 Okay, it's now time for Member Statements, the Member for Ottawa Centre. Thank you, Speaker. I rise on May 1st, International Workers' Day to honour the struggles, sacrifices and contributions of working people. I'm proud to be here representing a party that was set up to advance workers' demands. Universal health care, public pensions, workplace rights, these things were never freely given. Generations of Canadians are grandmothers and grandfathers fought for them, and I salute them today on May 1st. I also make these remarks, Speaker, at a time when it's actually hard for me to be here. There are communities neighbouring to mine that are suffering incredible damage given floods, and it's the first responders and volunteers that have shown us the power of working people in practice. In fact, Speaker, I saw something firsthand when I was sandbagging that I'd like to share with this House. In an emergency situation, I saw City staff, first responders and the military, whom I'm very thankful for, come together and they accomplished great things. In that same spirit of selflessness, Speaker, on May 1st, I invite us to consider what we as a province could contribute to solving the great crises of our time. Climate change, poverty and inequality. To me, that's what democratic socialism is all about. It's about neighbours helping each other in their time of need to accomplish great things. Speaker, on May 1st, I want to remind us to think of the goal to build a province for the many, not the few. Thank you. Member for Mrs. Agamal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ms. Speaker, bone marrow transplants also call stem cell transplants treat over 80 disease and disorders, including certain form of cancer. A patient disease bone marrow is replaced with healthy stem cells from a donor. Ms. Speaker, I rise in the House today to raise the awareness for bone marrow registry. On any given day, there are about 1,000 Canadians on a waiting list for a bone marrow transplant. Three out of four patients rely on external bone marrow donors. Finding a potential donor is not an easy job, especially among South Asians, where there's one in a million chance because of the extremely low donor registration rate. I like to recognize a charity Match for Mero from GTA, who has partnered with Canadian Blood Services and other international organizations to raise awareness for bone marrow registries. Match for Mero was founded in 2010 when Just Noor Deol was diagnosed with blood cancer and his family wanted to help him. Just Noor has been waiting for nine years for a transplant and still hasn't found a donor. I commend the effort for Match for Mero. Ms. Speaker, South Asians only have 5% of the worldwide bone marrow stem cell network and Ms. Speaker, I want to talk about a youth of Inash who passed away on April 21st after three years for a potential donor he was not able to find. I encourage everyone to get involved and spread the awareness and go to further further information www.onematch.ca. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Statements, a member for York Southwest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today on behalf of my constituents, the hardworking and decent people of York Southwest. The last few months have been challenging in my writing. My constituents are angry, hurt, disappointed and overwhelmingly frustrated with this government. The Ford Conservatives campaigned on a commitment that no cats would be made to frontline services and jobs. The reality on the ground across the province is different, Mr. Speaker. Programs vital to success of many communities in York Southwest and beyond. Supporting women, newcomers, racialized folks, students and law income households are now in jeopardy. All because of these governments attacks on frontline services. Mr. Speaker, the implications of this budget are far-reaching. Everyone from the young child wanting to borrow their first book from a public library to the high school student without reliable access to internet being forced to take and online classes to the nurse who's being let go due to lack of funding to the senior citizen on a fixed income whose recreational program was defunded will be severely impacted by this budget. Teachers who have dedicated their lives to education and well-being of our children are losing their jobs all across this province. This government has turned back it is. This government has turned its back on the people of Ontario. It is only making things worse. The people of York Southwest and people of this province deserve better. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member Statements, the Member for Cambridge. Thank you, Honourable Speaker. And today I'm speaking about an event and an organisation that you yourself are actually quite familiar with. On April 12th, I had the pleasure of attending the Ontario Christian Gleaners' Dinner to celebrate their important work over the past 10 years in my riding of Cambridge. For those who are not aware, the word glean means to gather from a field what is left in order to give back to our communities. And gleaning is a biblical concept in which God instructed farmers to leave a portion of the crops for the poor or those in need. This is what the Ontario Christian Gleaners aim to do in their work by donating millions of servings of soup worldwide. Their dinner was also hosted during National Volunteer Week, and I would be remiss not to highlight the contributions of their volunteers. Thank you for making a difference not only locally in Cambridge but also overseas. Their volunteers trim over 5,000 pounds of vegetables, which goes into over 30,000 servings of soup every day. They trim, dice and dry fresh apples and that are then packed as treats for children. All of this food is arranged and donated to their partner organisations who distribute as far-reaching as Haiti, the Philippines and in Romania, just to name a few places. The Ontario Christian Gleaners are committed to being global citizens and making an impact on alleviating world hunger. They have combined their gospel message with humanitarian aid. Thank you for all the work that you do, Gleaners. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Kiwet and Ong. Good to be good, Mr Speaker. The United Nations declared 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages, based on the recommendation from the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The fact that most of these Indigenous languages are put culture and knowledge of Indigenous people at risk. Ontario is home to six Indigenous languages, six Indigenous language families, Anshinimun, Anshinabemun, Ongkwangwe, Mashkigwok, Lanapi and Nektatak, Mithjef, which includes over 18 unique languages and dialects, including my own Oji Kree. Our language plays a vital role in telling our history. They carry tradition and cultural identity. They tell our creation stories. They provide us with our world views and values. Every year, we lose more and more of our languages. Right now in Ontario, there are no Indigenous languages considered to be safe. The language that we speak is our way of being. Our language carriers need to work together to carry our languages forward to help one another. Language is culture. I honour those who do this important work in our communities and essential who are part of our people. Miigwech. Member Statements, the Member for Orléans. Merci Monsieur le Président. Rise before the light to bring to light a plight experience that many residents across Ottawa are experiencing, flooding as it has displaced many people from their home and held economic consequences. Last weekend, while working alongside volunteers who tirelessly were filling sandbags to help alleviate any further damage, they relate to me, their voices of concern. I want to say thank you to the many volunteers, community leaders, Canadian Armed Forces and first responders who come together to help these residents. Very timely, Mr Speaker, that today also marks Ontario's first Responders Day. The flooding in Ottawa is another testament to the essential services first responders provide to help us keep safe and healthy. Last Friday, I also participated in a fundraising activity at a centre in Gloucester that was celebrating. It is a sad reminder of the needs that still face many families in our communities. We need to do better, Mr Speaker. And lastly, I am pleased to say that I will be hosting two autism roundtables in Orléans on May 6 and 16. Furthermore, I'm also working with community leaders to host community consultation on dyslexia needs, disabilities. You know, Mr Speaker, health care is an important need for me. Merci. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Berry, Springwater, Oro Medante. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Summer is a busy time in Berry, Springwater, Oro Medante and Berry Innisfil. Every year, thousands, tens of thousands of people come to attend our concerts or festivals or outdoor activities. One of our biggest festivals is Kempinfest. It's an arts and music festival held on the waterfront of downtown Berry. Nearly 400 vendors set up shop over two kilometres of waterfront to sell craft goods, antiques, clothing, art and food. It gives local entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their skills. It draws talent and visitors from far and wide. There are many family-friendly activities, midway rides, face painting and concerts on two live music stages. There's water activities to do. Kempinfest is all about community. For the past 49 years, volunteers from organisations like the Qantas Club of Berry and the Berry Arts Club have donated their time to organise this festival. As much as 250,000 has been raised over the four-day span each year, this year it's August 2nd to August 5th. These funds are directed back into the local organisations like the YMCA of Simcoe, Muscoca, the Optimus Club of Berry, the Berry Lions Club and the Knights of Columbus. All the organisations support youth, sports or other charities and the less fortunate in our community. A huge thank you to all the volunteers. I invite you to join me for Kempinfest 2019, August 2nd to 5th. Come and see the unique talent and incredible community spirit found in Berry, Ontario. Thank you very much. Member statements. Member for Kitchener, South Hesbler. Thank you Speaker. There were many events in my riding and across Waterloo Region last week to celebrate Earth Day and I had the opportunity to attend a few of them with my daughter Irene. In Hesbler and across Cambridge for more than 20 years, residents have been gathering for the annual city-wide community cleanup. And despite the rather windy and cold weather, there was still a great turnout this past Saturday. The Minister of Environment, Rod Phillips and his parliamentary assistant, Andrea Kanjin, were also in Kitchener last week for a roundtable on the environment and to speak to the KW Chamber of Commerce 32nd annual Energy and Environment Forum. At the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank, they celebrated Earth Day by launching their new seed share program. Community members who visit the food bank can now not only access food and clothing and supports like play therapy and pregnancy counseling, they can also now pick out seeds to grow their own vegetables and herbs. And my daughter's favorite event last week was the reconciliation tree plant at the Waterloo Region District School Board's Outdoor Education Center in Cambridge. The day was the vision of teacher Nathan Manti. He supports students at the Outdoor Ed Center throughout the school year and wanted to do an educational family day for Earth Day. So we got to learn about how the land in the area has been impacted by colonization over the years and the work being done to restore the ecosystems. Well, there we also heard from Dr. Andre Judge, who is in a Shambi. He talked about the indigenous land practices and how we can all work towards sustainability. The morning certainly inspired the dozens of children who took part, including Irene, who said her favorite experience was learning about smudging and also getting to plant two trees. Thank you. Member Statements, a member for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the 37th annual Harry Jerome Awards hosted by the Black Business Professionals Association at the International Center in Mississauga. Established in 1983 in memory of the late Harry Jerome, a medalist in the men's 100 meters in the 1964 Olympic Games, and a strong advocate for the community. The awards recognize and honor notable achievements in the African-Canadian community. The awards were given to 15 accomplished honorees in various roles such as leadership, business, the arts, media, professional excellence, health and science, etc. Their names are Wendy Beckles, Tracy Melcore, Rustam Southwell, Liston Lewis, Karen Burke, Paulette Senior, Exko Levy, Ross Simmons, Shaquille Smith, Francis Ann Solomon, Ray Williams, and Doctors Widorfa and Salton, as well as Grace Foods. I was honored to be there and it was great to see other members of this house there as well, including the Premier and the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. And it was even better to be able to share the occasion with a number of friends and neighbors from Eglinton Lawrence, including Owen Hines, Program Director of Pathways to Education in the Lawrence Heights community, as well as a number of the program's alumni and their families. Mr. Speaker, it's my sincere hope that events like this will continue to inspire accomplishment in all of our communities amongst all young Canadians, and I look forward to attending again in the future. Thank you. Member statements? The Member for Brampton South. I apologize. That's okay, Mr. Speaker. I'll get it right next time. There's a few of us from Brampton. I can understand the confusion every now and then, but it is a pleasure to rise here today as a critic for the Attorney General. I'd like to just start off by thanking all of the champions that are here with us today in the gallery that are fighting back against this government's cuts to legal aid. As we learned through the budget, this government is cutting $133 million, 30% of legal aid's budget. This is going to mean that the most vulnerable people in our province are not going to get access to the justice that they need and, frankly, that they deserve. These are people like single mothers who are fleeing domestic abuse, folks who are suffering from mental health, and looking to make sure that they can get the ODSP supports that they need from the province. It is people who are experiencing poverty, children that are not going to be able to access justice, Mr. Speaker, and it is very concerning the direction that this government is taking our justice system. In addition to those vulnerable populations, people like refugees or immigrants who are unable to navigate the legal system to seek out justice themselves will also not have the opportunity to be represented by lawyers through legal aid. It is concerning that this government is trying to use language-like modernized the legal system when, in fact, what they're doing is cutting access and services that people need in order to get the justice that they deserve. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.