I, too, wish to rise in the House today to acknowledge the coronation of our new sovereign, the King of Canada and the Commonwealth, Charles III, and his wife, Queen Camilla. Saturday, May 6, was coronation day, and I was proud to begin the day in my riding of Durham at a coronation breakfast with veterans at the Bowmanville Legion. That was followed by a wonderful street fest, Maplefest, right on King Street West in front of my constituency office, where thousands of children and adults were celebrating the coronation day and the annual Maplefest festival.

I was also proud to note that many, many hundreds gathered here at Queen’s Park on the south lawn to join Premier Ford and the Lieutenant Governor in celebration of the coronation. While at the Bowmanville coronation breakfast at the Legion hall on King Street West, we viewed not only scenes of the coronation from London, England, but we also watched with pride as the Lieutenant Governor gave her remarks to Ontarians. And I was proud to note that Indigenous leaders were welcomed with an audience with King Charles III on Saturday, along with Governor General Mary Simon.

As the member for Windsor–Tecumseh noted, Ontario is a founding province of Confederation: Loyal she began, loyal she remains.

Long live the King.

The Fort Erie Race Track is the jewel of my community, but it’s under attack. Woodbine Entertainment Group is directly targeting the Fort Erie track, hoping to ultimately put it out of business. This behaviour has gone so far that the Fort Erie track has filed a complaint with the Canadian trade commission on targeted anti-competition behaviour from Woodbine.

Ontario tracks should be working together for the betterment of horse racing. Woodbine is actively restricting the ability of a horse stabled at Woodbine to be eligible to run at Fort Erie. Woodbine refuses to work proactively with Fort Erie in the scheduling of their Triple Crown races, directly ignoring the requests of Fort Erie to create a structure that would allow both Triple Crown races to be highlighted in the province of Ontario, and they continue to run B-track-level races even though they receive funding as an A-level track.

Woodbine has been granted tens of millions of dollars in purse money from the provincial government. Woodbine uses those government funds and their government-granted monopoly on wagering to do whatever they like, ignoring the impact it has on other tracks, making it very difficult for other tracks to achieve their goals or even operate. There’s no word other than “bullying” to describe this behaviour. Woodbine is bullying smaller tracks and using their power within this government and their regulatory body to get away with it.

It’s time this government steps up, puts an end to Woodbine’s behaviour and truly supports horse racing across Ontario.

Today is a sad day—a day that will go down in the history of our province as the day the Ford government delivered a fatal blow to our treasured medicare. Today, this Conservative government will say “goodbye” to care based on needs and “come on in” to investors who want to make money off the backs of sick people—because, make no mistake, Speaker, there is a lot of money to be made off of people who are sick, who are desperate for care in the hope of getting better. Investors know that. They know that sick people are at a vulnerable time in their lives, and it is easy to abuse that vulnerability to increase profits.

The minister says that we need the changes in Bill 60 to decrease wait times. But look at our hospital job boards: There are over 36,000 health care job vacancies in our hospitals right now. How are they supposed to recruit when for-profit clinics will offer a Monday-to-Friday job, 9 to 5? It will make the wait for hospital care increase tremendously. But the rich and powerful friends of our Premier will have faster access, using their credit cards to get to the front of the line, while the rest of us hold our hats.

To my MPP colleagues: Do the right thing. Vote down Bill 60.

Good morning, Speaker. I rise to thank Wyndham House for the vital work they do in Guelph to support vulnerable youth. I had the honour last week to join Wyndham House, the mayor of Guelph, the warden of Wellington county and community members for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open an eight-bedroom supportive housing project for youth experiencing homelessness.

At the first point-in-time count for homelessness in Guelph in 2014, there were 90 youth experiencing homelessness. That number is now down to five, putting Guelph on track to be the first community in Ontario to end youth homelessness.

I want to thank Wyndham House, the city and the county, the provincial and the federal governments, and generous donors who supported this project.

Studies show that for every $10 invested in permanent supportive housing, the government saves $21.75 in other costs. More importantly, housing stabilizes and improves people’s lives. I’m proud that our community has come together with a Yes In My Backyard campaign, securing support for this housing project and two other permanent supportive housing projects.

I urge the government to increase funding for supportive housing in communities across Ontario, because the return on investment is priceless.

I want to recognize York–Simcoe residents Rosemary and Angelo Boutsis, who are the parents of page Nicholas Boutsis, who is here also with his grandmother Yota and siblings Alexander, Gianfranco and Alessia. Premier Ford and I had the opportunity to meet Nicholas and he has a bright future.

I’d like to recognize today’s page captain Senna Chan Carusone from Burlington. She’s here today with her parents, Soo Chan Carusone and Tony Chan Carusone, and grandparents Ricky Chan and Penny Chan. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to recognize councillor Colleen James from the region of Waterloo. Councillor James will be debating an important motion tomorrow at regional council to support Bill 5, the Stopping Harassment and Abuse by Local Leaders Act.

Like millions of others around the world, I was honoured to witness the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty the Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey on Saturday morning. The historical event marked the first coronation of a Canadian head of state in seven decades. It was a spectacular event.

It was also a time to reflect and to remember the passing last September of the King’s beloved mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the age of 96. May she rest in eternal peace.

In my riding of Cambridge, the coronation was celebrated in a variety of ways. Those who were at Churchill Park on Sunday afternoon may have heard the singing of God Save the King as the South Waterloo Naval Veterans Association gathered for their annual Battle of the Atlantic ceremony. Like many landmarks around the world, the Cambridge—at the city hall there, it was lit in green to celebrate the pomp and pageantry taking place across the pond.

I know of several royal watchers in Cambridge who gathered around their televisions early Saturday morning to witness the crowning of the King and the Queen Consort, as I did also, and to take in the splendour of a once-in-a-lifetime event. Mr. Speaker, Saturday’s coronation was a spectacular event in our history as King Charles III completed his—

May is Building Safety Month, and in the gallery today, we have Colin Brook, the executive chair of the Ontario Large Municipalities Chief Building Officials. We’ve got three representatives from OBOA: Joyanne Beckett, the president; Shawn Merriman, the treasurer; and Lawrence Wagner, the CEO. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Speaker, this past Saturday, Canada joined nations across the Commonwealth in celebrating the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty the Queen Camilla. Whether in festivities here at Queen’s Park to events in Niagara, people across the province celebrated the first coronation of a head of state in the Commonwealth in some 70 years. The prayer of King Charles III, an important element of the liturgy of the coronation service on Saturday, especially spoke to me as a person of faith here at Queen’s Park:

God of compassion and mercy

whose Son was sent not to be served but to serve,

give grace that I may find in thy service perfect freedom

and in that freedom knowledge of thy truth.

Grant that I may be a blessing to all thy children, of every faith and conviction,

that together we may discover the ways of gentleness

and be led into the paths of peace,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Speaker, this prayer of the King meant a lot to me and, I know, to many in our land. I wish to conclude by reiterating the remarks of the Premier at his official statement on the coronation when he said, “As the King officially takes on his new role, I have no doubt that he will build on his mother’s legacy of duty, service and dedication to his people. On behalf of all Ontarians, I wish King Charles III and the Queen every success in their reign.”

Long live the King. God save the King. May the King reign forever.

I’m very pleased to welcome to this House some of our greatest leaders in the Ontario health care system right now: Michael Hurley from the CUPE Ontario council of health care unions, Erin Ariss from Ontario Nurses’ Association, and Natalie Mehra from the Ontario Health Coalition. Thank you so much for being here with us all today.

I’m delighted today to speak about a momentous occasion that took place last Saturday: the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty the Queen. Many Ontarians woke up early to witness this historic event that unfolded on our screens. As we witnessed the grandeur and the majesty of this solemn occasion, it was impossible not to feel a sense of awe and wonder. It was a moment when we were reminded of the rich traditions and history that bind us together as a nation and the connections we share.

These connections extend to the city of Stratford and the St. James Anglican Church. As recounted by Reverend Rob Lemon, the church purchased a sizable piece of the magnificent blue carpet that was used during the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, following a successful application by Archdeacon Lightburn, the priest at the time. That piece of carpet remains on display to this day in St. James’ sanctuary, a physical reminder of our bond to the crown.

The coronation served not only as an occasion for celebration and reflection, but it is also a reminder of the enduring strength and constancy of our parliamentary democracy and the constitutional monarchy. It’s a system of government that has stood the test of time and has ensured that our nation remains stable and prosperous.

On behalf of the people of Perth–Wellington, I wish King Charles and Her Majesty the Queen every success in their reign. May they lead our province, country and the Commonwealth with wisdom, grace and strength. Long live the King.

Thank you very much. The time for members’ statements has now expired.

On behalf of patients across Ontario, I wish to welcome Natalie Mehra from the Ontario Health Coalition, Michael Hurley from the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Erin Ariss from the Ontario Nurses’ Association—and a special welcome to every single person in this chamber here today who is showing their opposition to Bill 60.

I’m really honoured today to have the interns from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development at Queen’s Park to watch question period. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d also like to welcome the staff of the OUA led by Gord Grace, his leadership group and all the members that make up the OUA with respect to athletic directors and all the people who do all the great work in the universities across our province.

I’d like to welcome a few of the people who are here in opposition of Bill 60, starting with Angela Boakye, Mary Jo Nabuurs, Michelle Barraclough, Helen Hegedus, Nadine MacKinnon, Thea Dorsey, Virginia McGill Odette, Ann Peel, Michelle Robidoux, Seena Mozaffari, Alanna Kong, Amrit Koonar, Alexandra Radkewycz, Elizabeth Burrows, Aleksander Ivovic, John McVay, Maria Chinelli, Pegah Edalati, Mary Brown, Mike Lawler, Lisa Kilpatrick, Nancy Olivieri, Patricia Johnston, Genevieve Farago, Julia Lucas, Nina Nolan, Zenaida Rialubin, Gaye-Frances Alexander, Cheryl Waithe, Sue Hotte, Salah Shadir, Maureen Aslin, Brit Hancock, Lubaba Gemma, Maddy Fast, Mohammad Ali Aumeer, Lance Livingstone, Ron Vanderwalker, Nathan Zhu, Cathy Miller and many more.

Welcome to Queen’s Park. Welcome to your House.

Interjections.

I just want to take a moment and welcome all of the ministry interns, who are going to be working in different ministers’ offices over the summer, and a special welcome to Khalil and Matthew, who are going to be interns with the Ministry of Red Tape Reduction. I want to wish all of the 40 interns all the best over the next few months as they learn and continue to make contributions.

Over the past 30 years in Ontario, over 800 community clinics have provided health care services to Ontarians, paid for with their OHIP cards, in a timely and convenient way. Many Ontarians have already had positive experiences in receiving care with these clinics, which are often closer to their homes. Care in community clinics will be expanded if Bill 60 passes, to ensure more access to timely care for Ontarians.

The NDP seems to be more concerned with fighting for the status quo. This Premier and this government are fighting to ensure that Ontarians get timely access to care.