 It's now time for members statements the member from Perth willing to thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker As a community we believe in extending compassion to those who most need it That's why end of life care for all ages and stages is essential That's why we've seen a groundswell of support for a new residential hospice in Perth County And that's why I strongly support the efforts of the Strafford Perth's residential hospice committee Since 2013 they have been working tirelessly They have been working to pursue the approvals and funding they need from the Southwest Lynn They've done their homework. They have engaged partners in and across Perth County and then in here in County in recent months I met with several times with committee members Annie Werner and Anne Fontana The community is fortunate to have their leadership on a project this important Many times I've expressed public support for this project and recently I wrote directly to the Minister of Health and long-term care. I Reminded him that the government has already committed 75 million dollars in funding for hospices and end of life care I also noted that his government recently committed to fund new palliative care beds in other communities But now we need him to come through for our community We need him to include Perth County in the first round of funding for the new hospice beds for under serviced areas If he does that we'll be first to apply. It's time to move on this project. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Thank You speaker speaker today I want to take a moment to remind everyone that September is childhood cancer awareness month While we have made much progress when it comes to fighting childhood cancer We still have far too many families having to wage correct courageous battles against this horrible disease and sadly Too many parents have to lay their children to rest in the province of Ontario Unfortunately cancer remains the number one disease related cause of children debt cause of death of children ages 0 to 14 in Canada over the last year Speaker my hometown of Bell River Bell River was touched and inspired by another little superhero Mason Macri was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer Mason was a huge fan of superheroes and a wonderful photo of Mason in his Batman shirt and cape was Featured in local media his bravery and his fight against cancer inspired people across our community and indeed across our country Mason was even honored by Don Cherry and Ron McClain on hockey night in Canada Sadly speaker this past June Mason passed the legacy. He leaves us is One that inspires us all to keep the fight In his name and in the name of so many young people who have taught us what true bravery bravery really means Mason Macri received a superhero send-off back home as many people in our community line the streets Dressed as superheroes to say a final goodbye the Canadian snowbirds forces did a fly-over To honor Mason and I stand here today to do my part to honor him as well as remind us all that the fight continues And to pledge that we won't give up until every child has the ability to say that they beat cancer. Thank you Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm here today to pay tribute to all the incredible volunteers Who belong to the multiple sclerosis association of Canada, and they're here today, and that's why we're all wearing the red carnations In Canada we have sadly mr. Speaker the highest rate of MS in the world over a hundred thousand Canadians are afflicted with MS and in Ontario there's about 37,000 people are living with this disease. I encourage my fellow members and Citizens across Ontario to advocate for income and employment support systems Which will ensure that those affected by MS will get the help they need as soon as they need it For quality and coordinated health care is also an integral part in ensuring that those living With MS and their loved ones can continue to live healthy independent and fulfilling lives Today we have Join the fight here in the legislature But as you know mr. Speaker in all of our communities there are friends relatives and neighbors they're fighting MS and The good news is that there are so many fantastic volunteers who are helping to raise money and to help those With MS so I salute everyone involved in flooding MS, thank you Mr. Speaker on September 12th the very first day the house resumed following government's decision to brogue the legislature I tabled six resolutions one of my resolutions in fact It's the very first item on the legislature's order paper calls on the minister of transportation to prioritize the highway 7 act and bypass project by placing it on the ministry's five-year plan for new highway construction the mayor of the town of Houghton Hills Rick Burnett Town council and staff have asked the minister to partner with town on a study to investigate alternatives for a long-term Transportation solution for truck traffic along highway 7 within the town of Houghton Hills This would include reviewing the idea for an act and bypass. I agree. It's a good idea Working together we have said that a bypass is needed in order to find a long-term solution to the problem of truck traffic along highway 7 There are also local concerns about traffic through Georgetown and Norville which needs to need to be studied and addressed I've raised this issue in the legislature several times also written to the minister of transportation many times and talked to him directly Last January I initiated and helped arrange a meeting with the minister and mayor Burnett regional chair Gary Carr and town staff In the boardroom of the minister's Queens Park office The minister led us to believe he would try to help on June the 8th He indicated in writing that ministry staff would assist with the terms of reference of the study Now the ministry needs to become a financial partner as well The region of Houghton is only continuing to grow and this problem will continue to get worse Unless we get together to find a long-term solution Let's get going. Thank you very much Thank you speaker I rise today to honor London West constituent and Western University nursing professor Abe Oodshorn This year's recipient of the Western Humanitarian Award this $5,000 annual award Recognizes Western faculty staff and students who are working to improve quality of life for people in communities around the world With the funds directed to the support of humanitarian efforts as the 2016 recipient Abe is donating his $5,000 award to the local agency all our sisters to help bring women with lived experience of homelessness to the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness Conference, which is being held in London this November Speaker I offer my profound thanks and congratulations to Western to Abe Oodshorn and to all our sisters First to Western University for having the foresight and the vision to harness the passion for change and the dedication of faculty Staff and students to building a fairer more just society Second to Abe for his leadership as chair of the London Homeless Coalition and for his unwavering commitment to putting knowledge into action He is an inspiration to his students and to Londoners showing what can be achieved when communities come together to tackle the complex health and social challenges of our time Finally to all our sisters for empowering women who have survived homelessness To become part of the solution to share knowledge expertise and ideas that will help others out of Marginalization and into stable housing. You are all heroes and we salute you all. Thank you speaker. Thank you So thank you, mr. Speaker I rise today to pay tribute to Antonio Sosa a true Portuguese pioneer and a role model to all Portuguese Canadians As the MPP for the riding of Davenport the riding with the largest population of Portuguese Canadians in Ontario and perhaps in Canada And as a proud member of the Portuguese community I was fortunate to have known mr. Sousa and his see his dedication to his community and to the community that welcomed him and his family Antonio Sosa was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word in 1953 Antonio left the oppressive regime in Portugal to start a new life in Canada And was one of the first Portuguese to immigrate to Canada a year later His wife Marie Antonia and their son Julio were reunited with him in Toronto their son Charles The Ontario Minister of Finance was born a few years later In Toronto on time Antonio founded a restaurant and a boarding house in Kensington market where he became the heart of the Community he worked tirelessly helping others that immigrated to Canada started a life in their new country By providing them with shelter more meals and a network to find employment His early involvement in the community and his work with newcomers paved the way for the Portuguese community today a Passionate member of his community Antonio Sosa co-founded the first Portuguese Canadian culture center now in my riding of Davenport and The range folklorico the necessary and he was a big supporter of many other Luzo Canadian associations Sadly a month ago today on August 29 2016 Antonio Sosa passed away peacefully At the beautiful service to celebrate his life Minister Sosa mentioned that on his father's 50th anniversary in Canada when asked what advice had he for the growing Portuguese community Antonio stated Something I learned in life and always tried to convey in my own way to many people, but especially to my children and now my grandchildren Always do your best and always try to give generously to others which you would like to receive We are all truly grateful for Antonio's generosity hard work and dedication to his community He will surely be missed and I know that his work and his legacy will live across the province as a true Portuguese pioneer Over the gods new soza fellow with Pena. Thank you Thank you very much mr. Speaker and I'm very happy that I have the students here from nitty boy to a Torah day school in Foreign Hill So that I can speak about Russia Shanna not everybody here knows exactly what Russia Shanna is all about So I'm going to start off by saying that this year in the Jewish calendar. It is the year 5,776 since the Jewish community began counting the years now Russia Shanna is mean literally means the head of the year So it's sort of like the Jewish New Year is how people commonly commonly refer to it But it's not celebrated like New Year's Eve at all New Year's Eve is kind of a silly and fun Celebration the Jewish community is going to be celebrating in synagogue It's a day of reflection a day of prayer the shofar which is from a ramsworms sort of sounds like a trumpet is blown a hundred times each day as long as it's not also the Sabbath and You know it is sort of a little bit like New Year's Eve In fact, we do have kind of the similar idea of resolutions Which it means you think back on the past year you think back to the future how you can make things better How can you can maybe make up for your mistakes? I think it's a great time for people if They have what we call in the Jewish community brogues meaning you're not talking to somebody It's a great time to shake their hand and make up and focus on doing better for the coming year So I'm gonna say the shana tova take a ticket to go to him Which means may be inscribed and sealed for a good year shana tova everybody who's celebrating Thank you Members from Hamilton East Stony Creek thank you speaker two weeks ago I met with several Hamiltonians for from the 15 and fairness campaign the campaign is asking for employment and labor law changes to better protect workers Particularly those in precarious employment the nature of the work is changing speaker The labor market is evolving Employment is being transformed, but for too many people it is not a change for the better People are working more than full-time hours and two or more part-time jobs and are trapped in a constant struggle Always waiting to be called for a shift waiting for the next day's schedule Unable to build a better future for the kids unable to even think about retirement and more often and not they are working for a Minimum wage and in which entrenched them in poverty instead of giving them the chance to provide for their families and Themselves on Saturday the minimum wage in Ontario increased by 15 cents Speaker that's a small step to keep up with inflation speaker But it is not enough to make a real difference to the lives of workers on the minimum wage It's time for Ontario to make sure that no one working full-time is stuck living below the poverty level 15 cents an hour won't cut it. It's time for a $15 minimum wage in Ontario Thank you to the 15 and fairness campaigners for your advocacy and the NDP caucus supports your call for $15 an hour minimum wage Thank you The member from Etobicoke Center. Thank you speaker speaker The TDSB has been considering for some time the sale of Silver Creek school in my community in Etobicoke Center And this is very concerning as Silver Creek is leased to two organizations the Etobicoke Children's Center and Silver Creek pre-school Both of which provide services to children with special needs The property also includes green space that is important to our community as MPP for Etobicoke Center I have done everything I can to protect these critical services for our most vulnerable children and to protect The surrounding green space and been working with members of our community like the friends of Silver Creek Etobicoke Children's Center and Silver Creek pre-school I've spoken in our community in this legislature met with several ministers of our government and TDSB Representatives to advocate for the protection of these services most importantly I've been working with our ministers and staff to ensure that the provincial government does everything possible This has led to a number of important steps first in the spring The government of Ontario wrote to the TDSB to express initial interest in the property Shortly afterwards the province committed to the protection of the services in the community and shortly after that The province launched discussions with the TDSB on the future ownership of the property Our community and I have also advocated with city officials to protect the green space and unfortunately the city Indicated recently that it won't be investing to protect the green space I didn't give up my advocacy there Mr. Speaker and two weeks ago at Silver Creek pre-school I was pleased to announce that my efforts have led to the government of Ontario deciding to focus only on whole site solutions In other words the province will not be considering solutions that involve severing the property or the green space Which is excellent news for our community I rise today speaker to thank my community for their passion and dedication to this cause and assure them that I will continue to Do everything I can to protect Silver Creek and these essential services in our community of Etobicoke Center. Thank you