 It's now time for our member's statements, and I recognize the member for Toronto, St. Paul's Thank you Many people in Toronto St. Paul's are feeling anxious because they just don't know what the conservatives are cooking up next Parents of children with autism are angry parents have seen their kids thrive with weekly intensive therapy Only to learn their growth will be stunted because of inhumane insufficient flat rate funding that disregards children's Individual clinical needs I received a letter from our local parent about the impact of the cuts David's seven-year-old daughter Kaylee receives 25 hours a week of therapy at a cost of 66,000 a year Thanks to funding they've received through the current Ontario autism program with the government changes to the program David said he just won't have 66k to put aside for his daughter as he stated the changes You are making to this program means that I will not be able to continue my daughter in her program David and his family have even discussed leaving the province to find better options for Kaylee because the new plan won't even fund more than Two hours a week of therapy David worries that with the new changes his daughter's progress will regress. He says the changes are disastrous The minister of children community and social services must resign Strong-arming autism professionals is not the way to do it leaving families Hopeless is not the way to help kids with autism from cuts to OSAP and post-secondary education To ending full-day kindergarten to above guideline-ranking increases to privatizing health care My community is worried about what will cut what will be cut next by this government Ontarians deserve better. Thank you Member statements the member for flamborough Glenbrook. Thank you, mr. Speaker last Friday I was pleased to attend a groundbreaking ceremony at KF aerospace located at the Hamilton International Airport KF aerospace the largest aircraft heavy maintenance company in Canada Provide services to a number of airlines and cargo carriers, and I'm thrilled that kf is investing $30 million in the Hamilton area to expand its facilities over the next four years building two new hangers that will nearly triple its capacity and create 275 highly skilled well-paying jobs as we have seen in the last few years Hamilton International Airport has been growing at a rapid pace becoming Canada's busiest overnight cargo hub and nearly doubling its passenger traffic between 2016 and 2017 as home to over 3,000 jobs the airport is one of the largest and most important employers in the Hamilton area In fact the premier chose to visit Hamilton Airport on one of his first tours outside Queens Park after the election Meeting with stakeholders and airport officials KF Aerospace's footprint in Hamilton also includes its joint aviation technician program with Mohawk College that provides students with hands-on experience in damage protection Structural repair and aircraft maintenance this expansion will give these students a permanent place to practice their skills At the Hamilton Airport once again I would like to congratulate kf Aerospace on the expansion of its operations at the Hamilton Airport Creating hundreds of new jobs and helping us this government Reinforced that Ontario truly is open for business and open for jobs I need to inform the house that we're having some issues with the clock, so I'm going to try to give members a 10-second Warning when their time is almost up. I realize that they can't if the clock's working. It's working at the time It's not we're trying to get it fixed Member statements remember for London fan shop. Thank you speaker last week I had the pleasure of attending a town hall meeting hosted by various London community Organizations the meeting was filled with lively debate poignant questions and a general concern for the future of Ontario politics Participants shared their concerns regarding policies legislation and regulations this current government has implemented since taking office And while each person in that room could respect that there would be differing points of view perhaps differing ideologies What they could not respect is the one-sided delivery of the decisions without proper consultations or consideration from their government There was an appetite that they need to rise up and take action to fight back so that the government doesn't bulldoze over the wishes of the people Their message was loud and clear. They want their voices heard They want transparency from this government with decisions that impact their daily lives the legacy of the current government is becoming one of Imposing austerity on the most vulnerable. We have parents organizing rallying against this government cuts to autism Funding we have students going to the media to defend their student unions and speak out against OSAP changes we have hundreds of letters from people who are concerned about the government's scheme to privatize health care I am proud to use my time today to forward this request on behalf of my community Ontario deserves better than it has received Ontarians deserve a government that will listen and that starts with working with all members in this legislature and the people of Ontario Thank You Speaker Member statements the member for Whitby. Thank You Speaker, and I'm pleased to rise You speak about the Ability Centre The Ability Centre has emerged as not only a source of pride for the Durham community But perhaps more importantly speaker as a beacon of inclusivity in the year since this opened in 2012 the Ability Centre has been a vital touchstone for many Durham residents The facility has blossomed over the past six years We're having only 100 members upon opening to enjoying a membership of about 4,500 from across Durham region Inclusiveness and a sense of belonging are not just concepts when it comes to the Ability Centre speaker They are seen concretely through his programming including thrive the program is designed to meet the needs of adults with disabilities Who are raised 21 or over and it offers specialized instruction and life skills sports and fitness and social recreation? Speaker thanks to the vision and community mindness of the late James Michael Flaherty and of Christine Elliott The deputy premier minister of health and long-term care as well as the stewardship of the former executive director Leo Plu The Ability Centre speaker continues to be a Resounding success this helping many in Durham region lead their very best lives. Thank you speaker Thank you the member for Kingston and the islands Thank You mr. Speaker I'd like to take a minute to talk about the Queens Alma Mater Society It's the oldest student association in Canada and it was actually founded in 1858 so it's actually older than our country and I know members opposite and their staff attended Queens University And I would ask if any of them made use of the AMS's services It's an exemplary student association and about as far from a crazy marxist nonsense organization as is humanly possible The AMS ran an existing opt-out program Their finances are audited yearly by KPMG budgets financial reports and annual reports are all publicly posted And they make their dollars go a long way AMS services include a food bank a student run coffee shop a pub a housing resource center a coffee center A peer support center a walk-home program and the tricolor outlet to name a few And these services could disappear The administer bursaries and grants for accessibility on campus and for those with financial need to access the activities that are available These also may disappear Most importantly though the Alma Mater Society provides jobs Jobs that work with student schedules to allow students to work to help cover the cost of their increasingly expensive University because of the premier's cuts to student association fees 300 Of the 500 jobs Provided by this will the member conclude his statement. Thank you. Thank you very much member statements The member for don valley east Today I wrote the integrity commissioner calling for the investigation into an alleged conduct By the minister of children and community social services The threatening comments against the ontario Association for behavioral analysts were alleged to be made by the minister in order to pressure the group Into supporting her plans for autism funding and mr. Speaker. This is simply unacceptable these are very troubling allegations They undermine confidence in the integrity and fairness of the provincial government's decision making And these alleged comments give the appearance that the minister is using her position of influence To make not-for-profit organizations Move on a pathway to support the government for her own benefit This would contravene the the members integrity act This conduct should be considered Unacceptable and I believe that an investigation this matter is important to ensure continued public trust in decision making by members of cabinet Families deserve better every child in this province should have a hope for a bright future It's time for the government to bring families back to the table at queen's park So we can make sure we fix this issue. Mr. Speaker I'm willing to work with anyone regardless of their political belief And I think the government should do the same. It's time to fix the situation. Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much Thank you very much member statements the member for oakville north Speaker a few things are more important than education And I'm pleased to report that our government is making education better For students and families in my riding of oakville north burlington Our government showed its commitment to my community when the education minister the honorable lisa thompson Approved the funding for a new public elementary school in the fast growing northeast part of oakville Parents educators trustees and others had been working for years to secure funding for this much needed school From the previous government I'd like to thank the minister for listening to the needs of our community The new 20 million point seven million dollars Went to the elementary school will be located at sixth line and dundas street With space for 776 pupils and an additional 88 child care spaces We are all looking forward to the school opening as soon as possible So that students can move in and start learning in an uncrowded up-to-date facility Our community in oakville north burlington is still growing And I will continue to work with parents Families school trustees and other local decision makers to ensure that the future needs are met with unnecessary delays These are essential investments for our community and our key to ensuring our students succeed. Thank you Member statements the member for waterloo On february 6 the conservative government announced major changes to the uterio autism program Since then parents of children on the autism spectrum have been scrambling for answers to basic questions as to how this program would impact their children and their futures At first the language used by the government revolved around clearing the waitlist and spreading the existing Funding more thinly across families. We were told that this was the motivation We heard a lot about equality not so much about equity Parents have made the compelling case that the conservative autism plan a one-size-fits-all means tested program will fail most children in ontario In fact thousands of families They lost their funding overnight If you review the history of autism expenditures through public accounts It is clear that the previous liberal government let funding stall despite rapidly increasing needs That's why autism families were here in 2016 But they will be back. Mr. Speaker because the pc plan is worse Parents are concerned that the conservative changes will mean a drastic reduction in funding by between 50 and 100 million dollars This is particularly worrying for families with dual income levels of 55 000 because they will start to see their funding Claude back and given the maximum expenditure for most age groups families may only receive 5 000 A year parents have legitimate questions about the financing of this plan and they deserve answers And they deserve equity for their children in the province of ontario Member statements the member for simcoe north Thank you, mr. Speaker of december our government announced that they would be moving forward with their plans to build five new beds for Mariposa house hospice as well as five beds for hospice heronia This was welcome news for my community as i know there have been many of us involved working hard to see this funding Come to simcoe north This important facility will be built in severant township and will provide end of life care to the residents of simcoe north To support this initiative. I participated in severant winter fest polar bear dip at otis park a few weeks ago I was joined by co-founder of mariposa house heisek hospice dr. Si larry president and ceo of a rillius soldier's memorial hospital Carmen stumpo and the mayor of severant township mike briquette as well as many other wonderful volunteers and participants I would also like to take a moment to recognize our youngest participant at the polar bear dip victor Who bravely jumped into lake otis? Justice spider-man a brave six-year-old. Oh, wow We were all thrilled to learn that through our efforts at severant winter fest. We raised over $6,000 in donations Mariposa hospice will provide compassionate palliative care to help honor every moment of life It aims to give comfort Peace and dignity to its patients and to relieve the worries of their families by allowing them to be just that Family not caregivers. I was moved by the kindness and dedication A mariposa house borders and I commend them for their countless hours of hard work to make this event a success You can find some of ontario's most kind hearted community members in simple north at fundraising events like these And continue to show how hard we are all working together to make our communities great Member statements the member for eglinton lorence Thank you, speaker I rise today to bring to the awareness of this house a devastating cancer that kills over 20 000 canadiens each year More than colorectal breast and prostate cancers combined I am of course referring to lung cancer According to lung cancer canada one in 12 men are expected to develop lung cancer during their lifetime And one in 13 will die from it One in 15 women are expected to develop lung cancer during their lifetime and one in 17 will die of it And while often linked to smoking that is not the only cause of lung cancer As many as 15 percent of lung cancer patients have never smoked a day in their lives and many more have quit Long before their diagnosis But despite being one of the highest killers of canadiens Patient outcomes currently lag behind other forms of cancer. The five-year survival rate of lung cancer is just 17 percent I assure you that many wish to change that number Advocates from the canadian cancer survivor network will be at queen's park tomorrow morning to meet with members of all parties They will discuss the importance of destigmatizing lung cancer And the need to spread greater awareness to find better ways to detect and treat this challenging disease The day begins with a breakfast reception at 8 a.m. In the legislative dining room And I hope that many of my colleagues in this house will be able to make it. Thank you, mr. Speaker Thank you, that concludes our member statements for this afternoon