Heart and Stroke is at Queen’s Park today. Since I was elected, we have worked together many times to call on the government to introduce health promotion and disease prevention initiatives.

I am happy to report that thanks to their support, we have taken many steps forward. Ontario has banned flavoured cigarillos; they were marketed to youth to get them addicted to nicotine. Restaurants now put calorie labelling on their menus to help people make healthier choices.

In 2019, Heart and Stroke joined me in support of a bill to create an automatic external defibrillator registry that 911 operators could use to direct callers in the event of a cardiac arrest. Although it became law three years ago, it is still not implemented, but I am hopeful.

Heart and Stroke is here today because there’s so much more that needs to be done. Ontario needs to be informed, educated, and raise awareness about heart and brain health. We need to accelerate critical research to improve outcomes for people living with heart disease and stroke. And we need to support people in their health journey and recovery.

Heart and Stroke does all of this with their advocacy for public policies, for healthier environments, for improved access to support services and for a strong and equitable health care system. Thank you, Heart and Stroke, for all you do and for all that your volunteers do. Ontario is healthier because of your hard work. Thank you. Merci.

It is an honour to welcome the northern representative of the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, Jennifer Chamberlin, and the executive director of the New Starts for Women in Red Lake. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to welcome two amazing firefighters from my riding from the Central York Professional Firefighters Association: Jason Beuving and Mike Petrova. Welcome to Queen’s Park.