I want to welcome the fantastic MP for Parry Sound–Muskoka, Scott Aitchison, joining us in the gallery today.

I’d like to welcome people from the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, who are meeting later today, and especially a member from Ottawa, Laurie Tucker; as well as Western University Students’ Council members Opeyemi Dinah and Basta Mustafa, who are here and are going to be shadowing me today. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome Alexander Primrose from Parkdale–High Park, who is here to participate in the Ontario model Parliament program; and also two students from the Women In House initiative who are shadowing me today, Joy Chen and Sthuthi Satish.

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to wear pink shirts to promote the national day for anti-bullying.

I would like to welcome two students from my riding of Scarborough–Rouge Park who are here for the model Parliament: Tia Seepersad and Neha Devineni. Thank you and welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to make statements in remembrance of the late Mayor Hazel McCallion, fifth mayor of Mississauga, 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.

I want to join the chorus of those welcoming the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. I’ve never heard such a warm welcome to a group of lawyers in my life.

I’d also like to bring greetings to Armaan Soota, who’s joining us—a York University student. Welcome.

Good morning, Speaker. It is an honour to rise today to pay tribute to the remarkable life of Mayor Hazel McCallion. Everyone in this House knows of the no-nonsense Hurricane Hazel, who served as the mayor of Mississauga for 36 years, ushering the city into a new era. Indeed, under her tenure, Mississauga transformed into Canada’s sixth-largest city.

For 101—just short of 102—years, she lived a dynamic and colourful life. Born in Port Daniel, Quebec, Hazel McCallion moved to Montreal as a child. In the early 1940s, she played professional hockey, one of the first women ever to do so, and that spirit stayed with her. Into her eighties, she carried a hockey stick in her car trunk on the off chance she came across a game. Hazel’s passion for hockey led her to do great work with the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association, advocating to grow women’s hockey as a sport.

Hazel also supported politicians of all different stripes with her singular goal of bringing prosperity to the city she loved. She once joked that she never considered running provincially or federally, because she’d wear out the carpet crossing the floor—not a problem I have, Speaker, but it speaks to her ability to work with everyone, regardless of political stripe.

Her straightforward approach led her to being a sympathetic ear to Prime Ministers, Premiers and mayors alike, and no matter her age, Hazel burst with energy. She rarely missed a local event, and even in political retirement she was an adviser to the Ontario government, first chancellor of the Hazel McCallion Campus of Sheridan College, and oversaw the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

While we in this House may not agree on everything, we can all agree that Hazel left behind an extraordinary legacy. She was a trailblazer, an innovator, and she inspired many women to enter politics. She was small in stature, but she was a giant.

On behalf of Ontario’s official opposition, we are profoundly grateful to her family for the sacrifices they made to share her with the people of Mississauga and with all of us. Mayor McCallion will never be forgotten.

I am very pleased to welcome Angela Huang and Mariana Batista, who are here with Western University Students’ Council’s Women In House. They’re in town for a conference, and they will be keeping me company all day. Thank you, ladies.

Good morning, Speaker. I’d like to welcome three Western University students, Veronika, Maria and Sarah, from the Women In House program.

I would also like to welcome Josiane, who is my new executive assistant at the Ministry of Francophone Affairs. I look forward to working with her.

I would also like to welcome, from the Ontario model Parliament, from the beautiful riding of Mississauga Centre, Rishi Jarajapu.

I would like to welcome all the participants of Women In House. I’m glad to see you here. We need more of you here.

I would also like to welcome Alexander Koutakos, a participant in the Ontario model Parliament from St. Paul’s.

And I’d also like to welcome Ontario Trial Lawyers and say a special shout-out to Gerry Antman and Jeffrey Shinehoft as well, from our community of St. Paul’s. Welcome to your House.

I’d like to welcome the following students who are participating in today’s model Parliament program, from Burlington: Su Arslan, Noor Grewal, Grace Sakran and Thomas Antunes.

I wish to welcome Heart Valve Voice Canada and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society to the Legislature for their valve disease lobby day today.

I would like to welcome four students from my riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry for the model Parliament: Isabelle Gillard, Alexis Grenkie-Brooks, Leah Shirley and Jacob Pilon, who I’m also lucky enough to have work at my restaurant as well. Welcome.

From the great riding of Huron–Bruce, I would like to welcome Curtis Metcalfe, who is also participating in model Parliament today.

I would also like to welcome the students from Brampton West participating in the model Parliament. Parneet Kaur, Noah Charles, Navya Mahajan, Kushi Iyer, Aditri Janapatla and Kevin Gill, welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would also like to welcome trial lawyers who I will be meeting with this afternoon. Mike Santilli, Karen Hulan and Jeffrey Shinehoft, welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome the following students from Brampton East who are going to be participating in the model Parliament: Asrat Randhawa, Dharra Raheja and Udhay Kapila. Thank you for joining us today. I welcome you, and I hope you enjoy your stay.

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. As such, I am pleased to recognize Kelly Tallon Franklin, a human trafficking survivor, along with her team of 30 delegates in the members’ gallery and in the public gallery. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Courage for Freedom, and their Project Maple Leaf, represents 500 allies. These community leaders are doing the heavy lifting in all sectors in society as collaborators to bring awareness to end human trafficking, with key support systems here in Ontario and across Canada. Welcome to Queen’s Park.