 It's now time for Member's Statements. Member for University of Rosedale. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to tell you about Alexei Chatsialis' day last Tuesday. Alexei left his rental home at 12 Glen Road in the morning to get vaccinated, to protect himself, his two children, and his community from getting COVID-19. When he got home, he found he couldn't enter. His landlord had removed his belongings and changed the locks on the door. Can you imagine, as a parent of two small children, being illegally locked out of your home with no notice? This is an illegal lockout. His landlord is breaking the law. Alexei contacted our office very upset, and we began following the recommendations on the government's website on what to do when a tenant is illegally locked out of their home. We called the police. The police said, there's nothing we can do. Now, this is the very police board that went to York South Western over a dozen of them to try to evict a tenant, but when the police are called to enforce the law for a tenant, nothing they can do. We called the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, whose job is to investigate issues like this, and they said they'd look into it, but it will take a few weeks. What's Alexei supposed to do in that situation? So then we called the Landlord Tenant Board, the Housing Court, to ask them to expedite this crisis situation for Alexei. They've got no response. So if you're a landlord that wants to evict, right now, your applications are fast-tracked, but if you're a tenant that has been illegally locked out of their home, too bad. This has got to change. Thank you. Member for Stormont, Dundas, South Glen, Gary. Thank you, Speaker. It arrives today to bring attention to the innovative partnership efforts of the municipality of South Dundas and a group of students enrolled in the game programming at St. Lawrence College. The collaboration was born after South Dundas Tourism Advisory Committee thought it would be a great idea to offer an app that would allow visitors to get to know the tourism destinations within the township. They'd realized that the traditional tourism information booth has its limitations, especially during a pandemic. From there, Municipal Economic Development Officer, Rob Hunter, recruited game developer students for the professor coordinator, James Dupuis. With the app nearing its launch at the end of May, I want to congratulate all involved, especially students Pedro Luchicnik, Bridget Dimmers, Rory LaCale, William LaFleur, Aidan McDonald, Daniel Repo, and Nick Voss. The app, which will be launched in late May, will be available to download from Google Play and the Apple Store. Users are encouraged to visit various sites around the township and collect badges to unlock awards and achievements. I'm sure the experience will be helpful in their journey to a rewarding career. Speaker, these are just some of the great achievements being undertaken by the students of Stormont, Dundas, and South Hungary. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next member is David, Commander for Ottawa Center. Thank you, Speaker. I rise this morning with profound sadness in my heart because the violence that's erupted in the Holy Land in Palestinian communities and Israeli communities is truly heartbreaking. Speaker, this is not a conflict. This is a massacre. This is a moment when people of conscience around the world have to stand up and do what I'm so proud of our federal leader, Jagmeet Singh, has done. Jagmeet has called for an end to armed shipments to the State of Israel, because in a Palestinian community last week, armed settlers and army from the State of Israel walked in and started to throw six families out of their homes. And that kind of practice has been going on for decades and too few voices in Canada have spoken up against it. Speaker, Canadians have a unique responsibility around colonialism. It is the history and present of this place where we have maintained colonial practices with the indigenous peoples of this land. We have an obligation, uncomfortable as it may be sometimes, to speak truth to our friends around the world and to ask them to end institutional racism and institutional colonialism. I want to say very clearly. I stand for the first time in the community. Minister for Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, please come to order. Start the clock. We'll allow the member to complete a statement. I stand in solidarity this morning with the people of Gaza who are being massacred before our eyes and I call on the Premier of this province to join me. Member Statements, the member for Brantford Branch. Good morning, Speaker. The pandemic has changed the way that our cities and communities conduct many of our regular events, but it has not changed our community spirit. Case in point is the Clean Brantford Campaign launched in my writing. Community cleanup projects are a common springtime activity across the province, but with the current restrictions in place, these are no longer an option. The City of Brantford, recognizing the value of these yearly cleanups has pivoted. The ongoing Clean Brantford initiative is meant to encourage individual and collective responsibility, helping to keep our city clean. Residents of Brantford are being asked to pick up litter on their own or with their households in their neighborhoods and streets fostering a sense of pride for where they live. Tied into this, the city recently installed solar powered waste containers in the downtown core and with a compacting capability, the volume these waste containers can hold is significantly higher than regular garbage bins. These were purchased with funding through our government's Main Street Revitalization Fund. Inspiring the next generation to care for and preserve their environments, the city has also opened an art contest for local elementary and secondary students. Works of art promoting litter reduction will be selected and posted on the downtown waste bins, calling attention to the need to preserve our beautiful city. I commend the City of Brantford for their initiative in this program. Thank you, Speaker. All right. Member statements, the number for Algoma Manitoula. Thank you, Speaker. And I want to introduce you to the women of Song. Louis O'Henley-Jones, Debbie Rivard and Patty Dunlop, are ladies that were brought together by family tragedy and loss through Alzheimer's disease. But their new album on the LP, Life of a Woman and their new single, I Knew Her When, is hitting the charts. Women of Song are based out of a small town in Blind River and began performing together over 20 years ago after a conversation over a kitchen table. Their new LP, 13 Track Album, and in their words, reflection of the reality of our lives, it speaks to women having a career and a family, having arguments with their children, having children leave home, and ultimately that they are good enough. The album is a perfect homage to women, to the life of a woman as the title suggests. Along with the rest of the album, but I Knew Her When was written, recorded, and produced in Blind River at the local Riverview Studio, which many refer to as the Nashville of the North. I've listened and heard these ladies. I've been part of a group where they've blessed us with their songs. Their harmony touches you. It's a little bit of folk pop and some country music, but it always will get to you and you're going to be laughing by the end of the evening. These ladies are fabulous. Look them up. Member statements. The member for York Center. Thank you, Speaker. It's time to end this charade. This deadly experiment, this government is putting Ontario through. They have to live under a rock not to see the harm the lockdown is causing. This draconian measure has never been used before. Fine, don't read the literature like Kyrie Jofi or Simon Frazier. Just look at the numbers yourself. The Delta and overdoses, the mental health data, the effect on children, the economic devastation to small business, and look at how ill-conceived it is. The stay-at-home order, no one's home. You can go to a crowded Walmart but not play tennis outdoors. Stores can be open, sell some items, not other items. Is this for real? People are laughing at this government, but mostly they cry from this government because instead of saving lives, they're killing people and mostly two classes of people, kids and small business. Let's draw. And why? Draw and conclude. I didn't hear it, conclude your statement. And why are they doing this to children and the self-employed? Because of polling, because of politics. Most of them agree with me that lockdowns are deadlier than COVID. Speaker, the Premier agrees with me, but they keep up the charade and they do it all for politics because they don't wanna admit they were wrong, because they can't justify the last eight months. They keep pretending to be saving us. Many do know, but they're afraid to lose their jobs, cabinet, PA ships, paycheck, shame on them. The public always thought that politicians don't tell the truth, but this government did much worse. Now the public believes their elected representatives won't stand up for them. We'll stand up, we'll stand up. Remember, we'll withdraw, withdraw. Withdraw. Time's up. The next statement, the member for Hastings, Lennox and Adington. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This has been a time like no other in Ontario history. Life and death decisions are and have to be made daily, but not just by doctors, nurses and governments, but all of us. Fortunately, research has carried on while the rest of us tried to go but our lives. Researchers developed new vaccine approaches in an unprecedented timeframe. Those breakthrough vaccines are now saving lives worldwide, along with, of course, more traditional vaccine approaches in addition. And it was commonly thought always in the past that big breakthroughs, they were just that, a thing of the past in most fields, and that incrementalism was the only thing we could expect. But the research and development scientists and doctors have kept at it behind the scenes, and their work is now saving millions of lives and making a normal Ontario summer now a possibility for this year. So of the great number that we can salute for the past year's selfless efforts across the entire health field, I want to give a shout out today to the researchers in Ontario and across Canada who have kept their eye on this ball and they are putting that light at the end of our tunnel. That's why they pursue their dreams and that's why our governments fund, peer and applied research. So thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now let's produce COVID vaccines here in Canada. Next, we have the member for Davenport. Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Small and independent businesses in Toronto and in my writing of Davenport have been creative, responsive, ready to do their part during this pandemic, but they have been saddled with increasing debts, lost stock, and in too many cases, outright closure. For those still staying hanging on, the small business support grant was a chance to stay afloat. But as I've raised many, many times over many months after this grant was unveiled, businesses in Davenport are still waiting for the help. We call and call, we write and write and nothing. A constituent wrote to me to plead for help after being denied the grant and after promised emails explained the appeal process would come and it never did. She told me, being a low income hairstylist, I can't begin to tell you how much this grant would have helped me get back on my feet business-wise and health-wise, I'm beyond devastated. A restaurant owner wrote to me to say, in March, when the premier once again shut us down after less than a week of allowing patio dining, he promised a further $20,000 for beleaguered restaurants. My question is, where is it? Two months in a year and I haven't yet received the funds and I know that I'm not alone. Speaker for our economy to rebound, workers need jobs to come back. We need our local businesses to be there when the restrictions finally lifted. It's time to stop making these small business owners jump through hoops and get them the support they need before more of them close. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. The next member's statement, the member for Kitchener, Conestoga. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. May is a special month for our first responders. On the fourth, we recognize International Firefighters Day. Last week was National Police Week and coming up from the 23rd to the 29th is Paramedic Services Week. I have an enormous amount of gratitude for these men and women who serve my community and will gladly stand with them any day of the week, Mr. Speaker. But I wanted to take this chance to recognize all they have done for the past 426 days. They have been asked to go above and beyond to help with testing and vaccine rollout while also performing their very essential duties. I don't get as much of a chance to chat with the boots on the ground with the stay-at-home order in place that we have here in the province right now, but I have joined Waterloo Region Police Services for several ride-longs and hope to get a chance to do that again very soon. It's always an honor to connect with Police Chief Brian Larkin, Chief of Paramedic Services, Stephen VanValkenberg, and all of our regional fire chiefs, especially Dale Martin, Paul Redman, Rod Leeson, and Bob Gilmore, who lead the forces in my riding, Mr. Speaker. Speaker, you typically don't call 911 because something really great just happened. But when you need to, Waterloo Region can count on these leaders and every member of their force to do all that they can to protect their families. Again, thank you to every first responder out there, whether you are actively serving the community or have hung up your uniform for the last time. I am proud to be a member of a government that will be there for you, just like you are for my family. Thank you, Senator. Member Statements, the member for Willowdale. Thank you very much, Speaker, and good morning. I rise today to recognize that May is Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month. For those who don't know what Cystic Fibrosis is, let's just say that you're lucky. Cystic Fibrosis, or CF, is a progressive genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. CF is one of the most common genetic fatal diseases in our society. CF causes a buildup of thick and sticky mucus in various organs, and in the lungs, the mucus clogs the airways and traps germs leading to infections and ultimately respiratory failure. But there is hope, Speaker. Hope for relief or even a cure from this deadly disease. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a manufacturer of Cystic Fibrosis drugs and has recently submitted an application to Health Canada for the drug Trikafta to be accepted for priority review. A constituent of mine, Jennifer, said her daughter, Allison, was able to be part of a study and has had access to Trikafta. She said it made a night and day difference in Allison, and I'm encouraged to say that Ontario's health minister stated recently in these chambers that once Trikafta is approved by Health Canada and goes through the three-step process of approval for new drugs in Ontario, she has committed to moving quickly to make sure that Trikafta, as well as two other drugs already in the pipeline, once approved, are funded through Ontario's drug benefit program. I want to thank all of the members in this chamber for advocating on behalf of people living with CF. Let's help Allison lead a happy, healthy, and long life. That concludes our member's statements for this morning.