 I received a compelling email from a resident outlining his experience with our healthcare system as he attended the needs of his wife, Donna, who sadly passed away this year from cancer. I would like to acknowledge again Mr. David Jones who is here today in the gallery. Mr. Jones has kindly given permission for me to read directly from his email. Mr. Jones writes, I am writing about the treatment Donna received on the last days of her life. On October, pardon me, on April 8th her breathing had reached a critical stage and in the presence of a nurse and because there was no alternative I called an ambulance. When the ambulance arrived at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton Donna was transferred to a bed but was left in a hallway and had to wait for emergency room space to open. When a space became available I was told that she would be transferred to a hospital room but no room was available and my wife died in the emergency room space. Having observed the healthcare system during the several months of Donna's illness I am aware of the challenges but I believe that in this instance Donna deserved better. Mr. Speaker our healthcare system is in crisis and I thank Mr. Jones for allowing us to share his experience and for it to be told. It can't be easy and Mr. Jones I commend your courage. Member statements? The member for Mississauga, Erin Mills. Mr. Speaker I rise today in recognition of the International Religious Freedom Day. Our province has one of the most multi-diverse and multi-ethnic residents. In Ontario the freedom of religion is given so sometimes we tend to take it for granted. Mr. Speaker as a Coptic who was born and raised in my home country as a minority I live the challenges that any minority face every day for their religion, their careers and their day-to-day life. I understand the importance of freedom of religion and supporting minorities. I have been working with different communities for the past 15 years. Coptic, Jewish, Iraqis, Syriac, Assyrian, Kildians, Lebanese, Maronite, Antokians, Malchite, Catholics and Orthodox, Ahmadiyya, Ismailis, Goans, Indonesian, South Asian and Chinese Christians. I consider freedom of religion the cornerstone, the baseline to build a homogeneous society. Mr. Speaker strongly condemn any and all acts of discrimination or violence against anyone based on their religion. Mr. Speaker we live in an Ontario that welcomes all people. It is an honour to be the voice of these communities and all of the citizens who have placed their trust in me and allowed me to be here addressing this to the house today. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Member for Kitchener's Centre. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Last week I was honoured to be welcomed by Donna Dubey and Rebecca Sargent from the healing of seven generations in my riding of Kitchener's Centre. After our meeting they shared a powerful document with me entitled Visions of Reconciliation, Region of Waterloo. Thank you so much for this. At a time of reconciliation our government is simply not doing enough to right the historical wrongs done to first people in Kitchener's Centre and beyond and I'm committed to rebuilding this trust between us. In the region of Waterloo despite 20 to 40,000 residents being first peoples we are lagging severely behind other regions in the province that ensure access to culturally responsive services. As your MPP it is my duty to find ways to help us address the devastating impact of intergenerational trauma whether from legalisation of residential schools or the fact that first peoples are still over represented in child services or criminal justice system. So please accept my gratitude for the provision of court support advocacy and mediation services, for your community luncheons, food supports for those facing food insecurity, for your community closet program, Christmas gift program, birthday hamper and backpack program, for your senior social groups and assistive support and for your cultural program and counselling services and healing circles and for the multitude of other programs that you have had to provide because your government partners have not stepped up to make sure that reconciliation is more than a symbolic word but instead effective action. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Mississauga Centre. Thank you Mr. Speaker. It was my great pleasure this weekend to both attend and perform in the third annual Colours of Love concert at the Living Arts Centre in my home writing of Mississauga Centre. Under the direction and execution of my good friend and incredible photographer Maggie Javiera the night was one to remember full of music and dance by popular and professional artists from around the globe. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to dust off my dance shoes and perform a Bachata duet with my dance partner Peter. The concert was a multicultural and multi-community expression of love and appreciation of music and performing arts, bringing together people and organizations. Funds raised by the Colours of Love concert will go to hats on for awareness, a local charity that works to further the reach of mental health programs which enhance the lives of those living and affected by mental illness and addictions. Throughout high school and university ballroom dancing was my form of self-care and I found it very fitting to be able to support the cause of mental health awareness through dance. To my colleagues in this house I would like to remind you that even with our busy work schedules it is okay to take some time to care for oneself and it is also okay to have some fun while doing it. Thank you once again to Maggie Javiera and all the sponsors as well as my fellow performers and patrons for coming out and making the Colours of Love concert a truly magical night in celebration of what unites us all which is love. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Member statements. The member for Brampton Centre. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. It's an honor to rise here today in the house. I know that over the past couple of weeks there has been a lot of focus on quite a few different issues coming out of the city of Brampton such as our municipal election, the cancellation of our university or the wait times at our hospital. But I wanted to take a moment today to tell everyone about the exciting initiative the Taste of Brampton that will be wrapping up today in Brampton. Taste of Brampton is an annual food festival hosted by the downtown BIA and some local businesses to showcase the exciting culinary world in Brampton. This year we had some old favorites in the community participating like one of my personal favorites, Carve on Lot 5. Their mushroom penny is by far the best as well as some new businesses reaching out and getting to know our local community. Brampton is a rapidly growing and thriving city and with that growth we have seen some very exciting new restaurants and menus popping up all over town. We all know that nothing brings people together like a full plate of food and great company. So I want to invite all members to take some time to explore Brampton's thriving food culture the next time they visit the city and I'd like to extend my sincerest appreciation and congratulations to all the organizers and participants in this year's fantastic Taste of Brampton festival. Thank you very much. Thank you to the member for Kitchener, Conestoga. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Remembrance Day is a time for sincere reflection of the immense sacrifices made by Canada's finest across generations in the name of our freedom and security. It is with honor that I stand here today to speak about the significance that Remembrance Day holds in my riding and across the province. On a personal level, I will be remembering the sacrifices of those with my own family who served in the Second World War. My great uncles, Art Sheridan, Doug Sheridan, and Bill Harrison all served overseas during World War II. And additionally, my grandfather, Dean Harris, served with the merchant marines whose operations were crucial to sustaining the war effort. My family's story is no exception. According to Veteran Affairs Canada, 650,000 Canadians served in the First World War and of those in uniform, 68,000 paid the ultimate sacrifice. In the Second World War, more than one million Canadians served and over 47,000 of those lost their lives. Thousands of residents from Waterloo Region served in both World Wars. And I would like to take a moment to recognize those from my region who gave their lives for the war effort. For the First World War, this number totaled around 469. For the Second World War, it was about 427. That's we forget, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you, Speaker. Today, I had planned to speak in response to the minister's statement on Autism Awareness Month. Unfortunately, the ministerial statement was canceled at the last minute, at the very end of Autism Awareness Month. For me and for families across Ontario, this cancellation is concerning. And it fuels a feeling of uncertainty that people with autism and their families already live with every day. There's an estimated 20,000 people on waitlist for treatment. I hear stories of families who are already receiving services, but money that has already been approved is inexplicably held up. As a result, families are threatened by service providers that their child will be kicked off the program if their bills are not paid. Our schools are ill-equipped to provide the support students with autism need and deserve. Educational assistants do the best job that they can, but there are not nearly enough of them. If they want extra training, they need to deal with the complexities of an autistic student. They need to pay for it themselves. The solution, in far too many cases, is to exclude the student from the school, sometimes for months on end. In adulthood, it doesn't get any better. Aging parents caring for an adult with autism can't get the respite services they so desperately need. None of this is good enough, Speaker. We need better from the Ford government. Member Statements, the member for Scarborough Rouge Park. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a representative of Scarborough Rouge Park, home to the largest Tamil community in Ontario, the recent appointment of Mahindra Rajabhaksa as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka without any justice for crimes against humanity and Tamil genocide is extremely alarming for the protection of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Mahindra Rajabhaksa and his government were responsible for a campaign of horrendous crimes at the peak of the Tamil genocide in 2009, including massacres, rapes, tortures and abductions which left tens and thousands of innocent Tamil civilians killed, all with permanent physical disability and mental trauma. It once again demonstrates that justice and peace for Tamil seems to be forever delayed and the international community must not let this go. I urge our federal government to take practical and meaningful steps to ensure that an independent and international mechanism is established to investigate accusation of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Mr. Speaker, I also urge the federal government to take concrete steps to work with broader international community to bring forth a political solution that addresses the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member's statements? Member for Burlington. Thank you, Speaker. This morning when I was driving in to work, I was so touched by this story. Maddie Smith is a brave little Burlington girl born with cystic fibrosis and diagnosed last year with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She is undergoing treatment and is very much looking forward to the time when it's completed in June 2019. Then she came, used her children's Wish Foundation, and take her family to Disney World. Her mom, Carrie Lynn Smith, explained that Maddie, who is now in grade one, has a very meaningful extracurricular project she is working on, and she hopes to complete it by her sixth birthday. Instead of birthday presents, Maddie is hoping to raise 20,000 to give another child a Wish. I want another kid to be happy and wishes help make kids happy is exactly what Maddie said. She is only asking for $6 donations to match her age, have her birthday or anything with the number six in it, 36, 60, or even 600. This morning she was more than halfway toward 20,000 at $11,000. I think we can all understand how important it is for sick children and their families to have some really special time to look forward to. As Carrie Lynn said, the Wish and the vacation will be for the whole family and it is the whole family that struggles with the impact of a sibling with cancer. Maddie is a big sister, Alex, who is nine, and a baby brother, Clark, who is four. She sees the trip to Disney World as a time for them to celebrate together as a family and make new memories, a chance for the kids to feel carefree and just be kids speaker, to put all the difficult times behind them. I'll quote Carrie Lynn. Maddie is always thinking of others and looking for ways to do small acts of kindness. To her, if we raise $100 or $10,000, she doesn't understand the difference. As a family, we want to be able to return the generosity that has been shown to us. We're all touched by Maddie and I hope everyone he does donate. Thank you very much. That concludes the time we have this afternoon for member statements. Reports by committees.