Thank you, Madam Speaker.

What we had in the last session was somebody who stood up on social media, who publicly made comments about somebody who was a Muslim. And they were horrible things to say. There was nothing good that could come from it.

The NDP—the 26 members who were in government last term who have returned all stood up in their place and said it made our Legislature look bad: “That member should not be recognized. That member does not represent what the people of Ontario want. That member should not be able to speak in their place and we should not recognize them as a member. We should take away their ability to stand up here and further discredit the Legislature of Ontario, further discredit the people of Ontario.” And they were all too happy to do it.

I will admit that member was not someone I was particularly fond of. That member was not someone that I would have said I would have shared a coffee with, because I probably would have had to spit it out at some point. I freely admit I had no problem personally saying that I didn’t want to hear from them again. But that didn’t factor into the decision on what we did. What we did as an Ontario Legislature was we said, “Your comments are not acceptable. You cannot attack a minority group in this country. You cannot disparage another group in this province.”

What we have now is a member from Hamilton Centre who historically has made comments that very much can be taken as anti-Semitic. On October 7, when a terrorist organization came into Israel, slaughtered women, children and families, dragged women out of their homes, raped them in the streets, livestreamed it on Facebook and were proud of it, the member from Hamilton Centre stood up and said, “Yes, but”—

Interjection.

And to the NDP member who wants to heckle me, it has been said before: When someone comes out and shows you who they are, believe them. And I believe you. That is totally unacceptable—totally unacceptable.

Interjection.

I withdraw the statement.

That is something that is absolutely disgusting. We can’t ever normalize terrorism. We can’t ever accept that that is a way of doing anything. What we have seen from this member repeatedly then is not just anti-Semitism—anti-Semitism is a fancy word for saying Jew hate, and that’s truly what it is, a hatred for Jews.

There was supposed to be a pro-Palestinian rally that turned into a pro-Hamas rally that turned into an anti-Israel rally: statements like—and the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke made the statement; he referred to it as well—“From River to Sea.” That is all of Israel. When you’re at a rally in support of a group that has made Holocaust-denying comments, when you’re there with them and you’re making those statements, you’re chanting that, you’re saying Palestine should have everything from the Jordan River to the Red Sea, that Israel should not exist. That can only be taken one way. You cannot say “Yes, but.” There is no “Yes, but.” That is, “I’m advocating for the destruction of the Jewish state.” That’s what it is.

Now, it’s an easy thing to correct. All that we’re asking in this motion: “Until the member retracts and deletes her statements on social media and makes an apology in her place in the House.” Stand up and say, “I made a mistake.” Stand up and say, “I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll delete that tweet. I’ll delete that statement. I didn’t recognize that what I was doing was harmful to a whole group of people. I didn’t realize that what I was doing was something that was racist. I now know better.” That’s all that has to be said and done.

But, what has the member done? They pinned the statement on Twitter—or X, I guess it’s called now—so that every time you go to her page, every time you take a look at what she is saying, that is what you see. She has doubled down on it, tripled down on it, however you want to describe it.

The Leader of the Opposition said this is not acceptable on the day she did it and said, “I want you to take it down and apologize for it,” and the member doubled down. She didn’t take it down. She proudly put it out there and said, “This is who I am.” We’re at a point where an apology doesn’t fix it. We are at a point where that voice should not be heard.

In 2018, I introduced a private member’s bill called the terrorist sanctions act, and part of the reason I did it was because of somebody the Trudeau government was trying to bring to Canada. At the time, Justin Trudeau said that these could be powerful voices in our country. Those are the voices I do not want. I do not want someone who is willingly standing up and promoting hate. I do not want someone who is willingly standing up and saying, “I believe the destruction of an entire country and the removal of a people from that area is acceptable.” That is not a voice that should be heard anywhere in this province. That is not an ideology that should be promoted anywhere in this province, and I’m going to come back to it again.

Twenty-six members are sitting in this chamber right now, who were in this chamber in the last government, who stood up unanimously and said, “That white guy can’t be heard,” because what he said was unacceptable, and those 26 members are sitting on their hands now because one of their colleagues has done it. One of their colleagues has promoted the destruction of an entire people with her comments, and they find that acceptable; it’s not. It’s disgusting—absolutely disgusting. There are a number of people on that side that I had a great deal of respect for, that I was proud to call my friends. I don’t know that I can do that anymore.

What we’re seeing is the worst that we can see in this Legislature. Not only do we have a member who is defending terrorists, but we have members defending that member with “Yes, but.” We heard the heckling—people at home didn’t hear it because it doesn’t pick it up on the mike. We saw what was going on in here. It was disgusting.

The member from Hamilton Centre needs to stand up—I’m sorry; the member from Hamilton Centre needs to rise above. She needs to say, “I was wrong.” She needs to say, “I recognize I was wrong.” She can say, “I’m a proud Palestinian” or “I’m of proud Palestinian background, but I don’t believe that anyone should be eliminated. I don’t believe that the country of Israel should be removed”—she is not saying that she dislikes Palestine or that she is not supporting Palestine by saying that; what she’s saying is that she recognizes that it’s wrong to oppress any group, that it’s wrong to have hatred for any people. That’s all she has to do. Take down the tweet. Admit that her comments were wrong. Admit that her comments were hateful. Admit that she created a great deal of stress and anxiety for an entire group of people, not only in Ontario, but everywhere.

Our House leader talked about a mistake that was made in the federal government, when a Nazi was celebrated and the Speaker of the House ended up resigning and taking responsibility for it. The Speaker could have had his own “Yes, buts.” He could have said, “Yes, but I didn’t know this person. Yes, but my staff did the research, and they didn’t pass that information on. Yes, but there were extenuating circumstances.” He had culpable deniability on it because he did have a staff who was doing all of the background on it.

The reality is, all of us have staff who do a lot of the work for us, who get us the information we need, but we are ultimately responsible for what comes out in our name, on our letterhead—or because of things that we do.

The member from Hamilton Centre did not have staff do all of this research. The member from Hamilton Centre did not have staff who put her in a position where she made a mistake. The member from Hamilton Centre did this on her own volition.

The Speaker in Ottawa stepped down and took responsibility for that mistake. All we’re asking is that the member from Hamilton Centre take responsibility for what she has said and done.

We have freedom of choice. We have free speech. What we don’t have is freedom from the consequences of our actions and freedom from the consequences of what we say or do. There are consequences for what we say and do. And in order for us to be good legislators, in order for us to have the trust of the people of this province—the trust of the people who elected us to come here—we have to take responsibility for what we say and what we do. We have to be able to stand up and say, when we’ve made a mistake, “I’ve made a mistake.” And we have to try and correct things so that we don’t continue making those mistakes, because the people of this province put their trust in us to step forward and do what’s right.

We’re asking the member from Hamilton Centre to do what’s right: to be accountable, to recognize it’s never acceptable to support terrorism. It is never acceptable to actively speak about the destruction of a people or the removal of another country. That is not acceptable. If I had my way, I would say not only should we be censuring her, but we should be removing her from this Legislature. We will leave that to the electorate in Hamilton Centre. She’s the one who is going to have to go back to those people and justify why they should trust that she has the judgement to do the job when she has demonstrated she does not have the judgement to do this job.

Speaker, I ask everyone here, vote in favor of censure, the same way that the 26 members of the NDP censured someone in the last session.

Shut up.

I apologize to the member from Peterborough–Kawartha. I am asking the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke to please not—

Interjection.

I apologize to the member from Peterborough–Kawartha. Please resume your debate.

Interjection.

I apologize once again to the member from Peterborough–Kawartha. Please continue.

Further debate?

It’s my honour to speak today in support of this motion, and I would like to thank the members who spoke before me. As we witness one of the most significant acts of violence in our lifetime, we cannot stand by and allow the member for Hamilton Centre to issue such irresponsible, inappropriate comments. Day after day, we have witnessed the horrific images of innocent victims of this attack: people throwing hand grenades into bomb shelters, people they don’t even know except that they’re Jewish, to kill them; decapitating babies; raping women. This is so unacceptable in our world, and in a country like Canada, it’s unimaginable. To support any type of terrorism is ridiculous. We must stand firm against this terror. We must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel in its grief and against these Hamas terrorists who have no greater goal than inflicting as much damage to civilians as possible.

We cannot accept that a member of this chamber thinks otherwise. It is unacceptable. To make matters worse, the member for Hamilton Centre has a proven track record of anti-Semitic remarks for which this member shows no remorse at all. I find it greatly disappointing that the leader of the official opposition has failed to take decisive leadership into action towards this goal. The Leader of the Opposition has lost out on a historical opportunity to come together with our government to show solidarity with the Jewish community. She has done this by failing to remove the member for Hamilton Centre from her caucus We must remain unwavering in our commitment, ensuring there is no space in this chamber or within our province for any endorsement or empathy towards the ruthless terrorists that are accountable for this tragic loss of life.

The member’s comments about these terror attacks in the defence of Hamas terrorists are entirely unacceptable, in stark contrast to how the majority, if not all, of Ontarians feel since the killings began on October 7 of this year. We are a peaceful province, and we will not tolerate hate.

The actions of Hamas should not be heralded as a resistance movement. They have directly led to the deaths and suffering of thousands of lives in the region, including Palestinians. Make no mistake, the actions taken by Hamas had the sole intention of causing death and destruction to as many people as possible, and that includes Palestinians.

Thousands of lives, young and old, have been lost. Thousands more are injured and many are being held hostage, among them Canadians. The horror, the fear, the anger we as Ontarians have been feeling since October 7 is also being felt across our great country and worldwide. In this critical moment, it is imperative for our province and the global community to reassure our support for Israel and uphold its right to self-defence. What else can they do? As a previous member stated, there is no place for them to run to, so they have to fight. Self-defence is the only thing they can do.

The right to self-defence is a fundamental right of any sovereign state, and Israel’s right to defend itself must be respected just as much as any other state’s. The reason we must stand united in condemning these acts of terror is also that every Ontarian and every Canadian knows they will never stand alone in the face of terror.

It is vital to condemn terrorism in all forms because doing so only upholds the sanctity of human life and promotes peace, but also sends a strong message that violence has no place in any society. Whether terrorism occurs in Canada, Ontario or anywhere in the world, or Israel, we should all find common ground in stopping violence in its tracks.

I would like to acknowledge the Canadian citizens who have been killed. Currently, at least six Canadians have been killed by Hamas terrorists and hundreds are trapped in the region. They’re holding hostages and my heart bleeds at what conditions they must be in right now. Efforts are in progress to ensure the safe evacuation of our remaining Canadian citizens in the area and to locate those who are currently unaccounted for. Our thoughts and prayers must go out to all those affected and the families, so they can return to Canada safely.

I would also like to recognize those in our community who are at the front lines of protecting Ontarians during this time of crisis. Thank you to the great police forces from across the province that stood ready to protect vulnerable communities from all forms of hate.

In my riding, Waterloo Regional Police have issued the following statement. It reads: “We are aware of global threats online inciting violence in relation to the current situation in the Middle East.

“We want to assure residents in Waterloo region that we are monitoring the situation closely, in collaboration with provincial and national public safety partners, and have increased resources and patrols ... around faith-based locations and organizations.”

Isn’t that sad? That’s what we have to do in Canada because of these terrorists.

Waterloo Regional Police “will not tolerate any form of intimidation, harassment, ... hate, hate-motivated behaviour or violence” of any kind. “We remain committed to ensuring everyone is safe and feels safe in Waterloo region.”

Also, the Ontario Provincial Police in my riding and the public school board issued statements calling for peace during these uncertain times. The OPP said that “our law enforcement partners are closely monitoring ... any situation” that “could impact public safety in our communities.... While the OPP respects the right of everyone to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, everyone also has a right to a safe environment.”

Since the heinous killings began earlier this month, many people in my riding have called on and emailed my office to express their fear, their outrage, their disgust over this loss of life in Israel. They also are deeply appalled by the actions of the member for Hamilton Centre. The comments made by the member for Hamilton Centre drew a swift reaction not only at the local level, but also from politicians, citizens and organizations across the province.

Please allow me to paraphrase some of the statements that have been issued publicly. I would like to highlight these statements because they demonstrate the actions and words of one member who has caused so much pain during this time, in this immense crisis in the Jewish community in Canada and Ontario.

From the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center on October 10: “We are outraged by this statement from” the member for Hamilton Centre “and her refusal to acknowledge the atrocities committed by the” terrorist “group Hamas against Israeli” citizens.

“Not for the first time, she has caused hurt and harm to the Jewish community and brought shame to Ontarians” and shame to the NDP that sits across from you right now. And this includes the people that voted for her in Hamilton Centre. “It’s long past time for the @OntarioNDP to take decisive action and remove her from its caucus, once and for all.”

From the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, on October 10: “Israeli babies beheaded”—think about that. How could you behead a baby? What is wrong with you? It just blows my mind. “Israeli young women raped, more than 100 Israeli men, women, & children kidnapped, and 900 & counting murdered at the hands of #Hamas terrorists and this is what” the member for Hamilton Centre “has to say.

“This statement is *filled* with lies that will do nothing”—

I stand in my place today to speak to government motion 39. I stand in my place this morning to speak on behalf of the residents of the town of Whitby but, in particular, the Chabad of Durham Region.

Speaker, the member for Hamilton Centre, by way of things she has done and left intentionally undone, has placed this House and its members in such disrepute that as a Parliament, we have no choice but to act to defend the dignity of this institution on behalf of our constituents.

We know that in the early morning hours of October 7, unprovoked and by surprise, the terrorist organization Hamas launched a rocket barrage and manned excursion into the State of Israel. We now know that this horrific attack has taken the lives of more than 1,400 innocent Israeli citizens and wounded thousands more. Further, Hamas continues to hold more than 200 hostages, which they forcibly abducted.

Only three days later, on October 10, the member for Hamilton Centre took to social media and posted an image of a statement on her MPP letterhead, bearing her name, her title and Ontario’s coat of arms. Rather than condemning the terrorist atrocities as most of the Western world had already done, the member chose to justify the Hamas attack on the basis of an anti-Semitic allegation that the mere existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavour. I will paraphrase elements of the member’s statement, because quoting it at great length will only proliferate the member’s hateful rhetoric.

The member states outright that the existence of Israel is a generations-long occupation of Palestine, that Israel is an apartheid regime, and that for its entire short history, it has furthered only violence through what she calls “settler colonialism.” Further, the member ties her anti-Semitic ideological conjecture directly to the present war. At no point does the member acknowledge that the present conflict exists only because of an unprovoked terrorist attack aimed at Israeli civilians and carried out by a militant terrorist group with a core mandate to annihilate the Jewish homeland. The member’s musings at any other time would still have been offensive and unacceptable for any elected representative of the people of Ontario, but to make them in association with a violent act of unrepentant and unprovoked terrorism is repugnant and intolerable to the greatest extent of those words.

On October 7, more innocent Jewish men, women, children and infants were killed than on any day since the Holocaust. It was not enough for the member from Hamilton Centre that their families and friends would never see their loved ones again. She felt justified in spreading her belief that the victims and their surviving friends and families were in fact somehow responsible for their own tragic fate. Inexplicably, the member’s statement, whether intentional or impetuous, blames the mere existence of the State of Israel for the thousands of rockets launched at civilians and the invasion of thousands of militants who killed, raped and kidnapped with no regard for the dignity of human life.

Speaker, the member’s own leader recognized the blatant inappropriateness the very same day the statement was posted and quickly called upon the member to apologize and retract it. For unknown reasons, the member took more than 24 hours to post a half-hearted apology buried in the comment section of her own post. Additionally, her so-called apology ultimately reaffirmed her position against Israel’s right to self-defence.

At present, the member has still not deleted the original statement, which has now been seen more than 3.1 million times.

I withdraw—“to create peace & will only serve to foment hatred against #Canada’s Jewish community.

“We call for the immediate removal of” the member for Hamilton Centre from the Legislature.

When I think about this, I have a personal note. I remember I was in Munich, Germany, with my youngest son. He said, “Let’s go to Dachau concentration camp just to see what happened there.” At first, I thought, okay, I’ll do that. We went to Dachau; it was a surreal experience. It was something I’ve never experienced in my life, and I will never forget. It’s touched me deeply.

I remember going into the area where they had “bath-house” on the top, and it was a gas chamber. I watched this Jewish woman walk into this gas chamber and fall to her knees and cry. I felt so bad for this woman. I went over, and I helped her. And then at the back of it, they had a place where they fumigated all their clothes and reused them. It’s something that’s touched me my whole life. Then you walk to the back of Dachau, and the ashes from the crematorium—it’s where they just piled them in a pile and they just blew away. It’s heart-wrenching.

To think Israeli people today have a homeland and people would throw, like I said earlier, hand grenades into bomb shelters—people they don’t even know, and they’re killing them.

The part that disturbs me the most, I think, is beheading babies. How do you do that? What’s in your mind? To me, you shouldn’t be allowed to even breathe air to commit crimes like that. It’s horrible.

As a member of this Parliament, it’s our duty to protect the dignity of this Legislature on behalf of all Ontarians. What the member from Renfrew said earlier, it’s such an honour and privilege to be in this chamber. You have to leave all your other thoughts behind and serve the people of Ontario. I just totally disagree with the position that the member from Hamilton Centre has taken.

Oshawa is always a happening place to be, with a long-time vibrant arts and music scene. But I want to tell you about a very special event that took place earlier this fall in downtown Oshawa. There was a lot of buzz about a first-ever downtown urban music festival called Convergence.

The Convergence festival was an event and main concert for the ages—in fact, Speaker, for all ages. Young, not-so-young, parents with strollers and seniors with rollers all converged on the downtown for music, community and a great party.

As Krista Licsi, the director of Oshawa Tourism, said, “Convergence is a celebration of the vibrant ecosystem of artists, musicians and innovators who have long been part of Oshawa’s legacy and culture.”

Speaker, I am sure you are aware of the music group the Strumbellas. Well, they came to Oshawa. But they weren’t alone. Convergence was a 10-hour mashup of emerging artists and established musical acts, acrobats and actors, makers, small shop owners and international cuisine showcasing Oshawa’s diversity—all local.

It is estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 people converged on Oshawa’s streets for the festival and it was a rock-and-rolling success because of the backstage crew of so many volunteers. This first-ever annual festival was a partnership between the city of Oshawa, the region of Durham, Central Counties Tourism and the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, and they made it completely free to the public.

Anyone who missed it will want to make sure they come next year. Everyone is invited. Mark your calendars for September 21, 2024. It will be bigger and better, with even more to see and do. I’ve got my ‘Shwa Rock City T-shirt ready to go. I hope you will come and see how we celebrate in the City in Motion.

I apologize to the member. It is now time for members’ statements.

Debate deemed adjourned.

I rise to recommend the remarkable contributions of Ontario’s non-profit sector. These unsung heroes, our community champions, play a pivotal role in addressing the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities.

I extend my gratitude to all my MPP colleagues, along with our valued partners, for making the second Non-Profit Sector Appreciation Week, held from February 13 to 19, a resounding success.

In the spirit of appreciation, I’m excited to reveal our plan for 2024. This year, the appreciation will be on February 13 and we will continue to have it for a week. It will be from the 12th to the 16th. We will continue to issue certificates and will have MPPs deliver them to the non-profit associations. We will encourage more local recognition with the encouragement of our MPP colleagues, mayors, chambers of commerce and professional associations. We will organize a reception day at Queen’s Park on February 13 to start off the week of appreciation in February 2024. However, let us keep this spirit alive throughout the year.

Every October, children’s aid societies across Ontario raise awareness about the important role that individuals and communities play in supporting vulnerable children, youth and families through the provincial Dress Purple Day campaign. The Dress Purple Day is about supporting Ontarians facing challenges and ensuring children, youth and families have access to the support, information and the resources they need.

Dress Purple Day is also a reminder to young people that they have the right to safety and well-being, and that goes beyond what we often think of when we use those words. It’s critical to understand that those rights extend beyond physical bodies. They have the right to be safe emotionally, spiritually and culturally.

I would like to recognize the Peel CAS, with their offices in Mississauga–Malton, for amplifying the message that it’s our collective responsibility to ensure that every child’s journey is guided by love, support and hope. Thank you, Peel CAS and all your members and volunteers, for your community service.

To all my fellow MPPs and all Ontarians, join me this year on October 27 and dress purple to show that you are part of a community that cares for children, youth and families. Let’s make sure that they all know that they have the right to the most appropriate kind of support. Let’s wear something purple to show children, youth and families that we are all here to help.

No one is alone.

I’ve been a hockey player and a fan my entire life. When I was a kid, I became a goalie. Believe it or not, I was the first goalie in Niagara to wear white skates, which was inspired by one of my hockey heroes, Marv Edwards, who recently passed away. I love going to Leaf games, Sabre games with my family and friends.

This is why I’m so outraged by the National Hockey League’s decision to ban Pride Tape on hockey sticks. It flies in the face of the league’s message that they support player choice. More importantly, it sends a message to kids in our community and across the province that they are not welcome playing hockey.

We’ve heard from several players—Zach Hyman; Connor McDavid, the best hockey player in the world—who are disappointed with the ban, and some even plan to still use the tape on their sticks.

I want to be clear: Hockey is for everybody. And we need to ensure that the LGBTQ community feels included in the sport, full stop.

I strongly disagree with the ban, and I believe I should use my voice, as an MPP and a lifelong lover of hockey, to call for the inclusion of the LGBTQ community in the National Hockey League. I call on the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport to send a letter to the National Hockey League, where we have two teams in the province of Ontario disagreeing with the NHL’s policy that hurts the LGBTQ community.

Colleagues, it is my pleasure to tell you about a great occasion that took place in the heart of my great riding of Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound last Saturday: the celebration of the 25th anniversary of École Saint-Dominique-Savio in Owen Sound. It is a beautiful school in a lovely neighbourhood north of the downtown core. It is also a very unique school as it is the only French school serving our Grey-Bruce community.

There was a great turnout for this important event. We heard many speakers tell how the school had made a big difference to them through their education, their roles as teachers and administrators, and as members of the community. École Saint-Dominique-Savio has made a big difference in the lives of so many over 25 years.

We also heard about all the efforts and commitment to establish a French school in the heart of Owen Sound 25 years ago. I was struck by just what an amazing achievement that was. It takes great courage and a spirit of thinking of others to make such a project a success. But the efforts were well worth it, as the spirit of welcoming and community was very evident last Saturday in Owen Sound.

Félicitations à l’École Saint-Dominique-Savio pour votre anniversaire. Pour les 25 dernières années, vous avez joué un rôle important dans l’éducation des étudiants de notre communauté. Merci beaucoup, et félicitations pour cette occasion très spéciale.

Ontarians deserve a government that acts transparently, with accountability and in their best interests. Yet time after time, it feels like that hasn’t happened. We’ve seen it with broken promises to protect public health care, with broken promises to protect the greenbelt. And now we’re seeing mounting concerns about backroom deals to build a spa at Ontario Place while demolishing the science centre. The residents of Don Valley East won’t stand for it.

When this government walked back its decision on the greenbelt after getting caught by the Integrity Commissioner and the Auditor General, the justification was that they made a decision not supported by the people of Ontario. That’s an understatement. Here’s another decision not supported by the people of Ontario: the decision to demolish the science centre in my riding of Don Valley East and instead build a private spa at Ontario Place that has a sprawling mega-garage subsidized by taxpayer money.

These are major decisions created without any consultation. And in case there is any doubt about it, these decisions are vigorously opposed by Ontarians. For example, we’ve already submitted petitions with nearly 35,000 signatures, and we’re not done yet.

Today, I join my constituents in calling on the government to act with integrity and transparency, to listen to the residents of Don Valley East and the citizens of Ontario, to save our science centre and to stop the spa.

Speaker, as we all know, this House is recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so I wanted to share with the House one of the most inspiring events that I had the privilege of attending this summer.

I met with a group of amazing women. They support each other and they inspire the world. Each one of these grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts have undergone, or are currently undergoing, treatment for breast cancer. They are also members of Breast Cancer Action Kingston, and they call themselves Chestmates because they are dragon boaters. They are a dragon boat team, a group of up to 25 members in a 25-foot-long boat paddling their hearts out. They train several times a week all summer long, competing in several dragon boat races against other breast cancer survivors.

It was humbling to watch these health-and-heart warriors propel themselves, showing their strength in unity, their positive spirit to continue to fight to survive and, most importantly, showing their love for each other as they paddled.

Cancer affects everyone. In all cases, cancer causes massive disruption to the individual and the entire family. But thankfully, today more frequently there are success stories, not tragedies.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, and as the Chestmates say, paddles up.

I want to dedicate my member’s statement to Arthritis Society Canada and to the 2.3 million Ontarians with arthritis—including disability activist Janet Rodriguez—and to my own mother, Gwen Glover. She got arthritis in her early twenties, and she was one of the very first people in the world to receive artificial joints in her fingers in 1970.

Over half of Ontarians with arthritis are under the age of 65—and the onset in their twenties and thirties is common. The pain from arthritis impacts the ability to socialize, causes loss of sleep, and causes people to reduce their work or to retire early. Some with long-term benefits are pushed onto ODSP, and with a housing allowance of $556 a month, ODSP pushes some people into homelessness.

But there are solutions. There are community joint management programs that help people self-manage their illness and reduce hospital visits. There are medications, including new biological medications, but not all are covered by OHIP.

And there are actions that this government can take to mitigate the impact of arthritis. They can provide support for the community joint management programs. They can cover the cost of medications so that people can access the medication that works best for them. They can double the ODSP rates so that people with disabilities, including arthritis, do not end up homeless. And they can fund the research to find a cure for arthritis.

Mr. Speaker, I was delighted to join the Minister of Transportation, the Associate Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery at the Agincourt GO station to announce the completion of major infrastructure upgrades at the Agincourt and Milliken GO stations, along the Stouffville line, as part of our plan to deliver more trips more often across the GO network. The enhancements at both GO stations will include an additional track and platforms, new pedestrian tunnels and brand new station buildings with modern facilities. The Agincourt and Milliken GO stations will build capacity on the Stouffville line to meet current and future ridership demand and support two-way, all-day GO train service every 15 minutes between Unionville GO station and Union Station.

Building reliable public transportation has never been so important. The upgrades will ensure the necessary transit infrastructure is in place to support our growing population, while delivering safer, faster and more convenient travel options for commuters.

Commuters in Scarborough deserve reliable public transit. That is why our government is making the critical investments needed to make this a reality.

The upgrades to the Agincourt and Milliken GO stations are great news for residents in Scarborough–Agincourt who count on public transit to go where they need to go.

It is an honour and privilege to serve the residents of Scarborough–Agincourt.

I would like to introduce board members and staff from the Arthritis Society Canada. We have Andrew Branion and Vas Rao, who are both board members, and then we have Trish Barbato, Sian Bevan, Cheryl McClellan, Kelly Gorman, Joanne Di Nardo and Margretha Gonsalvez, who all work for the society. We also have Shawn Brady, Ilene Cohen-Ackerman—whom most of us met—Carolyn Goard, Luke Fox, Nikki St. Clair, Trish Baldocchi and Laura Mandel. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I beg to inform the House that, pursuant to standing order 9(h), the Clerk has received written notice from the government House leader indicating that a temporary change in the weekly meeting schedule of the House is required, and therefore, the House shall commence at 9 a.m. on Monday, October 23, 2023, for the proceeding of orders of the day.

Introduction of visitors?

The member for Kiiwetinoong.