 I move on to Member's statements. I recognize the member for Hastings, Lennox and Addington. Thank you very much, Speaker. Speaker, this is Bullying Awareness Week. In school boards across the province, classes are taking time to discuss ways to combat bullying in schools. The Center for Addictions and Mental Health reports that over one in five students have reported being bullied at school. Many of us in this house have experienced bullying as children or teens, or have children that have experienced it. Bullying can take many, many forms, including physical, verbal, written, or even cyberbullying these days. And typically, it's an aggressive behavior that repeats over and over again. The results are that children and teenagers may develop mental health challenges, social anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, or even a physical illness, all because of bullying. They may become ashamed or discouraged to paddle on the bully. So to all the parents out there, please watch for signs that your children may be the victim of a bully. They may not want to go to school or join in activities. They may act differently than they normally do. They may start to lose money or personal items. But most importantly, to the students across Ontario, please remember that you are not alone. Tell an adult you trust. Talk to your friend or your sibling about it, or call the KISS Helpline or text, connect to 6-8-6-8-6-8. We together can stop bullying across Ontario. For their statements, I recognize the member for Nickel Belch. Thank you, Speaker. Last night, I attended the retirement party for Patti Coates. Patti has been the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Canada's largest provincial labour federations from 2019 until two days ago. Thanks to her leadership, the OFL grew to represent 1.2 million workers in Ontario and 1,500 locals across 40 different unions. I first met Patti in 2015 when she was elected as Secretary-Treasurer of the OFL and she has not stopped impressing me ever since. Patti changed the OFL for the better. Her leadership style was completely different. She's a collaborator. She brings people together to cooperate to accomplish goals as a team. Patti is able to listen in sometimes pretty tense situations and hear what's unite us, not what divides us. She brings together those pieces that everyone agrees on, use them to unite allies with very different perspectives and priorities. Over the last four years under the leadership, the OFL was able to rally members toward the United Labour Movement. Patti's leadership came to the forefront last year when this government introduced Keeping Students in Class Act, an unconstitutional bill that was an attack on every union member, every worker, every student and every parent in this province. They won. The OFL under Patti's leadership brought together workers in a united front that forced this government to step back. I will miss you, Patti, but remember I kept your phone number. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Essex. Thank you, Speaker. Once again, it's a pleasure for me to stand and advise the assembly of some great things happening in the riding of Essex. As we know, one of this government's goals is to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. And one of the organizations that's going to help get to that goal is the Women's Enterprise Skills Training, or WEST, organization. WEST concentrates on giving skills and training women, especially women in underrepresented groups, in the skilled trades. And WEST has a collaboration with another great organization called Leuna. That's the Laborers' International Union of North America Local 625. Together, WEST and Leuna are going to help build the skills we need to build homes. All of this is made possible in part through a generous grant given to these organizations by the government of the province of Ontario. I want to thank the great people at Leuna and the great people at WEST, especially Rose Aguiano-Hurst, who's from my hometown of Amersburg, Ontario, for helping us help the people get the skills that we need to build 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years. Thank you. Thank you, the Member for Charles Center. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to speak about the insidious grip of extremism in its various forms taking hold in Ontario. It casts a dangerous and hateful shadow upon the very fabric of our society, Speaker. Trans students bullied and assaulted at schools, Indian residential school and Holocaust deniers in Bowdoin, Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues vandalized, Arabs wearing their kafias targeted, women wearing hijabs harassed and three generations of a London family murdered because they were Muslim, by a driver radicalized by the dark web and extremely hateful rhetoric from ultra-conservative politicians. White supremacy with its wild ideologies seek to assert dominance, tearing apart the rich tapestry of our multicultural landscape. Transphobia and homophobia deny individuals the fundamental right to live authentically and without fear. Antisemitism and Islamophobia propagate hate and discrimination against religious communities, creating a climate of insecurity and prejudice. We must combat these ideologies vehemently through legislative action, education and community engagement. Let us work together across party lines to eradicate extremism. Let us denounce and outlaw disinformation campaigns which breed misogyny, radicalization, white nationalism and domestic terrorism. Our actions today can ensure that unity and inclusivity prevail. Thank you very much. Thank you. Member Statements? The Member for Bruce Ray Owen Sound. Thank you Speaker. Colleagues, yesterday Sharif Rahman of Owen Sound was honored as the 2023 recipient of the YMCA Peace Medallion. This award recognizes special people who commit time without special resources, community status or money to promote and build a better community for us all. Sharif is a very deserving winner of this award. Sadly though, he is receiving this award posthumously. Sharif grew up in Bangladesh, attained a master's degree at the University of Glasgow and lived in England before moving to Canada in 2013. He bought the Curry House in downtown Owen Sound in 2015. Sharif always looked for ways to help others in the community and did so in so many ways. But on August 17th, everything changed. Sharif was the victim of an assault outside his restaurant after a dispute with three customers who refused to pay. The assault left him unresponsive and on life support. A week later, he died. He was 44. The Owen Sound community was deeply impacted by this event. The night before Sharif's passing, hundreds of people walked silently through the downtown. Many stopped at the Curry House to place flowers and shed tears. The YMCA of Owen Sound, Gray Bruce, praised Sharif's unwavering dedication to the community, the genuine warmth with which he touched the lives of everyone he encountered. Thank you, Sharif, for all you did for others, always thinking of those around you before yourself. May you rest in peace. Member Statements. Member for Sudbury. Thank you very much, Speaker. Today I want to talk about learning disability awareness flag, awareness month flag raising that I went to by the Learning Disability Association of Sudbury. It got me thinking about my son, my son Sam. When he was in grade three, my son Sam hated going to school, absolutely hated it. There was a supply teacher who was so difficult for him because he felt stupid that we let him stay home with supply teachers there for more than one day. The thing is that Sam had a learning disability, he was undiagnosed at the time, but because of that, although he was a very bright young man, he felt like he was stupid, Speaker. And it's organizations like the Learning Disability Association of Sudbury that worked with my son to help with adaptations so that he could be strong, successful as a student, like they do with many students. At the flag raising, we had members there from Sudbury 5, the basketball team, Sudbury Wolves are a local hockey team, and one of the members when he spoke, he said, we all play for Sudbury. And I love how that resonates to me, Speaker, the importance of what we all play for Sudbury and that these kids with learning disabilities can be so successful, so incredibly successful with the right adaptations, the right way of looking at things, the right way of helping them to learn the way that they're designed to learn. The Speaker, my son Sam, many years later, now almost 26, my son Sam is going to be graduating, and next year he'll be a teacher, and he'll have that knowledge and information going forward, reaching other kids who learn differently just like he did. Thank you very much, Speaker. Member Statements, the Member for Mississauga. Being inclusive means embracing diversity with open arms, valuing every voice to foster belonging for people with different abilities. It's about creating spaces where everyone feels respected, heard and appreciated. December 3rd marks the UN International Day of People with Disabilities. Despite strong job market in 2022, the employment rate for 16 to 64 years old with disability was 15 points below those without disabilities. As we look forward, marking the state, I want to emphasise the importance of supporting people with disabilities by removing barriers, by providing equal opportunities, access and support to thrive in their chosen careers. That is why, Mr Speaker, Ontario Government is supporting over 3,700 individuals with disability to gain meaningful employment by investing $6.5 million through SDF. Additionally, Government is supporting businesses to champion the cause with the discoverability roadmap, enhancing inclusivity through enabling change programme. In Mississauga-Malton, Jake's House Employment Training is an innovative, adaptable programme that supports individuals with disability to enter the workforce in the field like construction and security. Thank you Jake's House and everyone for working together to build inclusive communities and to make change for the better. Together, let's nurture every dream, ensuring inclusivity is not just a buzzword, but a cornerstone of success. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Member Statements. The Member for Ajax. I want to take a moment to acknowledge two amazing women in Ajax that have been an example of leadership and compassion. Pastor Frederica Walters from the Christian Life Outreach Centre and Elaine Gardner from Durham Region. Both of these women, along with others, have continued to vote themselves to ensure the smooth transition and integration of refugees arriving in Ajax and Durham. Many of us witnessed a plight of refugees on Toronto streets earlier this year and even though this is still an ongoing concern, these women rallied together and galvanized the community to support these newcomers in Ajax. Their unwavering commitment stems from a profound empathy and understanding of the hardships faced by others, flee and conflict and persecution, with boundless energy and a warm welcome in spirit. They orchestrated various initiatives aimed at providing essential resources, language assistance and emotional support for these newcomers to my community. Many thanks as well to our Ajax Welcome Centre and our Armenia and her team who worked closely with these wonderful ladies to facilitate and support the initiatives. Whether organizing community gatherings to foster connection or spearheading educational workshops, they have been an amazing team. Putting together resumes, applying for jobs, they exemplify the true essence of empathy and solidarity, inspiring others in Ajax to join hands, embracing and empowering the newest members of our community. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you, Member Statements, the Member for Scarborough-Gilwood. Mr Speaker, our young people in this province are all concerned for their future in this province. I have spoken to so many young people in Scarborough and here's what they tell me. Life is unaffordable. They have more student debt than ever because the Conservatives cut all sub-brands. They don't make enough to buy food, to pay rent and pay back their student loan. They cannot move out of their parents' homes because the cost of rent is so high and this government has not built affordable housing. Our young adults deserve to be able to live independent lives but instead we are seeing them driven to food banks. We all want a better future for our kids but they can't afford to thrive here anymore in Ontario. Many of them are leaving our province, abandoning Ontario because Ontario is abandoning them. But I want the young people of our province from Scarborough and beyond to know I am here to always fight for them. They are our future now and they are our future generation to come and our leaders for tomorrow. Thank you Member Statements. The Member for Sault Ste Marie. Thank you Mr Speaker. One of the things I get to really enjoy I think we all should hopefully take time to enjoy and I trust we all do. At this time of year we as elected officials get to participate in our Santa Claus parades in a lot of our communities across the province. In Sault Ste Marie we had our annual Santa Claus parade that is hosted by our Rotary Club of Sault Ste Marie this past Saturday. And I had a great time participating in that. We put a float together. I want to thank my staff, Kathy and Jen and Edie for working so hard to put it together. And I want to thank my mom, Lena and my kids, Jayden, Jackson and Jarrett who participated with me and walking down the street. Queen Street in Sault Ste Marie and handing out candy canes to thousands. I think we distributed just shy 3500 candy canes on Saturday. But one of the fun moments is being able to participate with your family I find in these parades. Getting to walk up and down the streets and shake hands with the members of your community. It is a fun moment that I think we all have as elected officials. I trust so many of you enjoy that as well. Of course the one drawback Mr. Speaker as I'm sure you've seen your fair share of parades as well is you never in my kids point this out as we're always leaving the parade route. That's when you actually see the floats as everybody is dismantling them along the parade route. You don't get to see them Mr. Speaker but it's fun to participate. And welcome Santa Claus to town. Thank you. Member statements. Member for new members. Is it a border? Point a border or no? Member statements. We're done.