 We will now transition to member statements. I recognize a member for Eglinton Lawrence. I have the pleasure of rising today to speak about a great organization in my writing of Eglinton Lawrence. We made a rookie error. I will recognize the member. I recognize the member for Niagara Center and I apologize. No problem we could have kept going speaker but congratulations on your appointment. I rise today to talk about a crisis-facing abused women in my writing. Women's Place of South Niagara is being forced to close Serenity House which since 1996 has been a safe haven for women and children fleeing domestic violence in the city of Welland. Chronic underfunding by the provincial government has forced women's place to fundraise to be able to stay open over the years. Each year the agency must raise approximately $550,000 to maintain programs and keep the lights on. But the COVID-19 lockdowns made that nearly impossible. So at a time when this service is needed the most the agency has to make the difficult decision to consolidate operations at Nova House in Niagara Falls and close the 10-bed shelter at Serenity House in Welland. Jennifer Gautier executive director of Women's Place of South Niagara tells me the decision to close the Welland shelter was not taken lightly. Not only have domestic violence rates increased during the pandemic but the severity of the injuries suffered by victims has also escalated. Mr. Speaker it's time this government pulled its head out of the sand and addressed the crisis faced by women's shelters across the province. They need a multi-year commitment to increased funding so they can continue their important work supporting women in crisis in these especially desperate times. Thank you Thank you. Now I look to the number from Eglinton Lawrence. Thank you Speaker I apologize for that earlier. I had the pleasure of rising today to speak about a great organization my writing of Eglinton Lawrence that's been helping people of Toronto and York find employment for decades. Last night I had the honour of attending the JVS Toronto's 74th annual AGM as they prepared themselves for the future. It's been a very difficult year and their new mantra is the world has changed our vision has not. JVS was founded in 1947 with the goal of helping victims of the Holocaust and veterans of the Second World War find employment as they move beyond the horrors of war to rebuild their lives here in Ontario. As JVS experienced success in helping the Jewish community it expanded its outreach to serve the broader community in finding work. JVS holds its values for values in particular as important excellence collaboration integrity and respect and these are values of course worth celebrating and they lead to great things for people values not only important in finding work but in helping people reach their full potential. I want to congratulate all the award winners recognized last night and the board member staff volunteers clients of JVS and particularly the retiring president and CEO Kim Coulter for her 31 years of service to JVS. Civic minded institutions like JVS are the cornerstone of communities here in Ontario like my own in Eglinton Lawrence and I am very very proud of all the work that they're doing and happy to congratulate them on all of their efforts. Keep up the great work. Thank you. Member statements to Member for Oshawa. Thank you Speaker. After this long summer recess this PC government restarted the legislature with a lackluster speak from the throne that among other things failed to mention back to school. It failed to mention education entirely and yesterday was World Teachers Day. We were all again reminded that this government had yet to prioritize public education during this pandemic. Since the beginning we should have seen what has been begged for by by education workers parents family students and the opposition smaller class sizes air quality standards and reporting fewer kids on buses staffing supports and testing kits. However since the beginning what we have seen is this government turning its back on students. I fervently believe in public education and full disclosure I was an elementary school teacher for a long time so I fundamentally believe in investing in the futures of kids. I believe in strong public services. I don't believe in disassembling a world-class education system while folks are distracted by a pandemic to stealthily scrap it and sell it for parts which appears to be the goal of this premiering government frankly I am hearing from the education world that children as young as kindergarten fighting running out of school self-harming and struggling desperately. Times are brutal. Our classrooms and our students need care and investment. More and more teachers and education workers are frantically trying to leave the profession. We don't have enough EAs or custodians. Teachers are trying to take early retirement. Perhaps if this government didn't attack and neglect them they might feel that they could continue. This government's aggressive agenda of cuts and privatization makes me sick and so my message to this premier is end the attacks and support public education. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member for Sarnia Lampton. Thank you Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today to announce another critical investment in Sarnia Lampton by the government of Ontario. Speaker as part of the 2021 provincial budget our government announced the historic investment of $240 million over four years in Ontario's children's treatment centers and preschool speech and language programs. As a result I'm pleased to announce that Pathways Health Center for Children our local Children's Treatment Center will receive an increase in annualized funding of over $1.1 million or a 24% increase to help them deliver important services and support children and youth in our community. Already Pathways provides a range of essential rehabilitation services to over 3400 children and youth and this 1.1 million investment will help them to build service capacity and increased access to preschool speech and language services and community and school-based rehabilitation services. Mr Speaker we know that early intervention leads to better long-term outcomes for children and youth. By improving access to assessments and early intervention services children will begin receiving services and working towards goals sooner. This investment in Pathways Health Center for Children is an investment in the children and young people of Sarnia Lampton. Together with our partners at Pathways this provincial government is working so every young person has the best opportunity to achieve their life's goals and be set up for success. Thank you Mr Speaker. Thank you very much. The member for Spadina Fort York. Thank you Mr Speaker at this time of year millions of birds are migrating across the Great Lakes to winter in Ontario and millions of more are migrating south but many do not make it. Windows that reflect the sky and clouds can appear invisible to a moving bird so they continue to fly at high speeds until they smack into the glass and fall to the ground. The bird photographer Brea Ramsey writes that if you walk around one of the city's large towers during the migratory season you'll find the bodies of dead birds with their feet curled up in the air. These are brilliantly coloured birds including electric blue indigo buntings warblers with yellow green and blue wing markings and scarlet tenagers with regal red feather plumage. Flap Canada states that over 25 million birds die through collisions with windows in Canada each year. Let's see. Thankfully we have a way to dramatically reduce bird collisions with windows. Nearly 19,000 people have signed a petition asking to prevent further damage to bird populations including petitions by BirdSafe and Flap Canada. This week I am introducing a motion to adopt the Canadian Standards Association 2019 bird friendly design standard into the Ontario building code for all new construction in the province of Ontario. This is a proactive and inexpensive measure that will protect Ontario's biodiversity for years to come. Thank you. Thank you very much. Members statements? Then member for Ottawa or now? Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker for months optometrists in Ontario have been trying to have discussions with the government about the challenges in the OHIP funding model. And despite months of warnings that they would withdraw their service the government shows not to engage with optometrists to resolve their concerns. OHIP covered eye exams ended over a month ago and the Ontario government continues to be absent from meaningful discussions with the Ontario Association of Optometrists. Eye sight is not a luxury Mr. Speaker. Imagine you're the mom of two school eye tests to perform their best at school and to participate in the extracurricular activities that they've been missing for so long. Their eye tests were cancelled Mr. Speaker. Examine is covered by the insurance center. Eye tests stopped a month ago. The Ontario government is not negotiating with the optometrists Association of Ontario. Imagine that you are on the head of an elderly house like David. David cannot see with one of his eyes. It's an easily corrected condition with glasses. Unfortunately David cannot get an appointment with an optometrist. We need a solution now. Optometrists and work out a deal so that they can once again provide world-class eye care to Ontarians. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member statements. The member for Haldeman Norfolk. Thank you speaker and as you know Haldeman Norfolk boasts an abundance of fairs and festivals to our varied and rich farm heritage. These fairs, festivals, parades, cap off the planting season, the harvest seasons and signify a celebration of sorts after months and months of hard work. Dunwell hosts the Mudcat Festival and at Summer Fair as well. Port Rowan has Bay Fest. There's a Langton Fair, Houghton Fair, Simcoe's Friendship Festival, Donnie Brook in Charlotteville, Fall Fest in Delhi, and then the quaint town of Waterford, well known for its pumpkin fest. Well some of these festivals have been sideline during the pandemic. I was pleased last week that the show was on once again in Caledonia for their fall fair. Great time was had by all I can attest. Next year will be their 150th fair and just yesterday the famous Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show kicked off their 181st year. The fair has in place many safety precautions. We're still able to take take in the traditional events, the livestock shows. Entertainment coming up includes Tim Hicks and the James Barker Band. So as the area MPP I'm so heartened a tremendous amount of work goes forward from our volunteers and kudos to all for soldiering through these time-tested traditions. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next statement, the member for Hamilton East, Stony Creek. Next speaker. Speaker it's too bad we are not allowed to have visitors in the gallery these days and I'm sure that to Mike Wood the founder and main advocate for Hamilton tenants in Unity would be sitting in our gallery listening intently as the problems he and our office are witnessing with residential tenants who are being harassed, shamed, scared, and bullied throughout Hamilton. Local media headlines such as exterior door removed by landlord or on-site laundry machines increased to $20 for a wash and dry may seem strange and like anything people from more affluent communities are accustomed to hearing but my office hears these strange complaints from tenants every day. What do you tell a person who is in tears in her early 70s and is informed that she doesn't leave she has to leave herself $700 a month apartment for renovations she will be evicted and removed by a sheriff if she doesn't. How do you explain to her that the landlord and tenant board hearings are only being conducted virtually and that she'll have to buy pay for and learn to use a smartphone in the next few weeks or miss out on her chance to defend her home from outside investors who see no value in her living peacefully on Melvin Avenue and do not concern themselves that without this apartment she's bound for a life on the streets currently the landlord and tenant board system is broken and the people of Hamilton know it they see the bullying and harassment from investment class landlords and nameless numbered companies every day they see their ever-increasing misery of overheated housing market what do they what they don't see is a government that is doing anything about it while they leave the and the fighting to homes to advocates like Mike and his ilk being forced out of your home at any age is a great mental and emotional burden especially when there is nowhere to go that is even slightly close to being within your budget we need to stop the profiteering and start listening to what our community needs safe secure and affordable housing thank you member statements the member for Whitby thank you speaker the chair of government has provided up to 696 million dollars this year to help cover historic working fund deficits with a focus on small medium as well as specialty and rehabilitation hospitals i'm pleased speaker that this includes over nine million dollars for enteral shore center for mental health sciences in Whitby in support of their world-class programs and services overall speaker enteral shores has been a recipient of approximately 16 million dollars over the past three years from the government clearly the government is determined speaker to build a comprehensive and connected mental health and addiction system that benefits during regional residents and people in other parts of the province speaker at the end of the day our government remains committed absolutely committed to supporting hospitals like enteral shores and others in during region so that they can continue to care for hardworking families today and in the future thank you speaker thank you the next member statement the member for Barry in a spell thank you speaker as a representative for Barry in a spell are I also represent a part of the manufacturing might that is Ontario and Barry in a spell we have incredible companies that have been not only employing more people helping to the province's economic recovery but they're ready to take on more and I wanted to announce that our government has contributed to the skills development fund and the second career program so people can take advantage of these opportunities to hide to have high paid skill trade jobs but there's businesses in berry that are still looking for individuals and our government has also invested in these manufacturing companies joe me for example they have a multi-year relationship with tesla and lucid motors and they plan to expand into the u.s. market they've created 20 jobs and retain 23 jobs thanks to this government's investment but they can take on more people and are ready to do so tempo plastics also received additional funding from our government not only are they employing 144 individuals but again they also have the ability to take on more innovative automation and Steve Loftus and Barry they received investment from from Barry or from this government to allow for their automation sector to glow to grow globally and they can take on more individuals as they continue and to innovate matzoo manufacturing and Barry also was able to receive funding from this government to create 24 new jobs and certainly they can take on more sbs drive tech and berry and what they're doing they have been able to double their production capacity and optimize efficiency thanks to this government and lastly ten our doors is ready to expand they have many employees now but if you're looking check them out because there is so much manufacturing growth in berry and we're very excited for economic recovery that concludes our members statements for this morning i'd like to bring to the attention of the house that on monday october 18 a limited number of legislative pages will return to their duties in the chamber this fall as we welcome them back to the legislative building their health and safety as well as everyone who has direct contact with them is our top priority that's why during this trial period we have only accepted applications from grade eight students who've received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as well as ensuring that anyone who works directly with the page program is also fully vaccinated we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic as we all will and our response to it ensuring that all occupants of the precinct are protected i beg to inform the house that the following document has been tabled a report entitled federal and provincial COVID-19 response measures 2021 update from the financial accountability office of Ontario the member for Ottawa south has informed me that he has a point of order that he wishes to raise a point of order i seek unanimous consent to move a motion without notice calling on the government of Ontario to immediately make COVID-19 vaccinations mandatory for all front line health care and education workers in the province including hospital workers psw's and home and community care staff member for Ottawa south is seeking unanimous consent of the house to move a motion without notice with respect to private members public business agreed i heard a note i will ask for the house's attention on june 14th 2021 the member for london west miss satler and the member for york centre mr beiber rose on questions of privilege respecting the ability of members to rise on points of order to seek the unanimous consent of the house regarding the business of the day the member for london west subsequently provided a written submission in support of her questions and gave an additional oral submission to the house yesterday i am now prepared to rule on the questions raised by the members let us first revisit the events of june 14th which was the last day the house sat before the summer recess at various times during that day's proceedings members rose on supposed points of order each time seeking the unanimous consent of the house to give immediate consideration to a private member's bill or a motion or to move a substantive motion without notice made over and over again the requests cumulatively made it difficult for the house to conduct its scheduled business as speaker i eventually found these requests to be disorderly and came to the view that they were being used for a military purpose not provided for in the standing orders or the assembly's practices as a practical and reasonable response i made the decision to ask the house if there was unanimous consent to consider any business other than the bill that had been called for debate when that request was not granted i chose to move on from any further unanimous consent requests and resume the business at hand let me remind members that among other responsibilities the speaker has an obligation to ensure that the house is able to conduct the business that is before it more on that later in the course of the day's events the members for london west and york center both raised concerns framed as issues of parliamentary privilege while they raised objections related to the procedures and practices of the house as well as the role and response of the speaker to the events of june 14th they did not establish that any parliamentary privilege had been breached let me remind members that there are a number of specific parliamentary privileges which a standing order 23a indicates may be categorized as either a member's individual privilege or a collective privilege of the house quote conferred by the legislative assembly act and other statutes or by practice precedent usage and custom end quote the matters brought before the house by the two members would have been more appropriately raised as points of order and i will respond to them now as such perhaps bears explaining what a point of order actually is a point of order according to the third edition of house of commons procedure in practice at pages 636 to 638 and i quote is an intervention by a member who believes that the rules or customary procedures of the house have been incorrectly applied or overlooked during proceedings when recognized on a point of order a member should state only which standing order or practice the member considers to have been breached and if this is not done the speaker may request that the member do so end quote standing order 14 provides that when raising points of order members are to make their points tersely and without interruption by other members the speaker's responsibility include the preservation of order and decorum in the house and ruling on points of order the latter involves interpreting the rules and practices of procedure to address issues as they arise out of the proceedings the speaker may rule either immediately after a point of order is raised or after taking the necessary time to consider the standing orders and precedence while the speaker should hear a valid point of order when one is raised the chair retains the discretion not to entertain a member who persists with point of order this discretion is supported by various procedural authorities irskine may at paragraph 21.49 of the 26th edition says speakers have exercised discretion over taking points of order House of Commons procedure and practice at page 637 says points of order are often used by members in attempt to gain the floor to participate in debate in such cases the speaker will not allow the member intervening to continue finally Australia's House of Representatives practice at page 193 of the seventh edition says that when points of order are which are inordinately long frivolous or dubious validity are raised the chair would normally intervene what is a valid point of order the question is sometimes muddled because of the occasional but longstanding practice of using points of order to gain the floor for purposes not actually related to matters of order speakers have not objected to allowing members from time to time to use points of order for example to apologize to ask for a moment of silence to seek unanimous consent to expedite the business of the house or wave notice to vote on a motion without debate to wish a member a happy birthday or announce the birth of a child or on occasion to immediately pass a bill well this has been somewhat common practice it is one that is typically used sparingly and has mostly been used when there is known agreement among the parties to proceed with the request in her written submission the member for London West noted that the excessive requests for unanimous consent that were made on June 14th were similar to requests that have been made on many occasions in this parliament requests that at the time had been deemed acceptable in her submissions made yesterday the member made the point that conducting business by unanimous consent is very often helpful to the house and indeed it occurs frequently enough in this house that it could be said to have entered the realm of established practice and I agree the member also said that historically there have been few limitations on the subject matter or nature of unanimous consent asked for I also agree with this assertion but this is the point where the distinction can be made between what has become an accepted practice in the house and what has happened on June the 14th deviated from that practice the sheer extent and volume of those requests on June 14th was a striking and obvious change from the typical use of unanimous consent in other words it is not the case that when members simply utter the phrase point of order that the speaker is then somehow obligated each and every time without limit to give members the floor and interrupt whatever other business is properly before the house indeed previous speakers have intervened to deal with the kind of dilatory measures that occurred on June the 14th for instance on April 2nd 1997 at pages 7523 to 24 of the debates the house found itself in a very similar circumstance to the one that we're contemplating today after members raised several lengthy points of order and requests for unanimous consent in succession speaker stockwell decided to disallow further interventions so that the house could move on to the next proceeding providing the following explanation I don't ever want to cut a member off from a point of order because I think it's very very important that they have the right to stand on those points of order but it's also very important that we're allowed to continue the business of the day a few days later on April the 6th 1997 at page 8386 of the debates speaker stockwell elaborated on the role of the speaker I believe that a modern definition of speaker requires that decisions are taken are also in the best interest of the institution of parliament on occasion in particular when faced with extraordinary circumstances speakers may have to intervene in a way which seeks to enable the parliamentary process to accomplish the business at hand our precedents are supported by similar decisions made in the house of commons in a ruling from May 27th 2019 at page 28,059 of the debates speaker Regan explained that the use of unanimous consent to expedite the business of the house quote confers on the chair a certain discretion to determine to what extent a motion needs to be read particularly when they are unusually lengthy like this ruling or when multiple motions are presented one after the other on February the 6th 2004 speaker Millican had stated at page 245 of the debates I want to say right off that if every member had the right to stand up and ask for consent to move motions and then stood there stood here in red motions all day no business would be conducted in the house in my view members do not have such a right they are asking for consent if consent is not going to be given then we cannot have interminable requests for unanimous consent end quote speaker Regan continued that requests for unanimous consent are not to be used as a method to thwart the rules of the house or as a dilatory tactic therefore to uphold the integrity of the process the speaker the chair will continue to invoke its authority particularly when it becomes clear that the motions are deliberately too lengthy when they are continuously attempted in a repetitive way or when they stray from the realm of debate applying these authorities to what happened on June the 14th the requests may have been individually acceptable but the volume and disruptive effect of these requests made it a matter of order requiring intervention by the chair pursuant to standing order 14A parenthetically it's worth being mindful of the fact that when the business before the house the business before the house could have just as easily been an opposition day or private members public business and to consider the impact of repeated and dilatory points of order in that context the member for london west and the member for york centre questioned the speaker's decision to test the house by asking if there was unanimous consent to consider matters other than the business currently before it again this was a prerogative of speaker and is irskan may explains in paragraph 21.49 of the 26th edition that quote cases may arise upon which the rules of the house are indistinct or obsolete or do not cover directly to the issue at the point at issue the speaker will then usually give a ruling to cover the new circumstances on occasion referring the matter to the judgment of the house boshane's parliamentary rules and forms of the house of commons of canada sixth edition at page 98 states sometimes instead of expressing an opinion on one side or the other the speaker may ask in ask instructions from the house one example from our own practice occurred on March second 2006 at pages 2364 to 65 of the debates a member raised a point of order regarding the division procedure provided by a time allocation motion arguing that it was out of order and proposed an alternative way of proceeding while the member himself did not test unanimous consent the speaker took it upon himself to test the house to see if there was unanimous consent to address the issue raised by the point of order and in that case there was finally i will address the question raised by the member for york center in which he asserted that quote there's nothing in the rules that precludes a member from rising on a motion without notice whether it's brought under a point of order or not end quote in response i will direct the member's attention to the definition of substantive motions contained in standing order three which states such motions require notice and must be submitted to the speaker in writing when moved before being put to the house for debate as well standing order 101 establishes the requirements for filing notice of and moving a private member's motion so in short points of order will normally be heard and legitimate points of orders will be acknowledged and recognized but if they are repeated over and over and they are intended to obstruct the business of the house we may have to move on i will conclude by stating that the house has exclusive control of its own proceedings and it has a long history of adapting in the face of change changing circumstances and challenges so that it can continue to carry out its functions i will continue to endeavor to maintain an appropriate balance between individual members ability to gain the floor and the orderly progress of the business before the house and i thank the members for their submissions