On Sunday, April 14, the Leamington Roma Club hosted over 20 health service, business and support organizations to connect with more than 500 international agriculture workers from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and the Caribbean who work in Leamington and surrounding areas.

Hosted by staff and volunteers from the Migrant Worker Community Program, the annual health and information fair brings barrier-free, culturally aligned resources in several languages to provide information and assist workers to book health exams. It included on-site blood pressure testing; blood glucose screening; mental health supports; dental checks; bicycle, road and farm safety info; income tax and insurance information; health card services; and direct contacts with local police, fire and EMS personnel to raise awareness and build trust. The atmosphere was festive, with the smells of fresh food in the air and the sounds of live Latino music on stage.

I appreciate the many people who travelled great distances to support their families while supporting all the good things grown in Ontario. They’re our colleagues, our friends, and an important part of our community.

I was most proud of my friend and neighbour the member from Essex, who very boldly addressed the entire crowd in Spanish. As the new parliamentary assistant to Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, he made a great impact.

Together, it was a successful event.

Have a great day.

It’s a special day in our house. I’d like to wish my daughter Gemma a happy eighth birthday. I know she’s at school, but we’ll send her the clip a little later on today.

J’aimerais souhaiter la bienvenue à mes électeurs de l’Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario : Francine Vaillancourt, vice-présidente, Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord, et Sébastien Fontaine, directeur de l’éducation, Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord. Bienvenue à Queen’s Park.

I, too, would like to introduce one of my local farmers from Lafontaine. He’s also a director with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture: Paul Maurice. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome individuals from First Work, Ontario’s workforce development and youth employment network. They will be hosting a networking reception from 5 until 7 p.m. in rooms 228 and 230. I hope all members can join us.

On behalf of the official opposition, I would like to welcome the OFA board and their staff here today and several young agricultural leaders they’ve brought with them. We had a great meeting with them this morning, and I hope they have many more great meetings today.

Thank you for growing our food.

Mr. Speaker, it’s my pleasure to welcome Paul Vickers to the Legislature this morning. He’s an active farmer in Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, and he’s here for the meetings of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

I’d also like to recognize today’s page captain from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound, Bella-Sitara Singh Soares. She’ll do a great job today.

Visiting Queen’s Park for, I believe, the first time are the mayor of Orangeville, Lisa Post; councillor of Orangeville Todd Taylor, who also happened to serve as s Dufferin county councillor; and the CAO for the county of Dufferin, Sonya Pritchard. Welcome to the House.

J’aimerais souhaiter la bienvenue à Anne-Marie Gélineault, Francine Vaillancourt, Sébastien Fontaine et Catherine Chereau-Sharp du Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord. Bienvenue.

I just want to wish a happy birthday to my colleague Sarah Jama and our wonderful Trevor. Happy birthday.

Today, I’d like to welcome to the House Drew Spoelstra, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. He’s here with his provincial directors, but more importantly, a number of young farmers from across Ontario. I’d like to welcome Vanessa Renaud, Angela Cammaert, Julie McIntosh, Derek Van De Walle, Jonathan Miller, Brad Snobelen and Matt Chapple.

I’d like to invite everyone to the OFA reception later this afternoon in the dining room.

I’d also like to give a warm welcome to Stephanie, who’s with me today, a student from York University.

I want to take the opportunity to welcome, from Thunder Bay–Atikokan, my good friend Bill Groenheide, who’s here with the OFA today.

Il me fait plaisir de vous présenter et souhaiter la bienvenue à Denis Labelle, président, et Jeannette Labrèche, deux représentants du Nord pour l’Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario. Bienvenue à Queen’s Park. Encore, ça m’a fait plaisir de vous voir ce matin au déjeuner.

We want to welcome the amazing French public school board trustees and leaders from across Ontario. Thank you for your leadership in Ontario.

J’aimerais accueillir nos amis de l’ACÉPO, l’Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario, aujourd’hui, y compris leur président, Denis Labelle; leur vice-présidente, Samia Ouled Ali, qui habite dans ma circonscription d’Ottawa-Ouest–Nepean; la directrice générale, Isabelle Girard; aussi d’Ottawa, Christian-Charle Bouchard; et tous les conseillers scolaires et les directeurs d’éducation qui nous joignent ce matin. Bienvenue.

I would also like to welcome, from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Teresa Van Raay, Andrea McCoy-Naperstkow, Clint Cameron and Jonathan Miller. I’m looking forward to our meeting this afternoon.

I have a couple of people to introduce—one is the charming communications branch from the Ministry of the Solicitor General. I ran into them in the hallway, and they’re here. Welcome.

I also have energetic Eldon Mascoll to introduce. He’s an iconic cultural hero and the producer of Canadian Black History Experience, which is an immersive touring show celebrating Black Canadian trailblazers.

Welcome to your House, Eldon.

We have with us in the Speaker’s gallery today Oleh Nikolenko, the consul general of Ukraine in Toronto. Please join me in warmly welcoming our guest to the Legislative Assembly today.

It’s my pleasure to rise in the House today to highlight very exciting news for Brampton. Just in time for the 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League season, I’m proud to announce that Brampton will be getting our own OHL team when the Steelheads come to town. That’s right; after more than a decade since the Battalion left, OHL hockey is coming back to Brampton. This is great news, not just for my constituents, but for hockey fans across Brampton.

And yes, Mr. Speaker, Brampton is a hockey town. Brampton is proud to have developed some of the best talent the game has seen, including Cassie Campbell, Sean Monahan, Rick Nash and Tyler Seguin, just to name a few. More recently, our city was proud to host Hockey Night in Brampton last August, where Brampton’s passionate hockey fan base came together to raise over $1 million for our second hospital.

This move represents why Brampton is the place to be. With our vibrant and diverse population and our passion for developing the next generation of sports talent, Brampton is quickly becoming the breeding ground for sports excellence nationwide. Not only will this move give Brampton youth a chance to play for their hometown, but it will give our city front-row seats to watch them grow into the next generation of hockey stars.

I can’t wait to don a Brampton Steelheads jersey and cheer on our boys this fall.

I’d like to welcome to the House Dave Buchanan and Kunal Thukral, here from HCLTech. They’re hosting a reception today in 228.

I’d like to introduce Alexandre Beaudin, project lead, development of collective intelligence at ACÉPO, the association of French-language public school boards.