On May 4, we were happy to celebrate International Firefighters’ Day. This was an opportunity to thank the firefighters of Mississauga for their service, recognize their extraordinary efforts and acknowledge the sacrifices that many firefighters have undertaken to keep us safe.

I was happy to hear the government’s announcement about increasing coverage for firefighters with cancer. And I had the opportunity to visit the three fire stations in my riding, Stations 107, 115 and 122, to meet with the hard-working firefighters and thank them for their service.

Speaker, this week also serves as national police week and road safety week. We know the police play a critical role keeping our roads safe for all of us to enjoy. The dedicated personnel at Peel Regional Police are working hard to take criminals off the streets and enforce traffic laws.

The latest provincial budget announced $46 million to support response times, including purchasing four police helicopters. This will help keep our streets safe. Our government’s committed to supporting police and giving them the resources they need.

I am proud to be part of a government that supports our front-liners.

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.

A very warm welcome to the representatives from the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies who are here today in recognition of the 10th anniversary of Children and Youth in Care Day—a day to honour and celebrate current and former kids in care across our province. Welcome to Queen’s Park.