Good morning, Mr. Speaker and everyone here.

“We celebrate, we acknowledge spirit and spirit will come alive.” This sentiment from Pauline Shirt will never be forgotten, and her spirit will continue to come alive through generations to come.

We sadly lost Pauline, one of Canada’s most beloved Indigenous elders, from the physical world on May 7, 2024. Her spirit lives on not only through her children and loved ones but in the stories told in Indigenous languages which she had a hand in preserving.

Grandmother (Nokomis) Pauline Shirt, Nimikiiquay, or Thunder Woman, as she was also known, was a knowledge keeper, leader and visionary.

A Plains Cree Elder from the Red-Tail Hawk Clan, Pauline and her late husband, Vern Harper, first established the Ontario leg of the Native People’s Caravan to Ottawa in 1974. Their critical work did not stop there. In 1976, Pauline and Vern founded Canada’s first Indigenous-run and -focused school, because they wanted a culturally safe and appropriate space for their son to learn. Kapapamahchakwew, Wandering Spirit School, still operates in the east end of Toronto today.

As city councillor, I had the pleasure of engaging with Pauline on a student beading installation at Raindrop Plaza, the first stormwater demonstration site in the city.

In 2023, I watched Pauline Shirt be inducted into the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest civilian honour, for a lifetime of contributions.

Pauline Shirt chose to live in our Beaches–East York community at the end of her remarkable life, and there is no greater honour for me than to have represented her.

Meegwetch, Pauline. You will be forever remembered.

It was my pleasure to attend the Sunderland girls Stingerz ringette year-end ceremony this month to celebrate all their many team accomplishments. It was a special day for the under-14 A girls’ team as they were the gold-winning provincial champions.

Sunderland ringette celebrates over 40 years of providing opportunities for female athletes to excel at competitive sport in a positive way, providing on-ice skill and enhancing physical health and well-being, higher levels of confidence and leadership, and a lot of fun.

Many of these athletes start their ringette journey from as early as four years old and continue to train and compete all throughout high school. The coach of our champions, Coach Carson, was also a past ringette star before she took on the mantle of coach, and she was assisted by her dad on the job. It is this generational mentorship that makes the Sunderland Stingerz a formidable force on the ice in Ontario. The celebrations filled the arena with family, friends, current and former coaches and players to mark this celebration.

I’d like to thank the president of the association, Jennifer Smallwood and her team of volunteers, athletes, coaches and parents for their hard work and dedication to the girls’ ringette program, and I’d also like to thank the Sunderland Legion, which always plays a supporting role in the town and for the girl athletes.

I’m thrilled to welcome today from the riding of Vaughan–Woodbridge, Rhys Tweedie, who is our page captain today, as well as his sister and his mother Pauline. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Chers collègues, j’aimerais vous présenter mon collègue et ami du Québec le député de Vachon, le ministre responsable des Relations avec les Premières Nations et les Inuit, Ian Lafrenière. Il est accompagné de sa conseillère principale, Alana Boileau. Bienvenue.

Last Friday, the Associate Minister of Housing, the Honourable Rob Flack, and I announced that our government is providing $1.2 million to help create housing units in Whitby that will support youth 19 to 24 years old experiencing or at risk of homelessness, mental health and addiction issues. This investment is part of the province’s social services relief fund which has provided over $1.2 billion of support to help municipal service managers and Indigenous program administrators create longer-term housing solutions and help vulnerable people in Ontario.

The Ontario government is also investing an additional $202 million this year in homelessness prevention programs. This includes an allocation of $18.7 million to the Homelessness Prevention Program for the region of Durham in 2023-24, looking after the hard-working families in the region of Durham.

We have with us today, in the Speaker’s gallery, a delegation from the Republic of Fiji. The delegation is led by the Honourable Manoa Kamikamica, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Communications.

Please join me in warmly welcoming our guests to the Legislative Assembly today.

Good morning, everyone. As you may know, May is Vision Health Month in Ontario and across Canada. Vision Health Month is traditionally a time when optometrists take a few extra moments to enlighten their patients and their communities about the significance of regular eye examinations.

Maintaining good vision health is not hard. In fact, 75% of vision loss can be averted through simple steps, and this starts with an eye exam. An eye exam does more than test your vision, it can also detect symptoms of diseases like diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumours, multiple sclerosis and cancer.

Being able to see clearly is a critical part of maintaining a healthy and happy life. As a practising optometrist, I am acutely aware of the importance of regular eye health examinations. Eye exams are essential for updating prescriptions for glasses or contact lenses as vision can change over time, especially as we get older. Glasses not only correct vision but also contribute to better eye health, safety, performance and overall well-being, making them an essential part of many people’s lives.

As we celebrate Vision Health Month in Ontario, our government reaffirms our commitment to prioritizing eye health. By raising awareness, encouraging regular eye exams and ensuring access to quality eye care services, we can all contribute to a brighter and clearer future for all of Ontario.

I’d like to warmly welcome members of ETFO today who are having a lunch reception, if you can join, especially President Karen Brown; Carolyn; my sister Michaela Kargus from Upper Grand. And we have some great Waterloo region folks: Jeff Pelich, Lisa Tonner, Marsha Auxilly.

I also want to do a shout-out to Janice and Robin, who are here from KWFamous. Look them up on Instagram.

You guys put the “U” in fun. Thanks for being here.

I would like to welcome Friends and Advocates of Catholic Education to Queen’s Park today. Some of their members are here: Bishop Gerard Bergie, president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, St. Catharines diocese; Patrick Daly, OCSTA past president and chair, Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board; René Jansen in de Wal, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association; and Luz del Rosario, school board trustee for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. Please join them at their reception tonight at 5 p.m. in the dining room.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Speaker, today is youth in care day, so I welcomed some guests this morning for a press conference. With us, we have the former Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, Irwin Elman; Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario, and members Zenee Maceda, Jesse Mintz, Janet Dassinger, Jo-Anne Brown, Lorrie Peppin, Karen Trench, Kim Leonard, Aubrey Gonsalves, Juanita Forde, Dhananjai Kohli and Eric Bell.

Welcome to Queen’s Park, and thank you for all of the work that do you.

I have one more guest who I see up in the gallery above. Patrick Daly is here with the Friends and Advocates of Catholic Education.

It’s nice to see you.

I’d like to welcome sensational Sebastian and terrific Taddy, who are representing superb Scarborough with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. Welcome to your House.

I want to say hello to all the members who came today to advocate for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. Today, Marit, the leader of the NDP, and I met with Owen Charters, president of BGC Canada; Adam Joiner, CEO of BGC Ottawa; Utcha Sawyers, CEO of BGC East Scarborough; Chris Harvey, executive director of BGC London; Howard Moriah, executive director of BGC Durham; Pablo Vivanco, executive director of BGC Albion; and Sam Lapensee, manager of digital media at BGC Canada. And a special welcome to the youth of the year, Sebastian, of BGC West Scarborough. Welcome to the Legislature today.

I’m so happy to be able to welcome to the Legislature today members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. I know others will also be welcoming many members today, but I particularly want to mention Karen Brown, president; David Mastin, first vice-president; Shirley Bell, vice-president; Gundi Barbour, vice-president; and my brother-in-law, the president of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board ETFO local, David Berger. Welcome to your House.

I want to welcome the Friends and Advocates of Catholic Education, who are with us, as well as Bishop Bergie, who’s with us.

Thank you to the head of OECTA as well as the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association.

Likewise, as mentioned by the Leader of the Opposition, welcome to all the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario colleagues who are with us today.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to join in welcoming Friends and Advocates of Catholic Education, including Bishop Gerard Bergie, president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, from his St. Catharines diocese; Michael Bellmore, newly elected president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association, from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board; René Jansen in de Wal, president of OECTA, from the Toronto Catholic District School Board; and from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, executive members Mary Fowler, Carolyn Proulx-Wootton, Mario Spagnuolo, Tamara DuFour, Juan Gairey, Michael Thomas, Sylvia van Campen, Jenn Wallage and Nathan Core.

Thank you so much for being here today.

I’m pleased to welcome my constituent Craig Smith who is here in the public gallery. Craig and I worked together in this place in 1990. He is now the president of ETFO Thames Valley, and I’m here. Welcome to the Legislature, Craig.

I’d like to warmly welcome representatives from the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the First Nations Technical Institute and the Friends and Advocates of Catholic Education in Ontario. Welcome to your House.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome two very bright young stars, both students from McMaster, Hayley Kupinsky and Ori Epstein. I must admit, I learned today that Ori will be attending law school at McGill next year, and I want to congratulate him as well.

I want to give a warm welcome to the Legislature today. MPP Gates and I met with Brian Barker, Kim Finlayson and Stacy Sullivan with ETFO to discuss immediate attention to the rise of violence towards educators in our classrooms.

I’d also like to give a warm welcome to Bishop Gerard Bergie, president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario.

Welcome to our House.