A special good morning to everyone here and in Hamilton Mountain.

This Saturday, December 9, I am honoured to join Santa, his elves and other special guests for our annual Santa food drive parade. We will be in the Sunning Hill and Highview school neighbourhoods on the east mountain, between Upper Ottawa and Upper Gage.

Leading the parade will be a fire truck from the Hamilton Fire Department. I am always so grateful for their participation and holiday spirit at every parade. Special guests will include mascots: the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Stripes, Forge FC’s Sparx, and the Hamilton Cardinals’ very own Bernie R. Bird.

Children of all ages will want to enjoy the entertainment, and all are welcome to join us on the route and spread good cheer. The parade will start at 11 a.m., and the route can be found on my social media pages.

Now, more than ever, our local food banks are seeing more and more families visiting and needing support. Food insecurity is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, donations are dropping drastically as food prices soar. So whether you live in the neighbourhood or are simply out and about, please consider dropping off a non-perishable food item. Together, we will show our giving spirit to many families in Hamilton. Every donation truly counts and will make a difference in the lives of our neighbours and bring joy and hope during the holiday season.

Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

I’m very proud to rise today in celebration of our community leaders, who have been hard at work to establish a youth wellness hub in Thunder Bay. Our community partners have worked together for many years to better support youth in navigating service pathways, especially during the challenging transitional period from child to adult.

This August, parent advocates and service provider representatives participated in Associate Minister Tibollo’s round-table visit to Thunder Bay, where the concept of a youth wellness hub re-emerged. Following that meeting, I was privileged to meet with Diane Walker, Jennifer Lawrance, and Rob Dueck, a parent advocate for the Jaida Project. Since that meeting, this incredible group of people have mobilized our youth and community partners in a way that has impressed me significantly. A steering committee was immediately formed, and the group set out engaging necessary stakeholders.

On November 3, a youth wellness hub community forum was held in Thunder Bay, where 150 participants, including 50 youth, participated. Topics brought forward included the need for such things as integrated one-stop mental health and addiction services and education support. The importance of peer mentorship was highlighted by youth, caregivers and service providers.

It is important to take a moment to recognize Carolyn Karle and Rob and MaryLouise Dueck. These parents have suffered the unthinkable loss of losing their child. Despite that pain and heartache, they have chosen to be active ambassadors for the youth and families in our community, and we honour them.

I would like to wish everybody in the House a very merry Christmas and happy holidays.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend the Centre for Skills Development in Burlington, alongside Minister Williams, Minister Tangri and PA David Smith, to launch a call for applications for the Women’s Economic Security Program. Thanks to the Women’s Economic Security Program, more women have access to skills training, gaining the experience to embark on a career to good-paying jobs in the trades.

The Centre for Skills Development has provided their Enhanced General Carpentry program to women for over 20 years and has seen great success, with over 300 participants securing sustainable, financially rewarding and meaningful employment in the construction sector. Their 22-week program prepares participants to work in a variety of skilled trades within the construction industry, from residential builds to high-end renovations. Other services at the centre include one-on-one job search coaching, settlement services, LINC and ELT classes, academic upgrading and fully funded pre-apprenticeship skilled trade programs. Collectively, the centres serve around 20,000 people in Halton region and Mississauga.

Thank you to the Centre for Skills Development for delivering the programs that continue breaking down barriers for women, giving them the tools they need to earn bigger paycheques for themselves and their families.

Last week, we reached a major milestone on the Yonge North subway extension. I was happy to attend the launch of the proposal process, alongside the Minister of Transportation and my York region colleagues. This extension is a critical infrastructure investment that will deliver much-needed rapid transit to cities across the GTA—cities like Markham, and my riding of Markham–Thornhill.

When the Yonge North subway extension is complete, it will provide over 94,000 daily trips and will put nearly 30,000 more people within a 10-minute walk to transit. It will create thousands of jobs during construction and generate nearly $4 billion in economic benefits to the province.

Improving infrastructure is a key part of our government’s promise to the people of Ontario. Our government has focused on creating and promoting transit-oriented development within communities like the Langstaff development in Markham.

People in my riding have been waiting for decades for this extension to be built. We are delivering on that promise, we are getting shovels in the ground, and we are building the infrastructure that the residents of Ontario and our economy need for the future.

Speaker, I would like to thank you for your hard work.

I wish everyone a happy holiday.

I would like to recognize the delegates from the Canada-Nigeria Trade Expo who are here in the House today: Bose Odueke, Bola Oduyale, Festus Adebayo, Umar Abdullahi, Osobase Omo, Dr. Hayatuddeen Awwal, Chikodi Onyegbula—and all the other guests from Nigeria. Thank you for coming to this wonderful province. Welcome to the Legislature of Ontario.

Applause.

Also in the members’ gallery are other members of Ontario Place for All: Peggy Leake, Caroline Haddad, Catherine Bruce, Janet Summers, Anne Pedersen, Emily Switzer, Sue Holland, Julia Louise Pereira, and Heather Johnston.

And since today is the last sitting day, I want to give a special shout-out and thank you to my OLIP intern, Olivia Collver.

I’d like to extend a warm welcome. I think they’re up in the members’ gallery. I’m looking forward to having lunch with them—the incredible team from Campbellford Memorial Hospital. They do so much work.

John Russell and Erik Kowal, I’m looking forward to having lunch with you gentlemen. Thanks for all you do for our community.

I’d like to welcome to the House, also from Ontario Place for All, Ric Amis, Tim Maguire, Kendall Savage, Kathleen Hearn, Anastasia Listsova, Lisa Latimer, Gehna Banga, and Monica Tap. Thank you for all your hard work and advocacy.

Tuning in from Ottawa Centre is Megan Mick. This is Megan’s last day working in her short-term placement with us in Ottawa Centre.

Thank you, Megan, for tuning in this morning and for all you did for the great people of Ottawa Centre.

I want to introduce Dave and Maria Hartney, who are in the gallery, from the beautiful riding of Perth–Wellington.

I know there are lots of folks here from Ontario Place for All. I would also like to welcome Rebecca Diedrichs, Jonathan Robinson, John Russell, Eric Cowell, Alie Rutty, and Margie Zeidler. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to introduce and thank my first and wonderful OLIP intern, Razan Akiba, who has been a wonderful addition to our team. Thank you so much for all your hard work.

I’d like to take a moment to welcome and thank all of the good folks from Ontario Place for All for joining us here today. Thank you for all of your hard work and advocacy.

Interjections.

Members please take their seats. There are no political statements associated with introduction of visitors.

I’ll first recognize the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

As I planned my member’s statement for today, I intended to deliver a message encouraging everyone to shop locally and support their local economies. But I was inspired by some of my colleagues on both sides of the House to take a slightly more artistic approach. So, with the help of my amazing staff, may I present some advice from St. Nicholas:

‘Twas the weeks before Christmas, and all through the town

The parents were shopping as flurries came down.

Getting gifts for their children from local shopkeepers,

Then shopping online as the snow just got deeper.

But a local business supports so many things

From hockey to splash pads, and much in between.

From the shirts and the jerseys on local sports teams,

To the new park equipment—just look at it gleam!

While enjoying the stores, seeing people they know,

They are laughing and smiling with their faces aglow.

These local shopkeepers, so friendly and warm,

Also employ people, with kids of their own.

So we ask you to choose them and choose your home city

While enjoying the street scenes decorated so pretty.

With the many supporters, our stores are successful

So merry Christmas to all, and to all we are grateful!

I just need to take a moment to wish the very best of the season to all the residents of Hastings–Lennox and Addington, to all my colleagues here in the House and the staff. I wish you a very happy holiday season. Joy, peace, laughter and rest.

I’d like to introduce board members from the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses—Marlene Ham, Amber Wardell, Carla Neto—and Susan Wells from Family Service Ontario. Thank you very much for your advocacy, and thank you for joining me this morning. Welcome to the House.

I am delighted this morning to welcome Sofia Olaya, who is a high school co-op student working in my constituency office, and my executive assistant, Amanda Stratton. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to welcome the Newmarket Huron Heights Warriors football team to Queen’s Park, who will actually be arriving later this afternoon. The Warriors won 37-2 in the Golden Horseshoe Bowl on November 28, and this game marks the team as top in this great province. Congratulations to the Warriors.

From Ontario Place for All, we have Nicholas Jennings, Sheila Toller, Abdulkadir Celik, Marybeth McTeague, Beth Kapusta, Thomas Varey, Janine Miedzik, and Michelle Smith. Welcome to your House.