 But it is now time for Member Statement, and I recognize a member from Humber River, Black Creek. Thank you, Speaker. I'm proud to rise as the new official opposition critic for transit. Whether they use it to get to work or come home to their loved ones, Ontarians deserve a safe, accessible, reliable, and affordable public transit system. I recognize the hard work of the countless transit operators who make these millions of daily trips possible. As critic, I will hold the government accountable to protect and expand public transit across our great province. But it must be said here that current and future transit projects must be envisioned based on needs and under the advice of transit experts, not based on the desire of developer insiders looking to maximize the profits on the values of their land holdings. And when such projects become a reality, communities and municipalities must be thoroughly consulted and respected. Transit systems throughout our province rely heavily upon fares to keep their services running. As such, this pandemic has hit them hard. But despite an overall decline in ridership, there are still many packed routes during this pandemic, putting passengers and operators at risk. This must be resolved. Government assistance is set to end by the end of next month, but needs will continue in the time ahead. That's why the government must work closely with transit operators across the province to ensure that help continues beyond the end of March. Finally, I will continue to stand up for my community in calling on this government to immediately transfer Metrolinx lands so a community hub can be built as promised at Jane and Finch. Don't make the same mistake as the Liberal government before you in stringing along our community. We demand better than that. Thank you. Thank you very much. Further member statement, the member from Terry Sound, Muscoca. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to give voice to the frustrations I'm hearing from business owners, residents, and municipal officials across the district of Perry Sound over the lack of local communication over the remaining or over remaining in the stay at home order. I've been proud to see the Premier, Ministers, and Ontario's top health professionals prioritise communication throughout the pandemic with almost daily press conferences. I'm asking that our local health unit follow this lead and communicate transparently with the residents. While it is disappointing news that the region remains under the stay at home order for now, it's important to remember that these decisions are made in consultation with the expert advice of Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health and local medical officers of health. We've made some headway in our fight against COVID-19, but we must not take that progress for granted. I encourage the residents of North Bay Perry Sound Health Unit Region to continue following public health advice so we can stop the spread and safely transition to a lower level in the framework. I do thank the North Bay Perry Sound District Health Unit for opening up outdoor activities like snowmobiling, skating, and tobogganing. I'm pleased to see the health unit listen to the community and reconsider the order to shut down those activities. I ask that they once again listen to the community and respond to their calls for more information. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Member Statements. For Essex. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I have not an opportunity to do Member Statement in this House for quite some time, and I gave thought to what topic I would talk about and dedicate the minute and a half that we have here. And I can't imagine standing up in this House as a member without recognizing, acknowledging, and thanking our essential workers back in our home communities, each and every one of them. Every one of them. To go through a list of the folks and the people and the organizations who have brought us all together as communities to keep each other safe, I am certain we would all miss folks in that list, but undoubtedly our frontline workers in our healthcare system, our nurses, our doctors, hospital, administration, staff, our public health officials who under an enormous amount of pressure have gone above and beyond to protect our communities. Our Windsor and Essex public health unit who just recently supported our member from London West's motion in Bill on paid sick leave. They understand that paid sick leave saves lives and makes our communities safer. The teachers, the small business owners, the fitness club owners who have struggled to provide so much, I mean the list goes on and on, but rest assured, Speaker, we think of every one of them each and every day in this House. All members are giving all of our effort to those back home that are putting their best effort forward to keep us safe and we thank them very much. Thank you very much. The next member statement. Member for Sarnia Lampton. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And it's a privilege to rise today and announce another critical milestone in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Sarnia Lampton. Yesterday, Blue Water Health opened its first COVID vaccination clinic for high risk frontline hospital healthcare workers. The first frontline hero at Blue Water Health to receive that vaccine was Mr. Fred Osmo, an emergency department nurse who works at both the Sarnia and Petroia campus. With over 2,000 team members including staff, physicians, midwives, specialists and more. Blue Water Health vaccination clinics are expected to run over the next four to five days. Nonpatient facing employees are not scheduled to receive the vaccine at this time. To date, over 600,000 plus people in Ontario have received their very first dose of the vaccine, including every resident of long-term care homes. Ontario is leading the nation with its vaccination program. That is something we should be proud of, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker goes without saying that the last 11 months have been challenging. Vaccines getting to our frontline workers is great news for the Sarnia Lampton community and a step forward. To quote Mr. Osmo upon hearing the news that he would be the very first healthcare worker to receive the vaccine at Blue Water Health. Quote, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next member's statement, the member for Brampton East. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's a question that each and every one of us needs to ask ourselves right now. Who is going to pay for this pandemic? Who is going to pay for the COVID-19 recovery that we're all hoping for right now? Over the past year, we've seen an unprecedented amount of challenges that people are facing right now with this COVID-19 pandemic. Frontline workers who have the risk of their lives every day going to work to move our economy. Small business owners who are struggling to keep their doors open. People have to balance between child care and working from home and the countless others who lost their job altogether. But at the same time, the super rich in Canada have increased their wealth by 63 billion dollars on the backs of working people who have to bear the brunt of this pandemic. That's why we need a wealth tax on the super rich, on multi-millionaires and multi-billionaires so they can pay their fair share on the public services that we all rely on so we can expand healthcare, so we can strengthen our public schools, so we can make sure that housing is a right that everyone can access. We can do this, but we need to have the courage to ask those who can to give a little bit more because working people should not have to pay for this pandemic and a wealth tax is how we make sure that they don't. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Willowdale. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Next Monday, March 1st marks Professional Engineers Day here in Ontario. There are some 85,000 professional engineers in Ontario and March 1st has been designated by this legislature as the day each year that we mark the invaluable contributions engineers make to our communities and our economy. Engineers help build our cities. They design bridges and highways. They develop computer programs like lifesaving medical equipment. They can turn garbage into fuel and last week they helped land a rover on Mars, Speaker. You'll know an engineer when you see one by the distinct iron ring that they wear. It's worn by professional engineers across Canada as a reminder of the obligations and ethics of their profession. The iron ring is both a symbol of pride and a reminder to act in the highest standards of professional conduct. My riding is home of engineering in Ontario as both the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and Professional Engineers of Ontario are headquartered in Willowdale. Over the last three years, I've had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the incredible work engineers do in my community and across the province. It's always amazing to see an engineer in action, solving the most complex problems or developing exciting innovative products. This PNG day, I want to give a special recognition to the many engineering students, future innovators and change makers who are continuing to work hard this year with the added challenges of learning during the pandemic. The world needs you now more than ever. So please join me today and on March 1st to celebrate Professional Engineers Day and all the engineers in our communities. Thank you. The next statement to member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this month, I was proud to be named our party's critic for mental health and addiction. So over the past few weeks, I've been meeting with advocates and service providers to hear more about the situation on the ground. Everyone I've spoken with agrees. Ontario is in an overdose crisis and it is only getting worse. Public Health Ontario says opioid overdose deaths have grown by 50% during the pandemic. Overdose deaths are at the highest they have ever been. Yet the people I've been speaking with say that there's been little action from this government. There are actions that this government must take when it comes to harm reduction like providing safe supply programs, supervised consumption and outreach programs as well as actions that will provide aid in recovery from addiction like rehab programs and investing in supportive housing. The quickest and easiest first step they could do would be to simply resume the emergency opioid task force which this government shuttered in 2018 and they need to commit to following its advice. This government's indifference will only lead to a larger crisis and a greater number of overdose deaths. People in Ontario deserve better. Families are begging for help and support. You have an obligation to meet these families' needs and to provide the services to save people's lives. The next statement, the member for Brantford Brandt. Thank you, Speaker. Mr. Speaker, what if we could help prevent homelessness before people are actually on the streets? Well, good news. That was our goal as we participated in Brantford's annual coldest night of the year fundraiser last Saturday in my home riding of Brantford Brandt. The walkers raised over $53,000 for the Why Not Youth Centre in Brantford. That is 151% of the goal that was set. A true testament to the generous, caring community that I am proudly a part of. Why Not Youth Centre is a grassroots not-for-profit that sees 750 to 1,000 visits every month from local teens in need. At Why Not Youth Centre, they believe that every young person is important and deserves all the help they can get to overcome their challenges and achieve their goals. Every teen who comes through their door is struggling in some way. Be it with homelessness, mobility, bullying or unsafe living conditions. When they are doing their job right, they are safe. They get the help that they need and move forward with their lives. This was a fun COVID-19 safe and engaging event. I am particularly happy to be on the same virtual team as a former legislator that sat in this house many years ago. My good friend, Phil Gillies, and I want to thank him personally for always being there for our community in so many ways. Some people see things and say, why? Now, Why Not Youth Centre in Brantford? They dream things that never were and say, why not? Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Member statements. The member for Hastings, Lennox and Attington. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. There's been a lot of misinformation spread about vaccines. We all know that. But some has been intentional and some has come from people who feel it's ethical to mislead others about their health prospects. I find that to be incredibly disappointing. On December the 4th, our provincial vaccine task force led by General Rick Hellyer laid out Ontario's vaccine distribution plan. Its phrases are clear and have been available on government websites for many weeks now. It can be found at Ontario.ca slash COVID vaccine. And we encourage everyone to go there to learn more. But we know that the plan requires vaccine supply controlled by the federal government. Regrettably, Mr. Speaker, the federal government dropped the ball early on. But as we receive more vaccine supply now from the federal government, we are planning for the expansion to other priority groups, including over 80s who can expect to begin to receive their shots in the coming weeks in mid-March as we finish vaccinating our frontline healthcare workers. Ontario's will have more information on how over 80s can book their appointments in the coming days, while in advance of the shots being available to them. We know everyone is anxious to get the shots and we're anxious to get them to you. As vaccines start to arrive again, our public health professionals are organized and ready to COVID vaccine data to our communities. They vaccinated 6 million in six weeks against the flu just a few months back. This is a team effort. And we will continue to work collaboratively with vaccination sites and other healthcare partners to ensure we have the most successful vaccine rollout in the country. That's the Ontario spirit, Mr. Speaker. You're here. The next statement, the member for Scarborough Guildwood. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. I am honored today to rise in the House and to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough in my riding of Scarborough Guildwood. For more than 60 years, the Boys and Girls Club of East Scarborough has been an integral part of the local community. Over the course of this long history, they have grown to offer a diverse range of programs focusing on accessibility. The significance of the programs and services that this group provides to children, youth, and families of Scarborough are many. Indeed, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club has shown courage, compassion, and perseverance in their community-oriented response, all while continuing to provide their core support for families. People throughout Scarborough know the Boys and Girls Club to be a group of core community members who go above and beyond in the work that they do to help others. This has never been more evident than over the last 11 months during COVID-19 where they work tirelessly to ensure that in the face of unprecedented adversity, families receive the support that they need through programs like back-to-school backpack programs and holiday help program. Additionally, they have worked to combat food insecurity by providing emergency food services, including delivering meal hampers with essential items to families each and every week. To the executive director, Ucha Sawyer, and the team members and volunteers at the East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club, I say thank you and job well done. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements this morning. I understand the member for Davenport may have a point of order. Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to immediately pass private members motion 137 calling on the Ford government to implement a back-to-school plan with improved funding for classroom caps, better ventilation, and a safety committee made up of experts, parents, students, education workers, unions, and boards. Davenport is seeking unanimous consent of the House to immediately pass private members motion 137 calling on the government to implement a back-to-school plan with improved funding for classroom caps, better ventilation, and a safety committee made up of experts, parents, students, education workers, unions, and boards. Agreed? No. No.