 Now it's time for Member Statements, the Member for Timmons. Well, Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the Sainte-Couturelle-Laronne and Timmons who were successful in getting Heritage Fund to give them a million dollars in order to help in the reconstruction of the Sainte-Communautaire that we call the Sainte-Couturelle-Laronne and Timmons. They have worked hard, Mr. Speaker. There was a tragedy as far as fire that caused smoke damage in the building that we have been in for many, many years. In fact, I went to school there. It used to be called Holy Family. One half was English, the other half was French. But eventually it was bought by the Francophone community and it became our French Cultural Centre. And that owned is the largest Francophone Cultural Centre in Ontario and offer a lot of programming and do a lot of great things in our community. They have worked hard with a number of people at the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, at the Ministry of Tourism and others in order to be able to be successful and getting what eventually became a great announcement where Minister Rickford came to Timmons, came to our centre and we announced a million dollars for Sainte-Couturelle-Laronne. So on behalf of all of the people of Timmons, we say to Sainte-Couturelle-Laronne and everybody involved from the application process to the final approval, thank you and congratulations for your job well done. It's great to see projects like this moving forward in the city of Timmons. By working together, we can make great things happen. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Member Statements, the Member for Billings. I'm incredibly fortunate to have right on our doorstep one of the most beautiful, wonderful places I know, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the largest botanical garden in Canada, Speaker. For more than 80 years, the Royal Botanical Garden has been a truly awesome ecological jewel at the western tip of Lake Ontario. Founded by the early conservationist, Thomas Baker McQuestin, it is modeled on Q gardens in London, England. Royal Botanical Gardens was created to serve as both a regional botanical tourism site and an environmental agency that protects and preserves forests and marshes. As a national historic site, it has revered worldwide for its 400 acres of display gardens, as well as the stewardship of over 2300 acres of environmental sensitive lands and diverse ecosystems that connect to the Niagara Escarpment on Lake Ontario. It has established an international reputation as a living laboratory for science and connecting point for children in their appreciation of nature, a leader in sustainable gardening, and the standard bearer for ecological restoration and plant preservation. Royal Botanical Gardens also plays a vital role in educating school children about the importance of plants and natural and how they work together to protect health and health beauty on our planet. I am so proud and pleased that our government recently announced a major grant for $1.98 million for 2019-2020 through the Repair and Rehabilitation Capital Program to help ensure that this extraordinary local attraction and tourist destination remains world class in every way. I went as fast as I could, Speaker. Thank you, Member Statements. The Member for Oshawa. Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. Welcome back to the legislative assembly of Ontario. I know it has been almost five months since we were last here, but I for one am glad to be back advocating on behalf of my constituents. During the prolonged hiatus from this place, I met with many constituents and organisations. I did a lot of listening and I am bringing their voices and concerns back with me. I have every faith that many of the members of this House would have also gotten the straight goods and maybe an earful from the folks at home. I heard loudly and clearly from parents of children with autism who deserve needs-based funding. I met with parents of adult dependents with diverse special needs who are confined in hospitals and are unable to be appropriately housed by this government and this province. In Oshawa, we have tent cities, shocking child poverty and an opioid addiction crisis that is being faced by communities across the province. This government must recognise that this crisis is a health epidemic and approach it purposefully and strategically to ensure all Ontarians have the support that they need so that they can be well and safe. In Oshawa, we have workers facing a very uncertain road ahead. Children are heading into destabilised academic futures. Community members with financial needs are struggling to access legal support and social programs due to cuts and freezes. Low-income seniors who qualify for your promised dental care can't get it because they can't find it. People are concerned about a changing climate and a government that won't commit. People worry that their health and long-term care will continue to be eroded. This government cannot continue to cut and freeze and undermine it must invest. And I hope over this next session we will see this government show some compassion, take some responsibility and commit to make things better for all the people. Thank you, Speaker. Member Statements, the Member for Cambridge. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Two Cambridge community leaders who recently passed away, Frank Montero, served first as a police officer with Waterloo Regional Police and then was elected three times as councillor for Ward 7 in Cambridge. He was passionate about a city and he will be missed. Pauline Hodgkiss was an educator in the Waterloo Region District School Board and gave her time to many agencies including Argus House, Kids Can Play and the Cambridge Family Crisis Centre. I give my condolences to their families and want to thank them for their public service. As the MPP for the writing of Cambridge, I am a passionate advocate on behalf of the concerns of my constituents. I would like to recognize the government's commitment to the completion of the Cambridge Memorial Hospital by providing $1.4 million in funding. Cambridge North Dumfries North Brent residents are also pleased with the announcement that our cities will not be forced into amalgamation. These are two issues that both Frank and Pauline would be very happy about. Over the last five months, while meeting with constituents, I was often asked about how I am able to balance the demands of this job of the young family. I can think of no better job than advocating on behalf of my constituents, fueled by the principles I hold dearest. But as I mentioned in my maiden speech, Mr. Speaker, being the MPP for Cambridge is not the most important role. My most important job is the one that I cherish most and that is being a wife and a mother to my three-year-old son, Victor. Thank you for this opportunity. The member for Niagara Falls. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The people in my riding of Niagara Falls, Niagara Lake and Fort Erie have waited almost half a year for the Premier of Kamada Hiding so we could be in the legislature today. During that time, hallway medicine hit an all-time high. I'm going to address that issue today since it's the most important issue in my riding. According to the Ontario Hospital Association, the average wait time across the province in emergency rooms this summer was 16 hours. Earlier this year, we found out that every single day there's an average of 24 more people at hospitals than there are beds for. In Niagara, there was an average of 55 people waiting to be moved out of emergency beds but nowhere to go. The government knew about this and what did they do to fix it? They took a five-minute break, a five-month break. So I say to the Premier today, we're in a health crisis in Niagara. We have the oldest population in the country. We also have young families moving in. We can't wait any longer. We need our hospital in Niagara Falls to move to stage two so it can finally be built after years of delay. We need health service expanded in Niagara on the lake and Douglas Memorial in Fort Erie. The Conservatives should not have stopped this legislature from doing the important work it was doing. But now that we're back, I'm ready to make up for lost time and immediately get to work on the health care crisis in Niagara. I hope the Premier and his caucus will join me. Member statements? The member for Glen Gary Prescott Russell. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The first day back in the house after five months in my writing, there's so many things I could highlight, events, people that were acknowledged. But I think the most important event for all of us, it was the federal election that just took place. So I wanted to highlight the work and the courage of all candidates at the federal election throughout Canada because we know how important and difficult it is, how much sacrifice people have to do to put their name forward. Thank you to all of those who put their name forward. I want to thank the candidates that were elected in my region in eastern Ontario, in the region of Ottawa, in Glen Gary Prescott, so Francis Roin was re-elected, my good friend, my political partner in the writing. So I was very happy for that victory. Marie-François Hollande in Orleans, a former colleague who she will represent, the people in Ireland. In Ottawa, Vanier, another that I know well, Eric Dundee in Stourmont Dundee, Ottawa Centre for History in McKinney, David McKinney in Ottawa, South, and I'm not mentioning all. I look forward to work with all of those in the region of Ottawa. Thank you. Member statements? The member for Aurora, Oak Ridges, Richmond Hill. Thank you very much, Speaker. It's a pleasure to be back in the house and great to see my colleagues from all sides. Speaker, I have to tell you, the last few months have been incredibly eventful in my writing of Aurora, Oak Ridges, Richmond Hill. From the always fun Aurora Street Festival to the Cosmo Music Festival to the Christian's Horizons annual summer picnic, there was always something going on. However, Speaker, as a die-hard hockey fan, there are two events that I must share with all of you. This summer, the Stanley Cup came to both the town of Aurora and the city of Richmond Hill. I'd like to give a big shout-out to the Stanley Cup champions, the St. Louis Blues, specifically to Jordan Bennington of Richmond Hill and Robert Thomas of Aurora. I would also like to congratulate both these champions and their teammates on their amazing accomplishment, Speaker. For the hundreds, if not thousands of fans, including myself, to be able to see and touch the Stanley Cup twice was a dream come true. I'd like to thank Jordan and Thomas for bringing the Cup to Aurora and Richmond Hill and I'd like to wish them all the very best next season and I hope that they finish a respectable second and third behind the next Stanley Cup champions, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Thank you very much, Speaker. Thank you. Members of the members for Nickel Belt. Thank you, Speaker. I want to ask my colleagues, have you constituents been complaining about the lack of access to personal support workers? Because mine have. Not a week goes by that I don't have a burnt-out, exhausted family come and talk to me about the lack of PSW in home care and long-term care. Mr. Robert Hyslop is a 78-year-old veteran from Azilda. He had his hip replaced this summer. His physician prescribed home care, the assistance of a PSW for his recovery. Unfortunately, none were available. So his 76-year-old wife, Marie Claire, provided, tried to provide for his care. Marie Claire has issues of her own. She has high blood pressure. She has a stent installed in her heart two years ago. She helped Robert the best she could. Get dressed, get washed, get to the washroom. But they needed help. That never came. If Marie Claire had fell or her husband had fell, we would have needed more beds at our local hospital, which is full to the brim. Another constituent, Bonnie Krieger from Cape Realt, received a call from the Linn's, advising her that there are no PSW available in Cape Realt. So her husband Larry's hours of care are being reduced from 21 hours of care to two hours of care per week. His needs have not changed. Bonnie works 40 hours a week, Mr. Speaker. How is she supposed to make up the 19 hours of care that her husband needs? Is she supposed to quit her job, goes on Ontario work? I don't think so, Speaker. The Mike Harris government created this crisis in home care, what introducing competitive bidding. This situation is untenable and needs to change. Thank you. The member for Oakville North Burlington. Thank you, Speaker. Earlier this year, our government launched a review of Ontario's regional governments, including the Halton region and its municipalities. Our government wanted to hear the opinion of local residents about how their municipal governments could work better to help them become more streamlined, provide better services and respect taxpayers' dollars. The review, as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing said, had no predetermined outcomes and indeed he was clear that amalgamation was not the purpose of the review. But it led to many people being concerned about the real possibility of amalgamation. Residents in Oakville and Burlington from across my riding were clear. Their municipalities worked well. They didn't need change. On their behalf, I tabled along with my colleague from Oakville many petitions in the legislature and worked with the Minister making sure they were heard. And, Speaker, we listened. We heard the voices and needs of my community of Oakville North Burlington. And I am proud to stand here in the legislature today and state loudly. There will be no amalgamation in Halton. Let me repeat. There will be no amalgamation in Halton. Our government was elected with a mandate to create jobs, respect taxpayers' money, and provide quality services. I know the municipalities in my riding have the same goals. And the best way to meet these goals is as the city of Burlington and the town of Oakville. Thank you, Speaker. Member's statements. Member for Barry Innisfil. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's wonderful to be back in the legislature today after a very productive summer. October 18th, Mr. Speaker, was person's day in Canada. This day in history transformed the lives of women across our great country. In 1929, women became officially recognized in the legal definition of persons. This was a historic decision that shaped the political and the cultural landscape of Canada. I remember learning about the famous five in school and feeling encouraged and inspired. These women from Alberta, they fought for the freedom and liberties that other women in I could enjoy today. They lived during a time when women did not have a voice and were not persons in the eyes of the law, an experience that has never been a reality for myself, other women serving in the legislature today, and women serving in the Senate today. Now, Mr. Speaker, Ontario has the highest number of female MPPs in the provincial legislature in Canada. One of my mentors, Mr. Speaker, the former MPP for York Simcoe, Julia Monroe, made Ontario history as well as serving as the longest MPP in Ontario's history. And as we continue to celebrate women like her and we continue to celebrate women's history month, we cannot forget the famous five who not only won the right to serve in the Senate, but for all women to participate equally in all aspects of life in Canada. Thank you. Thank you very much. That concludes our member's statements for this afternoon. Reports by committees. Thank you.