 Members' statements. The Member for Beaches East York. Thank you, Speaker. In two apartment complexes at Beaches East York alone, the people in 50 households are in imminent danger of eviction because they got sick, lost jobs or income during COVID and have had trouble paying their rent. The Crescent Town complexes are among the communities that have been the hardest hit by COVID, mostly BIPOC and newcomer folks who are either front-line workers and low-paid jobs they can't afford to lose and that don't have benefits. So there's no sick leave if you get COVID or have to miss work for a test or whose jobs have disappeared outright, whose income has been slashed. These are the folks who heeded the Premier's advice to hold their rent if they didn't have enough money to both eat and pay rent. He promised he would spare no expense to take care of them. And now, at the end of November, on the cusp of winter, people in 50 households are on the verge of homelessness. Speaker, there are already 1,000 more people on the streets of Toronto than there are beds and shelters, respite centers, drop-ins and shelter hotels. Front-line workers tell me there is nowhere, literally nowhere for people to go. This situation is playing out across the city and across the province. We are in desperate need of a moratorium on residential evictions and rent relief for people whose income has been lost to COVID so that we don't see a tsunami of evictions and thousands more unhoused people. We need it now. We need zero COVID evictions in Ontario. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Mississauga-Malcolm. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Diwali is a festival of light, celebrated with excitement across the globe. Last year, I still remember, I celebrated with Diwali with family and friends gathering for large meals and grand festivities. Mr. Speaker, on the contrast this year with rising COVID cases, I celebrated Diwali only with my immediate family at home. We virtually connected and prayed with Ram Mandir and along with that, with family and friends. Truth be told, Mr. Speaker, it wasn't the same. I was missing the excitement and the personal touch, the laugh and the emotions. However, our experience wasn't unique. Thousands of families across Ontario did the same thing and it is the right thing to do. Self-discipline and sacrifice are our best friend in this challenging time. With the festival season fast approaching, I urge all Ontarians to stay in and stop the spread. At the same time, Mr. Speaker, I want to press that COVID cannot take away our spirit to celebrate. I encourage every Ontarian to support our local small businesses by buying and ordering food online and to celebrate the festivals and buying and exchanging the gifts to help our government has created the $57 million digital main street platform so that over 22,000 Ontarian businesses can create and enhance their online presence while generating 1,400 jobs. Mr. Speaker, let's keep our celebrations virtual to stop the spread of COVID-19 so that we can go back to celebrating our festivals in person as soon as possible. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Member Statements, the Member for Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise as the anti-racism critic for the official opposition because I find it astounding that government after government have heard from indigenous communities asking for something as basic as clean drinking water or houses free of mold and done nothing. It's astounding that a land-backed camp in my riding of Kitchener Centre set up camp in Victoria Park on June 20th where they remained for 122 days before moving to Waterloo Park where they've been for 26 days and the provincial government remains silent on the plight of urban indigenous communities. And today when land defenders at 1492 Landback Lane in Caledonia are fighting against colonial powers that think the forcible removal of Haudenosaunee people from their own lands is a viable option to support developers despite the rights of the Haudenosaunee people to that very land which are enshrined in the Haldemann Treaty of 1784. I am astounded that this government can even speak about reconciliation and speak well at night. And so to the constituents emailing my office and to the advocates both federally and provincially who consistently speak truth to power. I see you and like you, I will not stop speaking out. Not today, not ever. And to the land defenders at 1492 Landback Lane the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council and the six nations elected council. I stand with you in your demand for a moratorium on all development to allow for a respectful nation to nation negotiation. Thank you very much. Member statements, the member for Scarborough Agent Court. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. We all want the best for our loved ones. And we especially want to be sure they are in safe modern space where they can receive the best quality of care. COVID-19 has emphasized the need for long-term care to be repaired, rebuilt and modernized. That's why our government has been taking historic steps to add capacity and upgrade Ontario's long-term care homes. When we began our work, many projects were being delayed due to an updated funding model. That's why in July, Premier Ford and Minister Fullerton announced a modernized funding model. One designated to support more new developments and the upgrading of older homes to higher and more modern standards. Through the new funding model, our government is investing an additional 761 million to accelerate 70 for development projects across the province. This will help create closer to 11,000 safe modern space sooner for residents to call home. Last Thursday, I was proud to join my Scarborough colleagues at the E-Honk Center in Scarborough's Finch campus to announce additional investment to build 224 beds. In addition, the Hellenic home, we received more funding to build 128 beds. So far, our government has committed to build 352 beds in Scarborough. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Brampton Center. Thank you and good morning, Speaker. Speaker, I'd like to start off by thanking all of our frontline workers, especially in the Peel region. We're home to many manufacturing and logistics hubs and those folks have been working in our warehouses, in retail and in our trucking industry to make sure that folks across the province continue to receive goods. But, Speaker, what's concerning is that Brampton is becoming and is a hotspot in the province of Ontario. Our COVID-19 numbers are increasing daily. However, the bigger concern here is that we just simply don't have the healthcare capacity to manage the surge in cases that is happening. As is no surprise to anyone in this chamber, Brampton has been underfunded and neglected by previous governments and this government and we're still waiting for another hospital. We've been in code gridlock since the day that we opened and this is continuing throughout the pandemic. Speaker, the provincial average provides 2.19 beds per 1,000 residents across the province. Brampton only has 0.96 beds per 1,000 residents. That means for a population of well over 675,000 people, we simply do not have the capacity to serve those patients. Why is that still happening? When we know that for decades Peel hasn't received its fair share in mental health services and our healthcare services, why is this government not committing to invest in our hospital? We've heard it from the mayor, we've heard it from council and so I'm going to ask this government when is Brampton going to finally see the investments we need in our healthcare system? Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Simcoe Gray. Speaker, next week I will be introducing a private members resolution asking the government to continue to support planning work for the redevelopments and construction of both the Collingwood General Marine Hospital and Stevens Memorial Hospital in the town of New DeCumseh. As I've said many times in this house, these are old outdated buildings that have seen virtually no upgrades since they were built more than half a century ago. Modern state of the art hospital facilities in Collingwood and Alliston are vital to the sustainability of healthcare in one of the fastest growing regions of our province. These projects are essential to meeting the government's goal of modernizing Ontario's health system and they will help end hallway medicine. While the current facilities have served my riding well for the last 60 years, both are housed in overcrowded buildings without dated systems. In Collingwood, the General Marine Building is beyond reuse. Its deficiencies are innumerable. It needs to be rebuilt on a new greenfield site. The emergency department at Stevenson was designed to serve 7,000 patients annually. It now sees close to 40,000 every year. The population of its service area will grow by almost 35% over the next decade. I would also like to point out that during my 30 years as an MPP, all of the hospitals surrounding my riding have either been extensively redeveloped or had new builds. To date, Stevenson Memorial has received stage one approval and has been given the green light to move to stage two. Collingwood Hospital is still waiting to hear on their stage one submission. Mr. Speaker, next week I hope all members will see fit to support my private members resolution in support of the hospitals in my riding. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member's statements. The member for Brantford-Brandt. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I apologize for the confusion. I rise today to recognize the truly amazing work and people from the Brantford Blessing Centre in my riding of Brantford-Brandt. During COVID-19, we have seen many exemplify the Ontario spirit. And when I think about my riding, the Brantford Blessing Centre is just another example of this. Speaker, since 1982, through a partnership and collaboration between 14 local churches and many volunteers, the Brantford Blessing Centre has not only acted as a food charity serving the poor and those in need with food for their bellies, but with food for their souls as well. The Brantford Blessing Centre is an effective, longstanding and necessary program in our community under the umbrella of Operation Blessing, an outreach program that provides aid to the poor and marginalized in various cities, including in Brantford. The Blessing Centre has become a well-known and safe place in Brantford for anyone to enjoy a hot meal, warmth, and fellowship. Six days each week, groups of dedicated volunteers prepare, cook, and serve food to those in need. When anyone walks into the Blessing Centre, they are greeted with friendly warmth, a hot meal, and the love of Jesus Christ. Pre-COVID-19, the Brantford Blessing Centre would serve roughly 1,700 people a month. And now during the pandemic, that number has climbed to 2,400 people. For those who wish to donate, fundraise, volunteer, or get involved with the Blessing Centre, please visit www.brantfordblessingcenter.org, backslash, get involved, or by calling 519-753-8030. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Davenport. Mr. Speaker, while we collectively deal with the challenge of COVID-19, the climate crisis is looming. In my writing of Davenport, the impacts of a changing climate are increasingly felt year after year with flash flooding and damage to homes. But instead of fighting climate change and taking action to protect our communities, this government is taking things from bad to worse, shamefully using the cover of a public health emergency to hand over vast tracts of sensitive wetlands to developers. The recently tabled Budget Bill includes measures that weaken our conservation authorities, hindering their ability to fulfill their mandate to protect watersheds and communities, and issue my constituents are deeply concerned with. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority has said that what is proposed in Bill 229, and I quote, would serve to diminish the effective integration of the legislative tools and undermine the ability of conservation authorities to meaningfully contribute to our collective responsibility for public safety and natural resource management. They also note that the amendments were encountered to the very recommendations of the government's own flood advisor. The work of the Conservation Authority directly impacts residents in my community, protecting them from the ravages of climate change and extreme weather. By continually putting the interests of developers and insiders ahead of the interests of ordinary people, this government is putting my community at risk. On behalf of the people of Davenport and the majority of Ontarians who want to see action on climate change, withdraw these harmful changes and work with us to protect our vital watersheds and our local communities. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements. The member for Haldeman Norfolk. On February 28, 2006, the Douglas Creek Estate subdivision was occupied by force. Over the past 14 years, area people and their institutions of policing, justice and government have done everything in their power to right this wrong without success. The use of force is not rewarded in a democratic society. Although occupied, ownership of Douglas Creek Estate lies of the people of Ontario, a fact guaranteed by the rule of law courts and all three levels of government. Regrettably, defending the right for ownership of this subdivision has subjected my constituents on all sides of the issue to 14 years of violence, intimidation, lost economic activity and social disruption. In light of further blockades in this year's occupation of the Mackenzie Meadows subdivision, conjunctions have now been granted, in this case with the support of the Ontario government and dozens of arrests made which have resulted in court appearances. In Kuga court proceedings, Justice John Harper noted, there are several ways indigenous people can address their concerns through land claims tribunals, direct negotiations and getting involved in court cases. The federal government through Crown Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett has indicated its commitment to continuing to work collaboratively to address six nations' historical claims and federal issues. By addressing these issues, the federal government can bring resolve and clarity, not only to the members of six nations, also to my constituents. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements. The member for Chatham, Kent Leamington. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. You know, for over 25 years, I traveled across Canada and the United States doing motivational speaking to many different business sectors, hoping to inspire them to lead better lives at work as well as at home. And I developed the reputation of being known as the Enter Trainer. But who would have ever thought that a worldwide pandemic would hit us? This pandemic has created stress, anger, frustration, loneliness, fear, anxiety, I could go on. But instead, I want to offer hope to those who need it. As bad as we may believe that our situations in life may seem, understand it could be worse. It's important to stay positive, especially during uncertain times. Don't focus on yourself. Rather, focus on the needs of others. You see, hope is to believe things will get better, especially when it seems otherwise. Hope helps people stay calm and peaceful when something less desirable emerges. Hope believes you will get through it. Hope remembers the times you made it through. Hope teams with faith and beliefs in the impossible. Here is an acrostic that I developed for hope. The H stands for help others. That actually helps you as well. The O, develop an optimistic heart. Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude of success. The P stands for patience and perseverance, never give up. And the E stands for expect the best, prepare for the worst, and capitalize on whatever it results. Remember, you have been designed for accomplishment, engineered for success. You've been endowed with the seeds of greatness. You've been born to win. So friends, all I ask is that you think on these things. I believe it will make your life easier to cope. Hope will give you that belief. And oh, by the way, while you're at it, keep looking up. Thank you. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements for this morning. I understand the member for Sudbury has a point of order. Thank you, Speaker. I believe we have unanimous consent for the House to observe a moment of silence to acknowledge the passing of Sudbury's Alex Trebek. I want to say Speaker Alex was one of Sudbury's favorite sons. Like Sudbury, Alex was bilingual, humble about his success, and was best known for being friendly and polite. Thank you. The member for Sudbury is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to observe a moment of silence in memory of a great Canadian, Alex Trebek. Agreed? Agreed. Agreed. Thank you very much. Member for London West has informed me she has a point of order. Thank you very much, Speaker. I seek unanimous consent of the House for the official opposition to stand down our leads in question period. Member for London West is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to stand down the leads of the official opposition to lead questions. Agreed? Agreed. Heard some no's.