 It's now time for Member's Statements. The Member for Mishkegawak James Spade. Well, see, Mr. President, I rise in the House today to speak about the crisis that is currently affecting luck truckers in Northern Ontario. Luck truckers are vital for the sustainability and development of the forest sector. They are the ones that transfer the primary resource from the Boyal Forest through forest access roads. In a large portion of luck trucking companies, in my writing, are family-owned, which means that there are small independent contractors. Luck trucking is, to put it bluntly, a family business that is passed on from generation to generation. But the current insurance regulatory framework is killing the industry speaker. Ontario's legislation has imposed three-year benchmark for luck truckers, which means that young drivers or anyone wishing to enter the business must be a premium. That goes as high as five times more than those paid by experienced truckers. Speaker, these family business are simply shutting down because they cannot afford paying thousands and thousands of dollars for ensuring premium every year. And the youth in the area are simply quitting their family business because they see how much effort and how little return their parents obtain. I'm thus calling on the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry to listen to the luck trucking community. This issue is hurting hundreds of hard work and families in Northern Ontario. Thank you. Blessings, Mr. President. Member Statements. The Member for Mississauga East Cooksville. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise in the House to talk about an issue that is near and dear to me, which is bullying. More specifically, cyberbullying. Mr. Speaker, our province has seen an increase in the number of cases of cyberbullying. Sometimes the effects of cyberbullying can cost a life. As a father and parliamentarian, I want my children and everyone in this great province to be protected and empowered against all forms of bullying, especially cyberbullying. I'm proud of the leadership of the great Minister of Education who is taking proactive steps to ensuring that we end bullying of all forms, including cyberbullying in and outside of the classroom. Just last week, our government took action to root out bullying in our schools with one aim, keeping Ontario's students safe. On November 27, the Minister of Education assigned a former teacher, the member from Scarborough Centre, to advise the Minister on matters with a focus on bullying prevention. This is the right step to stopping bullying and cyberbullying. Our government is working to change the culture to one where everyone sees the inherent dignity and the value of a person irrespective of their faith, heritage, orientation, race or income. Mr. Speaker, together we can stop bullying and cyberbullying in Ontario with more education, not just for our youth, but to all on its danger. Lastly, I want to thank the Minister and our government for working hard to protecting Ontarians and our future generation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, the member from Niagara Centre. Thank you, Speaker. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the people who make all of this possible. I learned a long time ago you're only as good as your staff, and my constituency assistants are in the house today. Mike Haynes, Marie Chamberlain and Matthew Menja. Mike Haynes became a constituency assistant in our riding back in 2006 with Peter Cormos. Marie started nearly 15 years ago with Cormos in the same office, and we are fortunate to have Matthew join our team this year. They joined my excellent EA, Caitlyn Hipkis, and I to form a great team. In Welland we have people lined up in the morning, and a lot of the time that line doesn't end all day. They consistently help the most vulnerable in our community, navigate some very complex issues. Just this year we advocated for Joe Seriani, who's four-year-old son, has been waiting ten months for government funding for ABA therapy. They've helped Peter Grampolo, who is waiting months for home care services. After a man in our community was assaulted in a long-term care home, they worked hard to get him relocated to a new home and reunited with his wife. We've helped a person who had a golf ball, a size brain tumor removed, needed it removed, and he was suffering seizures. Last month he successfully had his surgery. So today I want to thank and acknowledge them for all the hard work they do to ensure the people of Welland, Thorold, Port Coburn and South St. Catharines receive all they deserve from our government. I'm truly honored to work with such a great staff. Thank you very much. Member statements? Member for Perry, Salma, Skolka. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise in the House today to share what our government is doing to help families and communities impacted by layoffs at Bombardier and Thunder Bay. The Ministry of Labor, Training and Skills Development has been working with both Bombardier and Union representatives to ensure that every worker gets the services they need to help them quickly rejoin the workforce. Our government has contributed more than 600,000 to support the Bombardier Transportation Action Centre. This centre will connect laid-off workers with local job and training opportunities, will also provide practical assistance with things like resume, writing and counselling. The goal of this one-stop shop is to provide laid-off workers with programs and services that are adopted to meet the unique circumstances of their situation. Supporting these workers involves collaboration. That is why our government is working with our federal counterparts, the local economic development corporation and other provincial ministries, to connect affected workers to local and regional job opportunities. I am hopeful that our government's historic investments in transit will result in new contracts for Bombardier and the recall of these workers. But in the meantime, I know we are doing everything we can to help them access re-chaining for other jobs. Our government stands shoulder to shoulder with these workers during this difficult time. These workers and the community of Thunder Bay are resilient. We are proud to support them as we continue to build Ontario together. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements and Member for Waterloo. Yesterday's Auditor General's report confirmed that the Ford government is doing nothing meaningful to address the climate crisis. In the best-case scenario, the government's plan will get them only 74% of the way to their target. In the worst case, they'll only make 36% of the way there. To add insult to injury, the Conservative government is 30 megatons lower than the previous target set by the last government. They've lowered the bar for themselves and still they can't reach it. The Auditor General published a laundry list of issues where the Conservatives just don't measure up. The number of species at risk is increasing. We haven't met our national or international commitments to protect land. We've lost three-quarters of our wetlands in southern Ontario. And what is this government doing about this? They're canceling green energy contracts at significant cost to taxpayers. They're ripping out electric vehicles charging stations. They're slashing home retrofit programs. They're fighting a price on carbon in court, a case that they will lose. Ontario is warming twice as fast as the global average. Inaction jeopardizes our human health, our economy, and our collective future. The Ford government needs to start listening to the science and put forward a real plan to tackle the climate crisis. The people of this province deserve so much better. Member Statements. The Member for Brantford Brands. Thank you Speaker. Once again, it's an honour to rise in the House and today I'm going to bring attention to a great event happening in Brantford. On Friday, December the 20th, Joan Minnery Enterprises, in conjunction with the Sanderson Centre will be holding the Gold Box Christmas Concert for our homeless. This concert will feature incredible performances by great local talent. And all of these performers will be bringing their abilities to bring Christmas cheer to the community and help raise funds to help those who need it most. Admission to this event is by donation. And every little bit counts. These at-the-door donations will go towards Rosewood House, a local charitable organisation which provides shelter for the homeless. Homelessness and the lack of affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues that we are faced with in Ontario. The money raised by this event will go towards helping those struggling with homelessness, housing and other challenges. The Gold Box Christmas Concert for our homeless is Friday, December 20th at 7pm at the wonderful Sanderson Centre right in downtown Brantford. This is a great event, with the proceeds going towards a fantastic local organisation and for an admirable cause. I would encourage everyone, if they are able, to attend if they can. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements. Member for Oshawa. Thank you, Speaker. I stand in this legislature as a proud educator. I taught abroad and then for many years in Durham District. I started my career at RA Senate Public School in Whitby, where I taught the kids from White Oaks and the neighbourhood. Many of our kids there were new Canadians and while they learned math and French and social studies, they were also learning to make their way in the community. Then I taught at Rosebank Road in Pickering. We had a great mix of kids and families and that little school, much like Senate, was a tight community. We made sure that the kids who didn't have as many opportunities at home got them at school. And finally, Speaker, I taught at Glen Street Public School in South Oshawa. I taught grades 7 and 8 on purpose because I love the spirit of that age. They believe in fairness and will fight for what they believe in and Speaker so will I. Every student deserves a path forward. Some have tough hurdles and they need more from their classroom education. They need support. They need time with their teachers. They need small group time and they need resources. Through the years, my kids needed shoes and lunch and money for class trips. They needed backpacks and notebooks and access to computers that work. I will always fight for strong public education and this premier wants to throw more kids in already full classrooms. Fewer teachers across schools means larger classes and fewer available courses, whether courses for post-secondary or hands-on trade courses. Cutting thousands and thousands and thousands of teachers is wrong and short-sighted. And enough with the nonsense about investing more than ever in education because, Speaker, that's spin. You're throwing teacher attrition money and childcare tax credits into the education funding bucket to make it look like it's full and it isn't. You're planning to starve our public education system and cheat our kids out of a bright hopeful future that they deserve shame on you. Thank you. Member Statements. Member for Whitby. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to address the steps the Ministry of Transportation is taking to help the residents of Whitby and Durham deal with the tolls on the highways 412 and 418. Tolls and tolls by the previous Liberal government. My fellow Durham MPPs and I have been long-time advocates for the removal of the tolls or reduction in toll rates on these highway links. However, Speaker, the Liberal tolls are difficult to reverse. Minor toll increases were cemented into the Liberal plan to build these highways and are part of their plan to toll these highways for the next 25 years. Speaker, the Minister of Transportation has directed Ministry staff to conduct a study to examine the economic impact of tolls on highway 412 and the future highway 418, including their reduction or removal. I'd like to thank the Minister of Transportation for listening to our constituents in undertaking this study. When completed, Speaker will help shape our government's next steps moving forward. Ultimately, Speaker, restoring fiscal responsibility to government finances is what we promise to people of Ontario and, Speaker, we're doing so, while improving transportation options across the province, including the region of Durham. Thank you, Speaker. Member Statements? Member Statements? Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Reports by committees. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.