 It's now time for Member Statements, Member for Kingston and the Islands. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I rise today to condemn the decision to remove the office of the children's advocate. Folding it into the ombudsman's office is a mistake that will drain resources essential to protecting and advocating for youth in Ontario. The child advocate did actual advocacy work and this is such an important point to make and one that is missing from the ombudsman's abilities. There were programs that the advocate has worked on including Feathers of Hope which provided 41 recommendations to address youth suicide in Indigenous communities. You Are Not Alone, which is an important initiative that supports LGBTQ youth. Hair Story, which was established to help better position young Black people in the province. When the children's advocate found out he was being fired through the media, his thoughts went to the children. There were 27 current investigations that his office was conducting when they found out that they had been shut down. 27 investigations that the office is now unable to pursue. Moving the children's advocate into the ombudsman's office is a mistake and it is the children and youth who are going to be the biggest losers in this bureaucratic transaction. Mr Speaker, so-called efficiencies should not be found at the expense of children and youth, the very people who represent the future of this province. What future does this government want for children if they see fit to remove their biggest advocate? Thank you Mr Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements, Member for Oakville. Thank you Mr Speaker. As the Christmas and holiday season nears, we are fast approaching the largest period for food donation this year. It was earlier this week that I learned that most food donated to food banks comes during two periods throughout the year. The first of these is around Thanksgiving and the second one is around Christmas. And it's because of this that most food given to food banks during the holiday season must be rationed for the rest of the year. Several organizations in my riding of Oakville work hard throughout the year to offer services and programs to support our communities in need. Among those organizations is the Fair Share Food Bank, a non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers which has been operating in Oakville since 1988. The Fair Share Food Program provides food for approximately 400 families per month which is over 40,000 meals per year. I am proud to support their initiative and I have a large donation box located in the common reception area of my constituency office located at 74 Rebecca Street Unit 1 in Oakville. Another organization committed to working hard for our community is the Kerr Street Mission. The Kerr Street Mission provides essential services and relief to those in risk or at risk of poverty through programs, nutritious meals and food bank support. At-risk youth and low-income families benefit from family programs, prenatal classes, homework support to summer camps. The Kerr Street Mission is located on Kerr Street in Oakville just a few blocks from my constituency office. I would like to thank these organizations for all the great work they do in the community and for the families of Oakville encourage everyone to be generous this holiday season. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements, Member for Davenport. Thank you Mr. Speaker and Boutada. I am pleased to rise today to recognize the important work of the Abrigo Center, an outstanding organization serving Toronto's Portuguese-speaking community and based in my riding of Davenport. The Abrigo Center has a mission to build community capacity in West Toronto by helping individuals and families achieve their full potential. They offer counseling, crisis support for women experiencing violence, support for newcomers and programming for new parents. Earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit with some of the participants at Abrigo's seniors recreation and education program. The Grupo Vida Esperanza has over 180 registered members and brings together 80 to 100 seniors three times per week for events like field trips, exercise, art and dance classes and workshops and everything from meditation to healthy eating. I want to congratulate this group on eight years of providing a social hub for Portuguese-speaking seniors in our area and across Toronto. Obrigada y muchas felicidades. Thank you very much and best wishes for the future. Thank you Mr. Speaker. This coming Saturday, November 24th marks the 40th anniversary of the township of Nipien, the town in which I was born, raised and am now privileged to represent. Nipien was the place that my grandparents chose to settle in in 1958 when they immigrated here from Great Britain. Nipien has a rich history, most notably it housed the quarry that provided the sandstone that now adorns our beautiful federal parliament buildings. Its economy has generated large businesses like JDS Uniface, Nortel and Gandolf Technologies. It also currently houses two federal government departments, the Department of National Defense and Agriculture. Nipien has generated a number of famous individuals over its years including Steve McClain, the astronaut and former president of the Canadian Space Agency, Steve Iserman, the famous Detroit Red Wings player who began his hockey career with the Nipien Raiders. We also have our very own James Bond, Mike Nemisveri was the skier who portrayed James Bond on Her Majesty's Secret Service and Sandra Oh, the famous actress from Grey's Anatomy. Nipien is a wonderful place and as we have seen recently, it is a place that still values coming together as a community as it did after the tragic tornadoes that hit it earlier this year. I'm proud to be a Nipien boy and proud to represent this riding that turns 40 this weekend. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. It is an honor to rise here today. During our constituency week, which wasn't long enough to be frank, I had the opportunity to visit agencies across my riding of Brampton Center but in the Peel Region and I had a great joy in connecting with them and learning about the front line services that they were providing both in Brampton and again across Peel Region. I had the opportunity to visit the W.G. Davis Center for Families in Brampton as well as our community door. These are innovative community hubs which house organizations such as rapport use services that has a drop-in center called Eclipse, Catholic Family Services of Peel and Dufferin, the Canadian Mental Health Association also operating out of these innovative community hubs. But I just want to highlight one organization because without the work that they're doing, none of these organizations would be able to have the volunteer basis that they do. And I'd like to highlight Executive Director Karine Strong of Volunteer NBC. Volunteer NBC has helped connect over 30,000 volunteers to organizations both in Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon. Without the amazing work that they were doing, 28,000 volunteers wouldn't been connected to an opportunity to provide a service, to connect a senior to a young person in their community. So you know without the hard work of volunteers none of these organizations would be able to survive frankly. And I also had a really great opportunity to sign the Charter of Volunteerism which Volunteer NBC has. And this allows them to celebrate 10 years worth of their work in the community. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Thank you Member Statements. The Member for Mississauga East Cooksville. Thank you Mr. Speaker. On Tuesday November 6th we were honored to host our Minister of Seniors and Accessibility Honorable Raymond Cho and his staff at the Park Pioneers Community Organizations at the Park Pioneers Community Organizations meeting that occurs every Tuesday in my writing of Mississauga East Cooksville. Our Minister was very energetic in addressing the group of seniors and answered their tough questions. We had few laughs along the way. The Minister taught the group how to laugh out loud and that encouraged everyone to join him. Park Pioneers Community Organization is a not-for-profit registered charity that works voluntarily for the community development and offers help and assistance free of charge. They offer services for senior citizens from the South Asian community by providing them a safe place to mingle. We know socially active seniors are mentally resilient having fewer issues around social isolation anxiety and depression which is very prominent in this population. Thank you Minister Cho for visiting and teaching us how to laugh out loud and we hope to have you again in our writing. Thank you. Member Statements. The Member for Temiskimane Cochrane. Mr. Speaker, I'm speaking to you today in order to express my disbelief with respect to the Ford government's decision to eliminate the French language service commissioner without and also of his decision not to build a French university French language university when I was a small child my family came to Temiskimane in an area where a French Francophone presence is very strong to grow up in a culture that was different than mine was an extraordinary experience throughout the years I had the opportunity to work side by side with my friends and my neighbors that were Francophone we fought together where their passion was able to overcome all obstacles I learned much from the Goetier, the Itziés, the Rivas and many other families it was an honor to represent you here in Queen's Park and to continue to represent you and we will continue to work together in order to counter this attack against Francophone culture. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Member Statements. The Member for Markham-Tornhill. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to rise today to speak about the facility very near and dearer to my heart over the summer I was delighted to attend the official opening ceremony of Markham new and highly celebrated state of the art any community center and library right in the heart of the Markham-Tornhill riding. I advocated for this vital project throughout the course of my three terms as a Markham City Councilor. What servant was long considered the poor child of Markham. It lacked the facilities and community spaces our community needed. I worked to bring the Aneen Community Center to life to fill this service gap. Today Aneen Community Center and Library now stand as a testament to the cultural aspiration of our diverse community. This facility has become the place for Markham-Tornhill residents of all backgrounds to come together as a one cohesive community. I'm very proud that my vision to create a sense of space and community where all children, youth, adults and seniors could congregate has been realized. The name of the beautiful facility Aneen means welcome in OGPA. This is perfectly fitting for such a beautiful and vibrant facility which is open to all. It is no surprise that the facility is now praised by many journalists and architect as a community facility of the future and one of the already the most used in Markham. It is clear we listen to the residents and we exceed the expectation. As the architect Aneen, the farmer said the idea of the building was that it should be a connect and connection. With the winter fast approaching Mr. Chair, I encourage residents of Markham-Tornhill to visit this fine community center to make connection keep active and immerse themselves in all that our diverse and vibrant community has to offer. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Member Statements. Member for Mrs. Saga Malden. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there is a mental health crisis swiping across Ontario. Youth in particular are hit hard. Half of Ontario parents have reported concerns about their child level of anxiety. One third of Ontario parents had a child miss a school due to anxiety. 62% of youth have reported concern about level of anxiety and more troubling. Only three out of 10 have sought help. As many as one in five children and youth in Ontario will experience some form of mental health crisis. One thing making the mental health crisis worse is the stigma attached. It forces those suffering to do so in silence. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to introduce NCHIO Naseeha, a peer-to-peer toll-free support helpline making a difference in the life of those youth. Last year alone, 18,000 distressed callers called in to talk about their problems. Naseeha deals with mental health problems, drugs and alcohol, bullying and religion, and in 2015 they launched an education and outreach program and helped many young couples and youth with mental stress. Naseeha is committed to ensuring that every young man can thrive by navigating any personal challenge to contribute positively in their community. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize Naseeha for their good work. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Reports by committees.