 is now time for Member Statements. I recognize the Member for Timmons. Thank you, Speaker. There's a lot of people in our communities throughout Ontario have worked very hard in order to provide services to the population, to those that were, that became sick and had COVID-19. We know in the health sector, in hospitals, in public health units and long-term care homes and in the community generally. There's a lot of people that are working in an important way to provide these services and we look more specifically with respect to what's happening in long-term care homes. It's quite tragic. This situation was not a surprise. If people have been paying attention to the house for a long time, they would know that we've raised the issue of how many hours of care those residents are entitled to. If we're going to provide changes in the system, I think that these changes have to be done in collaboration with everyone in this house and with the population and we have to look at how we can add services, home care services, to provide people with the choices to stay home instead of being sent to a long-term care home. And on that, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member Statements, the Member for Berry Innisfree. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to recognize that many people in our province are deeply hurt, frustrated, outraged and saddened by the violence that has occurred across American cities over the past week. In particular, black communities in Ontario have expressed sorrow and despair over historic and modern-day slavery and racism. Although the United States has been the centre of international attention, we recognize that in Ontario, we must do more to address how racism impacts our society today, from the justice system to the education system to the child welfare system, and much, much more. I've heard voices in the black community who have made calls to me, who have shared their views on social media and who have spoken to our caucus, and I want to thank them for their honesty and their openness. This includes business leaders like Farley Flex and advocates like Jamal Javani. And it makes me think of individuals in my riding of Berry Innisfal, like when I went to the Black Women in Business event, and there were community leaders such as Claudine Cousins, the CEO of Empower Simco, Stephanie Gorely, the owner of Granite Plus, and Shelly Skinner, the owner of Shelly Skinner events. I think of Shaq Edwards, who organizes cure courts every year, a charity basketball tournament to raise money for mental health and help youth cope with mental illness. All of these leaders speak up and they want to speak up to elevate and lift those around them to reach their full potential whether they be women in business, a community advocate, or an athlete in our community. Our government is committed, Mr. Speaker, to doing our part to address community concerns and will continue to engage with community voices calling for more just society. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the member for Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. I want to begin by acknowledging the thousands of frontline workers across Windsor Essex who are showing up for our community every day throughout the pandemic. They are working long hours, making sacrifices and putting themselves at risk. I can't thank them enough for their contributions. Yet the government's pandemic pay program has shown my community that not all frontline workers are being considered equal. So many people who put themselves at risk every day are not being recognized with pandemic pay. I've been contacted by many workers in high risk environments who have been left out. However, Premier Ford says that no one else will be added to the list, making workers feel as though the line has been drawn, which separates those that the Premier feels are deserving and those he deems unworthy. For those individuals that are eligible, there are issues as well. The Premier refuses to make pandemic pay retroactive to the start of the state of emergency. Some eligible workplaces still haven't heard from the government at all. And ultimately, no one has actually received pandemic pay yet, even though it was announced in April. They're still waiting for the recognition that they deserve. Some workers told me that they had to quit one or more jobs at retirement and long term care homes because of the government's order to limit movement between workplaces. While this was important to stop the spread of the virus, it means that some folks who put in hard work in high risk environments and were then forced to quit will not receive pandemic pay for the time that they put in. The bottom line is that that Premier Ford continues to call frontline workers heroes, yet he's excluding people and delaying the recognition they deserve. Worse yet, many of these workers were already underpaid part time employees cobbling together in income through several jobs before the pandemic. This conservative government did nothing to help them then, and they're failing to help them now. These workers deserve so much better. Thank you. Member statements. The member for Mrs. Saga Maltin. To speak of the speaker global pandemic has challenged all of us. Our life has become has come to a grinding halt. Many people have lost their lives, more have become sick, even more have lost the jobs and livelihood. Yet across Ontario, beyond the numbers, beyond the terrible headlines, there are countless stories of compassion, cooperation, innovation and enterprise. During this tough time, I was able to witness a ray of hope in the form of organizations like sideham, Save a Food Bank, Malton Women Council, Malton Masjid, Jamia Masjid, Superfan Nav Bhatia, Ram Mandir, Saigon Park, Yogi Divine Society, YMCA of GTA United Six, Canada India Foundation, Amdia Muslim Jamath, My Indians in Canada Association, Care for Cause, Punjabi Food Seva, Sioux and many other organizations that have come forward to help the community. Ontario Spirit is the name Premier Ford has given to the actions of companies in competition, coming together to build ventilators, elected members working together above party lines, organizations and individuals donating cash and in kind to help those in need retirees coming back to work to pick up the Baron and join the battle across Ontario. Volunteers have gone above and beyond to help from neighbours doing cross reruns to swing circle making masks to restaurants, sending food to children, creating colorful thank you notes. To that, Mr Speaker is Ontario Spirit. Tough time is a test time to every single Ontarian. I want to say thank you. Thank you for inspiring me and thank you for your Ontario Spirit. Thank you. Thank you. The next member statement, the member for Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. It's an honour to be here today. I want to first thank our first responders and those on the front lines during this crisis and the global pandemic around the world who are protecting our communities. Indeed, COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities that we have as society is laid bare those inequities that we know exist and continue to exist. Speaker, if anything, we know now that we are only as safe as a society as the most vulnerable among us. And Speaker, as we learn more about the effects of COVID-19 and how it fragments our society, we only have to look at those who produce and provide us with safe nutrition, our farm workers and specifically our migrant farm workers who are now at the epicenter of this outbreak. We are seeing that happen across and around the province. And those are issues, Speaker, that we could have and should have addressed through regulation in this house and at the federal level to offer them the same protections that other workers around the province have and continue to have that have kept them safe. Access to PPE, the ability to self-isolate, clean, affordable, you know, and accessible living standards. Those are basic fundamentals that are putting not only them, but our entire society in parallel. Speaker, in parallel, we can do better. We must do better. These are the issues that this house has to be determined to address. I truly hope that we endeavor to do that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member's statements. The member for Perry Sound, Muscoca. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the many individuals, businesses and service clubs across Perry Sound, Muscoca that are helping us get through the COVID-19 pandemic. There are way too many to list, but I would like to mention a few. The Perry Sound Rotary Club, which from the beginning partnered with Sobies to deliver groceries in the Bracepers Rotary Club, which donated grocery gift cards to families in need. The lion's clubs have donated to our food banks and the Goodfellows Masonic Lodge, Waubano Shrine Club, made a large donation to the West Perry Sound Health Center. Muscoca Brewery has produced hand sanitizer for the hospital and others. The Muscoca Builders Association raised more than $100,000 for our hospitals and food banks. Various restaurants have provided food for our health care workers. Novel demand embroidery in Huntsville and West Perry Sound Health Center Auxiliary have put their sewing skills to use, making masks while the Perry Sound Sewing Center produced gowns for the hospital staff. True North Printed Plastics has been making face shields while Huntsville High School student Caden Ledston has 3D printed ear savers for health care workers. Tim Horton Memorial Camp donated all their food to the Perry Sound Harvest Share Food Bank. Deerhurst Resort donated their supply of PPE to Muscoca Gunkman Health Center and perishable food to the Huntsville Table Food Bank. These are just a few examples of how people and businesses around my riding are showing the Ontario spirit and supporting their communities through this difficult time. As things reopen, it's our community's turn to show support for our local businesses. I encourage everyone to shop local as much as possible to help our local businesses recover. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements. Member for Hamilton Mountain. Thank you, Speaker. During this pandemic, I have heard from many small business owners in my riding of Hamilton Mountain. They all did the right thing and closed down during COVID-19. But now they're afraid that their businesses won't survive this pandemic. Yesterday, I spoke to Christina, a small business owner who runs a dance studio. Her landlord owns 60 commercial properties and is refusing to buy into the program. And not only that, he's raising her maintenance fees by 30%. I also spoke to Teresa, who owns several hair salons, and she understands that she needs to stay close to help stop the spread. But the federal loan that she was able to receive only provides her with one month's worth of rent for her businesses. And she's uncertain what the business beauty industry will be able to operate again. Ontario needs to do more to help its small businesses. Tax deferrals just mean that they have to pay down the line. Without a commercial rent subsidy or commercial eviction programs, we are going to lose small businesses that make our community vibrant and livable. It's time for the government to listen to small businesses and take real action to help them weather this pandemic. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements. The member for Kitchener Conestoga. Well, thank you, Speaker. This week is local food week here in Ontario, a time to celebrate the agri-food producers and farmers that work so hard to feed our families. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the farmers in my riding have been working overtime to help keep our plates full of delicious local food. My family is always looking for ways to buy local food, and one of our favorite summer activities is visiting the St. Jacobs Market, which you will know very well, Mr. Speaker. It's in the township of Woolwich, right in the heart of Kitchener Conestoga. While the market is typically in full swing by now, like most local attractions and retailers, things are looking very different this year. I know that I was not the only one who was excited to hear the St. Jacobs Market receive the green light to be able to reopen on June 4th, and we will once again be able to enjoy some of the best that Ontario has to offer. The market has been supporting their vendors and working with the region of Waterloo Public Health officials and municipal leaders during this difficult time, and I want to commend them for this. Physical distancing measures will be in place, as well as additional cleaning and sanitation protocols to keep both vendors and customers safe. St. Jacobs Market is a staple of summer in my riding, and I'm grateful for all of those that have worked hard to develop this plan. I look forward to being able to stop by and support our local vendors very soon in Waterloo region. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member for Orléans. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to tell you how proud I am of the essential workers who are strong and resilient. Every day I'm inspired by their kindness and their dedication to help each other. The meeting for the elders of Ottawa continued in that effort by offering an activity for the elders. It's an example that is remarkable. We're using technology to improve ties among populations. The Eastern Ottawa Community Resource Center provide vulnerable families with the support they need every day and especially during this recent crisis. The recent together apart virtual concerts saw thousands of residents come together online to enjoy local music and raise valuable awareness and money for these important community organizations. Finally, Mr. Speaker, the events of this last week have cast a dark cloud across our community, both here in Ontario and across North America. But in that darkness, I continue to be inspired by the work of local sports organizations like the Orléans Bengals Football Club. Their outreach programs have been recognized by both mental health advocates and municipal leaders for the positive impact they have in the community. The Bengals are now putting the focus of these efforts to combating racism, leading the way to eradicate racism amongst our youth before it takes root by embracing diversity, inclusivity, and love. I want to thank them for their community leadership and ask everyone to be a bangle, not a bully. Thank you. Member statements. The Member for Oakville. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And we know these are very difficult times for everybody and there are shining examples in the Oakville community of people doing great work helping our community to those who need some help. And this needs to be recognized. Since COVID-19 began, James Montague has been organizing meals to seniors homes as well as drive-bys for special Olympians. The idea behind the birthday drive-bys is to show support and love for someone while respecting physical distancing. For the past four weeks, Zoom and the local real estate company has been coordinating with local food companies to deliver meals to frontline workers whether they are paramedics, work in retirement homes, the Kerr Street Mission, Hulton Women's Place among others. Oakville resident and realtor Sean Fang along with the Oakville Chinese community have coordinated and helped donate thousands of N95 masks and other PPE supplies. Their outstanding work is going to the Oakville Hospital, Hulton Police, Anderson House among others. Art House is a Hulton charity that has been enhancing the creativity and the positive well-being of children of Hulton for over 11 years. COVID-19 has dramatically affected the lives of Art House families and kids access to school breakfast programs and after school programming. Kerr Street Cafe, a local business very close to my constituency office, is helping Art House by providing meals to families in need through the Art House program. Finally, I'd like to also acknowledge there's actually an anonymous Oakville physician who's donated $200,000 to local food relief efforts. We should thank these people for all their great work at the St. Ontario Spirit. Thank you very much. Thank you. That concludes our member's statements for this morning.