Point of order: We’ve indulged the member from Niagara Falls for some time now, but pursuant to standing order 25(b)(i), I ask, through you Speaker, that the member from Niagara Falls please return his remarks in this debate to the subject matter of the bill.

Today I stand before you representing the amazing people of Ajax. I rise to recognize Durham Youth Services, located in Ajax and led by Shannon Jackson and her dedicated team. They extend a helping hand to youth in Ajax and the Durham region, offering them a lifeline during a difficult time.

Under Premier Ford’s leadership, our government recognizes the immeasurable value that organizations like Durham Youth Services offer to residents facing challenges in Ontario.

This year, Durham Youth Services was the recipient of over $180,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation Resilient Communities Fund.

I’ve met with Shannon and her team and have seen the amazing work that they do.

DYS was also this year’s charity of choice for the Home Depot Canada Foundation. The foundation selects one project in Canada for a community build each year. Over 70 Home Depot associates, partners and vendors from across Canada came to Ajax to work on this project. In just two days, two homes were transformed with new siding, landscaping, fencing, updated doors, kitchens and bathrooms, storage solutions and much more—all at no cost to the charity.

Thank you to Shannon and her team and the Home Depot Canada Foundation for the great work they do every day to support our youth in Ajax and the Durham region. We appreciate your passion and your dedication.

Today I’m excited to share an invite to my annual pumpkin party happening this Saturday, October 28. The fun will be at T.B McQuesten Park from noon until 2:30. Many will know this amazing park is located at 1199 Upper Wentworth Street on Hamilton Mountain, which has tons of free parking, is fully accessible and is on many HSR bus routes.

This annual event is family friendly, free of charge and sure to get you in the Halloween spirit, so wear your costumes and come join in the fun. We have free pumpkins to carve and all of the pumpkin carving tools you will need to make your perfect jack-o’-lantern—and the best part is you can leave all the messy parts behind.

A big thank you to the volunteers who will be making sure you have hot chocolate, popcorn, treats and a goodie bag.

While you enjoy the afternoon with your family and friends, you can also head over to our photo booth and snap a picture of a day that is to be remembered.

New this year is the Hamilton Fire Department stopping by to say hello and to bring some very important information about fire safety and prevention.

Come out this Saturday, bring your costume, your carving skills and creativity. Let’s spend the afternoon together as a community at T.B McQuesten Park and have a spooktacular time. As always, full details are available through my office and online. Give us a call, drop us an email if you have any questions. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there.

Have a very happy Halloween.

Speaker, it is time. It’s time for symbolic gestures, the ones that come cheap, to be done. We stand at a crossroads, faced with an epidemic of intimate partner violence. Two weeks ago in Niagara, it took an innocent life, and just yesterday, in Sault Ste. Marie, five more. We have lost mothers, children, friends, community members, and it’s time to say, “No more.”

Speaker, I lost a friend to femicide. I rarely speak about it in this House. However, I know almost every woman in this chamber carries a similar story, a shared grief.

Last year, alongside my colleagues, strong and fierce advocates from London West, Toronto Centre, Toronto–St. Paul’s—all united, urging this government to respond to the Renfrew county inquest recommendations. When the response came, it was in half measures, refusing to declare intimate partner violence a crisis, refusing annualized funding to the sector.

Now it’s time for a real commitment to accept all of the Renfrew county recommendations—not just the easy ones, not just the cheap ones, but all of them.

My advocacy and the advocacy of my colleagues is built on the shoulders of giants, the women in the sector doing the work. It is time we support them fully and unconditionally. It is time. It really is time.

I was honoured to tour the new location of the London Children’s Museum with the MPPs for London West and London–Fanshawe.

Founded by Carol Johnston in 1975, it is the oldest children’s museum in Canada, and it is a one-of-a-kind destination for all of Ontario and the United States. Children have opportunities to watch, interact, move, problem-solve, collaborate and think critically, which instill in children lifelong skills, ones which are prized by employers today and well into the future. They offer fantastic curricular supports for school tours and also help children who come from low-income households. The children’s museum inspires lifelong learners.

Everyone in London has fond memories of the children’s museum and remembers what they learned in that space. It has launched careers because of its engaging nature. Speaker, it was actually my very first job, as a young volunteer.

Their new space at 100 Kellogg Lane reflects the London community through exhibits of the forest, community displays, agriculture, space, archeology, a maker space to support the trades, water, gears and pulleys, and much more. It’s designed by children for children.

London MPPs were surprised to learn the provincial capital contributions to this project were minimal, while federal and municipal governments have stepped up with millions in support.

We look forward to hosting the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport at Canada’s oldest children’s museum, a world-class facility where kids learn, grow and thrive with a second-to-none educational experience.

I will even drive you there today.

All the best to the great people at the children’s museum for their ongoing work to help children build confidence, foster relationships and ignite curiosity.

I rise to recognize the importance of Small Business Week, celebrated from October 15 to 21. Even though that was last week, our small businesses should be remembered all the time, as they play a crucial role in driving our local economy.

I was once a small business entrepreneur.

In York region, more than 84% of our businesses are classified as small businesses, highlighting their contribution to the region’s prosperity. They are the heart and soul of our community, fostering job growth. It is the backbone of businesses in Richmond Hill.

I’m delighted to share the success of the fourth annual Entrepreneurship Finance Conference, hosted by city of Richmond Hill economic development on October 19. This virtual conference provided entrepreneurs with insight into capital and financial resources through interactive sessions and professional advice. The Honourable Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business, attended the conference.

Our government supports them and continues to cut red tape to save businesses time and cost.

Let’s continue to champion the over 400,000 small businesses in Ontario, ensuring they have the support and resources that they need to grow and thrive.

J’ai l’immense plaisir de reconnaître aujourd’hui la Zone d’amélioration commerciale de Vanier pour son travail remarquable lié au Hub Vanier.

La ZAC Vanier a transformé un ancien terrain de stationnement en un hub communautaire innovant et elle a remporté, plus tôt ce mois-ci, the international Downtown Achievement Award. Ce prix prestigieux reconnaît « une excellente réponse à un défi de gestion d’un lieu urbain » et les projets gagnants proviennent de villes de partout en Amérique du Nord.

Le Hub Vanier fournit un espace accessible où les membres de la communauté peuvent se réunir pour célébrer, apprendre, et tisser de nouveaux liens les uns avec les autres. Organisée en partenariat avec le Centre des services communautaires de Vanier, la programmation au Hub comprend des soirées feu de camp, des soirées cinéma, des soirées musicales, et d’autres événements qui nous permettent de célébrer la diversité et l’inclusivité de notre communauté.

Last year, I attended the popular Halloween party at the Hub. I had a lot of fun disguised as Scarlet Witch, distributing candies and exchanging with families. And I even won the friendly costume competition with the other elected officials.

Events like this help forge a strong, vibrant community.

On behalf of all the residents of Ottawa–Vanier, I want to congratulate the Vanier BIA for winning the international Downtown Achievement Award. Congratulations.

The people of my riding of Cambridge are blessed to be served by countless non-profit organizations that provide life-changing support on a daily basis. Among them is YWCA Cambridge, which, this month, is celebrating its 75th year of serving women and girls in the Cambridge riding.

The YWCA is a trusted community leader that lends a voice to the needs of women and girls through innovative and responsive programs, services and advocacy.

Like all non-profit groups, the YWCA relies on the generosity of donors. Recently, on a cold, rainy Saturday morning, many supporters of the YWCA gathered outside city hall to participate in an annual event called Walk a Mile in Their Shoes. The walk raised just shy of $10,000, and donations can still be made by contacting the Y.

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes supports the YWCA’s free, community-based violence protection programming for youth across Waterloo region. It’s important to note that this event is much more than a walk through the streets of downtown Galt. Rather, it’s a strong show of unity against gender-based violence.

Speaker, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations and gratitude to the YWCA staff and volunteers as they mark 75 years of providing support and services to our community.

On that note, I would just like to add, to the women in this chamber: How you walk around in high heels all the time—I find it amazing, because I can’t do it.

That concludes our members’ statements for this morning.

Welcome back to Queen’s Park, Alex. It’s good to see you.

Welcome to Queen’s Park. I’m so delighted that you’re here.

Durham College in my riding is helping small businesses and start-ups take the next steps to bring their products and services to market as a result of a $300,000 grant from Intellectual Property Ontario, expanding Durham College’s capacity to foster innovation and entrepreneurial growth in Ontario. This new funding will further expand the intellectual property advisory services from Durham College’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The dean of that office says that with the support of Intellectual Property Ontario, we “will continue to serve as a hub for innovation, fostering economic growth and creating opportunities for our clients, students and faculty to succeed.”

Intellectual Property Ontario’s $2-million pilot project is part of the Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework, an initiative aimed at helping post-secondary institutions like Durham College advance their research and innovation efforts for the benefit of Ontario. More than 50 business clients are expected to take advantage of the tailored resources and mentorship to help them navigate the complexities of intellectual property and commercialization.

I also want to quickly recognize our friends from Ottawa. Alex Cullen, Councillor Kavanagh, it’s nice to see you.

A quick thanks as well to the midwives for that delicious breakfast.

Also, I want to acknowledge François Desmarais, who has been in the building—public affairs for Alstom.

Thank you for being here.

I do. I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 40(e), five minutes be allotted to the independent members as a group to respond during statements by the ministry and responses today.

People in Sault Ste. Marie and across this province are mourning the tragic, horrific loss of five people, three of them children, as a result of intimate partner violence.

Tragically, gender-based violence and femicide is on the rise in our province, and it’s long past time for change. A report from July of this year found that Ontario had 30 femicides in as many weeks—30 women killed in 30 weeks.

My question is to the Premier: What actions will the Premier take to prevent further tragedies like we saw in Sault Ste. Marie?

It’s my great pleasure to welcome John Brunet and Jo Brunet, the grandparents of today’s legislative page captain Clara Brunet. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to recognize a family that is here today that has changed the world. Yes, that’s right; the Padulo family has done just that. They created the Treat Accessibly campaign so that children with disabilities not only here in Ontario but around the world can have a safe, happy and accessible Halloween.

To Rich and his wife, Natasha, congratulations. But the idea for Treat Accessibly came from Siena, their amazing daughter, who wanted to help children enjoy Halloween as she does.

To Rich, Natasha and Siena: You are an inspiration to us all. You are the reason Treat Accessibly exists. On behalf of this Legislature and the people of Ontario, I want to thank you for answering the call to make society better for all of us.

It’s my pleasure this morning to introduce some constituents and friends: Alex Cullen, the member for Ottawa West in the 36th Parliament, and Theresa Kavanagh, Ottawa city councillor for Bay ward. Welcome.

Good morning, Speaker. Meegwetch. I’d like to acknowledge and welcome, from my riding, Chief Russell Wesley of Cat Lake First Nation; Caroline Lidstone-Jones, chief executive officer at the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council; Dr. Lloyd Douglas, public health physician for Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority; Reece Van Breda, council member for Sioux Lookout; Marie Drummond, Alliance for Healthier Communities; and finally, Allie Kinnaird from IPHCC. Meegwetch for coming.

I seek unanimous consent for members to wear their purple scarves in recognition of Dress Purple Day, to show our support for children in care and the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.

It’s my pleasure to introduce a friend of mine, my campaign manager, and a former staff member here in the House who many of you may recognize: Mr. Jeremy Wittet, who is also a school board trustee in the city of Ottawa.

Thank you for being here.