 time for Member Statements. Member Statement, I recognize the member from Toronto, Dan Horth. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, with its new COVID response scheme announced earlier this week, the government is reducing public protection against COVID with wider alert categories, even as cases, transmission and positivity climb and contact tracing and testing goes down. In the East End, Dr. Michael Warner from Michael Garan Hospital has warned the government's new system creates the preconditions for more illness and deaths. He warns it will create the preconditions for increasing the chance of future lockdowns, as we're seeing from the Conservative Government in the UK. It's a scheme that will cause the pandemic to be longer and deeper in Ontario. Once again, the government is behind the curve on COVID-19. Instead of fixing contact tracing and testing, staffing up long-term care homes and providing direct support to vulnerable communities and businesses, the government is continuing to sit on a pile of unspent COVID response dollars, badly needed by those businesses and communities. We do need a data-driven plan with clear benchmarks to beat the challenges of COVID-19, but that is not what we have with the government's announcement earlier this week. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Perry Salma Skokka. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like everything else, Remembrance Day is going to look very different this year. Some of the communities in Perry Salma Skokka are still going to have ceremonies, but with very few people in attendance. Earlier this year, we marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Unfortunately, we were unable to gather to show our appreciation to the soldiers who sacrificed so much for our freedom. Now, as we approach Remembrance Day, older veterans are among the people vulnerable to COVID-19, so there are few veterans out selling poppies. But the Legion and our veterans need our support more than ever. I encourage you to look for poppy boxes or see if your local Legion is selling handmade bass like the one I just had on. Or if you're not going out, the Legion has an online store where they sell poppy-themed items, including masks, and you can find that at www.poppystore.ca. Early in the pandemic, and even now, there are some people complaining about the sacrifices they are being asked to make to protect the rest of the community. As we remember the sacrifices of past generations, I hope that we can all see that being asked to stay home, avoid gatherings, and wear a mask is a small price to pay for the health of our friends and neighbors. This year, show your support for our veterans and active servicemen and women by taking part in a virtual Remembrance Day ceremony. While we stand apart this year, we remember together. Thank you. Member Statements. The Member for Waterloo. 4,000 Canadians die each year by suicide. 1,000 in Ontario. 11 deaths each day. This is an epidemic. Debbie McCurry lost her son, Greg, to suicide in 2017. Gregor is 28, and a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. As a mother, Debbie says she is just now finding the strength to fight for Greg and others who are suffering. She writes, when you lose a loved one to suicide, the wake of destruction that is left behind is staggering. Losing a loved one to suicide adds another complicated component to grief. It never leaves, never. It is with you always, it is purgatory on earth, but we have to be their voice. Margaret Simon also lost her son, Jason, to suicide at the age of 20. Suicide often comes with stigma and emotional labour, shock, denial, shame, guilt. We all deal with grief differently. These mothers have channeled their grief into advocacy. Parents are advocating for a universal crisis number, much like the US has established through legislation. When someone is in crisis, they need a clear path to compassion and mental health guidance plus resources. MP Charlie Angus's Bill to Establish a National Suicide Prevention Strategy passed in May 2019. It mandates the creation of a national online hub, providing essential information and guides to accessing services. To date in action has defined suicide prevention enough. We need the courage to act because no one should underestimate the strength of a parent's love. We must see action in Ontario and in Canada. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Member statements? The member for Sarnia Lampton. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to pay tribute to the late Wilma McNeill, a community champion in Sarnia Lampton, who passed away last February at the age of 88. Wilma entered every room with a vibrant energy, great sense of humour and positive spirit. She fought for many causes, but none so fearlessly. She did for Remembrance Day to be very instated as a holiday in Ontario. She worked tirelessly on this mission for almost 30 years and I'm sure every member in the House at some time or other received a letter on behalf of Wilma asking us to do this. This Remembrance Day will be the first since her passing. For anyone who had the pleasure of knowing Wilma, she is now part of the history of Remembrance Day. She became known not only in her community, but also to politicians at the municipal, provincial, federal levels all across Canada. Her friends like to say that she was, quote, a force to be reckoned with. End of quote. Everyone who met Wilma knows this to be true. Whatever the cause, Wilma's dedication and hard work were an inspiration for all of us on how to live our lives more harmoniously and make the world a better place for everyone. Mr. Speaker, in memory of Wilma, this Remembrance Day, the 75th anniversary, the end of the Second World War, I encourage everyone to pause and reflect on the sacrifices made by all the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces in conflicts around the world. It's what Wilma would have wanted. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. I am so proud to represent the people of the City of Windsor, the fourth most diverse city in all of Canada. In Windsor we have many community members and groups who contribute to the diversity and give back in countless ways. We have a generous, proud and engaged LGBTQ community and a thriving Muslim community. In fact, members of the Windsor Islamic Association have volunteered countless hours during the pandemic, organizing a grocery assistance program for the sick and the elderly. It is because of the compassionate, diverse community that I represent that I am sickened and outraged by the four government's desire to grant Charles McVeedy and Canada Christian College the ability to issue university degrees. McVeedy has a long, very public history of proudly espousing and promoting hateful, homophobic, transphobic and Islamophobic views. He has made hateful comments that are meant to hurt LGBTQ and Muslim members of my community, my brothers, sisters and siblings. The fact that Premier Ford has not only openly promoted his close friendship with McVeedy, but is now attempting to push through legislation to give McVeedy even more power and influence is abhorrent. Premier Ford has yet to answer for his personal relationship with McVeedy and has not backed down from this egregious plan. My NDP colleagues and I will continue to expose and oppose this repugnant direction from the Ford government. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends, neighbours and constituents against hate. Thank you very much. Members' statements? The member for Orléans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is the first week of Veterans Week. We have to remember those who died for our country. They made sacrifices that we can't imagine. They lived physical and mental trauma. As we know, many of them made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We cannot forget them. I would like also to talk about the legion in my writing of Orléans. Legions had to adapt and find new ways to collect funds. And I'm glad to see that their first week was a success. I'm proud to be a legion member. And I want to support the public campaign. To conclude, I would like to invite everybody to spend time this week to reflect on the sacrifices that were made by our veterans. Thank you. Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much. The member for Aurora. Thank you very much, Speaker. Next Wednesday on November 11th, we mark Remembrance Day, a day to honour and pay tribute to Canada's heroes, both past and present. In communities all over this province and throughout Canada, memories of conflict and memories of war live on in the hearts and minds of veterans and their loved ones. These brave women and men answered the call to serve and defend our homeland with courage and self-sacrifice, sometimes paying the ultimate price. Generation after generation, brave Canadians from cities and towns across this great land have stepped forward to fight for what they believe in and protect our way of life. They're always on watch and on guard for us, and we're forever grateful for their courage and patriotism. Speaker, I along with every person who called this great country home owe these brave men and women in uniform a great debt for all they have done and continue to do for us. Speaker, next week myself and countless of others will be visiting the Senate path in Aurora and Richmond Hill to pay our respect and show our gratitude to the countless of heroes who have served to defend our country at home and abroad. Every year starting November 1st, I proudly wear a poppy in honour of our service members, both past and present, who sacrifice so much to safeguard our freedom and our way of life. Speaker, I know this year Remembrance Day might look and feel different, but I encourage everyone to show our heroes we care by proudly wearing your poppy and generously donating to your local Legion. Speaker, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and every other day we remember them, lest we forget. Member Statements, the Member for Scarborough Southwest. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, the latest COVID-19 regulations in every effort made by this government have undermined the importance of protecting vulnerable across Ontario. The Ministry of Education has proposed sweeping changes to Ontario's child care system that will put our children at further risk of not only COVID-19 but also neglect and lack of appropriate care. And this is being proposed while 125 child care centres have permanently closed. This government is trying to quietly deregulate child care and weaken child care quality by placing younger children into larger groups with fewer qualified staff. They're increasing maximum sizes for infants, toddlers and preschool children without additional staff or supervision. They're quietly removing qualification requirements by allowing non-ECEs and those who are deemed to be non-qualified persons to be automatically be categorized as qualified. Mr. Speaker, we're talking about our little ones. These changes are extremely dangerous, but even more so with the added public health and safety threats posed by COVID-19. Now, more than ever, we need to invest in the safety and quality care for young children and make child care more affordable for our families. Across access to safe and sustainable child care infrastructure is the only way to ensure Ontario is on the road to a recovery or, in fact, a sheet covering that does not leave anyone, especially women and children behind. I'm calling on this government to listen to the families and child care workers who want maximum safety in the care of our children across this province. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Willowdale. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I think all members of this House will agree that objectively, Willowdale is the best riding in the country. But it does have its challenges. For example, Mr. Speaker, my riding has hit its provincial growth targets for the year 2041. And being a very geographically small riding, this has led to some challenges up and down Young Street. I want to talk about one this morning with you, Speaker. Young Street is the world's longest street. The 401 is North America's busiest highway. But when you drive south on Young Street and you want to get onto the 401 East, you have to ramp up to turn left at a traffic light. Speaker, imagine the traffic congestion that this creates in the mornings during rush hour and in the evenings when people are trying to get home. Speaker, I've been driving since 1993 and I've waited months of my life waiting to turn left onto that 401 East, Mr. Speaker. It's a challenge not just for Willowdale's but for the people who come from the north to get to work as well. That's why I am absolutely thrilled to announce, Mr. Speaker, that this project, building the young 401 ramp, has received stage one planning approval. Thank you. And I want to thank our Associate Minister of Transportation, our Minister of Transportation, the city for wanting this to get done. The city and the province will cost share the EA, a necessary step in getting this thing built and alleviate the traffic congestion in the great riding of Willowdale. Thank you, Member Statements. The Member for Peterborough, Coortham. Thank you, Speaker. As we near remembered state, I want to acknowledge an exceptional veteran in my riding. Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Leanne Quinn of the HACPs has dedicated her life to serving our country. For 23 years, she was a military nurse where she rose to the rank of major. She served four tours in Yugoslavia, Somalia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. And since returning to her home in Peterborough, she served our community tirelessly and has become an it-spoken advocate for our veterans. Colonel Quinn will be honored on November 12th by the Governor General of Canada. She'll receive the Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers in recognition of her leadership role with the Peterborough Chapter of the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping and her role as co-founder of Salam Peterborough, an organization that sponsored several Syrian refugee families. Colonel Quinn continues to work as a nurse practitioner with the Peterborough Family Health Team and is recognized as a gifted athlete. She's actually been inducted into the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario College's Athletic Association Hall of Fame. Although Colonel Quinn is notoriously humble about her accomplishments, today I get the honor of saying thank you for her dedication to our community. Colonel Quinn, you truly are an exceptional person. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements for this morning and I