During constituency week, I had the pleasure of visiting the First Unitarian Church of Hamilton as they hosted an open house for HATS, the Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters. HATS is a not-for-profit organization working as part of the solution to the unhoused crisis in Hamilton. Their vision is to create a village of small, heated cabins to provide transitional housing and support services for residents living on the street. I had the chance to tour a charming tiny cabin and to meet so many devoted volunteers, such as Tom Cooper, the director of the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction; Kim Martin, the executive director of the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton; and Julie Shea, the director of Centre[3], an arts organization that created a fantastic 3D model of the HATS village.

HATS has already raised more than $300,000 and has support services lined up from various community partners. HATS has the funding, the resources and the partners in place. They are now working to find a site.

Thank you for your compassion and devotion to helping others in our community. Hats off to HATS.

And there was no place more beautiful to be this weekend than on the shores of Hamilton bay at the most westerly point of Lake Ontario. It was a pleasure to participate in the annual sail-past and to recognize the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club for achieving silver in the Clean Marine eco program. The Clean Marine eco program is an environmental program that encourages environmental practices associated with recreational boating across Ontario.

Congratulations once again to Cindy Brown, Susanne Broe-Vayda, Paul Vayda, and Ross Munro, chair, of the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club environment committee.

I would like to welcome Pastor Ankur Narula and Pastor Sonia Narula, who are in the galleries today. They lead one of the largest churches in India, with many followers around the world, including many in Mississauga. I thank them for their service and welcome them to the House.

I also would like to welcome Pastor Nida Anwar Fazal and Pastor Anwar Fazal, who lead Eternal Life Ministries, one of the largest church ministries in Pakistan, and Isaac TV network. Thank you for serving the community. I welcome them in the Legislature. Thank you. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’m very proud to introduce the following people, and there are a number of them, so please bear with me. I want to welcome: Rev. Deana Dudley from the Metropolitan Community Church; Rev. Jeffrey Dale from the United Church of Canada; Rev. Junia Joplin from the Metropolitan Community Church; Barbara Dobrowolski, who is the president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association; Rev. Brent Hawkes, who is the pastor emeritus from the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto; of course Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo, United Church of Canada; Bishop Andrew Asbil from the Anglican Church of Canada; Rev. Stephen Milton from the United Church of Canada; Rev. Anne Hines from the United Church of Canada; Rev. John Joseph Mastandrea from the United Church of Canada; Ael Spence from the United Church of Canada; Rev. Ralph Wuske from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada; Rev. Bob Faris, Presbyterian Church of Canada; Rev. Alexandra Gilmour, United Church of Canada; Rev. Morgan Bell, United Church of Canada; Rev. Maggie Helwig, Anglican Church of Canada; Rev. Michiko Bown-Kai, United Church of Canada; Intern Pastor Victoria Featherstone, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada; Laura Gallagher-Doucette, United Church of Canada; and my wife, Farrah Khan.