I would like to recognize the members of ACORN Canada, Parkdale People’s Economy, as well as the Justice for Queen and Clothes. I believe that they were trying to get in the House. I’m not sure if they have been allowed in as of yet, but they did want me to deliver a letter on their behalf to the Premier, as well as the Minister of Housing, should they not be permitted into the House. They were rallying outside of Queen’s Park this morning.

In addition to the contingent in 228 and 230, I have in the members’ gallery today: Warden Debbie Robinson, from Renfrew county; Reeve Peter Emon, from Renfrew, also a county councillor; Reeve Dan Lynch, from Arnprior, a county councillor; and the chief of paramedics in Renfrew county, Mike Nolan. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Dans la tribune du Président ce matin sont les stagiaires de la Fondation Jean-Charles-Bonenfant qui travaillent avec les députés à l’Assemblée nationale du Québec : Ali El-Samra, Carolane Fillion, Gabriel Moreau, Powen-Alexandre Morin et Charles-Étienne Ostiguy. Bienvenue à Queen’s Park.

I’d like to introduce Karissa Singh, who is an OLIP intern in my office. Karissa has had a very eventful first week, but she’s already proved to be a great member of the team. Welcome, Karissa.

This week marks the beginning of Diabetes Awareness Month in Ontario. Every three minutes, someone in this country is diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In the next 10 years, diabetes—both type 1 and type 2 being diagnosed—will increase by 26%. For those living with pre-diabetes, about half will develop type 2 diabetes if no intervention is made.

The medications, devices and supplies required to treat diabetes can cost people thousands of dollars annually. One quarter of people living with diabetes have reported that these additional costs affect their adherence to their prescribed treatment regimens, which has significant risks to their short- and long-term health.

Diabetes also adds immense cost to our health care system. People with diabetes are over three times more likely to be hospitalized with cardiovascular disease, 12 times more likely to be hospitalized with end-stage renal disease and almost 20 times more likely to be hospitalized for a non-traumatic lower limb amputation, compared to the general population.

Improving the health of people with diabetes will have a direct impact on the costs associated with the disease. The cost burden will decrease with improved prevention efforts and better care, as more people with diabetes will be diverted from acute care and will enjoy a higher quality of life with increased function and productivity.

We need a provincial strategy for people with diabetes now more than ever.

As the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health, I would like to thank and introduce the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario. Thank you very much for that lovely breakfast this morning and thank you Jeffrey Dale, CEO of the Eastern Ontario Regional Laboratory Association, for the great chat. Welcome to Queen’s Park. Bienvenue à Queen’s Park.

I am delighted to welcome Meredith Patterson, the proud mother of page Pearl Clarke, who has joined us today along with Pearl’s grandfather, Neil Patterson, and his wife, Jay DuBoisson. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Similar to my colleague just now, I want to welcome the Medical Laboratory Professionals’ Association of Ontario who are in the public gallery above, their staff and board members including Jessie, Lorraine, Michelle, Jeffrey, Andrea, John and Robin who are here in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to discuss how Ontario’s government can further aid our fourth-largest health care profession and support patient health in Ontario. Thank you for being here today.

I would like to take the opportunity to welcome my EA, Andrew Fahmy, to the House today. This month marks about 10 years working together as part of the team, and today is his birthday. Happy birthday.

That concludes the time we have available this morning for introduction of visitors.

I would like to introduce page Nolan Stoqua. Although he is from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, he has actually been residing in beautiful Beaches–East York. We’ve been taking great care of him during his time here. He’s actually right down the street from me. I wish him the best of luck as it’s his last day today.

I want to welcome Alex Ribadeniera and his grade 10 class from East York Collegiate here today. They’re somewhere in the building, not sure where. But Alex’s family and mine have known each other for a long, long time. I just wanted to welcome them all to Queen’s Park, wherever they are.

It is my distinct honour to stand in this Legislature and speak today in recognition of Remembrance Week and Remembrance Day. Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a moment of silence to remember the men and women who have served, and continue to serve, our country during times of war, conflict and peace. We acknowledge the efforts and the sacrifice of these special Canadians and their families. We pause for two minutes of special tribute and we attend commemorative ceremonies in memory of those who made the supreme sacrifice for us in:

—the South African War, or Boer War, from 1899 to 1902;

—the First World War, from 1914 to 1918;

—the Second World War, from 1939 to 1945;

—the Korean War, from 1950 to 1953;

—the Gulf War, from 1990 to 1991; and

—the Afghanistan War, from 2001 to 2014.

I mention all of these wars and conflicts simply because it is important that the service and the sacrifices of Canadians in all of these is never, and will never be, forgotten.

For more than 100 years, millions of Canadians have proudly served our country in uniform. While the Canadian Armed Forces are known to put their lives on the line to support international operations, they also fulfill important roles on home soil.

During the recent COVID crisis, our Canadian Armed Forces came to the aid of Ontario, as well as other provinces, with seniors in long-term care homes. They did so at the request of local civil authorities and provincial governments to help protect Canadians and minimize the impact of the health crisis. It is incumbent upon us all to remember what they found in these homes and to ensure it never, never happens again.

They provide national and regional security, serve on search and rescue missions and respond to national disasters.

Speaker, I cannot let Remembrance Day go by without special recognition and note that it has a special meaning for myself and my family. As I have mentioned before, I am a proud mother to an active service member, Jonathan Lindal. Jonathan is a petty officer first class, currently posted to the Naval Fleet School, Atlantic, as a senior combat information instructor, teaching today’s naval tactics and doctrines to future of the fleet. Jonathan has served over 18 years on His Majesty’s Canadian ships for multiple overseas deployments including missions combatting global terror, anti-piracy, sovereignty patrols and Operation Reassurance support for NATO’s assurance and deterrence measures in central and eastern Europe.

Both his grandfather—my father—and his great-grandfather served our country, as many of us today have family members that we will remember, thank and honour on November 11. We can never repay the debt we owe, nor will we ever have enough gratitude for the freedom and security we enjoy every day across all of our communities. We must do our part to ensure that the sacrifices of our country’s men and women, who fought for and in many cases gave up their life for our right to sit as democratically elected members of this assembly, are not forgotten.

As the proud member of a military family, both past and present, I will watch the national ceremony, locate and attend local ceremonies leading up to the events of November 11—just last week, I attended my local Legion’s poppy kickoff ceremony—lay a wreath at local cenotaphs, proudly wear my poppy, thank and honour anyone in uniform and observe two minutes of silence.

I encourage all of us to do the same because our Canadian Armed Forces and our veterans want Canadians to understand the price of freedom. They are passing the torch to the people of Canada so that the memory and the importance of sacrifices will continue and the values they fought for will continue to live on in all of us.

Our veterans, our country’s men and women of our Canadian services, be it land, air or sea, answered the call to defend freedom. We will forever be grateful. We will remember them. Lest we forget.

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to make statements regarding Remembrance Day, with five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s loyal opposition, five minutes allotted to the independent members as a group, and five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s government, after which the House shall observe two minutes of silence in commemoration of all those who have served in our Armed Forces.

Saturday will be the first day of Remembrance Week here in Ontario. It’s that time of year when we remember and reflect on the sacrifices of so many in both small and great conflicts over the years. Their sacrifice was the price of the freedom and the rights we all enjoy today.

One of those who paid the price for us was Robert Ansley Cavanagh. He died at Dieppe on August 19, 1942. He was 19 years old. He was my wife Linda’s uncle, the one she never met. More importantly, he was the brother and best friend to my mother-in-law, Yvonne. His loss was devastating for her. She loved him dearly and never got over it, and for almost 80 years she had his picture by her bedside, right up until the day she died. She never forgot. We have that picture now so that we’ll never forget.

These are turbulent times in our world. We are seeing the rise of fascism with Putin’s attack on the people of Ukraine and all those other conflicts that are happening in the world, and throughout the world whenever we see an effort to take away fundamental rights and freedoms from people it requires all of to us stand up.

It’s important for all of us to remember that our way of life, our democracy, things like our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, were purchased with the blood and sweat and lives of women and men like Robert Ansley Cavanaugh, and the tears of people like my mother-in-law, Yvonne Hooper. We must never forget.

Please join me in welcoming, from the Peel Regional Police, Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich. Also, Mr. Speaker, I’m very thankful for the work that our front-line officers are doing, including last week, when the deputy chief pulled off one of the largest drug busts in Peel’s history. Please join me in welcoming him to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome, from my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry, Scott and Sheena Stoqua. They’re here for Nolan’s last day of being a page.

The member for Guelph.

I’ll now ask members to rise to observe two minutes of silence in commemoration of all those who served in our armed forces.

The House observed two minutes’ silence.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I consider it one of my highest honours to rise in this House and pay tribute to those who have served in Canada’s military. As we all know, Remembrance Day occurs on Friday of next week and it is the culmination of Remembrance Week. It is the day on which we dedicated our gratitude to those who’ve given so much to this province and this country.

Before the ceremonies of November 11, the nation will also pause on November 8, national Indigenous Veterans Day, to pay tribute to the many contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis service people. This province has a long and distinguished record of military heroism and leadership shown by Indigenous soldiers, those who overcame cultural challenges and discrimination to serve this country with honour and distinction.

Throughout Remembrance Week, we pay our respects to the individuals in uniform who protect Canada’s freedoms with courage and selflessness. Remembrance Day is our opportunity to honour those brave women and men who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of democracy, and to recognize the military veterans who are still with us in our communities today. Every Ontarian owes a debt to these veterans that we can never fully repay.

We must always demonstrate our appreciation, not only on the 11th day of the 11th month, but every day that we step outside our homes as people free of government oppression and free of armed conflict on our home soil. The brutal war being waged by Russia on Ukraine brings into stark focus the dangers that exist in the world today, and the importance of vigilance and standing shoulder to shoulder with our partners in defence of freedom and liberty. As I stand here, brave Canadian servicepeople are stationed across the world providing vital supports including, recently, increased deployments to our friends and allies in eastern Europe.

This year also marks the 150th birthday of Colonel John McCrae, born in Guelph, Ontario in 1872. Colonel McCrae was a combat surgeon who served in one of the bloodiest battles of World War I. Seeing red poppies amid the devastation on the battlefield, Colonel McCrae was moved to write the beloved poem In Flanders Fields. For more than a century, this poem has inspired millions around the globe, and Colonel McCrae’s sentiment lives on in the poppies worn by citizens of numerous countries in honour of their own service members.

And so I encourage every citizen of Ontario to wear the red poppy with pride, to acknowledge that gift of freedom we all hold dear. It’s a gift given to us by all brave servicemen and women who have stood tall and answered the call throughout the history of our country. I also encourage every Ontarian to hold a moment of silence this November 11 in order to thank and remember every one of our heroic military members, both living and those who have sadly departed.

To those heroes, I make a solemn promise to you: We will always stand with you, lest we forget. God bless our veterans: active, retired, and the ones we have lost.

Applause.