An alumni friend’s son, David, recently died while studying at university. His parents are overcome by their loss. My heartfelt condolences to David’s family and friends.

Speaker, David was an exceptional child, full of potential. Suicide robbed him of the future he richly deserved. Sadly, he is not alone. David’s parents hope this story will prevent other tragedies.

The weight of academic and social expectations may feel crushing to vulnerable youth. We must pay attention to their struggles. First-year college or university students are often away from the security of home for the first time. The pressure to achieve success is overwhelming.

Speaker, I call on high schools, universities, colleges, families and peers to all take action to support our youth and arm them with the tools of resilience and hope.

Our government is ready to play a role as well. Students in need of help can find it at any one of 22 youth wellness hubs across Ontario. These hubs offer mental health and addictions supports, social services navigation and primary care service to anyone aged 12 to 25, all on a walk-in basis. They offer our youth a safe space to express themselves and speak about their issues. Their lives may depend on it.

Thanks for the member from Waterloo’s presentation. We know affordability measures, like the gas tax cut, work. When the gas prices were slowing this past summer, the Statistics Canada consumer price index for July reported that the gas price fell the most in Ontario out of any other province because of this temporary gas tax cut.

Speaker, my question is simple: Will the member opposite support this proposed measure to extend the gas tax cut till the end of next year to help Ontario fight historical high inflation?

Thank you to my colleague for his wonderful presentation. Speaker, in their remarks, they have mentioned that the government continues to have grown the economy by getting shovels in the ground to build key infrastructure projects, such as subways, hospitals, GO trains, roads and bridges etc. and investing in skills training for Ontario’s workers and newcomers. We know that Ontario is facing labour shortage challenges now. Could the member from Niagara West or Perth–Wellington tell us about how this legislation will support the government’s efforts to address the labour shortage in Ontario?