Speaker, everyone in London recognizes the homelessness crisis, and understands the dire need to ensure unhoused, marginalized Londoners have supports to rebuild their lives and finally be safe. More than 200 people have died on London’s streets in the past three years. No one among us should be able to turn and look away from human suffering and preventable tragedy.

In response to this mounting crisis, London city council engaged a broad spectrum of Londoners in their Health and Homelessness Summits. They created a collaborative plan known as the Health and Homelessness Whole of Community System Response, which will create 24/7 community hubs with on-site care, as well as build the desperately needed 100 supportive housing units this year and 600 in total.

London leaders have stepped up. After an historic $25 million gift by an anonymous London family, millions more have been donated by London’s amazing business and community leaders who have rallied to join the fight. The Health and Homelessness Fund for Change, fundforchange.ca, is administered by the London Community Foundation. The need is there. Community support is there and engagement is there.

London is a leader, Speaker, but we can’t do it alone. The province now has a chance to stand with London and support this noble and worthy cause. I echo the calls of community leaders, experts, local organizations and city council. I encourage the province to provide emergency homelessness funding to London in the 2023 budget.

Local politics in Windsor-Essex was turned on its head this month. The revelation, you ask? The new Lego Windsor and Essex Politics page on Instagram. Riley Richard, the page’s creator, depicts local political leaders from across our region in all of their four-centimetre yellow mini-figure glory.

Riley’s mission: to reverse declining voter engagement through creativity and positivity in politics.

Riley’s many human skills shine through in his work—his graphic design, his knowledge of history and his knack for noticing detail, right down to our hair. If our Legislature is destined to have young Ontarians like Riley sitting here in these very seats in the future, we can truly be optimistic for a bright number of years ahead. I encourage all Ontarians to visit @legowindsorpoli on Instagram to see Riley’s handiwork in action.

Riley, on behalf of all of us here at the Ontario Legislature, thank you so, so much for being part of the solution.

I’d like to congratulate the U13A Cornwall Typhoons girls’ hockey team on winning the 2023 Good Deeds Cup by Chevrolet Canada. The official announcement was made by Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean Saturday night.

The Good Deeds Cup is a challenge for minor hockey teams across Canada to take the values they learn on the ice—determination, leadership and teamwork—and use them to support their communities off the ice.

I want to acknowledge and congratulate the players: Anneke, Makya, Hailey, Charlotte, Mya, Annabella, Mackenzie, Leightyn, Teagan, Abygail, Sarah, Lexi, Olyvia, Embry, Jane, Sloane and Lilli, as well as their coaches, trainers, managers and the parents for their efforts in supporting and inspiring our community.

With over 300 good deeds performed, the team won the grand prize of $100,000 to donate to a charity. The Typhoons chose the Beyond 21 Foundation in Cornwall, who do important work. Beyond 21 helps adults with developmental disabilities identify their dreams and empowering them to learn the skills and build the connections they need to achieve them.

Once again, congratulations to the U13A Cornwall Typhoons girls’ hockey team. You have certainly made a big difference in the lives of many in Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry.

It may be budget day, but it’s hockey day every day in this country, and based on my member’s statement, that’s what I want to talk about today. It is my pleasure to rise in this House today to share an exciting opportunity for the community of West Lorne, which is on the western edge of my riding in Elgin–Middlesex–London.

Impressively, Speaker, West Lorne is the only Ontario finalist for the Kraft Hockeyville competition. This is a Canadian competition, with West Lorne, again, being the only community representing our province with promise and pride. The winning community will get to host a future NHL game and receive $250,000 to upgrade their arena.

West Lorne’s arena dressing rooms are too small and—get this—of late, it’s often difficult to keep their ice frozen. Just imagine a growing and thriving community in Canada with a faulty ice rink.

Over the past 17 years, Kraft Hockeyville has proudly awarded $4.5 million to 93 communities throughout Canada, and we thank them for their hometown support. Voting for this competition opens on March 31 at 9 a.m. and closes on April 1 at 5 p.m. I sincerely ask and encourage all members of this Legislature and those watching from home to support our small-town southwestern Ontario community of West Lorne. For more details on how to vote, you can google “Kraft Hockeyville.”

Thank you very much.

Durham College in my riding is partnering with the Schulich Foundation, who recently announced a game-changing program, Schulich Builders, a scholarship program dedicated to students pursuing a career in the skilled trades. In its first year of operation, more than $3 million is committed to combat labour shortages and to highlight the importance of the skilled trades, with $300,000 going directly to Durham College students.

Don Lovisa, the president of Durham College, says that with these scholarships, they will continue to lead the way by developing knowledgeable and experienced skilled trades graduates, able to step into rewarding careers that can make a difference in Durham communities.

I’m proud to promote the skilled trades and support Durham region students pursuing their rewarding career path in the skilled trades.

In 2018, this Premier and his Conservatives promised to cut hydro rates by 12%. Rates went up. A couple of years later, the Premier reimagined his promise. Rates still went up. Now the government is spending $6 billion a year—an enormous chunk of the budget, about as much as it spends on long-term care—to hide the cost of electricity.

Are you worried about housing, cost of living, health care or education? Here’s the truth: This government’s hydro shell game doesn’t help. If we build new hydroelectric, nuclear or natural gas plants, it will cost more than what we pay on our hydro bills—

Interjections.

What we need is electricity that really costs less. Conservation is still the cheapest way to go. Solar and wind with storage have become comparable to other sources of power, and continue to get cheaper. You can rely on both of these to avoid price spikes from overseas turmoil. There has been no long-term energy plan since before the Conservative government. Six years later and all we have is an election cycle plan.

The economy is a big ship. Household budgets, taken together, are a big ship. We need a plan. We can’t change the subsidy by a lot all of a sudden. But future electricity usage is sensitive to plans for housing, transportation, industrial strategy, so the plan can’t be delegated to the IESO. It has to be done—

I just want to wish my fiancée a happy birthday. It’s her birthday on Saturday. Happy birthday, Meghan.

It’s not very often we have people from Nickel Belt coming down to Toronto, so I’m really pleased to see Samuel Leach Jarrett, who is from Nickel Belt, at Queen’s Park today. Thank you for coming.

It’s my pleasure today to welcome to the House a resident of my riding, Sophia Burkitt, who is the proud mother of page Morgan Burkitt.

Today is my mom’s birthday. I want to wish her a very happy birthday. Thank you for creating a generation of strong women. Enjoy the sun—she’s in Jamaica, making us all feel jealous. Happy birthday.

Please welcome to the Legislature of Ontario Renée Beaulne, who is the mother of our page Cole.

Speaker, I see you clearly saved the coolest member for last. Thank you for that. I’d like to introduce the family of page captain Evelyn Yeung, visiting in the Legislature today: Paul Yeung, Isabella Szeto and Margaret Szeto. Welcome to the Legislature.

I, too, want to give a very warm welcome to University of Toronto NDP and a special shout-out to Parkdale–High Park’s star campaigner and volunteer, Emma Hartviksen.

I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 9(h), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting schedule of the House is required. Therefore, the House shall commence at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 27, 2023, for the proceedings of orders of the day.

I would love to welcome to our House the delegation from the Serbian Orthodox Church, His Grace Bishop Mitrofan from the Serbian Orthodox Church Canada and Father Jovan from the Serbian Orthodox Church. Thank you for coming today.

It’s my great pleasure to welcome to the House the University of Toronto New Democrats: Jake Barton, Emma Hartviksen, Samuel Leach Jarrett, Chaitri Shah, Nicole Ling and Sarah Pittimen. Let’s give them a round of applause.

She’s not going to like this, but I’m extremely proud to introduce and welcome to Queen’s Park today my daughter, Addison, who was up at the crack of dawn to go to the mutual insurance prayer breakfast with me. Addison is in her fourth year of university at Mac and will someday be one of Ontario’s front-line health care heroes.

What this member is hiding from Ontarians is the fact that her party stands shoulder to shoulder—

They are standing in favour of fees and charges that represent, in some municipalities, $150,000 on the price of a new home. If you don’t think that that’s a factor, listen to CMHC, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.: “Government charges can represent more than 20% of the cost of building a home in major Canadian cities.”

We believe that affordable housing, attainable housing and non-profit housing should be incented, and that’s exactly what Bill 23 does.