Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

This being the first sitting Monday of the month, I ask everyone to join in the singing of the Canadian national anthem, followed by the royal anthem.

Singing of the national anthem / Chant de l’hymne national.

Singing of the royal anthem / Chant de l’hymne royal.

Point of order: the member for London North Centre.

Point of order.

White supremacy gathers many targets. Over the last few years, xenophobia, anti-Black racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and transphobia have increased to levels before unseen. No matter where you come from, how you worship, how you appear, your background, your abilities, your age, your gender or whom you love, everyone deserves to have a safe home, community and be the person you were meant to be.

When someone cuts us, do we not bleed the same? When we love another, do we not feel the same joy? Suffering loss, do we not all feel sorrow, remorse, guilt or regret? And when we smile and laugh, do we not feel the same lightness of spirit?

Rather than building fences or focusing on what divides us, let us instead find our common humanity and recognize that we are one family sharing this Earth and commit to share this Earth with fairness, justice and respect.

Let’s all remain quiet and listen to others with an open heart. Remember to make space, elevate voices, bring others forward and share privilege.

Love will conquer hate, and it’s up to us all.

One year ago, I was honoured to be re-elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Mississauga–Erin Mills. Mr. Speaker, we have been working hard to fulfill our promises to build a stronger, more prosperous Ontario for the people.

In Mississauga, we are committed to building highways and transit projects. In December, we saw the Highway 401 expansion open. Work on the Hazel McCallion LRT is well under way, and Mississauga received $19.6 million in transit funding.

Investments continue to pour into health care. We are clearing the backlog on essential surgeries and building a new Mississauga Hospital. Last year, the government gave $4.2 million to Trillium Health Partners for upgrades and repairs.

We are also building long-term-care homes, including a new centre for aging and longevity at Ivan Franko Homes and 128 beds at a new facility by the Church of the Virgin Mary Coptic church.

Additionally, I was proud to announce last month, alongside the Minister of Labour, that the Professional Engineers of Ontario are the first regulated body to remove Canadian experience requirements, and over 30 more industries will be doing the same. Promise made, promise kept.

We are going to continue to be there for Ontarians, keeping our commitments to build more housing, support families, create jobs and keep the province open for business. We are getting it done for the people of Ontario.

Today, I want to introduce to you a new attraction in my riding that is the talk of the town and is attracting visitors from far and wide. The Gaslight District, established by Hip Developments, is located in historic downtown Galt. It’s a mixture of residential and commercial properties, retail shops, the arts and dining, with a focus on community and culture. It features a one-acre public square with a permanent stage, a large outdoor video screen, and it offers year-round free community events.

The Gaslight District will host its official grand opening from July 28 to the 30th. The three-day event will feature a multitude of musical acts, artisans—and the best part, there will be a flyover, so I’m told—and a whole lot of free fun for families. With thousands of people expected to attend, it promises to be a celebration that Cambridge residents will remember for years to come.

Located on the former Tiger Brand property on Grand Avenue, the Gaslight District is a thriving hub in a revitalized urban core graced with the same vintage details as its former day. The Gaslight District is the place to be in Cambridge, and it is a destination that I am very proud of. I encourage you to stop by and discover all it has to offer.

A lot of my colleagues here know that I’m involved in soccer coaching with my three young boys. The last time I stood and delivered a member’s statement where I spoke about a soccer tournament, it ended in a bit of heartache, Mr. Speaker, but today’s is not the case. Today is quite a great story.

Our 2012 Soo City Junior United boys’ team was able to split into two separate soccer teams. We brought our two teams to Petoskey this last weekend—I have some sun still remaining from that. We brought our two teams to Petoskey’s spring coast classic: 16 total teams in this age group, Mr. Speaker. Our boys, in their respective divisions, went 3-0; won their semi-final games; and met in the finals, playing Sault Ste. Marie versus Sault Ste. Marie. And guess what? Sault Ste. Marie won.

It was a great day. I’m so proud of all of our boys, the amount of work that they put into the sport, the amount of time and effort, and, obviously, the parents as well and all the work they put in. It’s the third time I have been able to go to a soccer tournament with my own sons. I remember doing it as a youngster, as a kid. Sometimes we say as parents, “You live so much more vicariously through your children’s eyes,” and Mr. Speaker, I can say that is absolutely the case. It was an absolute pleasure to watch, although my son is a lot more competitive than I ever was. Those are my words, Mr. Speaker.

June is National Indigenous History Month. This month honours the contributions of Indigenous people to Canada and Ontario—our rich history, they say. It’s a month that encourages people to have events that people can learn from.

Indigenous people have many stories that need to be told and heard by Canadians. I hope that people take the time to attend events in your areas and to listen with an open heart about the real history of Canada: the genocide, the loss of our ways of life, the loss of our languages, our children and our lands.

Canada and Ontario have had many opportunities and lots of time to make changes in their relationship with Indigenous people. But most of the time, governments don’t make the time to find the political will to create positive change. The political will comes from the people. Once you acknowledge National Indigenous History Month, take another step and ask yourself what you can do to move forward from just having this month, and use your voices to make change.

Our actions cannot be performative, and we cannot be the ones always reconciling. You have to do your part. Real change is about action, not words.

Last Friday marked the anniversary of our government being given a second mandate by the people of Ontario. In 2018, we promised we would work for the people. In 2022, we promised that we would get it done. Speaker, I can proudly say that we are delivering on both promises. We are getting it done for the people of Ontario. I am so proud of what we have accomplished.

In my own community of Oakville North–Burlington, investments include:

—five new schools in four years, with an investment of $142 million for 4,403 student spaces and 352 child care spaces;

—a total of 1,153 new and redeveloped long-term-care beds for seniors, with four hours of direct care each day;

—$138 million more in base funding for Halton Healthcare and $69 million for Joseph Brant Hospital; and

—$295 million of a total of $1.8 billion investments so that Ford Canada can become an electric vehicle hub in North America, creating 3,000 new, good-paying jobs.

The government, under the leadership of Premier Doug Ford, has made significant and positive changes in the lives of people across the province. We have made life more affordable for families, seniors and small businesses. I look forward to continuing to serve my community of Oakville North–Burlington and thank you for the trust you have given me.

I am pleased to share with you that Christine Elliott, the former Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, will be presented with an honorary degree from Trent University at the 2023 convocation on June 16. Leo Groarke, the president and vice-chancellor of Trent University, had this to say: The individuals receiving these honorary degrees “exemplify the spirit of challenging the way we think to make a difference in our communities, our province, across the country and around the world.”

Former Ontario Minister of Health and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott will receive an honorary doctorate of laws in recognition of her service to Ontario as Minister of Health from 2018 to 2022, during which she oversaw the province’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her advocacy and volunteerism for vulnerable community members in the region of Durham—for example, the Abilities Centre, which she and her late husband, the Honourable James Michael Flaherty, established, and the Grandview children’s treatment centre, now situated in the riding of Ajax.

Congratulations, Christine.

I would like to take this time to congratulate the Ottawa Riverkeeper organization for their recent gala, which raised over $340,000.

The Ottawa River forms a boundary of the riding of Ottawa–Vanier. It is the lifeblood of the city, where we get our drinking water, where we fish, swim, boat, play and cool off. The river also connects us to the Indigenous people who have lived along, fished in and travelled on the Ottawa River for millennia. The name “Ottawa” itself derives from the Algonquin word “adàwe,” meaning “to trade.”

The gala paid special tribute to Algonquin elder Claudette Commanda, who thanked the organization for being collaborative and for respecting the Algonquin people and their heritage. Through many years of careless custodianship and lax environmental laws, the river has fallen into a polluted state. I recognize and appreciate the work done by the Ottawa Riverkeeper, whose goal is to ensure a healthy Ottawa River watershed for everyone.

For over 20 years, the Riverkeeper organization has been monitoring the health and the levels of pollution in the water and engaging and educating our youth to become the next generation of river stewards. These efforts all take a network of volunteers, compassionate staff and substantial donations to keep doing this work on behalf of our city’s residents.

I congratulate Riverkeeper Laura Reinsborough, her team, board chair Geoff Green and the organizing committee of the Riverkeeper gala for their tireless work and success.

I’m pleased to draw members’ attention to a special guest in the Speaker’s gallery today. Mr. Tim McGough has been selected by a panel of MPPs to be considered by the House to serve as the Legislative Assembly’s next Sergeant-at-Arms. Mr. McGough is present today to observe as the House considers the motion to order his appointment.

Mr. McGough has close to 40 years of experience in policing. He began his career with the Royal Military Police and served in various roles with the Medicine Hat Police Service in Alberta.

If appointed by the House, he will assume his role as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on June 19.

Welcome, Mr. McGough.

Ottawa is experiencing record levels of food insecurity. The Ottawa Food Bank had the highest number of food bank visits in their entire 38-year history last year with 403,467 visits; that’s a 40% increase compared to 2017. And unfortunately, things are getting worse, not better. The Caldwell Family Centre food bank in my riding of Ottawa West–Nepean served 53% more families in April 2023 than they did in April 2022. I’m hearing this from all of the food banks in my riding, Speaker. The demand is so high right now, and the capacity to meet it is being seriously strained.

We need this government to treat the affordability crisis like the urgent situation that it is and take swift action to address rising levels of hunger and poverty in our communities. That means doubling ODSP and Ontario Works so that people on social assistance can actually buy food and pay for rent. It means increasing the minimum wage so that food banks can stop extending their hours into the evening and weekends for people who are working full-time. And it means bringing back real rent control so that rent isn’t taking up 80% or more of people’s paycheques.

The wealthy lobbyists and developers that this government listens to might be doing fine, but in our communities, people can’t even put food on the table.

Enough is enough, Speaker. It is time for action.

It’s my pleasure this morning to recognize the hard work and dedication our teachers and support staff provide to the students of my riding of Simcoe–Grey. Recently, I have toured many elementary and secondary schools in my riding, and I visited two Simcoe County District School Board schools in Clearview township on Take Your MPP to School Day.

My first stop was Stayner Collegiate, where Principal Kimberlee Hand took me on a school tour. Speaker, Stayner Collegiate is one of only two grade 7 to 12 schools in Simcoe county. They have a very active and robust student body and have achieved many milestones over the past year. I was joined by board trustee Brandy Rafeek and the board superintendent, Greg Jacobs. We then visited Clearview Meadows Elementary School, where we met Principal Lisa Saunders and Vice-Principal Amanda Harrison.

Speaker, of special note, I’d like to recognize Stayner Collegiate’s skilled trades program. This program prepares students for much-needed jobs and for some careers in the trades. As you know, this is an agenda that this government has been working very hard on, and it was wonderful to see it taking form at Stayner Collegiate. It combines computer training on AutoCAD and hands-on woodworking training in the well-equipped studio shop. In addition, Stayner Collegiate operates an extensive co-op program, providing students with valuable first-hand on-site work experience and establishing important contacts with tradespeople throughout Clearview.

Speaker, I again recognize the commitment to excellence of the Simcoe County District School Board and want to congratulate the teachers and staff for their excellent work.

I recognize the government House leader and Minister of Legislative Affairs.

Once again, the government House leader.

Motion agreed to.

I also, as we’re celebrating birthdays, would like to wish my good friend and colleague Jeff Burch a very happy birthday today.

I’d like to welcome Jonathan Crozier to the House today. Jonathan made us some fantastic martinis down in the Legislature the other night from Vodkow. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

We are having a family affair today. Last week, I introduced Chris Golder. We now have Keiko Yano, who is the mother of one of our wonderful pages, Arisa. I’m so pleased to welcome Keiko to the House.

I would like to welcome to the House my husband, Albert Wai, who comes to Queen’s Park to celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary with me. Thanks for all your support as I serve Ontarians.

Good morning. I have some guests today from IBT College: James Rice, Joe Shokour, Don Fenn, Anna Simonyan, Ken Rice, Andrea Kurth and Tenzin Norsang.

From the consul general of the Philippines’ office: Rodney Jonas Sumague, Gil Galang and Jennifer Alog Lopez.

I also have a friend who is visiting who is a recent graduate of the PSW program and a recent IBT PSW award-winner: Patrick-Mary Okafor.

I invite all members to join the IBT lunch reception in room 230 following question period.

On behalf of my friend and colleague from Kingston and the Islands, I’d like to welcome visitors from his riding: Gemma, Milo and Cole Zelmanovits, and Scott Grant, who are here to support their nephew and page Luke DeBoni.