 It is now time for a member's statements. I recognize the member for University of Rosedale. Yesterday, I delivered a letter to the Attorney General from over 200 members of the legal community demanding that the government reverse its devastating cuts on legal aid Ontario. Today, I want to share another example of this government's attacks on supports for our most vulnerable. Downtown Legal Services is a legal clinic at the University of Toronto in my writing that serves students as well as low income households. At the same time, it provides law students with hands-on experience and training. But the clinic now faces an uncertain future because of this government's choices. I want to read from a letter they sent me. I quote, For nearly 50 years, we have proudly offered free legal advice and representation. In the past several months, the government has put all three of our funding sources in serious peril. Student levies represent more than a third of our budget and the Conservative Student Choice Initiative could wipe out that funding completely. At the same time, Legal Aid Ontario faces a 30% funding cut and mandatory tuition cuts and that have eliminated the ability of the Faculty of Law to replace any lost funding. And without Downtown Legal Services, countless students and households across Toronto would face convictions for crimes they didn't commit, preventable evictions from their homes, unfair termination from their jobs and deportation. But legal clinics like Downtown Legal Services existed every law school across Ontario. I join them in calling on the Premier and his colleagues to immediately reverse the cuts and to include legal clinics in the list of essential university services. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements. Member from Arkham Unionville. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Over the past month, I have met with many of my constituents and local stakeholders regarding the Ontario Autism Program and how services can be improved while still remaining physically responsible. Our government and our Minister of Children, Community and Social Services, the Honourable Lisa McLeod, has proven our commitment to support children with autism in our province with the creation of an expert panel on needs-based supports. These 20-member panels will be collectively provide recommendations to our Minister on the best way to implement and utilize the feedback that the Minister has received and will receive from further consultation over the coming months. Mr Speaker, I am proud to stand by the Minister and would like to announce that I too will be hosting a roundtable in my writing to receive input and feedback from my constituents and local services providers on June 8th from 1-3pm at the Angus Glen Community Centre. We understand the importance of OAP and we will continue to work tirelessly on this file. I applaud our Minister for her hard work on this file. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements. Member for Kingston and the Islands. Thank you, Speaker. On the 20th of August 2018, a 15-year-old high school student began striking from school demanding that the Swedish government take action on the climate crisis. Since that fateful day, Fridays for Future has grown into a global movement that I believe has the momentum to change the world. That student, Greta Thunberg, has since addressed the European Parliament, the British Parliament and the United Nations. She has graced the cover of Time Magazine. For frank and honest testimony, has captured the attention of the world and for the first time since the origins of the climate crisis some 40 years ago, we may see action that matches the scale of the emergency we face. Youth are striking for their future, for the right to have the opportunities of their parents and grandparents, and they are a growing cacophony. The May 24th strike had over 1.6 million participants in 125 countries, with 4,199 actual strikes. In response to the movement, UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres said, my generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is felt deeply by young people, no wonder they are angry. To the youth across the world, thank you. Do not stop, ever. Don't accept it if they say we can't, because what they mean is we won't. Demand action now and always. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Brampton West. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, commuters in the GTA experienced the worst commute times in North America and the cost of congestion to commuters and the economy in the GTA is expected to exceed $15 billion annually by 2031. This is an outcome of the negligence on the part of the previous government to invest in new transportation infrastructure for the last 15 years. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I tabled a motion in the legislature and called on the government to immediately resume the environmental assessment for the GTA West corridor to improve the region's transportation network, reduce travel times, and help alleviate traffic congestion across the GTA. Should the motion pass, the environmental assessment should resume at the point it left off in 2015. Mr. Speaker, completing the environmental assessment for the GTA West corridor would allow the government to build more transportation infrastructure in the future to meet the needs of commuters and businesses as our economy grows. U.S. President John F. Kennedy famously said, and I quote, American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good. Mr. Speaker, people in GTA and Ontario deserve a transportation network that benefits businesses, commuters, and families and shows the world Ontario is open for business. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements. Member for London North Centre. Speaker, recently I toured HealthZone, a nurse practitioner led clinic in London. I heard from patients and staff about their holistic approach to health. Rather than looking at singular diagnoses or problems, they consider the whole person, including mental health, in a multidisciplinary approach. Nurse practitioners led clinics to serve a seat at the table within the Ontario Health Team model. I urge this government to recognize NPLCs as primary care providers and ensure that if a person decides to receive primary care at an NPLC, then they should come off the HealthConnect list. Thank you for your great work, HealthZone. My good friend, Marilyn Gibson, passed away recently and was tremendously lucky to pass away in a compassionate and supportive home-like atmosphere at St. Joseph's Hospice in London. The building is thoughtfully designed, and through community programming, staff provide tremendous support for those on their grief journey after their loved one passes. Hospices currently receive only 50% of their operational funding despite saving the province $661 per day when patients enter a hospice instead of a hospital. Thank you to the amazing Sisters of St. Joseph and all the staff, volunteers, and supporters of St. Joseph's Hospice. We miss you, Marilyn. Thank you very much. Member Statements. Member for Guelph. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The 33rd annual Guelph District Multicultural Festival is happening this weekend, June 7th and 9th, at Riverside Park. This is an amazing event held every year to celebrate diversity and inclusivity, and it's one of the reasons I love Guelph. This year's theme is One World Living Together, and the festival delivers on this theme the vibrant and colorful traditional costumes of China, Puerto Rico, and Africa, the infectious drumming of carnival, and the food. Let me tell you about the food, fresh chile and salsa and burritos, Eritrean and Ethiopian stews, Indian samosas and tandoori, Caribbean roadie, and the best Syrian shawarma you'll ever eat. It was a privilege to be a part of the opening ceremonies last year as my first ever event as a newly elected MPP, literally the day after the election. I want to recognize the festival founder, Delfino Caligari, who ran the festival for 31 years as a volunteer. And I want to thank Mehar Parak, who is the festival's new executive director and all the volunteers, vendors and performers. Unfortunately, provincial budget cuts are threatening the festival, and so I hope people in Guelph come together so we can enjoy this festival for the next 33 years. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements to Member for Mr. Saga Mall. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's always a pleasure to rise. Mr. Speaker, empowerment in its simplest form can be understood as a gesture, both big and small, that help alleviate others to greater heights and overall happier, productive and peaceful life. Empowerment is an unstoppable force for good. While empowerment is important in order to support women, young and old, and self-actualizing their inner power, their next generation of empowered women leaders and change makers will transform our world. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to now recognize Sukhi Nijir from Watanado TV and Radio Network and an organization who has been organizing Tia Damela, a festival for over the past 15 years, thousands of women in GTA young and old look forward to this event every year and it has become a memorable community event. This event provides a space for all women to mix and mingle, have great entertainment, watch their singers perform, sample delicious food, learning and networking, overall a lot of fun and it is very important. As a community servant, it gives me a pride and great joy in knowing that the organizations like Watanadoor are in my riding of Mississauga Malton, they provide such a welcoming space to nearly 7,000 women and I had the opportunity to attend this event along with the two most powerful women in my home, my wife, Aruna Anand and my daughter, Suvidya Anand and we enjoyed it. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you Sukhi. Thank you, Member Statements, Member for Algoma, Manitoula. Well thank you Speaker and June is ALS Awareness Month, ALS is a terminal disease that gradually paralyzes people because the brain is no longer able to communicate with the muscles of the body that we are typically able to move at will. Despite advancements in research, the causes of ALS are unknown and 8 out of 10 people with ALS die within 2 to 5 years of being diagnosed. But there's hope Mr. Speaker and that hope is in Eddie LeFrançois. Eddie exemplified that hope during his life on this earth. Eddie would always say I have ALS but ALS does not have me. I want to thank Lise and Tsigira LeFrançois from Dubreville. Lise, merci beaucoup pour l'école d'Eddie. Thank you very much. You were the, he was the ambassador for ALS. Dollars, along with the community of Dubreville for research and development. Why? Because Eddie believed that we were so close and over the last 5 years huge steps had been taken in order to get us closer towards treatment for people with ALS. He also donated his tissues towards research and development. Some might say that Eddie lost his battle with ALS and I am so happy that Tammy Moore, the CEO with ALS is here with us today because she's going to remember this conversation that I had with her at Eddie's celebration of life. I turned around and we had a private chat and I told her Eddie took on ALS head on and he kicked the hell out of ALS is what he did and as Eddie would always say let's roll. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Cinco North. Thank you Mr. Speaker. There's only one thing more Ontarian than a trillion or a loon Mr. Speaker and that is the butter tart. A summer barbecue table farmers market or picnic in Ontario would be incomplete without these sweet and delicious treats. Since early pioneer times people in our province have baked up these uniquely Canadian delicacies for their families to enjoy during the summer months. Although I believe a house debate could be had for how gooey the filling ought to be or if raisins have any place in a butter tart I don't want to spark that divisive of a debate today. Instead I want to welcome everyone in this house and all their constituents to Midland this Saturday for the aptly named Ontario's best butter tart festival. On June 8th thousands of Ontarians will flock to the town of Midland in Cinco North to enjoy tarts from over 170 vendors and purchase tart themed clothes products and food which this year will include tart flavored bacon strips. Last year the festival attracted over 50,000 people to our town on Georgian Bay. This year's organizers expect more than 180,000 butter tarts will flood the streets of Midland. As a lifelong butter tart enthusiast I will be helping judge the traditional tarts competition alongside local dignitaries, food network stars, the festival's founder Barb Rollinson and other tart connoisseurs. I invite everyone to partake in the sweetest day of the year and visit Ontario's best butter tart festival in Midland this June 8th. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Member Statements. Member for Mississauga Centre. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Speaker every year in the month of June we mark ALS Awareness Month in Canada. ALS is more commonly known as Lugerd's disease after the famous New York Yankees first basement who was diagnosed with the disease. ALS gradually paralyzes those diagnosed with it because the brain is no longer able to communicate with the muscles of the body. Over time these muscles break down and people with the disease slowly lose their ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow and eventually even breathe. ALS Awareness Month is an important opportunity to raise awareness of this cruel disease. Our government is focused on building a more patient-centered healthcare system. One that will help people living with ALS access the care they need in a faster, more integrated fashion. Their doctors will be able to get them the care they need and share their medical records more easily as part of a larger team working to provide for their needs. I want all Ontarians living with ALS to know that their government is working to provide them with the best care possible in their fight against this disease. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. I understand the member for Mississauga-Malton has a point of order. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I just want to take a moment and recognize and welcome Parveen Dalal and Raki Dalal from my writing and Dr. Amit Narwal, Mani Narwal, Ayush Narwal, Shriya Narwal and Shashwat Narwal for the first time to Queen's Park. So welcome to Queen's Park. I understand the member for Mississauga-Streetsville might have a point of order. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'd also like to welcome today into the chamber Komolpal Singh. Aftar Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Sokina Jir, all from the media. Thank you very much for joining us today. Thank you very much. Reports by committees.