I’ll ask the member to withdraw the use of the word “lies.”

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.

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.

Just last month, our government, through the Victim Support Grant Program, announced more than $4 million to help support victims and survivors of intimate partner and domestic violence, human trafficking and child exploitation, and $100,000 of that funding went to Halton police services, directed towards crisis intervention and counselling.

Great work is also being done across the province by women shelters, including in my own community of Oakville North–Burlington. Halton Women’s Place held its annual Hope in High Heels event, with 400-plus men, women and young people participating. They launched the Silent Witness Project, a profoundly moving exhibit of 52 life-sized purple silhouettes that lined the space, each representing a woman whose life was tragically cut short last year by gender-based violence in Ontario. They symbolize women who lived, laughed and loved among us. They were daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, friends, neighbours and colleagues. Their voices were silenced forever, and these life-sized figures, aptly named the “silent witnesses,” now stand in their memory. Let their lives and actions inspire us to reaffirm our efforts to end the scourge of gender-based violence.

I am proud to be part of a government that has provided vital support and legal protections for victims, survivors and their children, and I congratulate the Solicitor General on taking historic action on this serious issue in our communities.

I’d like to say good morning and welcome to all the members of the Arthritis Society of Canada, notably the volunteers, the backbone of any organization, but also to Trish Barbato, president and CEO; Sian Bevan, chief science officer; Andrew Branion, vice-chair, national board of directors; Vas Rao, board of directors; Kelly Gorman, senior director for public policy and government affairs; and finally, Joanne Di Nardo, senior director for public policy and government affairs. I welcome you to the House today.

I just really want to welcome the students and staff of the Lynn-Rose school in my great riding of Mississauga–Streetsville.

October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, so I’d like to welcome the organizations joining myself and Minister Parsa for a round table on disability employment today: from Ontario Disability Employment Network, Jeannette Campbell and her team; from Community Living Toronto, Sarah MacDonald; the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Spinal Cord Injury Ontario; the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work; Community Living Oakville; and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.

From my riding of Burlington, I’d like to welcome France Carbonneau and Carolyn Goard, who are here today with the Arthritis Society of Canada. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It’s another beautiful day, and a beautiful day in the chamber with everyone. I would like to introduce two incredible people from beautiful Beaches–East York, and that is super Shawn Brady and clever Cheryl McLellan—try saying that five times real fast—from the Arthritis Society of Canada.

It’s my pleasure to introduce this morning Stefanie Black, government relations coordinator with the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, and Mary Jo Nabuurs and Heather Hanwell of Ontario School Safety. Welcome.