Mr. Speaker, when people step up to help those who are struggling in the community, their passion to make a difference is often contagious. In the suburb of Riverside South, in the Carleton riding, a group of people has stepped up to create the Community Table, a new volunteer-run food bank. Statistics Canada reports that more than 600 households in that affluent community live below the poverty line.

Members of the Gathering, a Christian church in Riverside South, realized that families in Riverside South were using the food banks in the adjacent suburb of Barrhaven and in other communities. They launched an organic project and created the Community Table, which will open its doors on Monday, May 6.

Jeff Brierley, owner of the Your Independent Grocer store in Riverside South, where I often get my groceries, has generously provided a space inside his store until a permanent location for the Community Table can be found. He’s also assisting with the collection of food donations.

As the MPP for Carleton, I could not be more proud of the volunteers in Riverside South who have turned a need in the community into a reality.

More often that not, we are oblivious to the poverty and hunger that’s all around us. Our lives are measured by the impact we have on others. The Community Table will have an immediate impact on hundreds of people in our community, and before long, I know it will impact thousands.

Last weekend, over 260 hockey players converged on the Langton Arena, a beautiful building spanning five decades of rich culture and tradition. Those players were there for a tournament also rich in tradition, the Langton Oldtimers Six Pack.

This is a tournament that has been attracting and boasting hockey talent for over 28 years. It’s called the Six Pack because you have five players and a goalie—no subs. Competition is stiff in the carded division as junior and a handful of OHL players face off. The 35, 45 and 55 games showcase many of those who at one time could really light things up.

For the second time in the tournament’s history, a women’s division hit the ice. One of the five teams was the Underhill Brady Barnburners. Underhill’s Farm Supply and yours truly teamed up to sponsor both my son’s carded team as well as our ladies’ team. My teammates, who included goalie Ciera Bartik, Briar Barker, Brooke Cope, Courtney Dennis, Meg Sebok and Rachel Van Es, skated to the championship game but came up short against some talented girls from the Stratford area.

In the timekeeper’s box for many of the games was arena fixture Roger Demeester, who recorded his 8,660th game during the tournament—absolutely incredible.

The tournament has the little town of Langton buzzing from Wednesday to Sunday, with games running every half-hour. The Langton Oldtimers have this event down to a science, and they are the ones responsible for the great hockey, camaraderie and for bringing the community together.

Thank you to all who had a hand in another successful year. See you at the rink in 2025.

We all know that gas prices jumped an average of 14 cents per litre across the GTA last week. Premier Ford immediately raised the concern of disgusting price gouging by Ontario gas stations. I applaud the Premier’s statement and rise to offer him a solution.

Residents of Nickel Belt in northern Ontario have been dealing with price gouging at the pump for years. Fuel companies set the price per litre according to what the market can bear. Apparently, in the north, we can bear a lot.

Thousands of people have signed my petition to regulate the price of gas. We regulate the price of energy when it comes to natural gas, when it comes to electricity; what is stopping us from regulating the price of a litre of gas? Five provinces and many US states already have gas price regulation, and it works.

I ask that the Premier finally consider regulating the cost of gasoline here in Ontario so that none of us have to be gouged when we go and fill up. This is a moment when this Premier can actually get it done. You have recognized that Ontarians are being gouged by fuel retailers across the province. Let’s end price gouging at the pump now. We can do this.

I’d like to welcome to the House the Beef Farmers of Ontario, particularly Chair Craig McLaughlin. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t give two beef farmers from my riding a specific shout-out: Mike Jeffries from Belmore and Jairus Maus from Cargill. Thank you very much.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to this House the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Elders of the Robinson-Huron Treaty territory: Mrs. Jo Boyer, Mrs. Jodi Koberinski and Mrs. Caroline Recollet from Wahnapitae in my riding. Welcome to Queen’s Park, ladies.

I’m happy to introduce two constituents from the riding of Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock: Former mayor Ric McGee and his wife Caroline. They’re joining us today as they’re in the city celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary.

I want to welcome Afshin Keyvani. He’s a teacher at the Greater Fort Erie Secondary School. He’s a big fan of the Fort Erie Junior B Meteors, who are in the final. I want to say to him, welcome to Queen’s Park.

Last week was volunteer appreciation week, and it’s my absolute privilege to rise in the House today to celebrate the remarkable volunteers from Etobicoke–Lakeshore who have received this year’s volunteer service award. My colleague Minister Ford and the member from Eglinton–Lawrence and I were at the ROM last week to hands out these awards.

Volunteers are the backbone of our communities. Their work is indispensable, but it’s also sometimes invisible. On behalf of my constituents, I want to recognize these incredible community champions:

—Patricia Coyle for five years at Women’s College Hospital;

—Marlene DaCosta: five-year award for St. John Ambulance Toronto region dog therapy program;

—Simon Donato-Woodger: five-year award for Kensington Health;

—Joanne Van der Burgt for five years of volunteering at the St. John Ambulance Toronto region dog therapy program;

—Michiko Abe-Kozlowski for 10 years with the Japanese cultural centre—I have to go check that out;

—Sharon Kawabata for 10 years with the Harbourfront Centre;

—Giovanni for 10 years with the St. John Ambulance Toronto region dog therapy program;

—Susan Miller: 10 years with the St. John Ambulance dog therapy program;

—David and Hope Finnimore, both 15 years with the Toronto International Film Festival;

—Semra Salkok for 25 years with the Toronto International Film Festival; and

—Ken Fukushima: 30 years with the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.

Each award recipient has a story of generosity, perseverance and kindness. Thank you to our volunteers.

I’m happy to say that Kitchener is getting it done when it comes to building housing. Premier Ford recently joined me at Kitchener city hall to congratulate them on a job well done. For meeting their housing goals, Kitchener received $14 million from our government as part of the Building Faster Fund. The fund is a three-year, $1.2-billion program that encourages municipalities to address the housing supply crisis here in the province. The plan allows municipalities to receive funding for making significant progress against their targets by providing money for infrastructure to build more homes.

Kitchener broke ground on a total of 3,579 new housing units in 2023. That’s 139% of their targeted goal. They knocked it out of the park. Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic and the rest of his council have done a phenomenal job. Berry knows that addressing the housing crisis is a team effort.

The mayor went on to say, “Tackling this challenge will take an all-of-community approach with all orders of government and the private and not-for-profit sectors working together to ensure every Ontario resident has both a roof over their head, and any supports they may need, in order to live a great life.” I can wholeheartedly support that sentiment.

Thank you very much to Kitchener for getting it done.

We have with us in the west public gallery today seven teachers from across the province participating in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Teachers’ Forum. Please join me in warmly welcoming some of our province’s educators to the legislature today.

On behalf of myself as well as the member from Parkdale–High Park, who was the host of this morning’s press conference, and New Democrats of course, I would like to welcome a group who are here for the Basic Income Pilot program. We have Jessie Golem, who was a participant of universal basic income in Hamilton; Sheila Regehr, who is the founding member of the Basic Income Canada Network; Stephen Moreau, a partner at Cavalluzzo LLP and lead counsel for the 4,001 class action lawsuits for the early cancellation of basic income; Kaley Duff; Henry Goddard Rebstein; Christina Shiwsankar; Leandra Louis; Angela Waz; and Braman Thillainathan. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I wish to welcome to the House today a new member of my constituency staff, visiting Queen’s Park in that regard for the first time: Lauren Azzopardi.

I want to thank the Ontario Medical Students Association for a terrific meeting this morning, and I think they will be filtering into the House soon.

I also want to shout out Geordie MacLaren, who is here from the great town of Vankleek Hill, who I grew up with, from the beef farmers. Good to see you, Geordie. Welcome to the people’s House.

I would like to introduce two of my guests who are here visiting from Simcoe North: Robert McGarrity and his daughter, Akira McGarrity. Welcome to Queen’s Park. I hope you enjoy your day here.

I’m very proud to be able to announce and welcome to this chamber a bunch of leaders from First Nations communities across the province, including Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum from Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe of Anishinabek Nation, Chief Chris Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation and Chief Lefty Kamenawatamin from Bearskin Lake First Nation, as well as family members of a number of people who have lost their lives in the last few years: Vincent Ostberg, father of the late Jenna Ostberg; Vanessa Sakanee, mother of the late Mackenzie Moonias; Donna Belesky, sister of the late Corey Belesky; Colleen Belesky, mother of the late Corey Belesky; and Julian Falconer, who is working with First Nations.

I want to welcome them to the Legislature, welcome them here to the precinct and thank them very much for being here with us today.

Good morning, everyone. I would like to introduce you all to Mother Earth and wish you a happy Earth Day.

Any loss of a family member is a tragedy. The loss to a family is absolutely something that we can’t measure.

We take this very seriously. We’ve listened carefully to the survivors. We’ve listened to the Indigenous leaders. We’ve listened to community organizations, and the loved ones of the families themselves have participated in the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Any loss is one too many. We will always do everything we can to support them and to keep Ontario safe.

But, Mr. Speaker, there’s a new chief and there’s a new police service board in Thunder Bay with good intentions to keep their community safe. We have to give the new police service board and command leadership an opportunity to work with all community stakeholders so that members of the community feel served and protected.

We will continue to take the concerns of Indigenous communities very seriously.

I have seen the front-line officers that work hard, with passion and commitment. These are people that love their community.

I’ll repeat it again: There is a new police service board. There is a new chief with good intentions to serve their community and to make sure that everyone has that right of accountability in their communities to feel safe.

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to do whatever I can to make sure our message of public safety is upheld all across Ontario.

This question is for the Premier. Today, the Moonias, Belesky, and Ostberg families are with us. They’re here because they have been left without credible investigations into the deaths of their loved ones by the Thunder Bay Police Service.

Ontario and the Thunder Bay police administration have failed these families again and again and again. Despite studies and reviews, inquests, documentaries, panels, podcasts and far too many promises, people have not seen change. So my question to the Premier is, what does this government have to say to those families who are here today, looking for accountability in the deaths of their loved ones?

They’ve asked me to come to the House and ask the government directly: Will the Premier provide some answers for the people of Wilmot today about why they are losing their land and not being given a choice about their livelihood?

When I went to Wilmot on Friday, I’ve got to tell you, Speaker, we were expecting about 100 people to show up at the community town hall; over 400 people came to raise their voices. Here’s what I heard from them: I heard they’re feeling left behind. They feel like they’ve been taken for granted by this government, undervalued, sidelined. They know that something doesn’t smell right here, and it isn’t just the manure. Everyone is worried that it can happen to farmers in Wilmot and farmers on the greenbelt. If it can happen there, then it can happen to them too.

So my question to the Premier is, we’ve seen this government hide information from Ontarians with the greenbelt grab. What are they trying to hide from farmers this time?

Nothing has changed for First Nations people that live in Thunder Bay. There is an ongoing failure to investigate the deaths of First Nations people in Thunder Bay. The Ontario government has let Thunder Bay Police Service become a cold case factory for Indigenous deaths. There are now more than 20 cold cases due to incompetent death investigations. Why hasn’t Ontario put resources into making sure these investigations don’t become cold cases?

Interjections.

Today, I spent some time with the families and the leaders in the north. Families and leaders are asking again to disband the Thunder Bay Police Service. When will Ontario do this?