 Now it is time for member's statements. I recognize the member from Hamilton West and Caster Dundas. And I would remind all members that during member's statements that it is respectful to be able to hear them. Madam Speaker, this week we hosted McMaster University here at Queen's Park. And as the MPP for Hamilton West and Caster Dundas, I am extremely proud to represent McMaster. Their incredible work benefits not just our local Hamilton, but has true impact on the world stage. McMaster hosts a variety of archives including the works of Bertram Russell, Bruce Coburn and Stuart McClain. Celebrated musician Tom Wilson will join this group when he donates his archives this spring. As part of this celebration, Tom has established an Indigenous Scholarship Award to support Indigenous students from across Ontario secondary schools. This award was established, and I quote Tom, to help honor, love, respect and shine a light back on the culture I have been introduced to later in life and to honor the charitable nature that Bunny Wilson who raised me embodied throughout her life. To help raise funds and awareness for the scholarship, a concert will be held on May 1st at the R.L. Wilson Concert Hall at McMaster University. I don't think there's a connection there. We hear daily in this house the very real struggles facing Indigenous communities. We hear about murdered and missing Indigenous women. We hear tragic stories about youth suicide. And daily we hear about the lack of access to clean water, a fundamental human right. Tom's decision to establish this award is an important contribution that is dedicated to empowering the next generation of Indigenous people that will lead us into the future. Thank you. Members' statements. I recognize the member from Mississauga Streetsville. Thank you, Speaker. Well, so this coming Sunday, March 8th, is International Women's Day. The first International Women's Day was observed on March 9th, 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland when more than one million women and men showed their support by participating in public events. Other countries soon followed suit in the years after as the push for women to participate in society and labour grew. In 1975, the United Nations marked International Women's Year and passed a resolution designating March 8th of every year. And today, International Women's Day marks a day of unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action. Last Friday, the Solicitor General and Associate Minister of Women and Children's Issues visited my community of Mississauga Streetsville and met with our first responders, the female police officers at the headquarters. We met with Ingrid Berkeley Brown, the Deputy Chief, former Chief Jennifer Evans, who is such a wonderful inspiration and many, many civilian officers, amongst others, who told us about the difficulties they faced in becoming officers, the challenges of having babysitting at different times of the day. It was such an enlightening experience for all of us to learn so much from our wonderful female officers. So Speaker, if any female members of this House aren't already, I encourage you to try and get out there and join many people at the events coming up this year. Tomorrow, the City of Mississauga will be meeting with young women and girls to share my experiences. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to share an initiative that moved me deeply. It's called the Love Lettering Project, founded by my constituent, Lindsay Zeer Vogel. It's a postcard writing project aimed at combating the hate that female and female politicians, female identifying politicians, receive by sending thank you letters. I know that all elected women have similar stories to mine. We have received emails, social media messages, phone messages and letters filled with expletives, discrimination and hatred. Messages that are very gendered in their abuse. Messages that are an attempt to stop women from running for office. I have received envelopes full of my own photos torn into pieces. Being a woman in politics can be a dangerous job. The unspoken rule now is that handing this kind of gendered hatred is just part of the job. But why should this be? Women already face barriers to holding elected positions and then we have to face the unspoken acceptance of abuse once elected as well. We are expected to have the grit and metal to rise above it and keep doing our jobs with grit and determination. But we shouldn't have to. As we mark International Women's Day, Speaker, I want to thank all women who are taking up the spaces to deserve, especially women who face additional barriers due to their intersecting identities. And I want to thank women who lived other women up. And finally, Speaker, to all women interested in running for office, I want to say you belong here. Thank you. There are continuing member statements, and I would ask all members to quieten down as much as they can and I look forward to hearing the next statement from the member from Mississauga Erin Mills. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Mississauga Erin Mills community had the tough week with two teens of the riding disappearance. I would like to thank the Beale Regional Police for their diligence and tireless work with me and the families of the teens around the clock for almost three days till we locate them. I appreciate the police efforts in locating the missing two teens. To our first responders, the families and the whole community of Mississauga Erin Mills appreciate your immediate response. We are all thrilled that the teens were located safe and sound. Police and first responders work day and night making sure that we feel safe whenever we leave our homes. Mississauga Erin Mills community stood in solidarity and conventionally supported the families of the teens. Now I would like to ask that we give the families and the teens the privacy they need to recover from this terrible event. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the government for granting the Beale Regional Police $20.5 million this year to give police officers the tools and resources they need to keep our streets safe. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements. The member for York Southwest. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This past Friday, our community lost a kind gentleman. Bill Hunter was like an older brother to me. He was always working hard to make things better for people and for our community. Bill volunteered on my campaign and was the best volunteer there was. As my sign captain, he would crisscross York Southwestern every day to put up signs. He was dedicated. I have known Bill for many years. He was a caring, compassionate and decent man. He was a respected community leader and will be missed by all of us. I'm sending my sincere condolences to the Hunter family and I ask all members of the House to keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Next statement, the member for Ottawa South. Thank you very much, Speaker. Speaker, I rise today to talk about sexual assault crisis centers in Ontario. In the budget in 2018, these centers were set to receive an additional 30% in funding about 14.8 million over three years. Instead, they never saw this money and received $1 million annually one time, split among 42 sexual assault centers across this province. Now the government, we heard yesterday, is going to take that money away. And then today we hear reports that the government may be reversing the decision which I welcome. The reality is these centers need more than $1 million annually one time. The crisis centers have experienced a constant increase in the demand since the Me Too movement started. We encourage women and men to speak out about sexual assault, seek help and look to put measures in place to ensure their safety. How is this supposed to happen if the government cannot sufficiently supply the resources that are necessary to meet the demands in this critical sector? It's too late for the government to act like they're coming to their senses. These centers need more support. It's not enough, Mr. Speaker. It's unacceptable that these centers need more help now. On the eve of International Women's Day, it is time for the government to have serious consultations and sufficiently fund these programs that are already overcapacity. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member statements. The Member for Mississauga Mall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, SEVA Food Bank is a registered charity under six serving Canada in my writing of Mississauga Mallton, equipped with the mission of ending hunger by coordinating and delivering programs that improve the food security needs of the community while also supporting their clients on their journey to self-reliance. Mr. Speaker, SEVA in Punjabi and many other languages means an act of kindness without expectation of reward or personal benefit. SEVA, the selfless help is also an integral part of Sikhism. All six are encouraged by the living Guru, Shri Guru Granth Sahibji to perform SEVA. It is the highest duty that anyone can perform. Mr. Speaker, our society is becoming more and more divided. And these moments, we need more organizations and more people that do selfless service. We need more people that bring each other together and do not divide us apart. This is exactly SEVA Food Bank is doing. Their goal is to provide access to culturally appropriate and personally acceptable supply of good nutritious food to all, Mr. Speaker, the word all, people living in the communities. They have served 900 families. Beneficiaries are from all diverse backgrounds, often marginalized with less disposable income and larger family structure. This year, SEVA Food Bank celebrated their 10th year of operation since opening the doors in 2010. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. The next statement, the member for St. Catherine's. Thank you, Speaker. What do subways, public health, childcare, license plates, families with autism, and now class sizes forced e-learning have in common? They are all cuts this government had made then retracted. Why do they make these retractions? It's simple. They get embarrassed. The government hopes for a problem to go away unless it gets so embarrassing, then they have to act. If it is not embarrassing enough, their strategy is to remain silent and do nothing. That is what still is happening with Jared Whelan, an SMA patient being made to wait for approval for a life-saving drug. He was told he could find approval through this case by case exceptional access program in the Minister of Health. Except, he isn't getting approved, nor is he getting rejected. He just gets silence. This government just makes him wait and wait in silence, hoping the issue will just go away. You know, it's almost been a year making a family wait without a response is heartbreaking. It's heart-wrenching. How is it not embarrassing enough to act now? Giving hope to Jared and never giving him an answer, how is that not embarrassing? This government needs to act now, not because it's embarrassing, but because it's the right thing to do. Approve patients like Jared that are waiting in this program and do it. Not because it's embarrassing, but because it's the right thing to do. Member's statements. The member for Etopico Lakeshore. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. I rise to bring attention to an important nonprofit organization in my riding of Etopico Lakeshore. Today, I am joined by Susan Carbone, who is in the gallery from Haven on the Queensway. Haven on the Queensway is dedicated to meet physical, emotions, and spiritual needs of people in the Greater Toronto Area. Haven on the Queensway provides services at lessens the effect of poverty and homelessness, addiction and recovery, distributing food and clothing, as well as providing support services for women, men, children, and seniors. Haven on the Queensway offers an atmosphere of respect, dignity and security, as they help people on their way to becoming more self-sufficient. Last week, I had the privilege of joining these amazing women to see firsthand what the volunteers and staff were doing. From providing food, clothing, children's books to various rehabilitation services, Haven on the Q is where hope starts. I want to congratulate Susan and the entire team of volunteers and staff on Haven on the Queensway for their amazing work that they do. And I would like to encourage all members of the House to check out what Haven on the Queensway does to support our community. Thank you and thank you to all the volunteers. Thank you very much, members.