 It is now time for Member Statements to recognize the member for London Fanshawe. Thank you Speaker and Speaker I'd like to talk about seniors affordability and housing today. We're in a housing crisis and I have seen firsthand especially from low-income seniors are being disproportionately impacted by the provincial government's inaction on affordable housing. A senior on OAS contacted my office to gain clarity on what his rights and options were after his landlord pressured him with above guideline rent increases. Another senior reached out after being served an N13 essentially being renovicted. They both worry about being able to afford to move on their fixed incomes. A senior who has her young grandchild and great grandchild in her care one of whom has significant and multi-layered health concerns is forced to couch surf and worry about whether she'll end up homeless. Seniors now account for 35 percent of the people of people waiting for affordable housing across the province. Between years long housing wait lists rising rents and the cost of lifts and no coal rail that have rise in their fixed incomes. Seniors like my constituents are in a tough spot. I asked this government are they prepared to bring back rent control stop unfair renovations lower hydro rates and if not what is the government's plan to make sure that seniors can afford a roof over their heads. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Mississauga Lakeshore. Thank you speaker. Today I rise to thank a great Ontarian a great philanthropist for the largest donation to a hospital in Canadian history Peter Gilgen grew up as one of seven children in a middle class family. In 1978 he founded the Madame Homes and went on to build 90,000 homes including mine. Three years ago he made a hundred million dollar donation to the hospital for sick children here in Toronto to support the redevelopment of the sick kids campus. Now earlier this month Mr. Gilgen has announced a historic 1.5 million dollar donation to the Trillium Health Partners to support the construction of a new Mississauga hospital in Mississauga Lakeshore. Together with his previous contributions this makes Mr. Gilgen the largest benefactor to health care in Canada. It is fitting that he is supporting the construction of the largest and most advanced hospital in Canada, a thousand beds, 24 stories and 2.8 million square feet. It will be almost triple the size of the current hospital. In December I was proud to join the Premier and the Minister of Health to announce a multi-billion dollar provincial investment in this project which is also the single largest investment in hospital infrastructure in Canadian history. It is appropriate that the new hospital will now be known as the Peter Gilgen Mississauga Hospital and I ask all members to please join me in recognizing Peter Gilgen for his incredible generosity to support the Mississauga Hospital. Thank you. Member Statements, member for University of Rosdale. Speaker, University of Rosdale is home to many of Canada's best hospitals. Princess Margaret, Toronto General, Mount Sinai, Toronto Western, Sick Kids, Women's. It's also home to many of the health care workers who are responsible for healing us when we are sick. I am very concerned about the state of health care today. Up to 400,000 Ontarians are waiting too long for necessary surgery, a surgery backlog that doctors are calling catastrophic. There is a massive shortage of nurses. Emergency room staff are telling me that up to 30% of staff, especially nurses, are not available in the emergency room. They are exhausted and burnt out and they are getting too little pay. And recently, the Ontario Health Coalition sounded the alarm because private operators could be approved to run hospitals in Ontario. That is deeply concerning because privatization hurts health care. When there's more money for private profit, there's less money for health care. It's really that simple. We have a right to excellent universal public health care. Instead of cuts, we should be expanding health care to include universal pharma care and dental care. Instead of legislating pay freezers, we should be expanding pay and increasing pay for nurses and personal support workers so we can deal with the staffing shortage. And instead of expanding for profit service into health care, we should double down and recommit to universal nonprofit and public health care. It will make us healthier. It will make us more prosperous when we all have the ability to stay healthy and heal. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Kitchener, Conestoga. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I rise this morning to highlight an organization that has been supporting the people of Waterloo region since 1939. House of Friendship started out as a storefront mission to feed the hungry on King Street in downtown Kitchener and has grown to provide supports to thousands of vulnerable residents in our community. Earlier this year, I was extremely pleased to announce that the government of Ontario is providing the House of Friendship with $8.5 million in capital funding in support of their shelter care program. This funding is being delivered through the Social Services Relief Fund and will be used to help House of Friendship purchase and convert a former hotel into a 100-bed emergency shelter. The shelter care program offers overnight wrap-around care and accommodations for individuals struggling with homelessness and has a proven track record of getting people the assistance they need when they need it most, Mr. Speaker. The shelter care model has improved outcomes and reduced indents, indices of overdoses and reduced calls for police service and ambulance care and has acted as a supportive buffer for individuals experiencing difficult situations. I want to sincerely thank the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing for championing this vital community initiative and to the directors and staff of House of Friendship and all the volunteers that helped them thank you for your dedication to service who, in our community, experienced some very difficult times. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, it makes the number for Toronto Center. Thank you, Speaker. My writing of Toronto Center has the highest concentration of social housing in our city. I recently had the opportunity to meet with constituents in the Shooter Towers in the Moss Park neighborhood. This is a neighborhood of large, aging high-rises that has hundreds of low-income people in our community. While I've risen in the House several times to address the issue of underfunding, long waitlists, and severe disrepair in community housing, I have to share that I've never seen anything quite as bad as what I've recently witnessed in the Moss Park Towers. Every single resident I spoke to had a heartbreaking story to share. From spending years on a waitlist, under-housed, and waiting for transfers to larger units as their children were born, to horrifying stories of mice, cockroaches, and never-ending bedbugs, to safety concerns and neglected repairs. The number of families I encountered with two and three children living in bachelor and one-bedroom apartments was heartbreaking. One mom I spoke to said she knew her kids were struggling to focus in school because they weren't getting enough sleep while all sharing a bed. She worried about the school-involving CAS, but there's nothing that she can do but wait until a bigger unit becomes available, potentially years. I'd ask any member of this House how acceptable they would find it to have raised their own children in a bachelor apartment crawling with bedbugs and cockroaches, and then ask why it's acceptable for any family in my community. For decades, Speaker, liberal and conservative governments have completely ignored the growing crisis in social housing, allowing waitlists to balloon, buildings to fall apart, and families to continue living in substandard housing if they can even get a unit at all after 15 years on a waitlist. Today, I'm calling on the Premier to do the right thing, come to the table with real investments in social housing to build new units, address the waitlist, and address the billions of dollars in capital repair backlogs. It is completely unacceptable that families of four and five children are living in bachelor and one-bedroom units. Thank you. Member Stavins, the member for Don Valley West. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, the people of Ukraine are in all of our thoughts this morning. They're living through a dangerous, fearful time. Mothers and fathers fear for their children, grandparents fear for their families. Young women and men starting out in their lives are being called upon to resist the evil that is assaulting their home. Sadly, the ravages of war are all too familiar a theme in human history in all corners of the world. To paraphrase a song from my youth, when will we ever learn? But war is the worst of us. But all of us in Canada, who truly value freedom, truth, and democracy, stand in awe of the fortitude of the Ukrainian people. We support and respect the courage of Ukrainian civilians, soldiers, and families who refuse to be cowed. We wish the best for you as you confront this evil. We encourage our leaders in doing everything they can to demonstrate our support for you in real and tangible ways. Those of us who can rally, send money, or open our doors to you are doing so and will continue to raise our voices. And all of us, pray for your safe passage and for peace. Slava Ukraini. Member Statements. The member for Atobical Lakeshore. Thank you. As a speaker, I also rise today to stand with Ukraine. To stand with the Ukrainian community in Ontario and across Canada, and to the many people who call Etobicoke home. I stand especially with those now trapped by war because of the illegal and criminal actions of Vladimir Putin. My heart goes out to you all. The Ukrainian community is deeply rooted in our nation. They have contributed to building this country and our province since immigrants arrived over 130 years ago. These are hardworking people who have built lives and families and contributed to Canada's greatness in sports, science, academia, business, and many other fields. They originally came for a better life and to ironically escape Russian oppression in the late 1800s. They came to find democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. Mr. Speaker, even though the Ukrainian community has been here for generations, they maintain close ties with home and later waves of immigrants came to Ontario. They settled. They contributed to our community and to our economy. Mr. Speaker, Russia has attempted to absorb Ukraine for centuries, a sad part of Ukrainian history, but because of Vladimir Putin's illegal attack on Ukrainian people, innocent people are being killed and forcibly removed from their home. It was a privilege over the weekend to speak at the Ukrainian consulate in my riding. Our government has been clear. We stand with Ukrainian people. God bless the people of Ukraine. Slavy, Ukraine. Next we have the member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Lack of affordable housing and renovations continues to be a growing issue in Hamilton. The average market rent of a one-bedroom apartment is now over $1,500. The average price of a home is approximately $976,423. With the Realtors Association of Hamilton, Burlington, saying these prices show no sign of decreasing anytime soon. A renovation is a practice that displaces a tenant for renovations, but in reality is a predatory tactic used to raise rent of the tenant, often to a price they cannot afford, which leaves them scrambling to find housing that is in an unaffordable market. We are seeing the result of this right now in my riding of Hamilton Mountain, where a tenant is being sued by a landlord who is attempting to evict her and her other tenants. It's shameful this practice is still allowed and we need stronger protections in place so tenants are protected from these malicious tactics. There also needs to be a supply of affordable housing available so Ontarians have options and can actually afford to live in their home city. This is why new Democrats have a plan to build 69,000 new affordable homes over 10 years and close loopholes on renovations because Ontarians deserve safe, affordable housing. Member Statements, the member for Don Valley North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This week as restrictions start to ease, we will begin to take the first step forward in the right direction. Speaker, with renewed optimism, we can now envision brighter prospects on the horizon for Ontario businesses. With the introduction of the government's small business relief grant for eligible businesses put forward by the Ministry of Economic Development Job Creation and Trade, we are working together to help many small businesses to strengthen their foundations as they begin to rebuild and reboot. Speaker, I know that many small businesses including those in my writing of Don Valley North suffered many hardships and setbacks during the pandemic. Small businesses create great jobs and opportunities for people. I thank small businesses' owners and employees for their contributions to our province's success and economic growth. Speaker, Ontario is always open for business. We are now a province of business as usual Ontario makes business better. Speaker, new needs from eligible businesses have until March 11th to apply. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. That concludes our member's statements.