needing hospital care out it is vital that the province work with local hospitals health units and public health to ensure the necessary funding is provided I would like to thank the frontline health care workers public health officials administrators and everyone working on this file those in Niagara and across the province can have confidence that they are working tirelessly behind the scenes to contain and mitigate COVID-19 thank you speaker thank you okay the next statement the member for Don Valley North thank you thank you mr. Speaker the art of debate is important and it is what we do here every day in the house last weekend a team of young debate in my writing of Don Valley North students of extraordinary education center EEC participate in the debate tournament in Harvard University please show me to welcome our champion mass Rosen from team Canada and the first a finalist Randy Chan deeper Hedery still a John and Salazar from EEC and also congratulations to three top speakers Randy John Deba Hedery still a John from EEC and to the principles of EEC as well for their commitment and effort in educating our future leaders mass Rosen from team Canada is also a debate course at EEC being a two-time champion for both 2019 and 2020 and course for the finalist team it is quite an achievement I'm confident that they will be become influential leaders of tomorrow some of them may be one day be sitting in this legislature I'm honored and proud to welcome this brilliant young debate all dreams dreamers and doers they are great role model for their peers and yet again one more time I will remind the members that we are in member statements and when we're in member statements I would ask you to keep your private conversations to a minimum and as quiet as possible so that I can hear the member who has the floor I'm reluctant to stand up in the middle of a member statement and interrupt the clip and I've heard back from members about that too so we were trying to adapt to the new rules and it's just common sense and courtesy that we try to be quiet when another member has the floor start the clock the next statement is the member for Waterloo thank you very much Karen reached out to my office and told us I'm terrified of getting sick because if I don't work I don't get paid and I have a lot of people relying on me these are tough choices for workers in Ontario as we begin to grapple with the unprecedented effects of COVID-19 we need to get real about paid sick days research shows that in jurisdictions where paid sick days are required there are fewer flu cases which means there is less stress on the health care system it's as simple as that Mr. Speaker the decent work and health network are here today at Queens Park and they reported eight out of ten workers will go to work sick over three quarters of emergency room doctors report they have to write sick notes a family doctor reported just this week in a health crisis that one third of the patients in his office required sick notes in one day but in PC run Ontario employers have no legal obligation to offer any paid sick days to employees in our current climate that is just not good enough we've called on this government to introduce responsible measures to ensure that employees can stay home when they're sick that would entail preventing employers from requiring people to get a sick note giving employees access to paid sick days public health officials are working desperately to prevent the spread of COVID-19 they need a government who supports the employees and the frontline health workers in this province step up today put in place paid sick days that protect the people of this province thank you very much thank you very much the next member statement the member for Durham thank you speaker on March 6th I was joined by my fellow Durham region PC colleagues the member for Whitby and the member for Pickering Oxbridge to announce that some very important hospital upgrades at Lakeridge Health Bowmanville and Ajax Pickering hospitals are coming speaker as you know we're modernizing the way health care services are delivered in the province of Ontario moving towards a more connected and patient-centered model but while we work on this bigger picture transformation it's still important that we focus on the smaller and more urgent needs of our hospitals that enable continuity and reliable patient care our government has invested a total of $175 million this year through the health infrastructure renewal fund to support hospitals across Ontario as part of that fund Lakeridge Health Bowmanville received $1.3 million and Ajax Pickering received $215,000 to meet their urgent infrastructure needs this funding will allow both locations to make needed improvements so that patients in Durham region can continue to rely on the high quality health care services they have come to expect speaker my constituents in Durham rely upon the services provided by the Bowmanville hospital every day this infrastructure funding helps support a healthy and safe environment while our incredible health care professionals can continue to provide reliable patient care to the people of Clarington in their time of need thank you speaker the next statement the member for Chatham Kent Leamington thank you very much Mr. Speaker on Thursday February 27th the Municipal Council of Chatham Clint declared a state of emergency regarding the flood dikes on Erie Shores Drive near Erie O in a bylaw pass Chatham Kent Council empowered administration to bring a report to council within eight weeks regarding options for either preparing an alternative access via a newly constructed road consider a buyout of the property owners affected by the road closure and or introduce a further permanent road closure of Erie Shores Drive well thanks to the generosity of Ridge landfill and its president Izzy Abrams 10,000 metric tons of clay have been donated for dikes stabilization we look forward to continuing to work together to ensure the safety of our community and fairness for all residents what a great corporate citizen but as Izzy says it's the right thing to do the municipality gave residents a short time frame to evacuate causing frustration and major inconvenience the time to act however is now because weather unpredictability in the event of a disaster our government stands ready i've engaged the ministry of natural resources and forestry the ministry of municipal affairs and housing the solicitor general and the premier's office they have all been unequivocal and that safety of residents is first and foremost so thank you to everyone for ongoing efforts as we tackle this situation ranging from the building of the dichro to police officers guarding properties to volunteers bagging sand and helping residents in the danger zone thank you mr speaker thank you very much member statements that concludes the time we have for member statements