 It is now time for member statements, and I recognize the member for Beaches East York. Thank you, Speaker. People in Beaches East York, as elsewhere in the province, are furious with the chaos that this government has unleashed with its refusal to listen to sick kids and other health experts and cap all classes at 15 or to prepare for the fall and a second wave of COVID-19. A couple of weeks ago, I told the Premier about grade four classes of 28 and 29 kids at a school in my riding. That school is now one of hundreds in the province dealing with COVID cases. Parents who have to pull their kids out of school because they have the sniffles have had to wait for over five hours for a test at Michael Garan Hospital. Sometimes it takes three days for test results, but that's four days that a parent isn't working because their child can't go back to school without a negative test result. Yesterday, with 700 new cases in Ontario, the government decided it was a fine time to open casinos. I've heard from frustrated public service workers in the riding whose workplaces are poorly vented and where there is little separation between desks that they are soon expected back at the office. Why, Speaker? Why risk lives? Why risk productivity and jobs and small businesses that can't afford another shutdown? Why risk the planned surgeries that are saving lives from other conditions? This isn't a plan. It's a public health disaster, Speaker, and the people of Ontario deserve so much better. Member Statements. The member for Stormont Dundas, South Glen Gary. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to recognize Linda and Keith Robinson, sorry, members of the Morrisburg and District Lions Club and residents of my riding in Stormont Dundas in South Glen Gary. I wish to recognize these lines for their unselfish actions and community spirit. Linda has been delivering groceries ordered through a local food store, Laura's Value Mart in Morrisburg, since the beginning of the pandemic COVID-19. She has been delivering these orders to seniors, community members with disabilities, and shut-ins on behalf of her club. The deliveries have been to many places throughout the riding, including Chesterville, also Island, also Road, Williamsburg, and near Quad. Keith, her husband, spearheaded the refurbishment of a church mural that has stood for many years at the intersection of Highway 2 and Church Road Riverside Heights. The mural underwent a complex refurbishment to rejuvenate this community heirloom that now stands as a tribute to our heritage and a history for many years to come. These unselfish acts are a tribute to our strong community fabric and a backbone of our life in our strong and proud riding. Again, I want to thank Linda and Keith for their community spirit and concern. Thank you. Thank you very much. Members statements? The member for Niagara Center. Speaker, I rise today in support of Carl Doxtetter, a journalist in the Niagara region and host of One Dish, One Mic on 610CKTV. Carl is an award-winning journalist, and this year was the co-recipient of the 2020 CJF CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship. On September 2, Carl was reporting on the ongoing land dispute between members of Six Nations, the band council, and a development company over the Haldeman Tract. When confronted by the OPP, Carl presented them his card and identified himself as a journalist. He was subsequently arrested. The next day, Mohawk researcher and freelance journalist, Court Psych, was also arrested. Their arrest banned them from the site. Speaker, this is simply important. Carl's arrest speaks to two broader, unacceptable patterns. The first is the ongoing longstanding colonial pattern of criminalization of Indigenous people. The second is a more recent pattern of the police laying charges against journalists and researchers for covering land disputes between the government and Indigenous people. Mr. Doxtetter has constitutional right to cover matters that are of interest to the public. His arrest and subsequent banning from the site undermine his ability to do so. The police are not the deciders of who he is and is not a journalist. Speaker, we cannot be meaningfully working on reconciliation if we are using the same colonial tactics against Indigenous people. From lack of action on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls to the arrest of Indigenous journalists like Carl and Courtney, it's abundantly clear that we have a lot of work to do. Member for Oakville, North Burlington. Thank you, Speaker. Earlier this month, I met with Oakville's energy task force, which is planning a community-driven energy transformation for Oakville. The task force is led by community groups, the local municipalities, and prominent local businesses. One of their goals is to work towards carbon neutrality by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by 2041. They are committed to reducing energy use and building a green economy. Our government is also committed to reducing greenhouse gases, protecting the natural environment, and preserving our green belt. In August, our government launched Ontario's first-ever climate change impact assessment. The study will use the best science to understand how climate change will affect our communities, infrastructure, and the environment, while helping to strengthen the province's resilience to climate change. We are also protecting our water through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, providing up to $50,000 to local projects to improve water quality. With this program and others, we are investing about $7.5 million to help our Great Lakes. In my community, our government has funded $75,000 for four rain gardens to divert wastewater from flooding into our lakes and streams. This project is driven by local volunteers and demonstrates the importance of thinking globally and acting locally. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Oshawa. Thank you, Speaker. One of the last in-person events before the pandemic took hold was the grand opening of the IPS Action Centre in Oshawa. In the devastating wake of GM abandoning our community, the GM Uniform Action Centre and the IPS Action Centre were created to support GM workers and independent part supplier workers. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, their re-employment, resume, and retraining services can't help unemployed auto workers find work that isn't there. Speaker, before the pandemic, Oshawa and folks across Durham Region were already struggling in the aftermath of GM's decision. That meant that EI claims had already been started, and it means they will be running out in the next few weeks. Distraught auto workers were directed to continue to stay on EI while Serb began for others in April. Many workers have been unable to secure work because of the pandemic. Already for some and soon for others, they will have no Serb and they won't be able to support their families. I'm pushing the federal government to remember auto workers and families. What will be done to protect or assist those vulnerable workers? How will they pay rent or their mortgages? How will they buy groceries or pay their bills to keep the heat and the lights on? We're asking the feds to show leadership, but I am asking the province to show up for auto workers too. Auto workers need support, direct financial support or employment. I've stood here in this house reading petitions, letters and asking ministers to push for manufacturing in Oshawa of much needed N95 masks. Canada needs N95s and we have the workforce, the capacity, the need and the hope. I've been asking this government for a long time to have some faith in the future of Oshawa, but right now we need more than faith. We need your help. Thank you. Thank you very much. The member for Dawn Valley West. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Just 11 days ago on September 18th, Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87. She was, as the economist remarked in their obituary, the liberal conscience of America's Supreme Court. Now here in Canada, we're preoccupied with many things as we battle COVID-19. So what is it about the death of this woman that has made us made so many of us take notice? And why are so many of us mourning her passing? The easiest answer to that question is that anything that happens in the United States that is of political consequence has an impact on us here in Canada. But I believe that there's much more to it than that. Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for peace, justice and equality literally her entire life. She never stopped pushing her nation and the world, using her intellect and the position she held to improve the lives of women and marginalize people. She heroically continued to do her job as a Supreme Court justice to the very end of her life. She knew full well that once she was no longer on that bench, the current President Donald Trump would work quickly to appoint a conservative judge whose mission it would be to undo much of the progress that has been won, particularly for women, over the years. And that is exactly what is happening. I was born in the 1950s. I know the work is not done, but I also know exactly how far we've come in recognizing the rights of women to play a more equal role in society, to have the right to choose what happens in our bodies. We have developed a social safety net that's not perfect, but it's so much better than it was 100 years ago. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been part of that progress. She's been a force for caring and for good in the USA and in the world. All of us who care about the progress we have made miss her dearly already. We Canadians will have to watch now as a segment of the American population, led at the moment by Donald Trump, attempts to turn back the clock. Our job is to ensure that the same doesn't happen here. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Willowdale. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My community of Willowdale is home to one of the largest Korean festivals in Canada, attracting tens of thousands of people every year from the GTA to enjoy traditional Korean dancing, drumming, interactive games, singing competitions, and over 25 food and snack vendors in celebration of Korean Thanksgiving. I have very fond memories of the Korean Harvest Festival with my friends and family, Mr. Speaker, and I've had the pleasure of serving as the master of ceremonies a number of years. The Korean Harvest Festival has been a staple in Willowdale for Korean and non-Korean Canadians alike, and although we'll miss celebrating in person this year, I'm incredibly proud of the community for pulling together to take the festival online. Speaker Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, is just days away, and as many Korean-Canadian families in Ontario and across Canada prepare to gather this week, I want to remind everybody to stay safe and exercise every precaution, but get out there and enjoy some Korean snacks like chapchae, tteokbokki, sundae. I've made myself entirely hungry right now, but Mr. Speaker, I hope you do get to enjoy those snacks. Happy Chuseok, everybody. The member for Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. Today, I am pleased to recognize the Multicultural Council of Windsor Essex and Carousel of the Nations, which was just named top festival by Attractions Ontario and the Ontario's Choice Awards. The Multicultural Council was founded over 45 years ago, and since that time, Windsor has grown to become the fourth most diverse city in Canada. Over the years, the Council has expanded to meet the needs of the community with a wide variety of programs and resources, such as after-school programs, services for refugees and sponsors, health initiatives, language services, settlement services, and diversity training. Carousel of the Nations is the Multicultural Council's premier event. The annual showcase is the oldest cultural festival in all of Ontario. However, like most special events and attractions this summer, the Carousel of the Nations faced the unprecedented challenge of adapting to programming during the pandemic. In previous years, villages representing various nations would pop up across Windsor and Essex County where festival attendees could sample cultural dishes and watch vibrant performances. Instead, this year, we saw Carousel at Home, a two-day virtual event where organizers did a fantastic job of ensuring that the show did go on. The performances, cultural presentations over 20 national villages were displayed for our community to engage with and enjoy. I was proud to join them in the virtual Carousel of Nations, but I sure missed all the different food from the different villages. My sincere congratulations to the Multicultural Council of Windsor, Essex, and the Carousel of the Nations organizers, volunteers and participants on winning this prestigious award. Carousel of the Nations is also in the running for the top attraction of the year, and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be recognizing them once again when they've succeeded in winning that award too. Member Statements, the member for Ottawa, West, and Appian. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is my pleasure to rise this morning in the legislature to recognize a great citizen of the City of Ottawa. John Saccard, CEO of Canaxis, a supply chain management tech company, has been named Ottawa's 2020 CEO of the year. Presented by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Board of Trade, the CEO of the year is awarded each year to an outstanding business leader in the greater Ottawa community. Mr. Saccard has been a champion in business, as Canaxis was recently named one of the Toronto Stock Exchange top 30 performers of the past three years, and also Canaxis has been a champion for our community. John and his wife Pina are proud parents of several boys. Their youngest son, Nicholas, is on the autism spectrum. Nicholas inspired John to create autism at work. Autism at work is an initiative designed to leverage the unique talents of individuals on the autism spectrum and provide meaningful, sustained employment to this underutilized talent pool. When he started, the goal was to have 1% of its workforce comprised of people on the autism spectrum. Today, nearly 2% of the company's workforce is on the spectrum. I think diversity is the path to innovation, John said. This is not a charity. These are phenomenal brains that just happen to be wired a little differently, and aren't we all, said John. Thank you to 2020 CEO of the year, John Saccard, for all you do to make Ottawa the wonderful community that it is. Congratulations. Member statements? The member for Niagara West. Thank you very much, Speaker. I rise today in the House to speak about a project that has united local residents in Niagara West, and that is the redevelopment of our local West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, a campaign that has brought together neighbors, businesses, municipalities, and frontline care providers in our community. An important step forward in building the new hospital, I was pleased to announce in July this election of architecture firms, B&H Architects, and McCallum Suther as the performance design and conformity team for the eagerly anticipated project. The selection of the two firms to prepare project documents and output specifications for the new hospital is a significant milestone. This is the furthest we have ever come to seeing shovels in the ground, and I know we will. Features of the new hospital include a 24-hour emergency department, maternal and newborn services, day surgical services, and advanced diagnostics, including X-ray, mammography, ultrasound, and a CT scanner. As I continue to work closely with provincial and municipal partners and Hamilton Health Sciences on this key project, I want to thank the Premier, as well as Christine Elliott, the Minister of Health for her important support, as well as our local frontline care providers and the passionate volunteers involved with the Save and Rebuild campaign. Together, we will build the new hospital that West Niagara deserves. Thank you. That concludes our member's statements for this morning.