 It's now time for Member Statements. The Member for Spadina, Fort York. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to speak today about some changes to the post-secondary system in our province, our colleges and universities that this government is making. They've recently announced that they're cutting $700 million in student financial aid to college and university students. And there's that, which causes great concern, but the other concern is that the government is also going to have 60% of the operating grant from the government to our colleges and university tied to metrics. So in other words, the government could withhold up to 60% of the operating funding of our colleges and universities. And the question is why would they arm themselves with such a big bat in order to control our colleges and universities? When the research clearly shows that this type of strategic mandate, or this type of funding, actually is detrimental to the quality of education that students receive. In fact, I'll quote from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, which is a Crown Agency, and they say that research on outcomes-based funding, such as the government is doing, of higher education is shown little evidence that these policies are associated with improved student outcomes. So the government is arming themselves with this enormous bat, 60% of the operating funding for colleges and universities. They haven't said why they want to do this. It's actually going to be detrimental to the quality of education that students receive. And it's jeopardizes and makes long-term planning for those colleges and universities virtually impossible. So thank you, Mr. Speaker. Member Stavins, the member for Richmond Hill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to thank the Intercultural Dialogue Institute for hosting the 2019 Public Heroes Award. It recognizes the dedication and excellence of individual members or team members of police, fire, paramedic, services in Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP, OPP, Orange, and Corrections Ontario. I was honored to be invited on the selection committee. I admit that it was not an easy selection because all of them had put themselves forward selflessly to protect us. A total of 12 awards were presented at the MPP for Richmond Hill. I'm happy to see Sergeant Robert Cassin receive one of the awards. And I also have the honor of presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Chief Jennifer Evans. She has served POW Regional Police since 1983 and have done a lot of different things for the organization. In 2012, she was appointed as the Chief of Peel Regional Police. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our brave men and women in uniform for protecting us. Our government values your contribution. You have our full support. We will better equip you to keep our communities safe. Thank you. Thank you. Member Stavins, the member for Windsor-Dakumsi. Thank you, Speaker. We lost a dear friend recently down my way. Daphne Clark was a community activist and a true trailblazer for racialized women. She came to Windsor from Jamaica in 1980. She was a registered nurse who opened her first black history bookstore. As a reporter many years ago, Daphne convinced me I needed to buy and read a book on Mary Ann Shadd, who was a journalist and an abolitionist, the first woman publisher in Canada, and the first black publisher in North America. That deal cemented our friendship. Daphne founded the non-profit Windsor Women, working with immigrant women. She was a former president of the Windsor Enterprise Skills Training Group and the Essex County Black Historical Society. She was active with the West Indian Association, the Underground Railroad Monument Committee, Windsor's Multicultural Council, the Carousel of Nations, St. Alphonse's Church, the Urban Alliance, and so many other worthy organizations in our community. Daphne Clark was a strong woman who led by example. She was compassionate, had a heart of gold in her. For her many volunteer efforts, she was recognized by many times by a grateful community. In 2016, she was given one of the 100 Black Canadian Women Awards. That added to her Queen Elizabeth Diamond and Jubilee, Golden Jubilee Medals, her Governor General's Sovereign Medal for Volunteers, her Leadership Award from the Windsor District Black Coalition, the Volunteer Recognition Award from the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture, as well as many others, including in 1992 the Commemorative Medal for Volunteers as we celebrated Canada's 125th anniversary. As her dear friend and author and historian Irene Moore Davis wrote on Daphne's passing speaker, when an elder dies, a library burns. Rest in peace, Daphne Clark. You've set an example for us all. Thank you. Member statements? A member from Niagara West. Thank you very much, Speaker. I'm happy to be able to rise in the House today and tell my constituents about Bill 87 fixing the Ontario Hydro Mess Act. I am so excited because when I first ran for a member of provincial parliament from Niagara West, I docked on thousands and thousands of doors and door after door. People were pleading for relief from their soaring hydro bills. It was by far the biggest issue during my by-election November of 2016. Under the previous Liberal government, that never happened. They destroyed our electricity system through misguided ideological policies that forced families and businesses to pay far too much for hydro bills. They tried to fool the people of Ontario with the Fair Hydro Plan, which hid the true cost of the program from taxpayers. But voters saw through the Liberal government scheme, and this is why they elected our government to restore transparency to the provincial electricity system. So, Speaker, what a relief it is that we're delivering on our promise by proposing legislation that ensures everyone in Ontario will not only see the true cost of electricity on their hydro bills, but will also save $400 million in servicing costs for rate payers. After being elected, Speaker, we immediately cancelled 791 renewable energy contracts, saving the people of Ontario almost $800 million. We repealed the Green Energy Act to ensure that expensive renewable energy projects will never again be forced into unwilling communities, and it's all part of our plan to restore Ontario's energy advantage that was lost under 15 years of Liberal mismanagement. We have a long road ahead, but I can look my constituents in the eyes and say help is on the way. Thank you. The member for Nickel Belt. Thank you, Speaker. I would like to give this government a quick tip as to how they can help residents like mine in the constituents of mine in Northern Ontario. Many of the communities in Nickel Belt are very small. They're run by a local services board. If people do not pay their taxes, the land goes back to the Crown. It goes back to the government. So here you have, in the middle of Gogama, in the middle of Foliette, you have a piece of land that used to have a house on it. It has water. It has sewer. It has electricity. It's on a paved road. It has street lights, but you are not allowed to sell it. Why? Because the District's Office of Natural Resources and Forest is so understaffed that they cannot handle the selling of this land. So here you have a government who talks about being pro-business. Here you have this government who talks about cutting red tape. Well, you have a prime example. You have a lot in the middle of a local community that people want to buy because it's located just beside the gas station across the street from the LCBO. It's a perfect place to open up a new business. The land is owned by the Crown and nobody is allowed to buy it because the Crown doesn't have enough staff in the District's Office because this government froze hiring in the public sector. I have a tip for them. This is not the way to grow the North. Thank you, Speaker. Member Statements, the Member for Guelph. Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to pay tribute to a real Canadian hero, Dr. William Weingard, a World War II veteran, President of the University of Guelph, MP and Cabinet Minister, husband and father, passed away on January 31st. Everyone I know in Guelph respected, appreciated and loved Bill. As a dedicated Rotarian, Bill lived the Rotary motto of service above self. He believed deeply in our shared responsibility to each other. He was always willing to volunteer and advocate for the public good. He especially loved reading to young students and advocating for veterans. Mr. Speaker, the two of us had an opportunity to join members of the Guelph-Wellington community to pay tribute to Bill's memory a couple weeks ago at a beautiful service hosted by the University of Guelph. And it is clear that Dr. Weingard will be missed but not forgotten. He will always be loved by those he touched, especially his family, who I offer my deepest condolences. Your husband, father, grandfather, Dr. William Weingard will leave and has left a remarkable legacy and he will always be remembered in our hearts and our minds. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Scarborough Agent Court. Mr. Speaker, on April 24, 2019, Armenians in Ontario, Canada and around the world commemorated the 104th anniversary of the Armenian genocide that took place in the Ottoman Empire. Last Sunday I was proud to attend commemoration ceremonies with our ministers of environment, minister of tourism, culture and sports, and minister of seniors and accessibility in addition to many fellow MPPs. We stood shoulder to shoulder with Ontario's vibrant Armenian community on an issue of principle and importance not just to Armenians but also to everyone who believes in human rights and justice. The Armenian National Committee of Toronto organized the event. 104 years ago Armenians alongside Greeks, Assyrians, Caldians and Syriac were massacred, deported from their homelands, brutalized and sadly their communities decimated. One and a half million Armenians were killed during the genocide. The trauma of that horrific period remains with the Armenian community today. Sadly to this day some have continued to deny this dark period in the history of these communities, which has magnified the pain and the suffering that continues to be carried by children and grandchildren of survivors like myself. Mr. Speaker, finally I am proud to be part of the government and the caucus that understand up in solidarity with victims of genocides everywhere. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker and thank you for letting me rise today. I like to send my heartfelt thanks and support for all those who come from around the province today to fight for public health care, paramedics, nurses, PSWs and many more concerned Ontarians. We are with you. We are your voice here and will never let up on our fight for publicly funded, publicly run and publicly delivered health care. Ford promised that people of this province would never have to pay out of their pocket for health care. Yet that's exactly what he's making people do. I'm going to interrupt the member and remind him that we refer to other members by their writing name or by a ministerial title if applicable. Thank you. Even for a short day trip, we'll go to the United States. Despite the fact that the Canadian Health Act states that residents will be covered by OHIP when they leave this province, that's in the act. This PC government is removing that vital OHIP coverage for people who leave the province. This isn't a few people. This is literally thousands, including in my writing. And what was the minister of health's response? They can purchase private health insurance if they leave Ontario. Mr. Speaker, people already pay health care insurance for their taxes for this government. The PC government can pretend that people don't depend on their OHIP coverage. But they need to listen to the people on the lawn, 20,000 here today. Ontario's will not accept a Conservatives going forward with its American-style move that puts profit before people and makes it no cash, no care situation. If you are a resident and a taxpayer in this province, then you should get the health care coverage you already paid for, whether that's at home or whether it's out on your problem. Member Statements. The Member for Mrs. August Center. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May 1st is Doctors' Day in Ontario. It is a day to recognise the significant contribution of doctors in providing safe, effective and quality care to patients and families across Ontario. I want to say thank you to all the doctors for making the health and well-being of Ontarians your life's work. Here in Ontario, we are grateful to have some of the best and most dedicated doctors in the world. As a nurse, I have many mentors and friends among my doctor colleagues. They have been instrumental in my nursing formation, often teaching me my vital nursing skills. Mr. Speaker, our government's priority continues to focus our healthcare investments where they will have the most impact on direct front-line care. We want to support the important work being done by our hard-working and dedicated doctors who provide patients with high-quality care each and every day across this province. By putting patients at the centre of what doctors do, they demonstrate each and every day what it means to deliver high-quality care. Together, we will strengthen Ontario's public health care system and centre it around the needs of patients, families and caregivers. Thank you to all doctors. Thank you. Member Statements. Mrs. Saga East Cooke-Saul. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we were all very devastated to hear yet another unprecedented act of terror that occurred in our world on Easter Sunday, this time in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I want to also mention the horrific shooting that happened this past weekend in a Senegal. It truly grieves me to hear all of these senseless attacks on innocent people. No one should ever have to fear attending any place of worship. Places of worship are to be safe. No one should feel any other way. Mr. Speaker, today I stand here in this house with my colleagues to condemn these heinous attacks and offer our sincerest sympathies to the victims and their families. Our role as MPPs is to bring communities together and promote peace. All religions and moral compasses forbid all forms of terror and extremism, including these heinous attacks that happened last week. All religions place a strong emphasis on especially protecting all places of worship, including and not limited to churches, synagogues, temples and mosques. The loss of over 250 innocent worshipers and civilians during one of the most sacred days of the year for a Christian is unimaginable. The terrorist attacks that have happened these past few months are in affront to humanity. We must all come together to create peace and unite in solidarity to show that such acts of terrorism are not welcome in our city, province, country or world. Violence and hatred is never the answer. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Thank you. That concludes our member's statements for this afternoon.