I’m pleased to be able to lead off debate today on this. At the outset, let me just take a moment to thank my parliamentary assistant, the member for Kitchener–Conestoga, and the Chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, the member for Oshawa, for the tremendous work that they’ve both done in helping guide us here today, as well as the members of the standing committee, who have done a tremendous amount of work in helping, as I said, guide us to where we are today on the bill which we are on third reading of.

Just as a quick overview, Mr. Speaker, as you know—I’ll let others talk about the building and why we’re doing this—the bill itself just establishes the framework by which we will begin the process of restoring the Legislative Assembly. It will obviously necessitate a decanting of this building, finding another location for the Legislative Assembly to temporarily do its business before we’re able to come back into the building at the conclusion of that.

What the bill does: It does establish a secretariat which in itself will help oversee the reconstruction of the building. What that does, by establishing a separate secretariat, is ensure that the accountability mechanisms that are required through government—through estimates, through budgeting—are of primary concern when it comes to the financial outlay, and that parliamentary oversight of the project, parliamentary oversight of parliamentarians—what happens to this building rests with the members of provincial Parliament.

It is an exciting project in the sense that, as was raised by many of the committee members, frankly, this is a project we are undertaking that—probably most of us will never sit in this chamber after we vacate the chamber; well, maybe a couple. I have never been that lucky to be loved in opposition, Mr. Speaker, so I tend to ride away. But that is the good part of what we are doing here.

It also, I think, reflects the growing importance of the work that the members of provincial Parliament do, which was really highlighted—it’s been highlighted ever since the place opened and since Ontario’s first Parliament sat. Certainly, during COVID we were able to see some of the restrictions and impediments that not having made changes or upgrades to the place—the position that it put us in in trying to communicate, often, with people. Mr. Speaker, that’s why we’re very, very excited to be here.

As I say, the committee has done a tremendous amount of work, both in ensuring that it is a depoliticized process and that members put first and foremost their needs, the needs of the people who work here, and the future needs of parliamentarians who will be sitting in here, reflective of the fact that Ontario is a very large trillion-dollar economy and it is the fifth-largest government in North America. If it was a country, it would be a G20 country all on its own. This institution needs to reflect the growing and continued importance of the province of Ontario, not only, frankly, in national affairs but also in global affairs, in the sense that we are an economic powerhouse and the work that needs to be done by all members on all sides of the House needs to be done in a way that they can undertake their roles.

It also needs to reflect, Mr. Speaker, the abilities of Canadians and Ontarians to actually come to this place. We know full well the challenges that many Ontarians face in accessing this place. We will be able to undertake all of that in the project in the coming years ahead.

I didn’t want to speak too long, but before I conclude, I just wanted to highlight that the bill does come back virtually the same as at second reading, but there were a couple of important changes led, again, by the committee in helping us improve the bill. The first one I wanted to speak of was just some clarity in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. It was highlighted through the committee process that the original bill left open for interpretation what documents would be protected and which ones wouldn’t be. To avoid those types of misunderstandings or debate over what would be protected and what wouldn’t be protected, the committee came with amendments that would clarify that, at the same time as protecting the authorities of the House. Members will see that reflected in the copy that’s in front of them.

The other thing, Mr. Speaker—again, I thank members of the committee for their help on this—it does also include changes to legislative protective services. Again, members will see some of the changes in that, reflecting the fact that we are, of course, eventually going to be decanting. We will have a much wider parliamentary precinct. We will have, potentially, a precinct that is over a number of places. Offices could be different than the chamber; we don’t, obviously, know. Our legislative protective services, although they continuously currently are being asked to do more and more, just given the increasing amount of threats that all parliamentarians face and the assemblies across the country face—but, in addition, Speaker, the reality of what will be a decant and trying to protect parliamentarians and the people who work in Parliament over multiple locations could not be done, in our estimation and the committee’s estimation, with the current rules under which the legislative protective services operates, so you’ll see that the bill does ultimately allow certain members of the LPS to act as peace officers, frankly, across the province of Ontario, and a number of other important upgrades to the already fine work that the LPS is doing for us.

Ultimately, those are the two big changes in this. Again, I thank the committee members for their work on this. I thank them in advance for what will be a very long, difficult and challenging process. I think they’ve seen that reflected in the meetings that they have had already, not only with other jurisdictions that are doing changes but over the complexity of some of the issues that we will, as parliamentarians, be asking them to reflect on over the next number of years.

Ultimately, Mr. Speaker, just to say that I’m very excited by the opportunity that this affords us, very excited by the ability for us to truly make this place accessible to all Ontarians, excited by the opportunity that this gives us to allow parliamentarians to do their jobs better and more effectively—the work that we can do not only with the legislative protective services but with the employees through the Clerk’s department to make sure that the work that is done here, Ontarians can truly appreciate and access.

But also, it gives us such an opportunity to showcase this place not only as the main working place where rules and laws are debated and brought forward but also a place where we can potentially celebrate the works and the treasures that we have. The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport often talks to me about the amount of treasures that we have sitting in archives across our various museums. This is a place that we can think about bringing those here as well.

It really does give us an incredible opportunity. Again, just to conclude, I thank all of the members for their incredible work on bringing this bill back in a better form than it left after second reading.

Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Mr. Calandra moved third reading of the following bill:

Bill 75, An Act to enact the Queen’s Park Restoration Secretariat Act, 2023, and to make certain amendments to the Legislative Assembly Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act / Projet de loi 75, Loi édictant la Loi de 2023 sur le Secrétariat de la restauration de Queen’s Park et apportant certaines modifications à la Loi sur l’Assemblée législative et à la Loi sur l’accès à l’information et la protection de la vie privée.

I’ll invite questions to the Minister of Legislative Affairs, if there are any.

Further debate?

It’s always an honour to be able to stand in this House and today speak on Bill 75 on behalf of the official opposition, the third reading of An Act of enact the Queen’s Park Restoration Secretariat Act, 2023, and to make certain amendments to the Legislative Assembly Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and to follow the government House leader.

I’ve been here for 12 years. This is—I believe all Parliaments are, but this is the only I’ve experienced—a unique place, a unique work environment, and a place very few Ontarians have the privilege of ever working in. What we should strive for is that as many Ontarians as possible can experience this place. That’s one of the goals of the restoration act.

But to truly understand what this place means, just think about what we’ve discussed in the last week. Bill 60, a health care act: The official opposition are incredibly opposed to that. We made it very clear, which is our right. The government believes in what they’ve proposed, which is their right. We voted. The vote was over. The mining act: We will be voting on that after. We voted for it in second reading because we believe in the principles. How we vote in the end will be based on what we heard in the committee.

They are both partisan but very important. This one is as important, but this one is non-partisan. We all want to serve. We want this place to serve the people of Ontario, to allow those of us who are lucky enough to get elected to represent the people, who are fortunate enough to work here, to be able to serve the people of Ontario to the best of our abilities and their abilities. I think this bill and how it has come to this point is an example of how sometimes this Legislature can work very well, where amendments are proposed that actually weren’t even in order, but we agreed to put them forward. I will touch on them a little bit, but it shows how, when there are issues that we all—when we need to, when we should, that we all can pull in the same direction, and I think that’s very important.

I think everyone, when they walk through the doors for the first time, and I’m sure the vast majority—I can’t speak for all of us, but I still have that feeling when I walk through the doors that it’s something special to walk through the doors in this place. When I walked through the first time, I thought it was the most—it was like walking into a cathedral for me, a cathedral of democracy. It really was. That’s one thing that we don’t want to lose, ever.

But now that I have worked here for 12 years, there are structural things that prevent or make it harder for the people here to do their jobs. There comes a time when—can you imagine how big a project this was to build in the first place? There was a picture once in the cafeteria—the cafeteria is one of my favourite places, by the way. There was a picture in the cafeteria of this building and University Avenue, and University Avenue was all trees. It was forest. Can you imagine what it took for parliamentarians to decide to build a place like this? And when part of it burned, what it took to rebuild again?

Now it’s time to rejuvenate. If you’re going to rejuvenate the precinct, the legislative building, it is a major undertaking, because, yes, if 12 years ago, before I walked into this building somebody said, “Well, everybody is going to have to move out and we’re going to have to do”—I would have said, “No, no, you can just do a piece at a time.” But that’s not how this place works, because in this hall, in the legislative chamber, there will be a time today where emotions run high and we will, at points, not be very friendly to each other, and that wouldn’t work in a setting where we are much closer. It just wouldn’t work. There is a reason why there are these spaces. There’s a reason: to allow us to do our job, to allow us to debate, to allow emotions to run high, and now to allow them to cool down.

To rebuild, to rejuvenate this structure so that it actually can perform the way modern buildings should, but that it can maintain this cathedral of democracy, is going to take a lot of effort, a lot of planning. The effort and the planning actually have just begun. I would also like to commend the committee for the work they’ve done so far, and I’d like to commend the Legislative Assembly staff for the work they’ve done so far, but the work is just beginning. It’s just beginning, because we have the opportunity now to actually make this cathedral of democracy accessible to all, accessible to all cultures, all people, and that’s not a small undertaking. I would like to say, we—particularly the staff—have all done what we could to make it accessible with what we’ve got. But we have a chance now to truly make it accessible, to make democracy accessible to all Ontarians.

If you look at the carving of the Seven Grandfather Teachings from Indigenous people, we need to take the time—and the committee is going to do that—to truly make not only the structure but our system a partner to Indigenous people in this province so that they see their own history here. Because in many ways, the history of this building starts in 1867, but that’s not when the history of Ontario starts. We should think about what we can do to make sure the history before this building was built is included now that the building is going to be reconfigured.

I don’t want—we don’t want—the building to be rebuilt. There are parts of this building, many parts, that we all treasure, that Ontarians treasure. When schools come, when kids come—my riding is a long ways away; I don’t get as many children, school kids coming as others sometimes. But when I do get them coming, for many, if you’re coming from New Liskeard or Cochrane and you tour through this building, it’s a place like you’ve never seen. We don’t want to lose that. But it has to be a place that functions and a place that includes everyone.

I would also like to speak to the two fundamental changes that have been made—“fundamental” is perhaps not the right word—to the bill itself. One is the clarification of, as the project continues, what is subject to freedom of information and what won’t be. Quite frankly, that is a concern among some people, and rightfully so. Sometimes, this is a fractious place. This is and would be a G20 economy, this province.

Just to clarify, what is not subject to freedom of information for 20 years is any documentation that comes from the assembly itself. As for what comes from the new secretariat—the contracts to build—that would still be subject. It’s not that we’re throwing this in a big dark hole and no one will ever know how much this is going to cost or did cost. That’s not the case. But there is very sensitive information that the assembly holds, and some of that is going to be needed for the secretariat to make these decisions. That documentation is also not subject to freedom of information now, so when that is going to be used in the future, it should also not be subject to freedom of information laws for 20 years. That, I think, is a good clarification.

The second, regarding legislative protective services: When—it’s a word I have never used before until I got here. When we do decant, when we move en masse to another location, the legislative protective services are going to have to not only follow us, but protect not only us but the information that flows. It’s going to be much more spread out, so it makes sense that they should have the ability to do that off this site. It makes sense. Also, it makes sense that they have the training—in the subject matter where they are trained, they are equivalent or better trained than any other police service in this province. It also makes sense that they should have the ability to be peace officers outside this legislative precinct; for example, in our constituency offices. I think in both cases, those changes make sense.

This is going to be a long, long road. There’s no doubt about it. I think there are times we are all going to shake our heads and wonder what we’re going to do next. When we toured the Parliament buildings in Ottawa—I personally didn’t truly understand the scope of the project until I did that tour. I can’t remember his title, but to the person who was giving us this tour I suggested it would be the best reality home reno series ever seen, because it was incredible.

I look at this place differently now. When I walk through and I see cables taped to the wall, I say, “Well, they’ve got to go, but wait a second, that moulding, that can’t go. That is going to have to be taken apart, to be coded, stored somewhere, perhaps refinished—for sure—and placed back.” That is a lot of—I’m a bit of a rough carpenter myself, and I like to demo; you just take the sledge hammer and demo everything, you buy all new and put it back in. That’s not the case here, and it certainly shouldn’t be. We want to rejuvenate, but we also want to protect so people who walk through these doors for the next hundred years have the same feeling that we do. If we can use the spaces in this place that aren’t used efficiently now, because times have changed—the legislative library was full of books. We don’t use a lot of those books anymore. It’s digital.

There’s room for big ideas, and I encourage Ontarians to think big. We encourage Ontarians often: “Don’t settle. Think big.” With this project, I encourage parliamentarians from all sides, because there isn’t really a side on this one, to think big. If you think too big, you know what, it’s not going to happen, but we’re at the point where there’s no such thing as a bad idea right now. Now is the time for ideas. The first big one is that we are deciding to actually take this step, and it’s a big one. Now that we’re deciding, now we have the chance to really envision what our forebears envisioned when they built this place in the middle of a forest, what they envisioned and what Ontario has become.

We disagree on some of the things that happen in this province, but we all agree that it is one of the greatest places in the world to live. That is why we work so hard to get here to represent the views of the people in our various part of the province. Always in the back of my mind is, what can we do to envision the next 100 years?

We are in favour of Bill 75. We want to work together with all parliamentarians, with all the staff, with all Ontarians. Often when we introduce people, we say, “Welcome to your House.” We now have a chance to do everything we can to make sure that people from all walks of life, all parts of the province, all races, all colours, all creeds, feel like this is their House. I encourage all parliamentarians, all Ontarians, to think big and to take that chance.

With that, Speaker, I would like to move the adjournment of the debate. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, Saturday, May 6, at 6 a.m., I held a coronation viewing event at my local Aurora Royal Canadian Legion for my community members of Newmarket–Aurora. It was absolutely amazing to have the community come together for this momentous, historical event. The fascinators and vintage hats were as beautiful as the smiles on everyone’s faces. I think the tasty scones and the coronation quiche also helped with those smiles.

The holy coronation service was all so riveting, officiated by Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. We were all eagerly watching the traditional event: the recognition, to the coronation oath, to the anointing, to the investiture and, finally, to the enthronement and homage.

One of my personal points of interest was the Sword of Offering, which symbolizes the protection of good and the punishment of evil. It was delivered to the archbishop and then placed in the King’s right hand. The King rose, and the sword was fastened to His Majesty’s waist using the sword belt.

I would like to quote the archbishop, from his sermon at the coronation: “With the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the King is given freely what no ruler can ever attain through will, or politics, or war, or tyranny: the Holy Spirit draws us to love in action.”

May God bless our sovereign. Long live the King.

Mr. Vanthof has moved adjournment of the debate. Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Motion carried.

Third reading debate adjourned.

The House recessed from 0932 to 1015.

Just on a quick point of order: Pursuant to standing order 7(e), I wish to inform the House that tonight’s evening meeting is cancelled.

Last week, I made the House aware of three events that happened near the town of Engelhart on Highway 11: a tragic head-on transport crash, a transport driver who forced a school bus into a ditch and fled the scene, and another transport who passed another transport on a hill.

On Saturday—and I posted the video—a transport passed another transport with another car plainly in view and pushed it off the road. This is within a few kilometres of a little town. This happens right across our two-lane Trans-Canada Highway.

I am imploring the government: We want to work together with the government to make sure that transport drivers and all drivers are adequately trained, but that we actually get aggressive drivers off the road and the companies that hire them. The names of the companies are on the sides of the trucks. We know it’s happening. It’s happening every day—four times in a month just outside my hometown.

We cannot keep on letting this go, because the next people who get killed—it’s on us because we know it’s going to happen. We all know it’s going to happen.

As many of you are aware, my riding of Brantford–Brant is home to a vibrant, motivated and active cadet movement. Our community is home to 135 Admiral Nelles, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets; 104 Starfighter, Royal Canadian Air Cadets; 2659 Royal Canadian Army Cadets; and the Admiral Landymore Navy League Cadet Corps.

Today, we welcome the top cadets as chosen by their commanding officers for their dedication, excellence and willingness to make our community the best that it can be. The cadets of Brantford–Brant are back to full training this past year from a challenging past two and a half years of virtual and hybrid training. These cadets made the transition back to in-person training with ease.

For the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets: Chief Petty Officer First Class Aurora Linnington and Chief Petty Officer Second Class Charlie Downey, joined by Acting Sub-Lieutenant Kyle Au Coin.

For the Royal Canadian Air Cadets: Corporal Danika Parasram and Sergeant Tobias Ven Berkel, joined by commanding officer Captain Celina Corner.

For the Royal Canadian Army Cadets: Master Warrant Officer Kyrianna Jorgensen and Warrant Officer Ethan Russell, joined by commanding officer Captain Josh Jennie.

For the Navy League of Canada, we have Leading Cadet Alissa Bartlett and Ordinary Cadet Nathan Learned, joined by commanding officer Lieutenant Richard Carpenter and Sub-Lieutenant Celina Barnard.

Cadets, officers, the people of Ontario salute you for your hard work and contribution to Brantford–Brant. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Interjections.

Members’ statements.

The month of May is recognized as Community Living Month here in Ontario. This year’s theme is “#InclusionMatters.”

Community Living Ontario and its over 115 Community Living associations across the province support over 80,000 people with an intellectual disability and their families.

From my community of beautiful Essex I’d like to welcome Community Living Essex County, who is here with us today. Thank you for all that you do.

These agencies offer a wide range of supported living, social, respite, planning and employment supports, all with the goal of fostering inclusive communities by supporting the rights and choices of people with an intellectual disability. It’s important to recognize the hard work of staff in developmental services sectors because without them, none of this would be possible.

This year, Community Living Toronto is celebrating its 75th anniversary. I’m happy to share that Community Living Ontario and Community Living Toronto would like to invite all members to their reception today at 5 p.m. in the dining room. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

On April 30 I had the pleasure of attending the Manotick Legion Youth Education award ceremony organized by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 314, one of the many amazing Legions located in my riding of Carleton. The Royal Canadian Legion’s youth education program plays an essential role in my riding of Carleton in fostering the tradition of remembrance amongst youth, not just across Ottawa, but across Canada.

The awards that 25 winners from my riding received are in recognition of the excellence they have shown in the Legion’s youth education program. However, the journey of completing their work is much more important than the awards they received. Whether it be through artwork, a poem or an essay, what they have created provides an important bridge between today’s world and some of the most important and defining moments in Canadian history. Those defining moments in our history were made possible by generations of heroes whose hardships and sacrifices created the template for Canada to become the best country in the world.

Through the Legion’s education program, we are not only teaching our youth about our past but are preparing them to become leaders in the years to come. So thank you to Roy Blair, Lynn Charron, the entire legion and all 25 students for helping keep our rich history alive. I was honoured to present all 25 youth with certificates on behalf of the province of Ontario, to recognize and honour their artwork and poems about Remembrance Day.

While the member from Guelph may disagree, I think I have the greenest riding in all of Ontario. The climate activist groups and eco-tastic events are making changes in Beaches–East York and beyond.

This past weekend, I participated in the EcoFair held by Beach United Church and organized by the amazing Mary Anne Alton and her terrific team. There were 35 vendors, exhibitors and speakers, all with one major thing in common: a love of the planet.

Out of my office, we run Green East, a community group engaged and interested in serious climate action. To name just a few others: Terrific Toronto East End Climate Collective are residents concerned about and fighting the climate crisis. Sensational 32 Spokes is comprised of cycling champions promoting cycling safety. The great garden at Kimbourne church is a project using permaculture principles to grow food in the community. Sensational Save Small’s Creek is a group working to preserve the nature of beautiful Small’s Creek ravine.

If we could replicate the care and climate action from Beaches–East York across the province, we could make a real difference in addressing our environmental footprint.

To my eco-tastic residents and all Ontarians, I will continue to represent you as an environmental and climate advocate at Queen’s Park.

Thank you for listening so intently.

I want to rise in the House this morning and raise a very important issue to not only my riding of Brampton North, but, quite frankly, the province of Ontario. In Ontario, a car is stolen every 48 minutes. Auto theft has been on the rise over the last number of years, with a 72% increase from 2014 to 2021; last year, that increase was 14%.

As we know, the GTA is a hot zone for crooks to steal cars. And the hard-working residents of Brampton North are fed up. They work hard for their money, and with 90% of homes in my riding having a driveway, they deserve to feel safe and to have the peace of mind that their cars will stay on their driveway—not poached by some low-life scumbag. But since 2021, in Peel region, carjackings have risen by 45%.

Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah has described the impact of vehicle theft on public safety as “tremendous.” He also stated: “It is one of the fastest-growing problems that we have in not just the Golden Horseshoe, but right across Ontario.”

Speaker, that’s exactly why our government is taking decisive, strong action. Last week, our Solicitor General announced a $51-million investment to combat auto theft. We’re supporting new measures to help police identify and dismantle organized crime networks and put thieves behind bars, where they belong. Our government is providing police services with the resources they need to make Ontario safer for all car owners, reduce auto theft, and bring those involved in these criminal networks to justice. I support it wholeheartedly. Let’s get it done.

Working without thought of self or thought of reward is the true nature of service. On Saturday, I had the honour of attending the London Central Lions and East London Lions Clubs’ Colour the Night Gold event in support of Childcan—two great clubs working together for a wonderful cause.

I sat with Greg and Catherine Millar, who had sent me many petitions about optometry since 2021. It is a small world sometimes, as I also ran into Greg and Catherine face-to-face at their home when I was out knocking on doors, speaking with the good people of London North Centre.

At our table, Luca told me about how nurses should be paid what they’re worth, allowed to bargain fairly and that there should be incentives to bring back retired nurses whom this government has insulted, demeaned and pushed out of practice. Luca also told me, “I used to be anti-union. But since Premier Ford, I am pro-union. You can tell him that.” Message delivered, Luca.

I want to thank the Lions for supporting Childcan. Families of children who receive the diagnosis of cancer are on the most difficult journey one could imagine. We heard about how Childcan helps families right from diagnosis, treatment, and through their recovery or bereavement journey. This great organization helps take the burden of external worries, allowing families to focus on what matters most: their children and their care.

Thank you once again, Lions and Childcan, for your true service to people in our community.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the incredible work of some grade 4 and 5 students in my riding in west St. Catharines at Edith Cavell Public School. Last week I toured their Fresh West Market, which has provided over 400 bags of fresh fruit and vegetables to families in the community with the support of the United Way, Niagara Region Public Health, Links for Greener Learning and a great team of educators at the District School Board of Niagara.

In February, they provided close to 800 pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables, and surpassed that in the following month by providing over 1,200 pounds of fresh produce. On why they started the program, students told me, “We realized that although there are some grocery stores in our area, it is hard to get fresh fruits and vegetables at a low cost. Our goal is to increase our communities’ access to a variety of fresh, affordable produce.” With almost 300 pounds total provided to the community, Speaker, I would say they are well on the way to reaching their goal.

Special thanks to all those involved with this program, including public health nurse Austin White, teacher Alison Edward, principal Robyn Scheubel, Ashleigh Doyle from United Way and, of course, the incredible students at Edith Cavell. I look forward to their next market dates taking place on May 11 and June 8.

It’s my pleasure to rise to recognize the talented Loreena McKennitt of Stratford. Many will know Loreena for her work as a talented singer, actress and composer. She is also a two-time Juno Award winner.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Loreena on a new accomplishment: Loreena was recently inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. She also received a fine tribute at the Opera House in Toronto during International Women’s Day. This is a great achievement and will add Loreena to an exclusive list of Canadians to receive such an honour, including Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams, David Foster and many other legends. Along with these great accolades, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the National Music Centre in Calgary is dedicating a permanent exhibit to Ms. McKennitt.

Loreena has been a lifelong resident of the city of Stratford and has contributed so much to our community through her volunteer work and by putting on many charity performances. She has also long contributed to the yearly Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Stratford cenotaph. As an honorary colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, she has worked hard to keep our memories of our veterans alive and in the minds of all Canadians.

Congratulations again, Loreena, on all of your hard work and all the success you’ve had over the past four decades.

For those who missed them earlier, proudly representing Brantford-Brant in the chamber today are: for the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, Chief Petty Officer First Class Aurora Linnington and Chief Petty Officer Second Class Charlie Downey, joined by Acting Sub-Lieutenant Kyle Au Coin; for the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, Corporal Danika Parasram and Sergeant Tobias Ven Berkel, joined by commanding officer Captain Celina Corner; for the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, Master Warrant Officer Kyrianna Jorgenson and Warrant Officer Ethan Russell, joined by commanding officer Captain Josh Jennie; for the Navy League of Canada, we have Leading Cadet Alissa Bartlett and Ordinary Cadet Nathan Learned, joined by commanding officer Lieutenant Richard Carpenter and Sub-Lieutenant Celina Barnard. Thank you for joining us today in your House.

I have a smile on my face because my Kingston family is in the House today. That’s my brother Adam up there, his partner Jen, and my two nephews, Ethan and Jonah. Welcome to this House; this is your House.

If you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to wear purple ribbons in recognition of May 10 being Lupus Awareness Day.