Just a few days ago, the regional municipality of Niagara and the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce hosted Niagara Week here at Queen’s Park. We were joined in the chamber by former long-time MPP and chair of the region, Jim Bradley, as well as a number of local mayors and regional councillors, bringing a unified voice of growing better together. My thanks to all members who took the time to sit down with these local leaders from the Niagara region. We know that they were welcomed with open arms by a number of ministers, parliamentary assistants and policy staff, as well as many other members. A highlight of Niagara Week was a key meeting between the Chair and Premier last Monday, together with Minister Clark.

As well, many of you had the opportunity to attend and engage with representatives of the Niagara at the Niagara Week dinner reception, featuring local wine and food. As a grassroots MPP, I pledged I would be first and foremost Niagara’s voice here at Queen’s Park, not Queen’s Park voice to Niagara, and last week, our government opened the door to Niagara as we heard about a number of key issues and priorities for the region, including municipal infrastructure, economic development, housing, the agricultural sector and increased access to transit.

Speaker, our government delivered at the end of Niagara Week when the Premier, Minister Mulroney, Minister Lumsden and Minister Cho all travelled to Niagara to announce the doubling of GO train services between Union Station and Niagara Falls beginning on May 20.

Whether it’s working for Niagara, one of the other 444 municipalities or the rest of the province, our government is working with municipal partners across this province to get the job done.

A question everyone has asked themselves is, “How much should I tip?” It’s a question that often sparks heated debate. There are differing guidelines and social norms, adding to the confusion and anxiety around tipping.

But how about no tip? There are two restaurants in Parkdale–High Park, Barque Smokehouse and Then and Now, who are challenging the concept of tipping by getting rid of it completely. They have implemented the no-tipping strategy to ensure that the dining experience is free from guesswork, while providing workers with predictable income.

As a diner, what you see is what you pay; no more mental math or awkward calculations at the end of a meal. And for the hard-working staff, they know exactly how much they will earn, giving them the ability to plan their lives.

Speaker, I feel this is a trend worth pursuing and would encourage other establishments to have a conversation with their employees on the matter. The no-tipping model creates a more relaxed and enjoyable dining environment for all. It’s time to simplify the experience of dining and provide workers with the stability they deserve.

In 1905, Spanish American philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” I was thinking of this quote when I stood at a solemn ceremony yesterday at Legion Memorial Field, Maple Leaf Cemetery, in Chatham-Kent.

Yesterday, our Royal Canadian Legion Branch 642 celebrated Decoration Day, a tradition dating well back before Remembrance Day was proclaimed as our nationally designated day to celebrate the lives of the brave men and women who gave their lives in military service so that we could be free. As I stood along veteran soldiers and their families under a cloudless, sunny sky, at the graves of men and women from my community who wore our country’s uniform, I was humbled to think so many volunteered to defend our nation at its most perilous times.

Yesterday, people of all ages came out to pause and reflect on our precious democracy, on a world that remains mired in conflict and on the sacrifices of those who gave their today so we could have our tomorrow. The gravesites of our fallen were tidied, some attendees read aloud the names of the fallen and the small, humble tombstones were decorated, as is tradition, with new Canadian flags, a small gesture of remembrance and gratitude. Lest we forget.

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to hear Prince Hussain Aga Khan at the Ismaili Centre in Don Valley East, speaking about his seminal work documenting the fragile beauty of our living seas. His remarks and photography were inspiring and humbling—a stark reminder of the vulnerability of our marine ecosystems. In its wake, I am reminded of the critical need to preserve our environment and fight against climate change.

This weekend, Ontarians made their voices heard in one of the largest volunteer-run referendums in our province’s history. The referendum, organized by the Ontario Health Coalition, was on the issue of whether our public surgical and diagnostic services should be handed over to private, for-profit interests. Mr. Speaker, hundreds of thousands of votes have been cast. When so many people take the time out of their busy lives to vote on one of this government’s most controversial and consequential policies, we should all take note.

On Friday, I travelled the province, lending my support to various voting stations across southwestern Ontario. I visited Brampton, Guelph, St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls, and in every one of these locations, people had been impacted by emergency room closures and out of control wait times. Our health care system is headed in the wrong direction, guided by a faulty set of priorities.

On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Ontarians who came out to vote to save our health care, Mr. Speaker, I ask of the government, please, for all of us, put your priorities back in the public interest.

I rise today to recognize a set of great achievements by a group of young people in my riding of Perth–Wellington. Earlier this month, a team of grade 7 and 8 students from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Listowel and a grade 10 student, Anne Doig, from St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Stratford all won gold at the 2023 Skills Ontario Competition.

The student team from St. Mary’s competed in the Lego mechanical engineering category. Their project was to design and build a monorail. They worked tirelessly to perfect their skills in preparation for their competition.

Anne Doig from St. Michael competed in the aesthetics category, securing first place. This is the second consecutive year that Anne has won the gold medal in the Skills Ontario Competition for this category.

Thank you to the educators at both St. Mary’s and St. Michael for encouraging, supporting and advising these bright young students. Thank you to Skills Ontario for organizing this annual competition and for everything you do to prepare Ontario’s youth for the jobs of tomorrow.

The Skills Ontario Competition serves as an exceptional platform for these students to exhibit their skills across a diverse array of trades. Speaker, as the Premier says, a job in the skilled trades is a job for life.

Again, congratulations to the students of St. Mary’s and St. Mike’s on your resounding victories. This splendid achievement reflects not only upon yourselves but also on your schools and indeed our entire community.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome to the House today Father Tom Rosica, celebrating 37 years as a priest with the Basilian order, former CEO of Salt and Light television and the national director of World Youth Day 2002. Welcome, Father Rosica.

It is my privilege to introduce Dr. David Jacobs and the members of the Ontario Association of Radiologists, who are visiting for their Queen’s Park day and will be meeting with MPPs over the course of the day. The OAR represents 1,000 radiologists who specialize in medical imaging and strive to ensure timely access to diagnosis and better patient outcomes.

I would also like to welcome Sherry Wilcox, a lawyer and breast cancer patient, who is here with her daughter and will be sharing her story to shed light on the importance of lowering the age of breast cancer screening. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It’s my pleasure to introduce Hillary Buchan-Terrell—she’s advocacy manager for the Canadian Cancer Society—and, of course, my good friend Cheri DiNovo, MPP from Parkdale–High Park for many, many years. Thank you for being here, ladies.

Glorious morning to everyone. It is my honour and privilege to introduce a tremendously talented woman who has definitely made Toronto a much better place to live. The former deputy city manager, Tracey Cook, is in the House.

The member for Peterborough–Kawartha has a point of order.

Before moving on, I’ll remind members that all of you are invited to a lunch reception in honour of the senators at room 230 of the Legislative Building. Also, later on in the afternoon, we’re going to be having a round table discussion with members of provincial Parliament in room 340 of the Legislative Building starting at 1:30 so that we can have a dialogue with our guests from the Senate. You’re all warmly welcome to attend those two events.

I would also like to take a moment to welcome Tracey Cook, former interim city manager and former deputy city manager at the city of Toronto, as well as Dr. David Jacobs and all the radiologists who are visiting today.

I would like to welcome my father, Moid Khan, as well as my uncle, Farid Khan, visiting from Dubai. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

On behalf of the official opposition, I’d like to welcome our guests from the Ontario Autism Coalition, including Kate Dudley-Logue, vice president; Steve Legault, an Ottawa parent; Sandra Huh; Karen Bojti and Michau van Speyk, along with former MPP Cheri DiNovo and Trustee Curtis Jordan from the Upper Canada District School Board, who is the first autistic individual elected to a school board in Ontario’s history. Welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As you know, the OHL championships were completed on our constituency week. So I would seek unanimous consent for the member from Elgin–Middlesex–London to wear the maroon and white home jersey and the member for London North Centre to wear the white and maroon Peter-borough Petes’ OHL champion away jersey.

I want to welcome to Queen’s Park four students from the University of Toronto who are studying STEM education. I want to welcome Janis Wong, Momo Uji, Mantoj Grewal and Eva McGuire. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome Raed Kadri—he is the head of the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network and also the VP of the Ontario Centre of Innovation—and Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association. They’re here with Project Arrow, the Ontario-built EV that’s outside.

I’d like to welcome guests from Waste to Resource Ontario this morning to the Legislature: board Co-Chairs Paulina Leung and Gary Diamond, board members Denis Goulet and Bob Martin, and team member Ravneet Gill. Please come by their lunch reception in room 228 to learn more about the essential work they are doing for our communities in the waste and recycling sector.

I’d like to extend my warm welcome to my friend Senator Victor Oh and the senator’s team as well.

I’d also like to welcome the students from Red Maple Public School. They’re going to come in later on; they’re downstairs studying all the interesting things about our House here. I would also like to welcome the teachers: Ms. Goraya, Ms. Smith, Mr. Ng and Ms. Rosen.

Good morning, Speaker. I’d like to welcome the Canadian Lung Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and the Canadian Cancer Society, and in particular Hillary Buchan-Terrell.

It’s my pleasure to wel-come a gentleman who has walked with history in some of our toughest moments. A survivor of the Holocaust, Mr. Nate Leipciger, who is with us together with his wife, has participated in 20 March of the Living trips, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto and numerous medals. He has worked tirelessly for tolerance in the world of freedom for anyone who is oppressed.

Joining Nate today are his wife, Bernice; Cary Green; Kevin Green; Lisa Pinkus; Arla Litwin; and Jennifer Green. And they’re also joined by Michael Levitt, the executive director of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal foun-dation of Canada. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.