 Unfortunately, we are out of time for questions and answers, so we will be moving to Member Statements. Member Statements. I recognize the Member for Windsor to come see. Thank you, Speaker. To be in today's March 1st is the 6th annual Professional Engineers Day in the Province of Ontario. PNJ recognizes the vital role that professional engineers play in designing, creating and safeguarding our province. I'm truly proud to be a PNJ serving the people of Ontario here at Queen's Park each and every day. It's equally fitting that representatives of the University of Windsor, a wonderful home to engineering graduates, join us today at Queen's Park. The University of Windsor's commitment to establishing strategic and meaningful partnerships with local industry remain steadfast, and countless examples exist of these pioneering relationships, including the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation, as well as the new Wine and Spears Lab, facilitated through the esteemed Faculty of Science. These partnerships can currently benefit both the students and our local economy, and our community is left better off because of them. Whether it be for the forthcoming Windsor-Essex Acute Care Hospital with shovels projected to be in the ground by 2026, or the new Stellantis LG Energy Solution EV Battery Manufacturing Plant set to be operational by 2024, Windsor and Essex County are on the brink of a generation-defining era for expansion and innovation. Windsor, the University of Windsor, has and continues to play a key role in ensuring that our homegrown talent is preparing today for both the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow. I again wish a very warm welcome to the University of Windsor team here today. Thank you. Further statements? I recognize the member for Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Speaker. This year, I launched the first-ever Member Statement Writing Competition for High School Students in Parkdale High Park. Students could submit a statement on any issue they wanted. This competition is designed to empower young people and foster youth participation in politics by bringing their voice directly to Queen's Park and speaking about issues in their own words. The winner for 2023, as selected by an independent committee, is Ian Snyder from Humberside Collegiate. Here is Ian's statement. Ontario is in a housing crisis. The Premier Ford solution allows suburban developers to create overpriced car-dependent suburbs. This isn't so much a solution as a capitulation to those who caused the crisis in the first place. It is increasing sprawl that has raised housing prices, especially in the city, where the poor have been priced out in favour of the highest bidder. The demand for walkable neighbourhoods is there, yet the government refuses to hold developers accountable to build a housing needed in Ontario. Affordable, affordable, mixed-use development. Today, more and more Ontarians favour living in the city over the suburbs. As public transit is expanded in anticipation of new residents, Premier Ford is unwilling to build destinations. As young couples are forced between living in the city and starting a family, Premier Ford refuses to build affordable housing. As food prices rise, Premier Ford lets cul-de-sacs replace farmland. Our neighbourhoods make all the difference in our lives. With walkability comes healthy living, a greener environment and a sense of community. We can build our cities to support their residents, but this government is doing the opposite just for the profit of a few developers. Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Recently, alongside the Associate Minister of Housing, I had the opportunity to meet with Habitat for Humanity, Halton, Mississauga-Dufferin and staff from the Halton Catholic District School Board to learn about their Tiny Home Youth Build Program. This program provides hands-on building experience for Halton Region high school students who are learning construction and skilled trades, all while making an impact for families and communities in need. These student-build Tiny Homes can be a solution for emergency shelter, seniors, laneway homes and can be part of the solution to the housing crunch. This project is a fantastic way to introduce students to the trades, giving them hands-on work experience and exposure in real-time under the instruction of trained professionals. Led by Alan Nathan, Notre Dame Secondary School has seen incredible interest in the program with students transferring from neighbouring schools just to participate. This year alone, there were more than 90 students on the waitlist for Alan's construction class, with more than 50 percent female. Participating students are also eligible to complete college credits and the skilled trades as part of the dual-credit program. A partnership with Chippewas of Nawash, Unceded First Nation, are the housing partners on the pilot project, and five Tiny Homes are now fully site-serviced and operated by the Chippewas community. The build program trains students in an interesting and practical way, which in turn will lead to in-demand, meaningful jobs, building a better and brighter Ontario. Member Statements, the Member for London North Centre. Thank you, Speaker. Recently I had the privilege of joining my colleagues in London to tour the new CarePoint Consumption and Treatment Services Building. Evidence shows that consumption and treatment services provide many benefits to those who access services and benefits the neighbouring community, including reducing overdoses as well as a proven track record of successful connections to health and wraparound social services. In London, this program has reversed 713 overdoses and served over 1,000 clients. This new site will provide more opportunities to expand these programs and save even more lives. CarePoint has had a long and difficult uphill battle, but we've really seen the London community open their minds and hearts, recognising the importance of supporting marginalised people. I would like to thank Brian Lester, Dr. Sonia Burke, Megan Van Bohemen, Lily Bialis, Dr. Alex Summers, Shia Dinsa, Dr. Chris Mackey, Scott Cortes, Dr. Sharon Koyvu, Dr. Andrea Serita, Pam Hill, Linda Sibley, John Parre, Ed Holder, Karen Burton and many more. After an exhaustive search for an ideal location, retiring owners of John Ballone's musical instruments, John and Moira Ballone kindly offered their building to support the community to save lives. What will always remain with me is Dr. Sonia Burke's emphasis that every person has value, meeting them where they are, hugging each person and educating our community about harm reduction. Welcome to the neighbourhood. Member Statements, the Member for Brampton West. Thank you Mr. Speaker. The youth of today are going to be the leaders of tomorrow. We must do whatever we can to empower them. Speaker that is why it is so vital that we continue providing opportunities for our youth to be engaged and involved within their community. When I was a young man, I involved myself in politics and community initiatives. These experiences showed me the value of public service. Thus I consider it a personal mission to uplift our youth and provide them with opportunities. For this reason Mr. Speaker, I founded the Brampton West Youth Council or BWIC in my writing. This youth led group has undertaken many initiatives to support their local community. I am so proud of these talented kids as they have already made a sizable impact in Brampton West through initiatives such as park cleanup, a back to school drive and fundraising for charitable organizations such as Erno kids. This truly shows the power and value of volunteering. Moving forward the BWIC continues to think of innovative ways to make an impact within the community through youth led initiatives and this March break we are planning to hold a community food drive to give back to those in need. Mr. Speaker, I am thankful to each and every member of the BWIC and I will continue to support their good work for years to come. Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Kiwetnaw. Miigwech, Wawate Radio has been an essential to life in the far north since broadcast began. Wawate means Northern Lights. Wawate Native Communications Service was created in 1974 and is a communications lifeline to the people in treaty number nine, number three and number five. Wawate is an independent self-governing media organization dedicated to telling stories from the First Nations that make up the First Nations in Northern Ontario. They operate a monthly newspaper printed in Ojibwe, Ojikri and Kri that is distributed to First Nations across the north. The overall news coverage and distribution of this service reaches the population of about 58,000 people. Wawate, Nantzhtamun or Wawate Network offers local and national news, music, community announcements, calling shows and language programs as well as special programs for women, elders and youth. The Wawate Radio Network is the only source of news in our languages. As an example, the March Break, the Northern Bands Hockey Tournament will get played in Dryden and will be broadcast across the north play by play in our languages for everyone to listen. These radio programs are an essential resource for preservation of our languages. Wawate is a communication lifeline of the people for the past 49 years. I thank you and I thank you to the elders this morning. Thank you. Member for Glen Gary, Prescott Russell. Thank you, Speaker. I take this opportunity in the house today to thank my colleagues from the Parliamentary Association of the Francophonie. I was very pleased to join them recently to participate in my first meeting as the mission head for North America. A number of parliamentarians joined us from the 29th of January to the 2nd of February. It was a great experience to have discussions with my colleagues, parliamentarians throughout different countries in the world. I'd like to thank the President, Edward Fridge, the President of the Assembly, Gaston Tung Tseng and his colleagues as well as the members of the administration for their great welcome, their warm welcome. I think their passion for the environment and for culture is exceptional as a Franco-Ontarian, much like the President of the APF, the protection of the French language, especially within minority community communities is a topic that I hold dear. So it's with much pride that I was able to represent the interests of the region as in my current position for the next two years as Parliamentary Assistant for the future of the energy. I also had very interesting discussions concerning the future of energy and electrification. The French Polynesia could eventually be added as a country that would like to work with our province in the future in order to have discussions on the future of energy. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Last night I attended the East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club AGM and I met a single mother and her daughter. I asked her, what is she hoping for? She said one day she wants to be able to raise her daughter in a house where she can play freely outside. As an immigrant to Canada from Jamaica this reminded me of the dream my parents had for our family. I now serve as the MPP for Scarborough-Gildwood and have fulfilled that dream. Toronto is a magnet for newcomers and this city must be a place where people can continue to dream and have a chance to fulfill their dreams. The beauty of Toronto is that it has the potential. However affordability remains a challenge. People need to be able to afford to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Toronto needs strong leadership that will make that happen. Strong leadership for a stronger Toronto. All levels of government must work together to achieve this. Toronto is going through some uncertain times. Not the least of which is a budget gap of $1.5 billion. For Toronto to continue on an upward trajectory the solutions will involve the provincial and federal governments playing a role to help close this gap. As Toronto emerges from the pandemic we must all work hard to keep our capital city strong so that it will continue to be the economic engine for the province and the country. I love Toronto. It's where I live and I have countless opportunities in this city. Toronto needs to be a city where all its people are included and have an opportunity to fulfill their greatest dream. Member of Statement, please come to order. Member of Statement, it's the member for Peterborough-Cortham. Thank you Mr. Chairman. I'd like to talk about a group of people from my riding who have inspired me on so many occasions to do more. One of the things that I've instilled consistently in my children is if you can do more than do it. If you can help someone then help them. If you can make a difference in someone's life then step forward and make that difference. Four ladies in my riding started something for their adult children because there wasn't a social entrepreneur program for people with Down syndrome. It started in Norma's backyard as the Down syndrome business group and has grown to its own charity now called Hearts for Joy. At present it's 16 artisans with varying exceptionalities who come together and create some truly inspiring art. I'm sure all of you have heard of Elf on the shelf but did you know about gnome in your home? Maybe you have tiki-likes on your deck and you'd like to replace them with hand-painted lanterns that look like stained glass. On February 10th I had the pleasure of being at their official opening of their new shop in the Charlotte Muse. The new space will allow for a retail outlet for the group to sell their crafts and a great space for the artisans to do their masterpieces. Norma, Debbie, Sharon and Irene. What you have done for Amelia, Allison, Derek, Julie, Nicole, Carly, Tyler, Connor, Jessica, Josh, Jory, Luke and Casey can't be measured. You inspire everyone who meets you to do more and to be a better person. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Member Statements. The Member for Richmond Hill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize and appreciate the immense contributions of the non-profit sector in Ontario. The non-profit sector plays a vital role in the communities by providing essential services and resources to those in need, supporting social courses and enhancing the quality of life for everyone. I like to extend my gratitude to the staff and professionals of the non-profit sector. They are the community champions who have dedicated their time and effort to make a positive impact on our society. They have worked tirelessly to provide much needed support and assistance to the most vulnerable members of our communities. I thank the government for supporting the non-profit sector Appreciation Week and I appreciate all the members here going around in their communities thanking each one of them. Definitely, they deserve our appreciation. I commend that I'm wafering commitment to make a difference in the lives of Ontarians. Their selfless dedication and hard work deserve recognition and appreciation. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I beg to inform the House that the following document has been tabled, a report entitled Expenditure Monitor 2022-2023 Q3 from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario.