Well, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I’m glad you’re sitting down, because this is big—it’s even Guinness World Records big. After three long years, the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival is back. It is the single largest maple syrup festival in the world, and I’m very glad to see it return on Saturday, April 1, this weekend.

I want to talk about a few changes that are being made this year.

Historically, the pancake tent has been downtown. It is moving indoors this year, to Lion’s Hall, right beside the Woolwich Memorial Centre at South Street and Snyder Avenue. Come meet mascot Flapjack when I try my hand at our world-famous pancake flipping contest, Mr. Speaker—and I think you may have done that once or twice over your years representing a great part of Woolwich township.

Again, this year, we’re hoping to break a record and see 60,000 to 70,000 people returning to the streets of Elmira.

I want to talk about what benefit we see to the community. A lot of the funds raised from this fantastic event go to Community Living Elmira, the Elmira Theatre Company, the Woolwich sledge hockey team, Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, the local schools, and more.

Our deep thank you to the new chair, Matt Jessop, and the planning committee.

I’m looking forward to this weekend.

This Sunday, April 2, is World Autism Awareness Day. As many of you know, this topic is close to my heart, so I’m happy to have the opportunity to speak more about this important day.

World Autism Awareness Day was unanimously declared to be April 2 in the United Nations General Assembly in 2008. This day is about more than just awareness; it is about recognition, celebration and acceptance.

People with autism are integral members of our communities.

This year’s theme focuses on celebrating the contributions people with autism make to the world, including at home, at work, in the arts, and in policy-making.

However, people with autism still face challenges and discrimination. It is important to recognize that there is still work we need to do, especially in our roles as MPPs.

We need to ensure we are building an inclusive, accessible province for everyone. Building an accessible province means ensuring people have access to services.

Right now, an overwhelming number of children with autism are not getting the services they need. It was disappointing to see that the government did not keep the autistic community in their mind when drafting their budget, as they did not mention autism a single time.

So for this World Autism Awareness Day, I encourage members to think about what they can do to build a more equitable, accessible province for people living with autism and how their work can directly impact people’s lives.

Cette fin de semaine, nous procédons à l’inauguration officielle de la nouvelle cabane à sucre Vanier. Cette cabane à sucre est spéciale pour de nombreuses raisons. À moins de cinq kilomètres du centre-ville d’Ottawa, la cabane à sucre du Muséoparc Vanier est la seule cabane à sucre en milieu urbain au Canada, et j’ai la chance d’habiter juste à côté.

Malheureusement, en août 2020, la cabane à sucre a été ravagée par un incendie criminel. Heureusement, les arbres qui produisent le sirop d’érable sur ce terrain de plus de 17 acres ont été épargnés, et aujourd’hui la cabane renaît de ses cendres. C’est grâce au travail acharné de la directrice générale de Muséoparc Vanier, Madeleine Meilleur, et du conseil d’administration qui ont également pu compter sur une aide précieuse de la ville pour rebâtir encore plus grand.

Donc après trois ans de fermeture, le Festival des sucres est de retour, et en fin de semaine, nous aurons la chance de nous sucrer le bec et de participer à de nombreuses activités qui rassemblent un nombre impressionnant de membres de la communauté et d’ailleurs.

Mon voisin acériculteur, Marc Madore, puise beaucoup de fierté à guider tous ceux qui veulent découvrir comment on fait le sirop d’érable en participant à l’entaillage des érables. De nombreux nouveaux arrivants sont souvent au nombre de ces apprentis.

J’en profite donc pour remercier les nombreux bénévoles qui sont vraiment le moteur du festival des sucres et je vous invite tous à nous rendre visite à Vanier pour venir déguster des délices à l’érable et peut-être vous joindre à moi pour le concours de bûcherons.

I’m so pleased to speak about an incredibly selfless and humble individual named Paul Andrew Durdin. Paul Durdin has been a member of the Kinsmen organization for 37 years, and last month he was recognized by the Kin Club in Flamborough with the Kinsmen’s highest honour, which is life membership.

Paul has served the Kinsmen organization at various clubs throughout the Golden Horseshoe, including Lakeshore, Oakville, Stoney Creek and, currently, the Kin Club of Flamborough. His dedication to community service has truly been inspiring. He has stepped up to serve the Kinsmen Club in so many ways, including accepting various positions on the executive, which requires a lot of time and responsibility. Whenever there was a job to be done, Paul would be among the first to volunteer to help, and he never expected any accolades in return. People who know him say he brings a spirit of positivity and joy wherever he goes. When asked about him, a common response is that Paul is a blessing to have in our lives and it’s an honour to know him and to call him a friend.

It was an honour for me to be at the awards dinner to meet Paul and to see him receive the life membership.

I want to thank Paul Durden and the entire membership of the Kinsmen Club for making Flamborough and the province of Ontario a better place to live.

Members’ statements? The member for Kitchener–Conestoga.

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly. We’re delighted to have you here.

We all know that guns are being smuggled across the border from the United States into Canada, and that these illegal guns are getting into the hands of gangs, and the gangs are using these guns to go after some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

That’s why we have a strategy. It’s the anti-illegal guns, gangs and violence reduction strategy brought forward by this government and this Premier, and it’s funded through the budget. We know the NDP don’t support this. We know they want to defund the police. But because of the compassionate policies of this government, we actually fund these services—and in the 2023 budget, $13.4 million is continued to provide funding for these police services to go after the illegal guns and go after the gangs.

I want to thank the Minister of Finance for continuing to fund police services.

And I encourage the Solicitor General to please continue to go after the illegal guns and go after the gangs.

I understand the member from Ottawa–Vanier has a point of order she wishes to raise.

It is my pleasure to welcome Patty Coates, the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Interjections.

I’d also like to welcome workers from Windsor Salt: from Unifor Local 240, president Jodi Nesbitt, Karrie Burrows, Lindsay Meloche; and Unifor Local 1959 members Eric Brown, Dario Zuech, and Chad Girard.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome the Ontario Waterpower Association. It has its headquarters in Peterborough–Kawartha. They are here today with Stephen Somerville, Jonathan Atkinson, Nicholas Pender, James Carter, John Wynsma, Brianne McMullen, Janelle Fonseca and Paul Norris.

We do have a reception tonight downstairs, in the legislative dining room. I’m looking forward to having everyone there.

I am proud to recognize, in the members’ gallery today, four students from Ontario Tech University in my riding: Dakoda Cluett, Joshua Sankarlal, Corey Law, and Megan Good.

Welcome to your House.

I won’t repeat introductions to the Ontario Waterpower Association—but a special acknowledgement for a constituent of mine. When you don’t find him in a suit, he looks great in jeans on the farm, up in Indian River.

Welcome to Queen’s Park, Paul Norris.

I’m really pleased to welcome to the Legislature today a lot of visitors from a number of First Nations communities and leaders, including Cecilia Begg from KI—she’s the KI head councillor—Chief Wayne Moonias from Neskantaga First Nation; Chief-elect Christopher Moonias from Neskantaga First Nation; Chief Rudy Turtle from Grassy Narrows First Nation; Sherry Ackabee, who is the Grassy Narrows deputy chief; Chief Charlie Beardy from Muskrat Dam First Nation; Allen Brown from Wapekeka First Nation; and Alvin Fiddler from Muskrat Dam.

I’m very, very pleased to welcome all of you and other members from your First Nations to the Legislature. Thank you for being here today.

My question is to the Premier. Will he explain why his government buried $6 billion in cuts at a time when the people of this province are really struggling?

Perhaps the members over on the government side should take a second look, because they are making cuts. They should check out page 150 of the budget book, which reveals that this government is cutting funds to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing—cuts to tourism, culture and sport; cuts to francophone affairs; cuts to agriculture.

Will the Premier, again, explain what these cuts are going to mean for homelessness programs, for the Ontario Arts Council, for local transit, and for bilingual services?

I want to recognize James Scongack. James is the chair of the Canadian Nuclear Isotope Council.

Thank you to the member opposite for that question.

I don’t know—you look at the budget. Look at the numbers. I’m a numbers guy. The increase in the budget to $204.7 billion includes a $6-billion increase to health care spending next year. That’s an 8.1% increase. That’s an increase. I don’t know.

Secondly, education, which includes child care funding, it includes funding for catch-up, it includes funding for mental health, it includes funding for literacy and a whole range of things—more funding per pupil, as the Minister of Education highlighted. It’s going up $2.3 billion; that’s 7.1%. I’m looking at numbers.

Maybe their world looks at numbers very differently, but I’m looking at the facts.

In fact, you mentioned homelessness. Thank you for raising that very important point.

What did we do last week? We increased funding for homelessness by $202 million—a record increase for people who need a hand up.

We’re not going to let down the people coming to this province, nor are we going to let down the people in this province.

I do, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 100(a)(4), five minutes be allotted to the independent members as a group to speak during private members’ public business today.

I have here with me today in the galleries my incredible team from Treasury Board: my chief of staff, Jenna; Natalie; Ian; Melvin; David; Hamish; Chiara; Mary; Rikin; Catherine; Nuri; Ali; and Christopher. I want to welcome them here to the House.

I’d like to welcome everybody from the Ontario Waterpower Association today. I’m looking forward to talking with them about some of the local small hydro projects near Kingston and also potential hydro projects in other parts of the province, like northern Ontario. I encourage everybody to come to their reception this evening.

I hope all colleagues will join with me and turn their attention to the Speaker’s gallery, where we have Deputy Minister Nancy Matthews and executive assistant Greg Robinson. These are two individuals who have provided close to 60 years of service to the people of the province of Ontario, and in Deputy Minister Matthews’s case, to the city of Toronto as well. They are taking their retirement very, very soon. They have both been absolutely instrumental, not only in making Ontario one of the best places to live, work and invest over the last number of years that they have been here, but in helping guide us through the COVID pandemic.

I hope all members will join with me in thanking them for their incredible service to the people of the province of Ontario.

Applause.

I’ve often said that steelworkers make great leaders. We have a steelworker here today, the vice-president of the Steelworkers’ Toronto Area Council, my good friend Roopchand Doon.

Roop, welcome to Queen’s Park.