 Members' statements? The member for Newmark at a roll. Thank you, Speaker. Last Friday, our government announced the launch of a bereavement support program, committing over $3 million to support families of first responders and public safety personnel with rapid access to vital mental health supports. The funding will support free bereavement counseling to those grappling with the loss of a loved one who were killed in the line of duty or have died by suicide. It was an honour to make this announcement in our esteemed town of Aurora at Station 4-5, alongside the Solicitor General and the Minister of Health, a place that embodies the spirit and dedication of Central York Fire Services. Situated at the heart of our community, this station stands as a symbol of safety and resilience, soon to be renamed in honour of our dearly departed Fire Chief, Ian Lang, a fitting tribute to his enduring legacy. This announcement underscores our government's commitment to those who serve us with such bravery. Our first responders and their families make immense sacrifices, supporting them through all circumstances. It's not just our responsibility. It is our profound duty. Thank you to the families and loved ones who stand beside Ontario's public safety personnel as they bravely serve and protect Ontarians. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Niagara Falls. Gord Singleton. I want to rise today and speak about someone who was an important member of our community, the fastest man on two wheels, Gord Singleton. As one of Canada's greatest cyclists, Gord was an Olympian, a national champion, a world champion, a world record holder, generous and dedicated local business owner. But most importantly, he was a devoted husband and father. Gord received the Order of Canada and was inducted into Sports Hall of Fame. He was a true champion. After a battle with prostate cancer, Gord passed away on March 24th and we lost an amazing member of our community. Myself and my entire offices offer our condolence out to the Singleton family. Gord passing is a difficult reminder of how pervasive and common prostate cancer is among men in our province and country. And we know that when diagnosed early, nearly 100% of the men will survive at least five years after diagnosis. But right now, Ontario remains one of the last problems in the country to cover PSA tests under OWAP. We worked hard with the Canadian Cancer Society to push this government to do the right thing and expand coverage of PSA testing, including inducing number of motions to grant coverage to men with doctors referral. The more men are tested, the more lives we save. Let's celebrate Gord's legacy to our province and our country and expand the necessary healthcare services to ensure when detected prostate cancer early and save men's lives. Rest in peace, my friend. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Brampton West. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In April, members of the Sick Community celebrate Sick Heritage Month. The month of April holds significance for the Sick Community as Basaki that marks the birth of the Khalsa and Sick Faith is celebrated during April. During this time, Sikhs across the world take time to reflect on the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh Ji who established the Khalsa Panth. The values that Guru Gobind Singh Ji embodied and promoted were courage, selflessness, and preaching equality. Throughout April, Sikh Ontarians will be participating in various parades to celebrate the birth of the Khalsa and promote the Sikh religion and values. As such, during these parades, Sikhs can be seen giving back to the community through the act of seva, which is selfless service. One of these parades will be taking place at Nathan Phillips Square or Square on April 28th and anyone regardless of ethnicity or religion is welcome to come visit, celebrate, and learn more about the Sikh religion. Speaker, it is time to seize the moment to celebrate Sick Heritage Month as a celebration of Sikhism and a commitment to building a brighter tomorrow where we continue to embrace diversity and promote inclusivity and together we move forward towards a future where unity, understanding, and respect for diversity prevails. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements. Member for Oshawa. Thank you, Speaker. Intimate partner violence is an epidemic. Agencies that support women have long been sounding the alarm. We have many local organizations where women are safe and supported when leaving abusive situations so that they and their children can be safe and have hope. Luke's Place is based in Oshawa but has been reaching its arms and care-wide to serve women and children across the province. Pamela Cross, who has long served as the legal director at Luke's Place has been calling on all of us to take action. Rates of violence have escalated and women's ability to access justice is worse. We need investment into legal aid and legal supports for women as many women fleeing abuse as we choose to. The YWCA in Oshawa gets ministry funding for 15 violence against women beds but they have more than 15 beds that they have to fundraise to use. These beds are for women leaving in the middle of the night with a child under her arm to close their wearing and hopefully some identification. There's growing need and funding doesn't go as far as it used to. Also women have to stay in those emergency shelter beds longer because they can't find safe housing and that means those emergency beds are already full when another woman comes looking for safety. It is unimaginable that a woman fleeing for her life in the lives of her children might get turned away and we need funding for more women. After the terrible murders of Carol Culliton and Anastasia Kousek and Natalie Warmervin the Remfrew County Coroner's Inquest yielded 86 recommendations. I'm glad that the region of Durham resolved to adopt the number one recommendation and declared intimate partner violence and epidemic. Today again we call on the province to show leadership and be clear in declaring intimate partner violence and epidemic in this province for the women who live with fear and harm for the women who have been murdered in this epidemic of gender-based violence. Women's lives have value and this province has to do better. Member Statements, the Member for Peterborough, co-author. Thank you Speaker. This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking part in an event that's been going on in my writing since 2008. The Humanitarian Group, Kids Against Hunger held their annual one million meals Peterborough. The original goal back in 2008 was to make a million meals for those experiencing malnutrition. Volunteers each raised $65 to help pay for the food that was packed. We had ground soy because it's higher in protein than meat. Rice, a mix of ground vegetables and minerals and dehydrated vegetables. All the food was mixed together in a bag of about 400 grams. And when you boil that with water for half an hour it provides enough nutrition for six people for an entire day. And the genius of the process is that you don't need to start with potable water. By boiling the water for half an hour that makes it potable. Speaker, more than 330 people volunteered their time to pack these bags. And I'm proud to announce that by the end of the day we had filled enough bags that we surpassed 900,000 meals made since 2008. I want to give a big shout out to the drain brothers who will be warehousing the food until they can be shipped where it's needed and to EG Grey Transport for shipping the cases of food to the port for us. Saturday's food is destined for Haiti to help in that humanitarian effort. And I really want to thank all of the volunteers who gave their time to make a difference for people they will never meet. Thank you, Speaker. Member, statements to Member for Parkdale High Park. Here are ten outrageous things happening in our healthcare system under the Ford Conservative Government. One, 2.2 million Ontarians without primary care. Two, clinics charging an annual subscription fee simply to access primary care are growing. Three, hospitals are having to borrow money at high interest rates due to underfunding. Four, underfunding of hospitals has turned hallway healthcare into waiting room healthcare. Five, use of private agency nurses has exploded under this Government's watch costing the system significantly more than hiring directly. Six, private clinics are renting space in public hospitals and being paid more for the same services like cataract surgeries leaving taxpayers with a higher bill. Seven, the Ontario Government owe $6 billion in wages to the public sector including healthcare workers because their bill 124 to cap wages was found unconstitutional. Eight, over 280 emergency room closures in communities across Ontario due to underfunding with people having to travel hours to access emergency care. Nine, despite promises still no coverage would take home cancer treatments leaving people to pay out of pocket if they don't have private insurance. Ten, pharmacists are being pressured by corporate offices at companies like Sharper's Drug Mart to do unnecessary medication reviews which has cost the system as high as $1.4 million in one week. Speaker, this Government is delivering worse services at a higher cost with questionable ethics. Are they so incompetent or is this by design? Either way, Ontarians are getting a bad deal. Thank you. Member Statements. The Member for Renfrew, Nipissing Penbroke. Speaker, this past Saturday I had the pleasure to attend the 100th birthday celebration of Joe Baxter at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 406, Barrie's Bay. I add the honour of bringing greetings to Joe, his family and the packed house. And to congratulate Joe on his amazing achievement. Joe then sang along as I treated him to a couple of his favourite Irish songs when Irish eyes are smiling and Danny boy. It was then Joe's turn to take the mic. I've known Joe for close to 40 years. Joe has gravitas and draws a crowd wherever he goes. Well, he went on to educate and entertain the folks for 45 minutes. That's right, not 4 to 5, 45 minutes. He treated us with stories, his memories of growing up on a farm near Ottawa and the challenges that it presented but also how grateful he was to be raised in that environment. He spoke of when his father died young and how many of those responsibilities were passed on to him. Joe then went on to work for the Bank of Canada, interrupting that career to serve overseas during the Second World War. Following the war, he returned retiring after 40 years only to be asked to come back. Well, he worked for another 37 years retiring permanently at the age of 93. Joe is indeed a remarkable man blessed with a wonderful family and admired in his community. His vitality at 100 is hard to describe but easy to admire. He makes us all feel young again. Speaker, the great way when Jennings once said, if we could all sing the way we wanted to we'd all sing like George Jones. Well, Speaker, if we can all live to be 100 I think we'd all like to live it like Joe. Thank you. Member Statements, Member for Ottawa, Daniel. Thank you, Speaker. The Ottawa Food Bank is seeing new people every day. More and more food bank clients and families coming from two parent households blurring traditional poverty lines. Court family have been clients of the Ottawa Food Bank and she said last week we are all equally teetering on the precipice of falling into one bad year, month or day away from ending up on the street not one good year away from making millions. Food insecurity in Ottawa is a 68% increase in visits since 2019. Other food banks across Ontario have reported similar increases in visits. Food insecurity across the province is a direct result of the rising cost of living in my community of Ottawa, is really struggling to keep up. Minimum wage in Ontario is 1655 but the minimum living wage in Ottawa is set at 2195. Are we really okay with knowingly paying less than what people need to survive? As I reflect on Ottawa the Ottawa Food Bank's 40th anniversary event I was reminded of the importance of addressing food insecurity and implementing direct policy solutions before the Ottawa Food Bank reaches 80 years let's support the hardworking families in Ottawa and beyond coping with the rising cost of living. Thank you Speaker. Any further statements? The member for Cambridge. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Dave Sofa was a legend in Cambridge. Mr. Sofa was the creator of the world renowned portraits of honour an oil painting that featured 158 Canadian soldiers sailors and air crew who lost their lives in Afghanistan. It was a labour of love. Portraits of honour of 42 foot high canvas took more than 10,000 hours to create. In 2011 Mr. Sofa took his painting on a tour of 120 Canadian cities where millions of people flocked to see worlds quickly becoming a national treasure. Speaker Dave Sofa was a household name in Cambridge following his death in 2021 his daughter Terry committed to carry on her father's good work by continuing to operate the portraits of honour museum and portraits of honour foundation. Recently the museum had to find a new home and it was a challenging time for Terry before space was secured at the Preston Scout House where her father's military artifacts and memorabilia are displayed. Order. That's the house to come to order. Member statements? The member for Whitby. Thank you Speaker. Today is the 10th anniversary of James Michael Flaherty's untimely death. He served in this legislature as the MPP for Whitby Ajax in several roles from 1995 to 2005 including Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance. The right honourable Stephen Harper Canada's former Prime Minister set appointing Jim Flaherty in 2006 as Finance Minister was one of the most meaningful decisions ever for this country as Jim steered the economy through the global recession of 2008-2009 and worked hard Speaker to get the country on a sound financial footing in the years afterward. Jim Flaherty entered public life to make sure that everyone regardless of their abilities had the chance to live happy lives of purpose and dignity. Inclusion in every respect was his ultimate goal. He and Christine Elliott were instrumental in creating the Ability Centre a fully accessible recreational and community facility in Whitby. The Centre's mission is to enrich the quality of life for people of all ages and abilities. We cannot know for certain how long we have here nor the trials or misfortunes which test us along the way. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures and we can strive at all costs to make a better province so that someday if we're blessed with the chance to look back at our time here we know that we spent it well and that our fleeting presence has a lasting impact on the lives of others. This is how James Michael Flaherty lived that speaker is his legacy. Thank you very much that concludes our Member Statements for this morning. Thank you.