Good morning, Madam Speaker. It’s a pleasure to see you in the chair today.

I’m going to be addressing the chamber and this assembly on Bill 36, which is the Progress on the Plan to Build Act, and as is my tradition, I’m going to start my address with a very short story that is going to tie directly into the subject of debate and assist us in illustrating what I’m talking about today.

As I’m wont to do, I’m going to start this story on the second concession of Anderdon township, because that’s where I grew up. On the second concession of Anderdon township, there is a row of lots. All of the lots are one-acre lots, because there’s no sewer line on the second concession; you have to put in septic tanks. Immediately behind the one-acre lots, there’s a railroad, the Essex Terminal Railway. It’s still in operation today. On the other side of the railroad, there’s a subdivision, and that’s where I live. I literally live about half a mile from where I grew up. I grew up on the east side of the railroad, and now I live on the west side of the railroad. Some people have an expression—they say sometimes that they grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, but that does not apply to me. I grew up on the right side of the tracks. In truth, in Anderdon township it doesn’t matter if you grew up on the east or west side of the tracks; you always grew up on the right side of the tracks, because if you grew up in Anderdon township, where I grew up, you always had opportunity, and if you worked hard, you knew you were going to make it. We all knew that. I certainly knew that. I always had a summer job. I went to school, I went to university—more than once.

I eventually decided to go to law school. I became a lawyer and opened a law office. I opened up that law office right in the town of Amherstburg, eight minutes from my house. So my commute to work was eight minutes—from my house beside the railroad tracks in Anderdon to my law office in Amherstburg.

Running a law office for 24 years was great. I had lots of clients. I had great people to work with. I had two full-time employees. I was making a good—

Last night, London inaugurated our new city council. I want to take this time to thank all of them for stepping up to serve the city of London and to wish them all well in leading our great city to meet its potential.

It’s deeply concerning that councillors are being sworn in on the same week this government is going out of their way to strip them of their powers with Bill 23. This new legislation takes power away from cities right when they need it the most. It costs municipalities hundreds of thousands in lost revenue and gives the minister sweeping powers they’ve never had over bylaws and local planning. It’s also a direct attack on conservation authorities.

Ontario is losing almost 320 acres of prime farmland per day, but this government wants to make the incredibly rich even richer.

This bill hurts the environment, renters and weakens democracy. It jeopardizes affordable housing stock, and it’s a gravy train giveaway to politically connected developers.

I worry that this government’s party with the public purse is completely out of control.

Speaker, our city councillors were elected by the people of London to lead our community; this government was not.

Ontario cannot go backwards on the environment, democracy, and protections for people who need them the most.

I hope that this government will listen and learn what municipalities require, and collaborate rather than dictate.

Madam Speaker, I would like to inform the chamber today of a tremendous community organization in my riding of Newmarket–Aurora called Inn From the Cold, whose mission is to meet the needs of people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. They provide emergency shelter in harsh winter conditions and offer a drop-by program which is open seven days a week, where community members are served meals and have access to shower and laundry facilities as well as to computers and the Internet.

I am very pleased to announce that this year our government has supported Inn From the Cold with two Resilient Communities Fund grants, for a total of $277,400, through the Ontario Trillium Foundation. These grants helped Inn From the Cold with staffing costs, including the hiring of a systems navigator. The grants also helped with the costs associated with building a new website to improve its digital presence, as well as to implement a health and wellness strategy and organizational risk management plan.

When touring the facility, I had the privilege to meet their systems navigator and volunteers, while witnessing first-hand the many vital services they provide.

I would like to thank Ann Watson, the executive director, and all the volunteers at Inn From the Cold for the great work they do in our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about one of Manotick’s most charming and whimsical shops, the Gingerbread Man. Many from the historic village of Manotick and those who have travelled from far and wide to see the one-of-a-kind shop will remember the gingerbread aroma that fills the shop, the incredibly detailed gingerbread showpieces, the multitude of gingerbread cookies for every occasion, the famous butter tarts, the delicious Kawartha ice cream, and so much more.

Richard Palframan started the Gingerbread Man in 1998 in Toronto. In 2001, he moved his home and business to Manotick. The shop has grown with the village of Manotick and has had the pleasure of watching neighbourhood families grow and of having their gingerbread houses become part of Christmas traditions.

The shop is also where Richard met his wife, Kaori. Kaori helped the business grow with her fantastic shortbread, banana bread and intricate decorating skills.

Unfortunately, on November 4, Richard and Kaori were devastated by a massive fire that took away their home and business. The 150-year-old building, which was one of the first houses ever built in Manotick, will have to be torn down. The weeks before Christmas are the busiest time of year for them. The loss of business means loss of revenue to pay their bills and support the community, and the loss of their home means that they are left with a hole in their hearts.

Mr. Speaker, this is a huge loss for the village of Manotick.

I send out my condolences to Richard and Kaori. And if anyone wishes to support them, please check out their website.

I would like to once again make this House aware of a situation in my riding: the importation, storage and spreading of raw human sewage, imported from Quebec, stored on a former dairy farm lagoon. The neighbours raised concerns when this was approved by the current Minister of the Environment. I contacted the minister, especially because it was a former dairy lagoon and there was a well situated in the area. The ministry replied that it was a green site, there was no former infrastructure, and there was no well. There is a well; it was former infrastructure—when I made this, again, aware to the minister, no reply.

A few weeks ago, I wrote the minister a letter saying, “Well, since the ministry didn’t even identify that there was a well, how can the neighbours be assured you’ve identified any of the other infrastructure around the former dairy site?” I got a nice letter back on Friday saying that everything is fine.

On Saturday, hopefully by coincidence, the lagoon was pumped. On Saturday night, after dark, excavators went in and excavated till 4:30 in the morning. I called the MOE—no report. But the local MOE inspector did send an email to one of the neighbours that this was MOE-sanctioned and they were digging out the former foundations of the barn that didn’t exist.

We no longer have faith in the ministry. We need all the documentation.

All of us remember that, under a Liberal government, 300,000 jobs fled the province of Ontario. But I have good news, because those jobs are coming back. They’re coming back to my riding of Essex, and they’re coming back to the town of Kingsville.

I had the pleasure of going to Kingsville with the Minister of Economic Development and Trade. He brought a provincial investment of $1 million to the town of Kingsville, and that $1 million is going to be matched by $11.5 million from business investors, for a total of $12.5 million of manufacturing investment in the town of Kingsville. That’s a town of 21,000 people, so $12.5 million is a big deal. It’s going to create 29 jobs—good jobs, skilled jobs, jobs you can start a family with, jobs you can build a house with.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Minister of Economic Development and Trade—and I want to thank the leadership of the Premier.

I want to congratulate Idol Core Industries of Kingsville and MC3 Manufacturing of Kingsville for creating good, long-lasting jobs for the people of the county of Essex.

Normally, when we get up and do members’ statements, we talk a little bit about something that’s happening in our ridings. But gosh darn it, Speaker, I am so excited, I just can’t hide it—the World Cup is coming November 20, on Sunday. I am a huge football, or soccer, fan. Believe it or not—for everybody here in the House—I have two children and one of them has the middle name Chelsea, after Chelsea Football Club, and one of them has the middle name Robben, after the Dutch footballer Arjen Robben. I’m very excited and I’m really looking forward to seeing, for the first time since 1986, Canada playing in the World Cup.

I will say, I’m a little partial to the German team. We normally fly the German flag outside our house during the World Cup, but this year it’s going to be a little bit different; we’ll make sure that the Canadian flag is on top.

I encourage everybody, if you have an opportunity—it’s a little bit different with it being in Qatar this session; the games are going to be on at different times. It’s going to be a little weird. They start on the 20th. If you have an opportunity, please tune in and support Canada.

I know we have some athletes from Team Ontario here today. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature. Maybe one day they’ll have an opportunity to play in the World Cup as well.

I rise today to pay tribute to the thousands of acres of protected land that will be lost to the government’s plan to pave over the greenbelt, and to give voice to the millions of people in this province who love the greenbelt. They want the Premier to keep his promise. Over and over again, inside and outside this House, the Premier explicitly promised to protect the greenbelt from development. There’s a reason these lands are protected. It’s the land that protects us from expensive floods and that cleans our drinking water. It’s home to so many places where people love to spend time with their family. It’s home to the farmland that feeds us and supports our economy. All of this is under threat so that a handful of land speculators can turn millions into billions, and the rest of us will pay the price in longer commutes, higher flood costs, increased property taxes and reduced food security.

Speaker, there are 88,000 acres of land already approved for development within existing urban boundaries, where we can build affordable homes in communities where people want to live.

We simply cannot afford to continue to lose 319 acres of farmland each and every day.

So, on behalf of my constituents and millions of Ontarians, we say, Premier, keep your promise. Keep your hands off the greenbelt.

I’m honoured to welcome business delegates from Nigeria, organized by my good friend Bose Odueke. In the gallery is Peace Wisdom, Dr. Chinwendu Bilite Onyegbula and Kehinde Akinsanya. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

As parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, I’d also like to introduce the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario. Thank you to the member opposite for announcing all their names.

Nurses from across the province are here to meet with MPPs and government officials today to highlight the critical role of nurse practitioners across the province.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It is an honour to welcome the Nurse Practitioners’ Association to Queen’s Park. That includes: Barbara Bailey, Amanda Rainville, Corsita Garraway, Jennifer Clement, Chantal Sorhaindo, Dana Cooper, Lauren Scott, Teresa Wetselaar, Kelsey York, Clinton Baretto, Krysta Cameron, Claudia Mariano, Valerie Winberg, Andrea Anderson, Beth Cowper-Fung, James Lindberg, Jayme Wilson, Thomas Gendron, Noah Mondrow, Vanessa Mooney, Justine Rose, Marcela Killin and Pavarni Jorgensen.

I also want to thank police officers from my riding who are here: Matt Hall, Jacques Roberge and Steve Train. Thank you for coming to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to introduce two police officers from my riding: Sergeant Jeff Chartier and Mark Ballantine.

I’d like to welcome Bob Murphy from ACORN to Queen’s Park. It’s good to see you, Bob.

I’d like to welcome all members of the Police Association of Ontario who are here today, especially Philip Perrins and Matt Jotham from the city of Guelph.

It’s not exactly an introduction, but I want to wish our granddaughter Adelaide Helena Colucci a happy ninth birthday today, and our granddaughter May Mundt a happy 15th birthday on Friday.

I’d also like to recognize Barbara Hall, former mayor of the city of Toronto as well as the former chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and a resident of Toronto Centre. Welcome.

As the parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General, it gives me distinct honour to introduce representatives of the Police Association of Ontario who are joining us today at Queen’s Park: President Mark Baxter; executive director Tyler Callaghan; OPPA president John Cerasuolo—and members of the board and staff: Tim Reparon, Michael Duffy, Lauren Alpern and Karen Peral. Welcome to Queen’s Park. I know my colleague has more to add.

I’d like to continue those introductions and welcome Brad Durst, Cameron Gough, Matt Jotham, Colin Woods, Anne Brennan-Walsh and Jim Mulligan. You’re all invited to their reception tonight.

I would like to recognize Patrick McGilly from the Niagara Region Police Association.

Patrick, I’m looking forward to the meeting later on this afternoon. Welcome to Queen’s Park.