 Members' statements? I recognize the member for Sault Ste. Marie. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, this weekend was a bit of a... We had a very, very significant scare in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend. On Friday, May 12th, a Grade 6 class from Holy Cross Family School in Sault Ste. Marie had a day planned at St. Caterie Outdoor Learning Center. St. Caterie is located on the outskirts of Sault Ste. Marie near Nettleton Lake. Myself, my kids and just about every single kid in Sault Ste. Marie has visited St. Caterie. It used to be called Camp Cora. It's a place where all classes go for field trips in those younger elementary school ages. 11-year-old Ruby Kerr was one of those Grade 6 students on Friday and at 11 a.m. that day she went missing from St. Caterie. An intense search effort began immediately. I even had occasion to deal with it in some capacity as a result of having coached against her in soccer and was involved with family and coaches with respect to... There was just a massive search, Mr. Speaker, and I don't have a lot of time to go through it, but to say that it impacted us all in our community greatly, I was on the sidelines of the soccer field coaching my oldest son and middle child son when her coach came to me and stopped me on the sidelines at halftime to tell me thankfully Ruby had just been found. I really want to place a huge thank you to Sault Ste. Marie police, the Ontario Provincial Police, especially their area helicopter pilots who helped discover Ruby by just a miraculous finding of a footprint which became the lead that located her almost 10 kilometres away from Camp Caterie where she walked through the night. Beyond the blisters on her feet and scrapes all over her legs in a very, very long scary night, she was able to be reunited with her mum and dad almost 24 hours after going missing. Thank you. Thank you. Member statements. Member for Humber River, Black Creek. Thank you, Speaker. Let me begin the short statement by wishing all mothers here and everywhere a happy belated Mother's Day. I hope yesterday was a wonderful day for you and the special mothers in your life. But Speaker, just as I proclaimed these well wishes, today I draw attention to a serious matter affecting our parents and grandparents everywhere. It is a disease called dementia which captures the set of symptoms associated with cognitive decline. This disease affects over 600,000 Canadians today. A dementia diagnosis is life-altering for both the person affected and their families and we must do more to help them. Here in Ontario we need a better strategy, a better plan. We must spread better dementia awareness and test for it early because earlier detection can help the rate of decline and help families better prepare. We must create more dementia support programs and better support the ones that exist so more people can participate sooner. We must do more to support their caregivers. The vast majority are their own adult children and spouses and we must make outside support much more affordable. A new era of dementia drugs is on the horizon that seek to finally address root causes rather than just the symptoms of dementia. When these drugs are shown to work we must make them available here as fast as possible and finally we must fix long-term care in this province once and for all. We owe it to our grandparents and parents. We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our children who we wish will long outlive us hopefully in a better world where this disease is finally eradicated. Thank you. Any further statements? The member for Simcoe Gray. Thank you very much speaker and it is certainly a pleasure today to rise in the house to talk about two championship hockey teams in Simcoe Gray. First off congratulations to the Mike Jackson calling with Junior A Blues for winning the Ontario Junior League title and the Bucklin Cup last week. They are now in La Portage La Prairie Manitoba for the Centennial Cup Playdowns and two games in that championship series they have a record of 2-0 beating the Steinbeck Pistons and the Battlefords North Stars. Mr. Speaker there's another championship junior team in the riding I'd like to talk about and that's the Stainer Siskins who are the winners of the North Conference Final of the Junior C hockey series. The Siskins defeated the Midland Flyers and really the Terriers Alliston Hornets and the Mount Forest Patriots to win the North Conference Finals and earned a spot to compete in the Schmaltz Cup Final 4 tournament in Woodstock and on Saturday they lost in a very close semi-final game to the Clarington Eagles. The Siskins and the Alliston Hornets have a very proud and long successful history for winning for decades in Simcoe Gray. But before I sit down Mr. Speaker I'd like to mention the character of these boys both off and on the ice. The calling with Junior A Blues and grocery shopping in Portage, La Prairie and gave $700 to the food drive that was matched by the grocery store for a total of $1400 to the local food bank. This speaks to the character of the players and their franchises and chose their champions both on and off the ice. Thank you very much. Member Stainless Member for London West Here at a time when kids are struggling more than ever before I want to recognize some dedicated organizations, teachers, business owners and families who are supporting London West youth. Organizations like Western University and its faculty, students and staff who this weekend welcome thousands of London area families to campus to experience the joy and fun of discovery during the sixth annual Science Rendezvous. Teachers like Michelle Osaro at the London District Catholic School Board who this year launched Ontario's first secondary school competitive robotics league developing student skills teamwork and confidence that were spotlighted this month at the Robotics World Championships in Texas and with golden silver medals at Skills Ontario. Businesses like Code Ninjas in Hyde Park owned by Amar Sokon and his wife Amani which this month celebrated the awarding of seven black belts to youth who had created a video game from concept to delivery including the first black belt in Canada and the first female black belt. And families like the parents of multiple karate world champion 13 year old Caleb the Hype Boyle who helped pump up the crowd at the Kids Help Phone Walk on May 7th and spoke about his own experiences with bullying and the importance of finding someone who will have your back and cheer you on. Deepest thanks speaker to all those who are helping young people find their passions and soar. Thank you. Member for Durham. Thank you Mr. Speaker. This past Friday, May the 12th I was very honoured to welcome Premier Doug Ford to Durham Region. I was joined as a member of the Durham Four by the Minister of Finance, the member for Bucksbridge, the member for Ajax and the member for Whitby also with the Minister of Transportation present and the Minister of Energy. The announcement of new electric double decker go buses for our go system and I can proudly say that it is warmly welcomed within Durham Region of course and across this great province. We are making new investments, record investments in public transit across Ontario and in Durham Region and the future is bright. The future is electric and that is because we are charging forward with a great plan for clean energy for record investments in public transit and I thank the Premier for joining me this past Friday. Member for St. Catherine. Thank you Speaker. I stand here today shoulder to shoulder with the good people of St. Catherine's. In fact I'm going to hand you a letter after question period. There's an elephant in the room that we cannot ignore, affordable housing and mental health resources. Our dedicated Mayor has sounded the alarm for emergency support. I stand with him. We must protect and celebrate our vibrant community. Premier, when asked about this support last week, the response was that we need more rehabilitation facilities. I understand the problem. Homeless is not just about addiction. It is more a mental health and housing issue. It is complex and we need to face it with a comprehensive solution. We cannot stigmatize our people by oversimplifying the issue. They need our help, not our judgment. You cannot rehabilitate a person if they do not have a roof over their head. St. Catherine's is a hub for Niagara's large festivals and sporting events. Take a stroll down our lively streets rich with culture and history. From the charming boutiques on James Street to the culinary delights of St. Paul Street, St. Catherine's is a gem that must be supported. This is why we fight. Our community stands united calling for immediate funding to protect our region, our city, our people. When we stand together we serve our constituents the best. I ask you to stand with us. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statements, the member for Brampton North. Thank you Speaker. Privileged to rise in the House today, stand with my sick brothers and sisters as they continue to celebrate Vasaki with Niagara-Kyrtans being held across the GTA. The sick community is one that is proud, strong, humble and selfless. We are proud to be a part of Brampton North and even having had grown up in Brampton this is something that I see firsthand every single day. Speaker, we have parades and festivals across Canada and at many of these a bottle of water costs you $3 a pop might be even more and a hot dog might run you well over 5 bucks. But at a Niagara-Kyrtans everything is given freely. The only money you can spend is actually donating back to the community, donating back to the Ghidorah. You can get water, pizza, chow, freezes, you name it. These are all donated for the Niagara-Kyrtans out of the goodness of one's heart and with the key sick principle of SAVA in mind. SAVA and sickism means selfless and voluntary service for the benefit of humanity without any personal gain. And at every Niagara-Kyrtans you will see this on full display. The community will offer so much to their neighbors all are welcome and after the parade you won't see any garbage or mess left behind because the community gets together to clean up the neighborhood. I think we can all learn these important values from the sick community. I hope everyone had or takes the opportunity to attend a Niagara-Kyrtans this year. If you need a recommendation the Guru Nanak Mission Center in my riding will be hosting on Sunday, June 4th. Hope to see you there. Member Statements the Member for Kingston and the Islands Mr. Speaker yesterday afternoon the Wolf Island ferry announced that they couldn't find workers and that the ferry would shut down from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. yet again. That shutdown included emergency services because last night a Coast Guard ship was needed to bring paramedics to the island. And this morning there are long lineups on both the mainland and the island docks. There were engine issues that prevented the ferry from running until just about an hour ago. Add to that all the people who had to stay overnight on the wrong side of the water and all the people that are waiting to start their day and it's a total mess. In this government we have a new ferry which arrived one and a half years ago and still isn't in use. New docks whose construction has been delayed by years. The government has paid two to three times the regular cost to hire temporary workers but still the lives of those who live or work on Wolf Island and Kingston are being continually disrupted. I call on this government to realize that workers have choices to pay competitive salaries and to expedite the training of both ferry operators. I call on the minister to give her personal attention and to take personal responsibility for managing the Wolf Island ferry situation until it stabilizes. Thank you. Member Statements. The Member for Whitby. Thank you Speaker. The Women's Multicultural Resource and Counseling Centre of Durham celebrated its 30th anniversary this past Saturday with inspiring hope and rebuilding lives Gallup. I was joined at the Gallup by MPP Patrice Byron from Ajax and the Honourable Charmaine Williams Associate Minister of Women's Social and Econopic Opportunity. Speaker over the years the Counseling Centre has served thousands of women across the region of Durham and our government is pleased to be able to fund the Women's Multicultural Resource and Counseling Centre of Durham so that Executive Director and New Board of Directors and Staff are able to assist women in the Durham region who have experienced social and economic barriers to Ajax services, develop the skills needed to gain financial security and live safely with a greater sense of security. Congratulations to the Counseling Centre on 30 years of service to Durham region lifting up women and their families in Durham region Thank you for your dedication to supporting women in crisis Thank you Speaker Thank you Member Statements, Member for Brampton East Thank you Speaker I've heard loud and clear from families in my writing of Brampton East and across the province about their concerns regarding the rise in violence and criminal activity over the last year To better serve our constituents our government has implemented several new measures to reassure Ontarians and safeguard families Our government is taking bold action to address this matter with our recent announcement of investing $51 million to crack down on auto theft and organized crime A few short weeks ago we moved a motion calling the federal government to reform the criminal code of Canada and implement meaningful bill reform Last July we announced 75 million in funding for police forces to crack down on guns, gangs and violence Since then we've seen significant arrests like the $110 million of stolen vehicles seized in Peele or the $3.1 million of drugs seized in Sarnia by the OPP and the RCMP I'd like to thank police officers across the province for the commendable work they do putting their lives on the line to serve and protect our communities and our families and I would like to commend the Peele Regional Police Services for working diligently in collaboration with the OPP to combat auto theft which has been a growing concern for many residents especially of mine those in Brampton Our government has heard from the residents and we are taking bold action will always do whatever it takes to ensure the safety and protection of all families across Ontario Thank you, Speaker Thank you very much That concludes our member's statements for this morning