 Right to the member statements. I see member from Burlington Thank You speaker. It is my pleasure to rise in the house today and deliver my first member statement on Friday, August 19 I had the privilege of joining the Juno Beach Center Association a non-profit organization that is based in my riding of Burlington The Association owns and operates the Juno Beach Center in Normandy, France The JBCA plays a vital role in commemorating Canadians who served during the Second World War Last Friday the Juno Beach Center Association Announced they were the recipient of a hundred and nineteen thousand five hundred dollars through the Ontario Trillium Foundations Resilient Communities Fund It was an honor to be a part of a special funding announcement on the 80th anniversary of Dieppe This grant has helped the JBCA completed a digital educational resource who tells the story of Dieppe Focusing on how the soldiers from Ontario and across Canada made the ultimate sacrifice on one of Canada's darkest days the Dieppe raid Congratulations to the Juno Beach Center Association on receiving this grant and Thank you for educating adults children and future generations about the role Canada played on the world stage Thank You Speaker Since being elected I've had the opportunity to meet with many community service organizations in my riding of Ottawa, West Nippin The Caldwell Family Center Jewish Family Services The Carlington Community Health Center meals on wheels and Britannia Woods Community House are among the many Organizations doing amazing work to support seniors newcomers people living with disabilities and low-income communities But speaker they are all facing a situation where demand for their services is soaring Due to the rising cost of living the challenge of finding affordable housing and the increasing rate of poverty The Caldwell Family Center for instance has experienced an almost 200% increase in demand over the past two years But funding for many of these community organizations has been frozen and is not keeping pace with the demand I urge this government to take immediate action to address the affordability crisis To pass the rent stabilization act to double Ontario works and ODSP Increase the minimum wage and to support the many community organizations that are providing such vital supports to vulnerable members of our communities Thank you member statement member from victory. Well, thank you speaker this past weekend Whitby resident Mike shorman made history when he became the first athlete in Canadian with disabilities across all five great lakes on a stand-up paddle board in a single summer Wow Now speaker Mike started his journey in May at Lake Erie before paddling through Lake Huron Lake Superior Lake Michigan and finally Lake Ontario this past Saturday Time and time again speaker Mike demonstrated his perseverance And resiliency when faced with difficult obstacles He would simply not be denied Mike you're an inspiration for us all Thank you for your efforts in raising funds and awareness for youth mental health Residents across Ontario and Canada are so proud of you. Absolutely so proud of you Speaker and colleagues, please join me in congratulating Mike shorman on his historical feat And celebrating this amazing achievement with him His family and many supporters. Congratulations Mike Thank you speaker, I'm proud to rise for my first member statement since my reelection The riding of Humber River Black Creek is my lifelong home in the place. I love the most I want to once again thank my neighbors fellow community members Family friends and all my supporters for putting their trust in me to be their voice in this chamber Representing my lifelong home is truly my life's greatest honor Speaker, I'm joined here today with my wife Alexandra and two sons Four-year-old Alexander and one-year-old Ilya and just as becoming an MPP is my greatest honor the birth of our two sons Is my life's greatest joy But speaker my children are here with me every day Maybe not in person, but they are with me in every decision I make here I ask myself what kind of a world are we building for them for all children I think of my elderly mother Eileen Who was watching us from home right now and ask is the system truly there for her when she needs it If it is true that this chamber can get heated at times It is because we are fighting for what matters most For our own loved ones our communities for the future of this province And so despite what it appears at times. We all have a lot in common We just don't always agree on the path forward To all of my colleagues regardless of where you sit here I congratulate you and I wish you and your loved ones all the best I look forward to working with you in the years ahead to build in Ontario. We can all be proud of member statements the member for glengarry prescott russell Thank you, mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate many organizers And volunteers across the writing of prescott russell for organizing some nice events that took place over the last few weeks I had the pleasure of attending the glengarry island games in the town of maxville on july 29th A 74 year old tradition that is always a success The town of russell agricultural fair on august 13 and the town of ventlkill agricultural fair on august 19th And we're also successful in hosting many people from the region I am looking forward to attending the riseville fair this coming weekend And i'm sure that it will also be a success It is nice to see people gathering in social events again I would like to thank the provincial government and their financial assistance through the Reconnect festival and event program from the ministry of tourism culture and sports I I would also like to thank the administration of the glengarry memorial hospital In alexandria for inviting me to their hospital So they could teach me about their operations and their issues It was very pleasant to meet with the ceo and the chair of the board of director I would also like to thank all the ministers parliamentary assistance and provincial government staff for participating to the amo conference last week It was it is very important to have a good relationship with all of our 444 municipalities. Thank you Member statements the member for london west Since 2015 london west residents sandy micolackie and nicole spryatt have helped outstanding low-income students attend post-secondary with a micolackie scholarship of $5,000 for up to four years This government's changes to osap however mean that the scholarships they award to some of the most impressive and deserving students in Ontario Are clawed back a policy they view as both Merciless and a name a recent recipient was a young woman whose single mom was on Ontario works She had earned a 92 average while managing to save $6,000 by working two jobs Two days a week for these efforts. She was punished with a $2,200 reduction to her osap grant Effectively at 37% tax on her savings and another $1,100 reduction for each of the four years of her scholarship Her osap loan was also reduced since resps are excluded from osap calculations as they should be Sandy asks are we saying to these impoverished kids? Good that you saved but you should have known at age 13 while your heat was being turned off to open up an resp Sandy's campaign to end these punitive clawbacks has taken on new urgency with the rising cost of living hitting low-income families the hardest Sandy says and I agree that helping low-income students to break the cycle of poverty should not be a partisan issue So I ask today will this government commit to finally ending its perverse and heartless osap clawbacks Speaker I rise today to pay homage to a true gentleman for my riding Gidega Magizabum has begun his journey to the spirit world Doug Williams was a much loved elder knowledge keeper and former chief of Curve Lake first nation In 1972 he was one of the first graduates of Trent University's newly created Indian and Eskimo studies program That program would eventually evolve into Trent's current indigenous studies Doug retained a close relationship with Trent and would eventually become an associate professor and director of studies in the indigenous studies phd program But Doug wasn't just an educator of indigenous studies. He was also a defender of treaty rights He was the subject of a court case in the early 1980s that led to a landmark decision on first First nation treaty rights to traditional harvesting On one particular day Doug was caught more than 60 frogs six zero While waiting for the game warden to come and charge him When asked why he caught so many he said he wanted to make sure it was obvious what he was there to do Doug was also an author His book Michisagi Nishnabek. This is our territory published in 2018 tells the story of his people in Curve Lake And if you have the chance to read it, I highly recommend it As you read the words you can actually hear his voice speaking them Thank you Gidega for your teachings and for sharing your knowledge and wisdom with me the member for Guelph To rise to forgive my first member statement of the 43rd parliament I want to thank Guelphites for trusting me with their vote And I will continue to work hard to be your voice at queen's park I campaign on a promise that I would push for solutions to the housing affordability crisis and the homelessness Addictions and mental health crisis so many people are facing in our community speaker I want to acknowledge and thank Guelph City Council Wellington County Social service agencies private developers and donors who have all come together to build three vitally important Permanent supportive housing spaces in my riding with wraparound mental health and addiction supports Housing the most vulnerable will improve people's quality of life and reduce pressure on our stressed health care system and hospitals It will also address the many challenges that small businesses in our downtown are facing To realize these benefits speaker, we need the province to chip in with some operating funds Speaker every ten dollars invested in permanent supportive housing saves the province $21.72 and other costs So I urge the government to work with us to respond to the Ontario big city mayors Partner with the city of Guelph and municipalities across the province Who are putting forward solutions to address the homeless crisis as well as providing mental health and addiction services and support For the most vulnerable in our community. Thank you speaker Thank you Member statements the member for richmond hill Thank you, mr. Speaker I'm happy to rise in the house today for my first member statement I would like to thank my constituents in richmond tale for re-electing me Thank you for your support and trust in me and i'm committed to serve ontarians And be a voice of my constituents in richmond hill I'm thankful that I will continue to serve the seniors with minister chole And as his parliamentary assistant We will work tirelessly together to plan our serve our seniors I'd like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the upcoming moon festival When the moon is full mankind is one This year moon festival falls on september 10th When families get together at cynics sports or parks for moon appreciation parties and eat moon cakes The city of richmond hill and markham has been celebrating this with the communities for the past 12 years This year it will be held at the parking lot at king square Come and enjoy the full moon share the festive food and cultural performances Of course, there will be lanterns for kids. Thank you Member statements the member for brampton west Thank you, mr. Speaker. I'm honored to rise First time to give my member statement in the 43rd parliament Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the association of municipalities of Ontario and the city of otawa for hosting this year's emo conference The emo conference presents an opportunity for the provincial government to have extremely productive meetings with our municipal partners These vital discussions are influential in securing the ongoing and future success of our province Speaker municipal governments get the opportunity to individually meet the various ministries and discuss important relevant topics specific to their communities Through a mo anterios 444 municipalities work together to achieve shared goals and meet common challenges Mr. Speaker investing in our local communities remains the top priority for our government as we know how important it is for the people of Ontario to have investments that will promote their health and safety Speaker the government is building anterios future by investing in health care infrastructure education community safety and transportation and municipalities across the province to best serve their individual needs and improve the quality of life for the residents Our government alongside our municipal partners will continue to get it done for the people of our great province And mr. Speaker, we will leave no stone unturned to make sure that we will continue to deliver for the people of Ontario Thank you. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements for this morning