It’s my pleasure to rise in this place to recognize the Wellington Heights senior girls volleyball team. For the first time in their history, the senior girls volleyball team captured the district 4 championship. After losing the first set of the semifinal match against Norwell, the Wolverines battled back, taking the next three straight sets to win. They would go on to beat Westside Secondary in the final to take the district 4 senior girls volleyball championship and earn a spot at the CWOSSA tournament. At CWOSSA, they made it all the way to the semifinals before losing a hard-fought battle with Delhi District Secondary School, ultimately placing third in the tournament.

I want to personally congratulate the entire team on winning the district 4 senior girls volleyball championship and making history. You should all be very proud of each other and your accomplishments and your showing at CWOSSA. Thank you to coach Kosempel and coach Barnard for your supporting this amazing team on their journey. Thank you to the entire community for cheering on your Wolverines. Go, Wolverines!

I rise today to commemorate International Women’s Day. While there will be time to reflect on the accomplishments of women, I want to make sure that we are all laser-focused on women’s safety and women’s health, especially as the provincial budget will be coming forward in a few weeks.

I call on the members of this chamber to press for real action to ensure women are prioritized in this budget. We are seven months removed from the Renfrew county inquest, which made 86 recommendations to the province to ensure we protect women and children against violence and femicide. Over half of those recommendations are without a provincial response. Ontario can do better. We all know rising inflation and interest rates mean more gendered implications for quality of life, well-being and access to basic needs.

Almost a year ago, my colleague responded to this by proposing that Ontario should offer universal contraception for women, something British Columbia announced they will be doing in this year’s budget. Ontario can do better. We can make a difference for women through this budget, ensuring the organizations that work to keep them safe are funded and women get the support they need.

I would like to see us celebrate women this week not by looking backward, but by looking forward, by working together to ensure we create a budget in Ontario that makes women’s health an economic priority.

Carol Brisseau is a retired London West senior who lives with her adult son on ODSP. They are one of many London West families struggling to afford skyrocketing natural gas bills. Carol doesn’t know how she will afford to heat her home and worries she may have to leave retirement and find a job to avoid her utilities being cut off.

Families like Carol’s are facing an affordability crisis like never before, but this Premier seems more intent on allowing mega-mansions to be built on the greenbelt than in helping people afford basic necessities like food, housing and utilities. This Premier’s rubber-stamping of gas rate increases has meant a doubling of Enbridge gas prices in the last two years and left families at the mercy of price-gouging energy companies and volatile energy markets.

The NDP stands with Ontarians in calling for immediate relief from the rising cost of natural gas. The government should be providing financial assistance to help people struggling to heat their homes. They should be bringing back and expanding rent control. They should be doubling social assistance rates. They should be taking on greedy corporations that are using the guise of inflation to gouge. And they should be funding aggressive energy conservation programs that will help people stay warm and comfortable while cutting back on use.

Will we see these measures in this year’s provincial budget? Speaker, Londoners like Carol will be watching.

After two years of virtual campaigns, the Ancaster Community Food Drive is back and better than ever. The food drive celebrated its 30-plus-one-year anniversary this past Saturday, and the snowstorm did not slow anyone down. A community of more than 400 volunteers went door to door to collect donations and returned to the Ancaster Fairgrounds, where a mountain of food was weighed, sorted and packed. The food was then loaded onto trucks to deliver to those fantastic agencies that provide emergency food services to the families and the most vulnerable in our community: Ancaster Community Services, the Good Shepherd Centre, Hamilton Food Share, Mission Services of Hamilton, Neighbour to Neighbour, St. Matthew’s House, the Salvation Army and Wesley Urban Ministries. We thank you for your service.

It was a pleasure to be there with many, many volunteers, local businesses, service clubs and schools, including players from the Ancaster Avalanche minor hockey team. Kudos once again to Jim LoPresti, Tom Ippolito, Jan Lukas, Betty Kobayashi and all the members of the community food drive committee.

We know that the most wonderful magic happens when volunteers come together. It is the power of many hands uniting in a single purpose. Despite the significant snowfall, a collective effort brought the total food collected over the 31 years to 1,970,000 pounds. We can count on it that at the same time next year, the Ancaster Community Food Drive will hit their next milestone, which will be two million pounds of food donated. Thank you very much for your work.

This morning I want to share with you a story about my riding, the city of Cambridge, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The city of Cambridge was established on January 1, 1973, when the former communities of Galt, Preston, Hespeler and Blair were amalgamated. Together, we have grown to become one big, caring city and community, along with some lifelong residents like myself clinging to our municipal roots. Yes, I am from Cambridge, but if you ask me, I will tell you I’m from Galt. It’s the same with people from Hespeler and Blair and Preston. It’s a constant and often comical theme of conversations that are still held to this day. Yes, 50 years later we still take pride in the geographical part of our city that we grew up in, but we have come together to become a prosperous city, with rich architectural heritage, walking trails that are the envy of visitors, and countless arts and cultural celebrations.

Cambridge is one of the fastest-growing and strongest-growing economies in Canada. I am proud to say it is a popular destination for film productions such as Bitten, Murdoch Mysteries and The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s not uncommon to see film crews and well-known actors milling around one of the three downtown cores while fans line the streets for a glimpse of excitement.

The 50th birthday celebration for Cambridge kicked off a winter levee at the city hall last month that will continue throughout the year, with art exhibitions, public events, photography contests and restaurant promotions. If you haven’t been to Cambridge, it’s time you did. You will be glad you did. Happy birthday, Cambridge.

Thank you. Once again, I will remind members that statements are to be 90 seconds in length.

I also wish to welcome one of my constituents, Melanie Frazer from Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce, who is with us here today. Welcome, Melanie. It’s great to have you here.

On January 29, Mississauga residents and Ontarians throughout the province were devastated to learn of the passing of our beloved former mayor Hazel McCallion. She was a selfless and humble public servant, a fearless leader, a wise mentor and a good friend to me. When Hazel McCallion was elected mayor in 1978, the vast majority of my riding of Erin Mills was farmland. Over the subsequent 36 years, the great Hurricane Hazel oversaw a mass transformation of the city of Mississauga. She built homes and hospitals. She supported businesses and local communities, and as a member of the Coptic and Egyptian community, I would like to thank her for her tremendous support to all communities in Mississauga.

She never gave up on her vision for a bigger and better city. Even during her last weeks, Hazel McCallion was a fierce advocate for Ontarians, publicly supporting this government’s housing plan. On Thursday, I attended an announcement at Credit Valley Hospital in my riding, the same hospital that Hazel opened in 1985. We were there to celebrate a $75-million donation. Thank you to Blair Wolk and the Orlando Corp. for supporting our vision of an accessible health care system.

Mr. Speaker, we owe it to Mayor McCallion’s legacy to continue following in her footsteps: investing in transit infrastructure, such as the Hazel McCallion Line; supporting the construction of more homes; attracting investment and businesses; and taking meaningful action to make life easier and more affordable for all Ontarians.

On behalf of my constituents in Mississauga–Erin Mills, I would like to thank the late Hazel McCallion for her enduring service to our community and her family for sharing her with us.

In addition to welcoming my MP, Anthony Rota, to the House, I also want to welcome our friends from local chambers all across Ontario and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

On February 28, we celebrated Rare Disease Day in Ontario and internationally, and I want to recognize two hard-working constituents from my riding of Simcoe–Grey: Beth and Madi Vanstone from Beeton, Ontario. For over 10 years, the Vanstones have been coming to Queen’s Park advocating for people living with cystic fibrosis.

Through their dedication, perseverance and advocacy, our government was the first province in Canada to expand coverage for Trikafta to include all Ontarians aged six and over through our publicly funded medical drug program. This transformational medication has built on the effectiveness of predecessor medications Orkambi and Kalydeco to improve the quality, health, and length of the lives of people afflicted with cystic fibrosis right here in Ontario.

One in every 3,600 children born in Canada has cystic fibrosis, and there is still no cure. More than 4,300 Canadian children, youth and adults with cystic fibrosis attend specialized CF clinics today.

I was happy to meet the Vanstones last week for Rare Disease Day to discuss the need for a rare disease strategy in Ontario. I recognize there is more work to do, and I look forward to continuing working with Beth and Madi and other stakeholders and the members of this House to ensure that life-saving medications for rare diseases are available to all Ontarians.

I’d like to welcome the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Brantford-Brant, David Prang, to the people’s House. It’s good to see you today, my friend.

I’d like to welcome the Ontario Autism Coalition today and specifically Alina Cameron, Bruce McIntosh, Jannet Da Rocha, Tony Stravato and all of the families who are here today. Welcome and thank you.

I’d like to welcome Laura-Jane Benoit and her colleagues from Ontario Autism Coalition to Queen’s Park. As well, I would like to thank and welcome two students from Brock University, St. Catharines—my hometown—Sydney Sloane and Xavier Alexy. Welcome to your House and thank you. Go, Badgers, go!

C’est le Mois de la Francophonie et cette semaine nous soulignons aussi la Journée internationale des femmes.

La semaine dernière, j’ai eu l’opportunité de travailler dans un cadre qui combinait ces deux thèmes, soit la francophonie et les femmes. Ainsi, j’ai participé à la réunion du réseau des femmes de l’assemblée des parlementaires francophones. Ce fut une expérience des plus enrichissantes de représenter l’Ontario à cette conférence qui rassemblait des représentants de plusieurs pays, dont la Côte d’Ivoire, le Niger, la Roumanie, la France, la Belgique, la Nouvelle-Calédonie, le Cambodge, le Cameroun et le Maroc, qui était l’hôte de ce rassemblement.

Les discussions approfondies que nous avons eues ont certes révélé que le Canada et l’Ontario ont fait des progrès sur les questions importantes telles que le harcèlement, la discrimination basée sur le sexe et la place des femmes au Parlement. En tant que chef de file, l’Ontario doit continuer d’avancer dans les domaines importants comme la traite de personnes, qui est malheureusement une réalité partout dans le monde.

Il y a deux semaines, cette Assemblée a voté en faveur du projet de loi 41, qui, si adopté, pourrait mieux soutenir les survivantes de la traite de personnes ici en Ontario. J’espère que tous les membres de cette Assemblée feront le nécessaire pour assurer que ce projet de loi important reçoive rapidement la sanction royale.

À toutes les femmes et tous les Franco-Ontariens, je souhaite une semaine et un mois de réflexion sur comment nous pouvons ensemble trouver des solutions à nos défis.

On Saturday, February 25, I was pleased to host a farmer appreciation breakfast at the Richmond Memorial Community Centre in my riding of Carleton to recognize the hard work that farmers do in my riding to contribute to Ontario’s success. Farmers feed families, farmers feed Ontario, and Carleton is home to some of our province’s best.

I was also pleased to host the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to the riding and discuss what our government is doing to get it done for farmers in Carleton and across Ontario. With the release of the Grow Ontario Strategy, our government is strengthening the agri-food sector and ensuring an efficient, reliable and responsible food supply network through new innovation. Our plan will also increase both the consumption and production of food grown and prepared in Ontario by 30%, increase Ontario’s food and beverage manufacturing GDP by 10%, and boost Ontario’s agri-food exports 8% annually by 2032.

Moreover, just last week, our government negotiated a sustainable Canadian agricultural partnership for Ontario that will see upwards of $1.77 billion in support for the agri-food sector over the life of the agreement. Over $569 million will be invested in strategic initiatives, which is a 25% increase over the previous funding agreement.

Mr. Speaker, our farmers play an invaluable role in this province. They are the reliable providers of so many different safe, high-quality and delicious foods we all enjoy. Let’s give our thanks to the hard-working farmers of Carleton and across this province.

I’d like to recognize a great friend and supporter of Windsor–Essex, the CEO of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce, Rakesh Naidu, who is with us today. Thank you, Rakesh, for being here.

I would like to welcome Sara Kitlar-Pothier, who is from Nickel Belt. She is the vice-president of the northern region of the Ontario Autism Coalition. Welcome, Sara.

I’d like to welcome today—I know it’s been mentioned before—on behalf of the Solicitor General and myself, J.P. Hornick, the president of OPSEU; Chad Oldfield, chair of the OPSEU bargaining unit; and also Joel Bissonette, from Sarnia corrections from my hometown. Thank you, and welcome to all of you.

I’m glad to also welcome the folks from corrections, specifically those that I will be meeting with today: Leanne White, Jenny Diplacido, Richard Jeronimo and Stryder McCormack. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Also, as we’ve had Tony Stravato already welcomed, I won’t do it again. Hi, Tony. And welcome to Peter Garrett from Durham College, who I see sitting in the gallery.

It’s great to see the Queen’s mining engineering students here today for PDAC. I would like to introduce Jonah Odlozinski from my riding of Simcoe North. Great to see you here, Jonah.