I want to talk about something important to me and my constituents: getting all-day, two-way GO train service to Niagara Falls. This isn’t just about trains; it’s about making life better for all of us.

I’ve been fighting for this alongside my community for 10 years, when I first ran for office. Remember that by-election in 2014? The Conservative candidate said no to GO. The Conservatives also said no to the new hospital. But my community and I have never stopped fighting, and we’ve made progress. We have GO train service that doesn’t meet our needs. It needs to be consistent two-way, all-day service.

Metrolinx is expanding GO train trips all over Ontario, yet Niagara Falls is not on the list when we have 14 million tourists every year. Our region is growing and so is demand for better transit options. Our ridership keeps climbing—last year alone, a whopping 67% increase. Over 630,000 people hopped on and off at our GO station, an increase of 377,000 in 2022.

We need to ease the traffic on our highways, protect our environment, help support tourism and give commuters a break. I’ve raised this numerous times with different governments and the CEO of Metrolinx. I will continue to advocate for the increased service that Niagara Falls deserves and it needs.

It’s always nice to have a sort-of colleague or somebody just up the road from me in Niagara Falls stand up and talk about labour rights.

I thought I’d be pretty clear in my question to him. You raised the issue around painters. Now, it’s my understanding—and what I saw in the past is that painter is a pretty hard job. A lot of painters end up getting injured on the job, and they end up having to claim WSIB. Then, because your government won’t support deeming, they end up living in poverty. So my question to you is, why do you continue to vote against getting rid of deeming in the province of Ontario?