 It's now time for Member Statements, the Member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you, Speaker. The Ford government is making it harder for Ontarians to afford child care. Ontario parents already pay the highest child care cost in the country. And still, all across the province, the Ford government is making funding cuts. In Hamilton, we will see a $3.5 million cut in child care funding. Hamilton uses provincial funding to subsidize licensed child care spaces, giving 14,000 parents a $10 per day discount on their child care bill. This government's short-sighted cuts could mean an end to this subsidy, which could leave families in my riding on the hook for up to $2,400 more each year for child care costs. Hamilton has a high number of low-income residents, and increasing the cost of child care further defends poverty. High child care costs keep mothers and caregivers out of the workforce, or forces them to spend a huge percentage of their earnings on care. Further, this government is doing nothing to produce more high-quality, licensed not-for-profit child care spaces. According to Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 71% of children in Hamilton live in a child care desert. That means there are only three licensed child care spaces for every 10 children in Hamilton. Instead of making child care more affordable and more accessible, this government is making it harder for families to reach those goals. Member Statements, the Member for the Mississauga Centre. Thank you, Speaker. I am pleased to rise in the legislature to recognise National Nursing Week in Canada. This Sunday, May 12th, also happens to be International Nursing Day, marking the anniversary of Florence Nightingale, who is recognised as the founder of modern nursing for her efforts in professionalising the role in addition to her many achievements. Every day and night, no matter the hour, nurses are the frontline providers, healthcare and treating patients to the best of their abilities with the resources available to them. Whether it is in a home, a hospital, a public health unit or in a war zone, nurses work tirelessly to save lives. They are often the first person a patient sees when they come in seeking treatment, and they also tend to be the last person to bid patients goodbye once they have recovered. Nurses don't just administer and evaluate patient treatment. They provide emotional support, counsel and educate families, actively listen to patients, work tirelessly, often without breaks, always putting their patient needs before their own. Few other professions spend as much time and provide as much care to patients as nurses, and for that we need to celebrate their efforts, accomplishments, devotion and their passion for wanting to make a difference in people's lives. It is one of the reasons I decided to become a registered nurse to dedicate my life to the service of others. It is why I still take shifts even as a parliamentarian. It is a job that I love doing, seeing my colleagues and taking care of patients. It keeps me grounded and gives me the opportunity to make a difference. And so to all nurses everywhere, thank you for the work you do each and every day. Happy nursing week. Member Statements, a member for Tomiskam and Cochrane. Thank you Speaker. This morning Andrew Horvath and the NDP moved a motion regarding a climate change emergency in this province, and there is a great debate on how much humans are impacting the climate or how much they aren't, but there should be no great debate about the things that we are experiencing last year in my riding. We had the flood, not the flood, the fire, it was supposed to be the 100-year fire. A few years ago a flood and now across the province people are having to deal with flood waters again. I was in Pembroke and they talked about how 2017 was the flood of 100 years and 2019. And I would just like to give a recognition as we speak. The waters of Lake Nipissing are rising. The waters of Lake Tomiskaming are rising. The municipality of West Nipissing has put out stations with sandbags for 100 sandbags for each residence, and those stations are open 24 hours a day until the crisis passes. And I'd like to thank them for their vigilance and thank the military for stepping in. I hope that the military does not need to step in in West Nipissing or Tomiskaming, but I trust that the government will respond if it comes to that point. And from our caucus, our deepest thoughts go to them, and we need to be prepared for what might not be the flood of the century. Thank you, Speaker. Member Statements to Member for Thornhill. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I just want to wish everybody a happy Yom Ha'd-Smoot. It's Israel's 71st anniversary today, and 71 sounds like a lot of years in a lifetime for a human being, but for a country it's outrageously tiny. And when you think that all that we have accomplished, the state of Israel with support from the Jewish diaspora, is just incredible. In terms of innovation, in terms of drip irrigation, in terms of all of the innovation coming out of Israel, they have the, I think they're the third highest in the world of stocks traded. It's just, it's unbelievable in the advances that are coming out of such a small country. But I would just want to remind everybody that just a few days ago there were rocket attacks, a large attack from terrorists onto Israel, rockets raining from the Gaza territories onto Israel. And tonight and last night we saw Israelis celebrating the streets. We're going to see it for a long time. They don't give up. They continue to live their lives. They continue to persevere. They continue to create medical miracles, agricultural miracles that all of us benefit for. And I just want to say thank you to all the supporters of the state of Israel. We all wish for peace. We all want to live in peace. We all want to have prosperity. And I hope that next year when I get up to wish everybody again a happy Yomahad's boot that we will have everlasting peace in the region. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Member Stavins, a member for Sudbury. Thank you, Speaker. Today I'd like to speak about Geneva House, a 32-bed woman's shelter operated by YWCA Sudbury. They provide women who are fleeing abuse with shelter, with clothing, food, counseling, and help to find safe, affordable housing. But for years now Geneva's house funding has remained the same while the cost-providing services have gone up. The shelter is doing its best to help every woman who walks through the door but they simply aren't getting the funding they need. They weren't in the past and they aren't today. Sadly, Geneva House isn't the only shelter in our community with financial concerns. Two months ago the Salvation Army announced they'd be closing their men's shelter in the Association des gens de l'Eurue and tends to stop providing you shelter beds at the beginning of September. Speaker, in Sudbury winter temperatures are frequently below minus 20 degrees Celsius and on cold nights when people find themselves or know where else to go shelters are a vital refuge for those in need. Speaker, we need to discover and do more to support these community organizations because they help our most vulnerable. Because what could matter more than making sure that no one ever has to go a night without a safe place to stay, a roof over their head or a warm bed to sleep in. Thank you. Member statements? The member for Kitchener-Conestoga. Thank you Mr. Speaker. It is with excitement that I can speak to a recent announcement on May 1st from our government by the Minister of Transportation regarding a new digital vehicle registration project. This is big news for business and consumers in my riding of Kitchener-Conestoga and across Ontario, including our crucial auto sector. Our government is launching an expansive pilot project that will allow auto dealers to register vehicles sold at their dealerships in-house. I am already getting local dealerships reaching out to me requesting to participate in this program which shows that reform is desperately needed. Currently vehicle dealers across the province must register and license newly purchased vehicles off-site, costing businesses and consumers time and money. My private member's bill, Bill 50, which passed second reading last November, sought to remove this burdensome red tape by amending the Highway Traffic Act to enable certain motor vehicle dealers to apply for permits, number plate sticker validation and use vehicle information packages electronically. This program will launch in spring 2020 and will be developed through a six month province wide consultation and close partnership with service Ontario network providers as well as car dealerships, rental car and fleet vehicle organizations. In my own riding, Colin Cropp, the general manager of Voizen Chrysler and Elmira supports this initiative, remarking that moving digital would allow his transactions to be done quickly and I quote Mr. Speaker, send the customer home happy the same day. With my PMB I have been a strong advocate for Voizen and consumers and auto dealers across our province and let me tell you it is so great to see my work adopted into government policy. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Member's statements. The member for Brampton North. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Last weekend, like many times before, students from Brampton gathered to protest the cuts that this government is making to our education system in Ontario. These education cuts have a devastating effect on education in Brampton. The school board, the teachers and the students have all made their voices heard. The Peel District School Board sent an open letter to the Minister of Education expressing just how badly these cuts will affect students in Brampton. Peel will lose 369 teachers. How are students supposed to learn and succeed in an environment with less and less support for them? Schools in the area have already confirmed that our students will now have fewer course options, courses that are proven to engage students in more individualized and teacher-supported skills-based learning will be significantly reduced. The number of credit recovery and rescue courses will also be reduced. These changes will jeopardize the success of some of our most vulnerable students, the ones who need these supports the most, to succeed. One thing we have not talked about much is how much after-school programs will suffer. In my own writing, teachers have told me about how many after-school programs and clubs will be cut due to the teacher jobs being cut. Mr. Speaker, parents, teachers and students are all worried about these cuts. Along with our constituents, we all hope this government comes to their senses and reverses these callous cuts. Thank you. The member for Aurora Oak Ridge is Richmond Hill. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. And thank you, Speaker, again. Last Saturday, Speaker, my team and I participated in the 19th annual Oak Ridge's cleanup, organized by one of the most amazing and caring community members, Catherine Mably. Catherine and her team of 110 volunteers have worked tirelessly to bring awareness to environmental stewardship. Participants were divided into teams and equipped with gloves and garbage bags to clean up parks and communities which lies in the heart of the Oak Ridge's Marine Speaker. Thanks to the dedication of all the participants and because of their hard work, 32 local conservation areas were cleaned as part of this great initiative. Speaker's initiative, like the community cleanup, make positive impact on the environment and foster a deep sense of community belonging. We must remember that our beautiful environment and the natural resources are an invaluable gift that all Ontarians should protect and cherish. Speaker, I want to thank my friends, family, staff and all the volunteers for joining me in working towards cleaning our city. I encourage everyone to continue to get involved and to help keep our communities clean and beautiful. Thank you very much, Speaker. Member statements. Members of Peterborough, Cawortha. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last month, I had the opportunity to visit the Mining and Processing Facilities at Covia Corporation in my riding at Peterborough, Cawortha. Covia mines Nephilim cyanide, not to be confused with the poison cyanide. It's a mineral that most of us have never heard of before. But all of us see it and use it every day. It's a key ingredient in the manufacturing of glass, paints, plastics and more because it reduces the amount of energy needed to make these products. And it increases the durability, clarity and the strength. So when you clean your painted walls in your kitchen and the paint doesn't come off, that's because of Nephilim. Covia mines processes and exports Nephilim to every corner of the world about 1.2 million tons a year, including to Ontario manufacturers like Sherwin-Williams, Home Hardware and Owings Corning. But Ontario has the highest grade Nephilim mineral deposit in the world. They still face increased competition. That's why they're investing $100 million Canadian to further strengthen their operations, make them more efficient and environmentally sustainable. Encouraging investment in Ontario is something that our government takes seriously and we're attracting new companies as a result of it, such as Gini Glass. We should all realize if Gini chooses to come to Ontario for the state of the art floating glass plant, there'll be significant spin-offs for Ontario businesses, including the Covia mines. Covia is a major employer in my writing and a great example of our government's commitment to ensure that Ontario is known worldwide as open for business and open for jobs. Here. Thank you very much. That concludes our time for member statements this afternoon. Reports by committees.