 It is now time for Member's Statements. I recognize Member from Toronto St. Paul. Morning Speaker. On any given night, over 10,000 people in Toronto are experiencing homelessness, with over 50% being chronically homeless for over six months. Many are hungry, battling mental health and addictions. Speaker it's getting cold out there, and in our community of Toronto St. Paul's we are worried because the effects of food insecurity and housing instability only gets worse in the cold winter months, and our overnight out-of-the-cold programs have been on hold due to the pandemic. I'm deeply thankful to the Holy Blossom Temple out-of-the-cold program team in my community. They're running a hot meal pickup program from November 18th to April 7th of next year between 4 and 5 p.m. On certain weeks there will also be toiletries and warm clothing items given out too. I ask anyone who may need this support or who knows someone who needs it to reach out to Holy Blossom Temple or to my office and we will connect you. There's no stigma or shame in needing help. There are also other local St. Paul's community-based programs such as our friends at which would open door, run at St. Matthew's United Church which I volunteered at, St. Michael and all angels church beaten covered which I've also supported, and the Church is on the Hill Food Bank, sponsored by Calvin Presbyterian Church, Christ Church Dare Park, Dare Park United Church, Grace Church on the Hill, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Latvian Church, Timothy Eaton Memorial Church and York Minister Park Baptist Church. The generosity in our community is overwhelming speaker but community generosity should never and can never replace government responsibility. The issue of food and housing insecurity will not go away by itself. It requires political will if not now when. Thank you. Thank you. Member statements. I recognize member from Peterborough, Cawortha. Thank you, Speaker. Thanks for the opportunity to rise and speak about another friend of mine from the Peterborough area. When I started to write this statement, I thought, how do I describe him? Humble, caring, intelligent, committed, and then it dawned on me. I can sum it all up with this phrase. Joe is an exceptional human being. Speaker, I'm talking about my friend, Joe van Coverden and some of you might be saying that name sounds familiar. And yes, you're right. Joe is the father of four time Olympic Kayak medalist, Adam van Coverden, and I have forgiven Joe for letting his son grow up to be a liberal. So why is Joe an exceptional human being? Joe has Parkinson's disease and yet he consistently gives back to our community without ever having to be asked. He's part of a research project with Trent University looking into the effects that active lifestyle has on people with Parkinson's. Fitness forums, boxing, dancing, walking, or all activities that Joe takes part in for the active living research. I mentioned walking in particular because of the Parkinson's super walk. Joe's goal last year was $10,000 and an astonishing one million steps. For those of you with Fitbits, you know that your goal is 10,000 steps a day. So let's put that into perspective. That would be 100 consecutive days of hitting your Fitbit goal. If you want to learn more about Joe and his journey with Parkinson's, you can find more at www.joewithpd.com. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. As we mark the beginning of 16 days of activism against gender based violence, I want to thank the staff and volunteers who work tirelessly every day to end gender based violence in Waterloo region and across Ontario. It is my privilege as the member of provincial parliament to recognize the ongoing work of local women leaders in KW, including Elizabeth Clark at the YWCA, Sarah Kasselman at the sexual assault support center of Waterloo, and Jen Hutton at Women's Crisis Services, and of course, Zonta KW. In the callous absence of leadership and adequate funding by this government, these women have stepped up to fight for supportive housing, anti-human trafficking resources, and they stretch their budgets to support women who have been raped and whose innocence has been stolen. When survivors have the courage to come forward and ask for help, the resources should be there to help them. When the Ford government cut the funding back in 2019, they turned their backs on survivors. Funding and resources available to agencies during this vital work remains insufficient, especially when the substantial impact of the pandemic. We have a shadow pandemic where violence happens in the dark and survivors are barely holding on. At SAS, counselling requests have gone up by 55%. For family court support calls, 158%. Staff are burnt out. My colleague MPP Lindo and I will not rest until we see women supported through the court system, through supportive housing and counselling, until women in Ontario no longer have to live in fear. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Thank you, Member's statements. The Member for Scarborough-Rooge Park. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Residents in Scarborough-Rooge Park are always looking out for each other. I saw this firsthand, especially during the peak of the pandemic, as the community came together to give back and look out for their neighbours and take care of our seniors. The Toronto Police Services is always giving back to the local community, whether it be through the food drives to support local community, local organisations, or picnics to foster the community spirit. Today I rise to speak about the Toronto Police Services together to put smiles on children this holiday season. 41, 42 and 43 divisions are coming together to host the annual Auxiliary Christmas Toy Drive. Toys will be distributed to families within Scarborough who reside in shelters or have been identified as having a need. The TPS Toy Drive is accepting new and unwrapped toys. Toys can be dropped off at both 42 and 43 divisions or can be purchased online and mailed directly to 42 and 43 divisions. And toy will be accepted up until December 14th at 12 p.m. The spirit of the season is all about giving back. I encourage you to do your part in giving back to your local community to those who are most in need. I want to thank again all the police, the three police divisions, 41, 42 and 43 for serving and protecting our residents. And thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member statements. The member for Niagara Falls. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say that I once again table legislation to have OHIP cover the cost of PSA testing in the province of Ontario. This year is estimated that 1500 men will die of prostate cancer in Ontario. Yet we know that if diagnosed early enough, there is almost a 100% chance of survival for those who have prostate cancer. If allowed to get to stage four, this cancer only has a 25% survivor rate. Residents in Ontario can get an early warning of this disease by having a PSA level test early. But they must pay out of the test out of their pocket unless they have been already diagnosed with prostate cancer or by a doctor. So why then is this life saving PSA test not covered by OHIP? My good friend Larry Gibson of the forgery golf course hosts a term in every year to raise money to cover the cost of this test for those who need. Give me himself as a person whose life was saved when he paid out of his pocket for a PSA test which showed his levels far above normal. Had you forgotten this cost, he wouldn't have been diagnosed until the situation was much worse. You know that one in nine men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime. PSA testing is already covered in provincial health programs, eight provinces and three territories. My motion would save lives, save money, keep people out of the hospital. I hope the government will join me, support this motion and get it, get it done for Ontario. And it's also important we can all grow mustaches like mine. But if we don't pay for the test, men are going to die in the province of Ontario. Thank you. Thank you. Member statements. Member for Bruce Gray, Owensound. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize a very special occasion for a very special person in the great writing of Bruce Gray, Owensound. On November 5th, cherished and dedicated veteran, Mr. Charlie Fisher of Owensound celebrated his 107th birthday. I am truly honored to know him and I had a chance to visit Mr. Fisher on his birthday. And I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it was a very special day for Mr. Fisher and his entire family. Mr. Speaker, he was teaching his eight-year-old neighbour to sketch and gifted me one of his sketches, which I will cherish always. Can you imagine when that young person reaches our age and reflects on the fact that the special person had taught her to sketch almost a hundred years older than her? Mr. Speaker, it was terrific to see the entire community recognize Mr. Fisher's birthday and strive to make it a very memorable day for him. Students from Owensound District Secondary School, family and neighbours, joined together to sing happy birthday to Mr. Fisher and also present him with 250 birthday cards from local students. Mr. Ryan McMahon's Grade 12 history class at Owensound District Secondary School started the birthday card effort and it soon spread to other classes throughout the school. Mr. Fisher is a decorated veteran of the Second World War and on his birthday, the Billy Bishop Museum brought over his Kodak bullet camera, his medals and his leather jacket from his military service, all of which are unloaded to the museum and I encourage everyone to go see. Mr. Fisher enlisted in the military in Owensound and joined the Fifth Armored Division RCAC SC in Aldershop. He's a driver at the transport corps and brought food, supplies and materials to our troops. He participated in the defense of Britain, the Italy Campaign and in France, Holland and Germany. During his service, Mr. Fisher took hundreds of pictures and some of those photographs can be seen in displays at the Billy Bishop Museum in Owensound. Mr. Fisher, I've never seen anyone more positive than Charlie Fisher. He bought a tablet at the age of 105 with a full warranty. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate Mr. Fisher for a tremendous milestone and thank him for his many years of service and defense of our great nation and for all that he has contributed to our community. He is a true hero and inspiration and in his words, never quit. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Member statements, the member for Sudbury. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker today is the International Day for the prevention of violence against women and the purple scarf that I'm wearing that all the members of the House are wearing is a symbol of the courage it takes women to leave their abuser. During the month of November, we wear a purple scarf to show people identifying as women and their children that the community supports them. They're not a lone speaker. It's especially important that we do this as men because every year in Ontario, 20 to 30 women are murdered by their current or previous male partner. When we include other family members and men known to women, that number rises significantly. It's the number two reason for calls to emergency police services, Speaker, because it takes the sport of entire community and violence against women. I'd like to acknowledge a few of the agencies within my riding who are assisting women experiencing emotional, physical, sexual, financial or spiritual abuse, YWCA Sudbury Razor Access Network, Sudbury and Area Victim Services, Sudbury Counseling Center, Santa Victoria Puffin, Sudbury and District Health Unit, Victim Witness Assistance Program, The Voice for Women, Sudbury Sexual Assault Center. And Speaker, I want to highlight Sudbury Women's Center. I'm just proud to brag it was a place that my mom loved to volunteer when they were founded more than 40 years ago. As a member of the provincial parliament for the riding of Sudbury, I want survivors to know they're not alone. I see you. I stand with you and with all survivors across Ontario. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Member statements. Member for Scarborough, Guildwood. Thank you, Speaker. Gun violence is both a public health and a social issue that leaves long term impacts on our communities. And we must do more to break cycles of violence and support communities to heal. Exposure to gun violence has mental and physical impacts that extend far beyond the victim. It results in long term effects on communities and marked by feelings of fear, anxiety and hopelessness and without access to long term supports can lead to generational trauma. Just last week in my riding, our community grieved the tragic death of a young man, just 23 years old. Unfortunately, these occurrences are far too often. This month alone, Toronto Police Services, 43 Division responded to 7 shootings and 32 so far this year. Gun violence is a serious problem and a crisis that cannot be ignored. It's an issue we see in more marginalised communities rooting from underlying systemic inequalities in our communities. It's a problem that my private members bill, the safe and healthy communities act would bridge. It would declare gun violence a public health issue. It allows for counseling services for survivors of gun violence that will be covered by OHIP and for all boards of health to develop programmes and services aimed to reduce gun violence and assist those affected. I will table this legislation next week. We have an opportunity to hear to intervene before that bullet is trafficked or pointed at our neighbours. We can solve this root issue. I call on the Minister of Health and the government to do the same and to support this legislation. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much, Member Statements. The Member for Perry Salma School. Thank you, Speaker. Today I rise to express my gratitude to the Minister of Health for commitment to addressing the inequities in how small medium-sized hospitals are funded in Ontario. I've spoken many times about the challenges faced by medium-sized hospitals like those in Perry Salma School. Under the previous governments, these governments were chronically underfunded and had to ask the Ministry each year for top-of-funding to make it through to the end of the fiscal year. This made it very difficult for these hospitals to plan for the future in the same ways as larger urban hospitals. But Ontarians who live in smaller communities deserve equal access to hospital services. Increasing the base funding to our hospitals means that they can plan for future initiatives, stabilize operations and budget more effectively. After the additional funding was announced this summer, Natalie Bubella, CEO of Muskoka Gankwon Healthcare, told me that for the first time in more than a decade, her hospital was predicting a balanced budget for the next five years. This is great news. It means Natalie and her team spend their time planning for the future rather than writing requests for additional funding and planning on what to do if those requests aren't approved. On behalf of Muskoka Gankwon Healthcare and West Perry Sound Health Center and on behalf of everyone who relies upon these great hospitals, thank you to the Minister of Health for addressing this long-standing issue. That concludes our member's statements for this morning.