 Now time for Member Statements. Member Statements, recognizing member from Ottawa Center. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, I've had the occasion in the last number of weeks to get around our community in Ottawa and talk to education workers, who unfortunately have had to go on strike to get this government's attention. It's been an educating experience in and of itself. I've had the occasion to talk in my capacity as critical disabilities to many educators, major education workers, clerical staff, support staff who work with kids with disabilities. And Speaker, it has been shocking for me to learn the degree to which the current system is underperforming. And while I hope we will see a resolution at the bargaining table, Speaker, I want to remind all of us in this House that we cannot continue to do public education on the cheap. We cannot continue to ask education assistants, early childhood educators, teachers, clerical support who today are acting almost as quasi nurses when children injure themselves at school. We can't continue to ask these people to get in harm's way. I want to talk briefly about an EAI Met speaker who had scratch marks all the way down his arm from having to interrupt a violent instinct between two children. And I want to talk about what was behind that speaker. It was a child with a disability whose needs have not been met. So what I'm encouraging this government to do is abandon the rhetoric, stop talking about how child care tax credits are somehow education funding, put proper amounts of money into the system, fund the people on the front line, stop spinning, get a deal, get it done. Thank you for their member statement. I recognize a member from Mississauga East, Cooksville. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I had the pleasure of recently announcing that the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board has been approved to tender a child care retrofit at Father Michael Gates Catholic Secondary School in my riding. The $1.4 million investment will add a new quality learning environment for the students of Mississauga East, Cooksville. Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board Chair Sharon Hobbins said, and I quote, this is great news for families as there is significant demand for conveniently located child care spaces in our communities, end quote, and express gratitude to the ministry for the opportunity to tender this project. Mr. Speaker, this retrofit would provide 49 new child care spaces and three retrofitted child care rooms. I'm thankful, Mr. Speaker, that our government is protecting what matters most and providing this funding, which will benefit so many families in Mississauga East, Cooksville. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member Thunder Bay, Attico County. Thank you, Speaker. This House passed the Northern Health Travel Grant Advisory Committee Bill 144 on second reading, and now it sits waiting to go through committee. Meanwhile, the situation for those who rely on the Northern Health Travel Grant is getting worse. It is heartbreaking when people contact our office unable to attend critical medical care because they do not have the money or credit to pay for their travel. Those who can pay are waiting longer and longer for reimbursement. When you try asking for your money, the Ontario government phone line state, if it hasn't been eight weeks, hang up and wait. How is that an acceptable standard of service? Even emergency situations and repeat regular appointments are not granted any exceptions. Wait times now are routinely 12 to 20 weeks, and that is only if there are absolutely no problems with your claim. Besides being ill, these folks now have financial stress. Rates have not been adjusted to keep pace with rising costs, and too many treatments are not covered. This is all unacceptable in Ontario. I urge this government to move this legislation forward. It is within your power. Ensure that the principles of the Canada Health Act are upheld and equitable access to health care becomes a reality for the people in Northern Ontario. Thank you. We are in member statements. I will say to members on both sides of the House that we need to have quiet in here while we have the member statements. And I would ask, if you're entering and exiting the chamber, to please keep the noise to a minimum so we can hear the member who has the statement. And I say this to both sides of the House. Member statements. The member for Perry, Sal, Muskoka. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to congratulate some exceptional young athletes from Perry, Sal, Muskoka. Liam Brealy is a grade 11 student from Gravenhurst to in February took home a bronze FIS snowboard World Cup medal in Calgary. Liam's win adds to another impressive performance at the Youth Olympics in January, where he won two bronze medals and one silver. Along with Liam, Perry sounds Megan Oldham won bronze in women's slope style of the World Cup freestyle skiing event in February. This follows a gold medal win that I mentioned in the House last year. After being sidelined by injury for a year, Dara Howell of Huntsville is back on the freestyle skiing circuit. She started the season with a bronze medal in big air and is currently ranked sixth in the world in that discipline. Wow. And last but not least, I want to congratulate Aiden Dudas from Perry, Sal and to along with his team, won a gold for Canada, the 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. As a forward, Aiden contributed greatly to his team's success, assisting on two goals in Canada's semi-final win. He also played a key defensive role when the team was on the penalty kill. These athletes exemplify the world-class talent that Perry, Sal, Muskoka and Ontario brings to the world of sport. I hope that their success will inspire other young men and women to take on snowboarding, freestyle skiing, hockey, and any other sport that they may be interested in. Congratulations to all. Here, here. Member Statements, the Member for Toronto Centre. Thank you, Speaker. 650 Parliament Street is a high-rise rental building in St. James Town that's home to over 1,500 tenants. On August 21st, 2018, the building experienced a large electrical fire as a result of faulty and poorly maintained electrical systems. Residents had to be evacuated. And I want to give thanks to the first responders, to the City of Toronto, and to the Red Cross for the immediate supports that they provided in the wake of that crisis. Speaker, for the past 18 months, 1,500 of my constituents have been displaced from their homes. For many of my colleagues, a population of 1,500 might be the size of entire towns in your ridings. Imagine an entire town being evacuated for a year and a half. Today, I'm happy to report that tenants have started moving back home. And to those tenants from the bottom of my heart, welcome home. I'd also like to thank our local city councillor, Kristin Wong-Tam, and her office for their tireless work supporting these tenants. Speaker, I want to be clear. This fire never should have happened in the first place. This is why I tabled the St. James Town Act, which, if passed, would require that landlords of high-rise apartment buildings maintain reserve funds for repairs the same way that condos are already required to. Landlords would be better prepared to handle significant maintenance and repairs, and tenants would be better protected. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the House will support the St. James Town Act. In the midst of a housing crisis, we must do everything in our power to protect tenants and to ensure the safety of our aging stock of high-rise apartment buildings across Ontario. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Guelph. Thank you, Speaker. I rise today to thank everyone who participated in the coldest night of the year walk on February 22nd. Across Canada, 23,648 walkers raised over $5.9 million for charities that serve hungry, homeless, and hurting people in our communities. In Guelph, I joined 344 walkers to raise $98,845 for Hope House, an organization that works to alleviate poverty by building community. I want to thank everyone who supports Hope House and organizations like Hope House for the good work that they do. I see we have a number of chicken farmers of Ontario in the gallery today, and I want to thank them for their donations of food to Hope House. Speaker, I agree with many of the walkers who told me they want the provincial government to do more to support the homeless and to support people with mental health challenges. In Guelph, Wellington, 43% of the people experiencing homelessness report having a mental illness. But the wait list for supportive housing continues to grow. I urge the government to make yesterday's mental health announcement meaningful by allocating money in the budget for supportive housing to serve the most vulnerable in our communities. Thank you, Speaker. Member statements? Member for Niagara West. Speaker, I rise in the House today to share how our government has been working hard to build long-term care beds across Ontario, including building and upgrading over 700 new beds in Niagara. Under the previous Liberal government in office for 15 years at times backed by the NDP, only 152 long-term care beds were built in Niagara. Now under the previous Progressive Conservative government, almost 700 long-term care beds were built. And this clearly demonstrates our party and our government's commitment to long-term care. When it comes to building beds across the province and in Niagara, we've lived up to our promises and continue to follow through with our pledge to the growing number of seniors we who require care. This is why our government has created a ministry dedicated to long-term care. It's why our government is investing an additional $72 million this year, in addition to the $1.75 billion allocated to build and update 30,000 new long-term care beds across the province. Our government has committed to a great number of projects in Niagara, including an estimated 300 beds, including the West Hills Care Center and Lynn Haven Long-Term Care Center Home Projects in St. Catherine's, Foyer-Richelot, and Royal Rose Place Projects in Welland, Pleasant Manor Project in Virgil, as well as new beds allocated to Shalom Manor. These new long-term care bed allocations are part of our government's commitment to adding 15,000 long-term care beds over the next five years, and part of our transformational strategy to end hallway healthcare in Ontario. I want my constituents to know that I will continue advocating for more long-term care beds in Niagara, including future projects. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. This morning, I want to recognize a great initiative in Windsor and Essex County that combines our shared love of hockey with the incredibly generous spirit of the people back home. Play for a Cure is a pro-am tournament that challenges hockey teams on the ice and in the community to raise money to support cancer research locally. Players are challenged with a fundraising goal in order to improve their draft position to choose the former pro that will join their team for the tournament. It's pretty neat. Former NHLers like Paul Coffey, Adam Graves, Ally Afraidy have generously donated their time to make this event a huge success. Speaker, Play for a Cure raises funds to support initiatives in both patient care and treatment care directly in Windsor, Essex region. You can learn more by visiting playforcure.ca. They have a draft party on March the 26th and the game takes place at the Vollmer Recreational Complex in La Salle on March 27th. I want to congratulate the hard work of the event chair, Jeff Casey, who is just an incredible champion for this issue, the organizers, the sponsors, the donors for all their efforts. Congratulations to the team's research fund, Bellow Metals, Kingsville Brewery, my friend Mark Muzzin, who I've made a donation to his team. The Launa Ticks, the members of the Launa Local 625. I wish I was playing. It sounds like a ton of fun, but we certainly wish them well and we know that it's a great cause. Congratulations and go get them, boys. The next statement, the member for Kitchener Conestoga. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is a pleasure to rise today and welcome big brothers and big sisters here to Queens Park. Big brothers and big sisters is comprised of over 100 agencies serving more than 1,100 communities across this country. Think back to a role model you had when you were growing up. Maybe you was a friend, a family member, or a neighbor that helped shape you into the person you are today. I count myself lucky to have had strong mentors and individuals that gave me guidance when times were tough. The mission and vision of big brothers and big sisters is to provide all young people the opportunity to realize their full potential through mentorship relationships. Our attorney general is a former chair of his local big brothers and big sisters, and I'm sure he would say it was an incredibly rewarding experience. Last year, over 20,000 young Ontarians benefited from a mentor from the big brothers and big sisters of Ontario. Locally in Waterloo Region, 550 incredible volunteers mentored 1,300 youth last year. But even still, there are thousands of children youth in Ontario still waiting for that mentoring opportunity, Mr. Speaker. Strong mentorship leads to remarkably better outcomes for children and every child deserves the opportunity to have the confidence to go after their dream. I would encourage you all to drop by room 228 following question period today to connect with some of the volunteers and administrators if you can, consider donating some of your time to become a big for a child in your community. Thank you, Speaker. Once again, I'll remind members on both sides of the house that we are currently in member statements, and I would ask them to keep their private conversations quiet so as to allow the member who has the floor to make their statement without an eruption. And I remind both sides of the house that we need to do this. The next member's statement, the member for Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is Hart and Stroke's annual advocacy day at Queens Park called Hart at the Park. Representatives from Hart and Stroke will be here on behalf of their 15,000 volunteers and 490,000 donors across Ontario, meeting with members to discuss several important issues, including their restart a heart campaign. Cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere, any time, at any age without warning. In Canada, there are 35,000 cardiac arrests every year and less than 10% of people who have out of hospital cardiac arrests survive. Because of its sudden unexpected nature, every second counts when a cardiac arrest occurs, when an automated external defibrillator and CPR are used, survival is more than doubled. Defibrillators are easy to use, portable devices, and will only shock when needed. I have had the opportunity to work closely with Hart and Stroke on my private member's bill, bill 141, which if passed would ensure defibrillators in public places are available and accessible in an emergency. And their support and advocacy on the issue has been invaluable. But as individuals, we can all do more. Hart and Stroke will be hosting a reception this evening in the legislative dining room from 530 to 730, and will include drop-in CPR training. I encourage all members to join them there. Thank you.