 Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in the house today to speak about this government's treatment of the LGBTQ community. From the thrown speech where the word lifestyle was used and the removal of LGBTQ families and voices from the health and phys ed curriculum, we seem to be going backwards. Human rates are traveling back in time as well. EGAL, a national LGBTQ rights organization, were set to open a legal clinic to provide inclusivity training to 70-some legal clinics on Ontario, a worldwide first. But under this government, that funding is now may be cut. Legal clinics on Ontario freely admit that they are not equipped to respond to the needs of their equity-seeking clients. Mr. Speaker, the legal system has always presented significant challenges for the gay community. In 1965, gay men were incarcerated as dangerous sex offenders. While in 1969, homosexuality was decriminalized, it wasn't until 1996 that sexual orientation became a protected ground. Until that time, and even to this day, my community has endured harassment, discrimination, violence, physical abuse, psychological oppression, and hate propaganda. Gays received the right to marry in 2005, but not surprisingly, provincial and federal conservatives have tried to revoke that right. Note Alberta's attempt to use the notwithstanding clause here. Simply put, now that LGBTQ individuals finally enjoy rates that heterosexual cisgendered individuals have always enjoyed, they are still being excluded from the legal system. Mr. Speaker, while this government proudly parrots the slogan for the people, they certainly don't include LGBTQ people. Member Stateman is the member for Barry Innisfil. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This weekend, I was very excited to visit Herbert's Boots and Western Ware in Innisfil to congratulate them on their 60th year of business. They had lots of activities and draws for their loyal customers and a great tent sale. Herbert's has been open since 1958, when Mr. and Mrs. Elsner opened in Alston, Ontario, where they began selling boots, and then they opened up a second location in my riding of Innisfil. They used to sell clothing to local farmers and folks from all around Toronto, but people from all around Ontario were quick to discover that Herbert's was the place to go to find the right pair of Western boots. They now have the two locations just off of Highway 400 on Innisfil Beach Road. And Mr. Speaker, I'm sure you're wondering if I was able to find myself a pair of boots. And I'm excited to let you know that I bought a great pair of brown leather cowboy boots, and I encourage everyone to stop by into Herbert's to support our local business. Thank you. Thank you very much. The Member for York Southwest. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. October is the month we celebrate Islamic heritage in Ontario. The Muslim community has been present in Ontario and in Canada since the country's founding in 1867. We celebrate together to promote, educate, and share with our fellow Canadians the reach Muslim heritage and contributions to society. These are contributions in science, humanities, medicine, astronomy, architecture, history, and other disciplines that have greatly benefited human progress. It is the month we recognise the important contributions that Muslims make in Ontario as part of the vibrant social, economic, political, cultural fabric of our province. Islamic Heritage Month brings people from all backgrounds together and provides positive vibes, especially since there are so many misconceptions in society about Islam. Muslims have been contributing to all aspects of Ontario's prosperity and diverse heritage for generations. Islamic Heritage is about creating positive understanding for the Muslim community and sharing this with our neighbours. I encourage every member to take part in the events in your area. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, Member for Markham Union Bill. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring forward a celebration. That is the second most important one to Chinese after Chinese New Year. The Mid-Autumn Festival 2018 was last Monday, 24th of September. Mid-Autumn Festival to the Chinese is celebrated when the moon is full. And Chinese people believe a full moon is a symbol of union, harmony, and happiness. Also called Moon Festival or Moon Cake Festival, Mr. Speaker. It is celebrated when the moon is believed to be the biggest of the year, fullest, and that's why moon cakes are the most mid-Autumn food in China. They are in tradition. Chinese pastry and Chinese people see in the roundness of the moon cake as a symbol of reunion and happiness. Mr. Speaker, this last weekend, I had the chance to attend a few Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations and participate with friends, families, colleagues in the festival and games. There was good food and loss of lives. Our government encouraged family times as such by putting money back into a taxpayer's pocket in order to spend it along with their time amongst family. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Windsor to come see. Thank you, Speaker. Last Friday, I joined the member from Essex and the member from Windsor West at a roundtable discussion regarding social issues in the Windsor and Essex County region. It lasted more than three hours because of the number of people who came to present to us. Hiatus House, for example, is a shelter for abused women. They've handled more than 3,000 crisis calls last year. Their occupancy rate averages 95 percent. They've housed 309 women with 222 children. When they've been full, they've turned away 146 women and 118 children. To save money, they've already turned full-time positions into part-time contract jobs. The downtown mission is ground zero for a growing homeless population. Their average stay is 53 nights and housing average of 80 people a night. The Unemployed Help Center is busier than ever. Their food bank was seeing more people in the past year. Speaker, we heard of a senior on a limited budget who came to the food bank for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Why? Because she had a dental emergency, which left her with little or no money to put food on the table that week. Rents are going up. People are paying 70 percent and more of their income to remain housed. The greatest fear we heard over and over again was that the new government will be making further cuts to social agencies and programs. This isn't fear-mongering. This is the reality of what we're hearing from the people in the margins of society. And Speaker, I agree with them. They need more help, not more cuts. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for King Vaughn. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we mark the beginning of Autism Awareness Month in this country, I want to reaffirm our government's commitment to restoring human dignity and respect to Ontarians with autism. They deserve to have a government that will give them hope, invest in their children's future and enable them to achieve their full potential. Last Thursday, I joined my colleague, Minister Tobolo, in Vaughn to raise critical funds for families with children with autism at the Waves of Changes for Autism Fundraising Gala. This organization raises funds to give a hand up to those families who need our support to ensure that their kids can receive the therapy and the treatment they need for their loved ones. Over $250,000 has been raised to date from this value-based charity assisting over 70 families in need. Our community in King Vaughn is blessed with deeply generous people who care about the most vulnerable in our society. On behalf of our Premier and Government, we express our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible volunteer team of Waves of Changes for Autism, including their founders, Ellen Contardi and Loredana de Acovo, and their entire dedicated committee for making a difference and leaving a legacy for these children. I'm eternally grateful for their compassion and generosity. Your Government is grateful, and everyone in this House says thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. Today, October 1, 2018, the NDP Government in Alberta makes history with their minimum wage of $15 per hour coming into effect. Here in Ontario, our $15 minimum wage is set to take into effect on January 1, 2019. Over 1.7 million Ontario workers are counting on this Government to honour the commitment, and overwhelming majority of Ontarians support a $15 minimum wage and better laws to protect workers. However, Premier Ford and the Minister of Labour are now saying that they will cancel the minimum wage increase. The Ford Government is defending corporate interests over people's interests. They are representing the interests of the 1%, not the millions of Ontarians who want fair and decent wages and to be able to live with dignity. It's no surprise that the Government is listening to big businesses like Lobloss who let's not forget recently admitted to being part of a 14-year scheme fixing bread prices and others like the billionaire heirs of Tim Hortons who are all predicting doom and gloom. You know, we've heard this been before, a decade ago when minimum wage increased to $10 an hour. As expected, minimum wage was actually good for Ontario's economy. Speaker, no one in Ontario should be working full-time and still live in poverty. At a time when big businesses, corporations are making record-breaking profits, we simply cannot ask hard-working Ontarians to accept a wage freeze. Speaker, it's time this Government put people over profit. Thank you. Member Statements, the Member for Mississauga, Malton. Good afternoon, Mr Speaker. Today I'd like to take this time to recognize one of my good friends, Deepak Bhatt. Same first name as mine. Guinness World Record Holder and Limca Book Record Holder. Deepak has a special trait on a single grain of rice. Deepak can craft images of many dignitaries. He has written as many as 389 letters on a single grain of rice and 148 letters on a single sesame seed. Mr Speaker, all this is completed with bare eyes and zero, and I say zero use of technology. I applaud Deepak's creativity and skill. Being a talented artist with a steady hand is an accomplishment. But to be able to execute his craft on such a small scale without the use of magnifying aid is truly remarkable. Mr Speaker, today through this statement I'd like to take the opportunity to recognize all the artists who, of course, I believe with the grace of God and some people call it luck, have all this extraordinary talent. I truly believe that these artists with their hard work, discipline and persistency are creating memories for the generation to relish. Mr Speaker, once again I would like to congratulate Deepak who would be here soon and is currently stuck in a traffic. Thank you Mr Speaker. Member statements? Member for Mississauga, Aaron Mills. Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise today to recognize the Knights of Columbus Council 9612 from the Santa Maximilian Colby Polish Barrage. For their donation made to the Trillium Health Partners Credit Valley Hospital in my writing Mississauga and Mills last Saturday. Their donation was made towards the mental health care zone. Generous donations such as this help improve the experience of patients in Mississauga. On behalf of the PC Cocos and my colleague MPP from Mississauga Center who worked closely with the Polish community and all of Mississauga MPPs I would like to thank the Knights of Columbus Council, Grand Knight Merck Ruta, the Polish community and all reverent fathers for their spiritual guidance, morals and support to Mississauga and to Ontario. Mr Speaker, we made a promise during the election to make mental health a priority. That's why this government and the Minister of Health have committed $1.9 billion in mental health, addictions and supportive housing. Matching the federal government funding. That's $3.8 billion Mr Speaker. This is the biggest provincial commitment to mental health in Canadian history. We will develop a comprehensive system-wide strategy for mental health and addiction that provides service to Ontario in need and deserve. Thank you very much Mississauga. Thank you very much. That concludes our time for Member Statements.