I’m looking forward to getting a chance to take part in debate a little bit later this afternoon.

I did hear during the member from Ottawa West–Nepean’s dissertation here this morning that she said a lack of capital funding has been something that has plagued the province over the last few years.

I’m just curious to know why $15 billion in capital funding, which is the most the province has ever seen, would be such a plague on the province?

Merci à ma collègue d’Ottawa-Ouest–Nepean. Vous avez parlé de la situation dans les écoles francophones, la pénurie d’enseignants, de comment il y a, je pense, 300 lettres d’autorisation pour enseigner en Ontario. On sait que dans ce projet de loi, on ne le voit pas. Puis on a entendu aussi des associations des conseils scolaires francophones qui disent que ça ne répond pas au besoin, au grand besoin, parce que—si je vous ai entendu, même—c’était 3 000 dans votre présentation. Si ce n’est pas réparé, ça peut être jusqu’à 3 000, le manque d’enseignants dans les écoles scolaires francophones.

Je vous demande : ce projet de loi-là répond-il aux besoins de la communauté francophone? Et aussi, le manque de respect—vous avez parlé de ce qu’ils font quand ils rencontrent les conseils scolaires francophones et du manque de respect envers eux. J’aimerais vous entendre sur ces deux points-là.

Mr. Speaker, it’s with a heavy heart that I rise today to share some very sad news from the riding of Carleton. The last remaining member of the two-man team that covered local news across the riding of Carleton for nearly half a century has passed away. John Brummell, a long-time community activist and photojournalist, passed away peacefully in his home on March 18, 2023.

John Brummell was very devoted to his wife, Rosemary, his daughter, Deborah, and his son-in-law, AJ, as well as to his family, friends and his community.

As an active volunteer in the community, John was a member of the Goulbourn historical society and the Goulbourn horticultural society, and a director with the Richmond Agricultural Society, just to name a few. His lifelong contribution as a volunteer was his commitment to making our communities a wonderful place to live.

John received a city of Ottawa City Builder Award in 2017 because of his incredible success at bringing the community together through his involvement and love of photography.

The 80-year-old Stittsville resident was a familiar face around town, with many of his friends, family, and members of the community fondly recalling his ready grin and joyful laugh. Wherever news was breaking or the community was holding an event, no matter how humble the occasion, we all looked forward to a visit from John Brummell or his colleague John Curry, who passed away last year, on February 5, 2022.

With John’s passing, it’s truly the end of an era for the community.

I would like to pass along my deepest condolences to John’s wife, Rosemary, his daughter, Deborah, his son-in-law, AJ, his family and friends, as well as to everyone in the community.

May he rest in peace, and may he always serve as a reminder to the rest of us about the importance of community journalism.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome, from the Access to Seniors and Disabled advocacy group, Maria Sardelis from Ottawa and Cherie Vandevenne from Chatham. Thank you for coming.

I would also like to welcome, from Congress of Union Retirees of Canada, Lance Livingstone and Ron Vanderwalker.

Thank you so much for your advocacy.

I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to welcome not one but two constituents from Ottawa West–Nepean today. We have with us Melodie Gondek, who is with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ District 25 and does great work on behalf of students in Ottawa, and Maria Sardelis, who is an advocate for seniors and people with disabilities. Welcome.

With food inflation at 10%, this government has given Meals on Wheels in Ottawa just a 2% increase and taken away their emergency subsidies. As a result, on April 1, Meals on Wheels had to increase prices. For their lowest-income clients, prices increased over 300%. Seniors, people with disabilities, and patients just released from the hospital depend on these meals for nutritious food. But since the price increase, some of Ottawa’s most vulnerable residents have had to cancel their meals.

Why is this government making vulnerable people go without food instead of providing community organizations like Meals on Wheels with decent support?

I thank the member for Ottawa Centre for his address today. Math and literacy are two of the most important things we can be teaching our children. My children are all out of school, but we’ve got 12 grandchildren.

Today, we keep hearing from the NDP that they just like the status quo and they don’t really want to see improvements into the numbers that are not positive in our school system. I am thankful to Minister Lecce for bringing transformational change to our system.

You’ve read the bill. I know you’ve read the bill. You see what we’re talking about: thousands of teachers and leaders skilled in literacy and math to improve those test scores and the outcomes among our children and grandchildren in schools. I know you like the status quo over there, because you don’t like to make changes and you don’t like to ruffle the feathers of your friends. Believe me, there was lots on consultation, not with the NDP. We don’t consult with the NDP.

But are you going to sit there and tell me today that what we have brought forth in this bill will not lead to improved outcomes and scores from our children—