 I apologize to the member for Triskman Cochran for having to cut him off, but it is now time for member statements. The member for Toronto St. Paul. Everyone is preoccupied with COVID and justifiably so. But make no mistake, people are living through other nightmares, too, and need this government's help and shouldn't be ignored. I rise today on behalf of my community member, Durba Merkhaji. Ms. Merkhaji is the mother of the late Arka Shagreboti. Her only son was 12 years old when he died reportedly by suicide on June 21, 2019. Arka, according to his mother, and his own accounts, experienced both bullying and racism at his school and in his community. This is reportedly also documented in school and police findings. I wrote to the Minister of Education, forwarded to the Solicitor General and the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services about Durba and her fight for justice for Arka. No response. Durba has also reached out to the Minister of Education, requesting a meeting and demanding a public inquiry into Arka's death. No response, almost two years to his death. As if Durba's plate wasn't full enough, her 80-year-old father is fighting for his life in India with COVID. He has been her rock. Durba is alone in St. Paul's. Her physical and mental health is in crisis. And I am personally worried about Durba and her sanity. When will the Minister of Education and his colleagues find five minutes of humanity to give Durba a meeting so she knows her voice, her concerns are not going unheard? Please. Thank you. She's begging for the government's air and she deserves it. Thank you. Arka, your statements. The Member for Mrs. Saga-Multon. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will remember the day when I received my driver's license. I felt empowered. Immediately, the definition of distance changed for me. Every year, driving instructors help thousands of people, like our youth, those who wait for years for that first drive of independence. New immigrants whose job prospects could multiply with the driving license. Truckers who need their full G before moving on to their commercial license. I want to acknowledge and thank driving instructors for playing an integral and important role in our communities. A special shout-out goes to APDIO and ADSIO for their Ontario spirit. During these tough times, you have stepped up and has supported the community by delivering food and PPEs to the families in need. Mr. Speaker, in peel, in vehicle, instruction was only allowed for four out of the last 13 months, and due to pandemic, 294,000 passenger tests were cancelled. Once the drive test centres are open, driving instruction will have to work. Driver instructors will have to work overtime to fulfil the spike in demand. And Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge our office is working with APDIO to seek possibility of helping residents looking to get vaccinated and don't have transportation options. To this statement, I would like to thank Ontario's driving instructors for their hard work and their community service and wish them the best of success. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member statements? Member for St. Catharines. Thank you, Speaker. Today, I rise to encourage the Premier to prioritize essential workers and workplaces now. Residents in St. Catharines and across this province, workers are essential. This is why I was not shocked to hear on Friday when national steel car in Hamilton shut down due to an outbreak of COVID-19. It affected people in St. Catharines as their family members are essential workers there. This was because Ontario is deeply interconnected. This is why it takes provincial leadership to protect essential workers. Jeremy Sheehan and his family is an exact example of Ontario's failure to essential workers. Jeremy works at national steel car. His wife and his daughter both have COVID-19 due to workplace spread. Jeremy said, and I quote, no doubt people come into work sick when they live paycheck to paycheck. His family is experiencing that same loss of income as both income earners are now off sick. Mr. Premier, you need to do a better job protecting essential workers. Protect the workplace where COVID-19 is spreading. Ontario needs more consistent support for workplaces that are having outbreaks. Support companies to do more testing. They need to be vaccinated. Pay sick days are needed now. What we do not need is another announcement for announcements. Start listening to COVID-19 science advisory table, not your political staffers. It is your job to keep essential workers and their families safe. Thank you. Next we have the member for Scarborough Agent Court. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the grandson of a survivor of the Armenian genocide, it is my honour and duty to commemorate the 106th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915. As both an elected official of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and as a Canadian, I am proud of the solidarity I feel with the people of Ontario and all of Canada when discussing the Armenian genocide and how Canadians helped vulnerable Armenians of 1915. During these darkest days, the Armenian people were blessed with the generosity of the Ontarians and Canadians whose moral fortitude to help stand by the grief-stricken Armenian nation and providing them with a new lease on life. Specifically, this started with the relief efforts to bring 120 orphan boys to Canada who were brought to Georgetown, Ontario. I am also grateful to the federal legislative and executive branches, the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, for standing up for truth and justice by recognising the irrefutable historical evidence and upholding Canadian values and traditions. The Armenian people need closure and healing. As long as the denial policy of the perpetrator is still entrenched in any school curriculum and indoctrinating the future generations and government circles, the peace and the closure which the Armenian people yearn for will allude them. The Armenian people for the world, of the world, want to put this tragic chapter behind them and move forward. Thank you once again to all Ontarians and Canadians who share with us this solemn day to commemorate all of those who have lost their family tree and their loved ones. Thank you. Member Statements. The Member for Scarborough Gilder. It is an honour for me to rise in the House to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of Seema David, founder of the Five in Two kitchens, a local hero whose efforts are providing essential services in my riding of Scarborough Gildwood. Seema immigrated to Canada in 2007 and while working to build a life for herself and her family, she noticed numerous food insecure, hungry and homeless individuals in Scarborough. Seema wanted to help and make a difference in her community and Five in Two, which was launched in 2013, was the answer. Scarborough was struggling with food insecurity even before the pandemic, exacerbated effects of poverty and hunger. The pandemic drove the need for food to unprecedented levels. Food bank visits in Toronto have increased by a staggering 51%. In Scarborough, the daily bread now trucks food to 26 agencies throughout the community and that's up from 19. Rising to meet this challenge, Five in Two added a second kitchen and grew its output last year from 1300 to 3500 meals and meal supports each week. The charity also started doing things like food kitchens and gardens to help residents. To Seema David and the volunteers at Five in Two, I say thank you. Thank you for the 474,000 meals that you've provided to our community since 2013 and thank you for your continued heartfelt support for our residents. Thank you. Member statements. The member for Hamilton Melon. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, the Premier ignored the warnings of his own science table and marched us right into the third wave of this pandemic. As hospital fills up, there are thousands of families in our province that are worried about their health, not to mention the millions of people enduring yet another lockdown. Last week, the Premier apologized, but he didn't do what was needed to get us through the third wave. When the government fails to this degree, my office gets swamped with calls. Education workers are constantly reaching out because they cannot access the vaccines. Essential workers have to go in each and every day without sick days and they can't get the vaccines either. I'm hearing from small businesses who still can't access the government grant program and can't even get a response to their inquiries. People have reached out angry about the province giving police extraordinary powers. More and more people are calling because they are confused about the eligibility of vaccine and they have no idea how to book an appointment. That's because this government makes confusing announcements and our public health has to scramble to implement their plans. Overall, the management of this pandemic has been a mess. The people of Ontario are relying on this government and it is failing. The government must listen to experts and give people paid sick days, vaccinate essential workers and provide generous supports to workers and small businesses in Ontario. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next, we have the member for Markham Thornhill. Thank you. Thank you, Mr Speaker. This weekend, I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the corner community centre in Markham. I want to take a moment to thank Dr Shivani, who administered my vaccine and all of the nurses, volunteers and the clock who made the process so seamless. Healthcare workers at the vaccine clinic across the province are working tirelessly each and every day to help protect the people of Ontario. One shot at a moment, one shot at the time. This has been a long and challenging year, Mr Speaker. Our healthcare workers, our essential frontline workers, they have put their lives on the line each day to keep us safe and help get us to this point. Mr Speaker, my wife is a healthcare professional. I have seen firsthand the hardship they go through each and every day. They cannot do this one alone. The vaccine are the light at the end of the tunnel. To everyone, my riding of Markham Thornhill and the people across the province, I encourage you to get the vaccine when it's your turn comes. Vaccine helped to protect us and the people around us, including our loved ones and our frontline heroes. If you are eligible for a vaccine, please book your appointment at covid19.ontario.ca slash book vaccine or call 1-888-999-6488. Together, we can win this battle against COVID-19. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Next, we have the member for Tamiskaming Cochran. Thank you, Speaker. It's been an incredibly tough year for everyone. We're 14 months in, but today I'd like to talk about a subject that today farmers across Ontario and for the last couple of weeks and in my riding for the first time in history, we're really going at April. It's plant 21, hashtag plant 21. And this is the time of year when farmers put in their seeds and when beef farmers have their cows, it's a special, special time of year. And the farming community is facing incredible challenges too. Now they're facing incredible challenges getting parts because of worldwide COVID disrupt, disrupt, disruptions. They're facing incredible challenges, but they are up to those challenges. There's a feeling when you go in the field, the first day when it's dry and when you're ready to go, you'll be preparing for this for months. And I think politicians could probably understand that feeling. It's the feeling of the first day of an election campaign. When all you're planning is out the window and you're just going, well, that's the feeling of the first day in the field or calving, the first calf of calving season. And it's that feeling, quite frankly, it's that feeling that keeps us fed. And I would like to thank the farmers across the province and the people who work for them for keeping us fed. Thank you very much. Thank you. A member for Mississauga Lakeshore. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise this morning with a heavy heart to remember and pay tribute to a true icon in the Italian Canadian community, my friend Aldo Lista, who passed away earlier this month. Born in 1930 in Mondalto Fugo, a mountain town in Calabria, Italy, Aldo became an aerial photographer in the Italian Air Force and a goalkeeper for the national Italian military team. He immigrated to Canada in 1954 and started a family with his wife, Noreen, though he never lost connections to Italy, where his uncle married my aunt. While still learning English, Aldo went to work as a photographer at New Paramount Studio, where he pioneered an introduction of the first colour passport picture in Canada. By 1959, he bought the business at 366 Young Street and became the youngest business owner on the longest street in the world. In 1965, he moved to poor credit, a community he loved and spent the rest of his life building and serving. Aldo was also a visionary soccer coach, assembled teams that won regional, provincial and national championships. In 1994, with his wife, Noreen, he founded the old credit brewery company, which became one of the best and most loved micro breweries in Canada. Aldo's legacy will live on and have a positive impact in Mississauga for many years to come. On behalf of all the members, I want to extend a sincere condolences to Noreen, Frank, Claudina, Giancarlo and Eugenia and the entire Lista family, Cordillianza. Thank you. Member statements, the member for Oakville. Mr. Speaker, and it's always an honour to rise in the legislature and bring in awareness to the importance of the Glen Abbey golf course in my community. It's not just a golf course, it's critical for local heritage, the environment and providing green space for Oakville. The golf course is a world renown and is hosted the Canadian Open a record 30 times. Oakville residents and indeed Canadians from across the country visit the course to witness professional golfers make history. Besides its cultural value, the significance to the environment cannot be ignored. The land plays a role for a nesting area for animals and is home to the Jefferson Salamander, which is an endangered species. There are many old growth trees that fill the property but are now at risk of being removed for development. I remain committed to protecting this national treasure and preserving it for future generations. The member from Oakville North Burlington and I continue to engage with residents, local elected officials and the Save Glen Abbey Group. Recently, we hosted a virtual meeting with the Save Glen Abbey Group and various ministry officials to address questions and concerns. I have also presented a petition to this legislature to explore various options to protect the land and importantly it was an honor to host the Minister of Heritage, Sports, Tourism and Culture Industries to Oakville a number of months back to visit the course first hand and see why it needs to be protected. My office continues to receive thousands of emails from residents in my raiding and across Ontario to save the course and I want to thank everybody who has written in and I will continue to advocate for protecting this great green space. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. That concludes our member's statements for this morning. The member for Brampton East has informed me he has a point of order that he wishes to raise and I'll recognize him. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today with a heavy heart to seek the unanimous consent of this House to observe a moment of silence and memory of Emily Victoria Vigus, a 13 year old from Brampton who's become one of the youngest people in Canada to die from COVID-19. Agreed? Agreed. Members will please rise. Thank you. Members may take their seats. The member for Don Valley East has informed me that he has a point of order that he wishes to raise. I'll recognize him. Thank you, Speaker. I seek the unanimous consent of this House to observe a moment of silence and memory of Emily Victoria Vigus, a 13 year old from Brampton who has become one of the youngest people in Canada Vigur, I seek unanimous consent to move a motion regarding the immediate passage of Bill 247. The paid personal emergency now act. The member for Don Valley East is seeking the unanimous consent of the House to immediately move a motion seeking the passage of Bill 247. Agreed? No. I heard a no.