While spring is here and summer is approaching, I’d like to share the beauty of my Scarborough Centre riding and five great ways to experience its diverse culture and richness:

The Aga Khan Museum showcases Islamic art, culture and heritage through its extensive collection and engaging exhibits;

Thomson Memorial Park’s beautiful vegetation and historic charm provide a peaceful atmosphere;

Discover the new Scarborough Town Centre for a variety of shopping options;

The Scarborough historical museum provides insights into the area; and

Finally, savour culinary delicacies from all over the world in the bustling Kennedy, Lawrence and Eglinton Avenue road strip, which is home to a variety of ethnic restaurants and cafés.

As the elected representative for Scarborough Centre, it is my pleasure to welcome all, on behalf of my constituents, organizations and businesses, to explore the richness of our offerings, where we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Taste of Lawrence block party, which will take place from July 7th to the 9th, Scarborough Ribfest in Thomson park and my grand annual community picnic and barbecue. All are invited. I look forward to seeing you there.

In Don Valley East, thousands of people do not have a family doctor. Meanwhile, my riding has hundreds of foreign-trained doctors who can’t get credentialed in Ontario—doctors who are forced to sit on the sidelines when they should be on the front lines.

Our local hospital, Michael Garron Hospital, is bursting above capacity. We have insufficient acute care beds to meet our current needs, let alone the projected needs, as my riding sees unprecedented development around the intersection of two new public transit lines. We’re in desperate need of funding for expansions and upgrades, and we’re not getting it.

But if the situation is dire in Don Valley East, it’s worse in northern and rural Ontario. Even fewer have access to primary care, and hospitals are collapsing one by one: Minden, Muskoka, Strathroy Middlesex and now Durham hospital.

It started with sporadic ER closures then more regular ones. Now, their emergency room is only open 12 hours a day. This is because this government has ushered in the worst health care worker shortage in our province’s history, and last week, the Minister of Health had the audacity to say she’s not concerned about it.

Now it has suddenly been announced that all of Durham hospital’s in-patient beds will be removed in a couple of weeks—no warning, no consultation and no conversation. Today, the mayor of the municipality of West Grey and over 60 Durham residents have travelled to Queen’s Park to express their opposition to this decision, which will compromise diagnostic testing, cause doctors to leave and put patient care at risk.

Mr. Speaker, the people of northern and rural Ontario and across our province deserve a government that will protect their health care system and give them answers. Fully fund health care and stop the closures.

It was a great day on May 1 in the city of Pembroke in Riverside Park on the shores of the majestic Ottawa River, such that the services of the Reverend Dave Henderson, the local town crier, kicked off the ceremony with his customary, “Oyez, oyez.” It was there that the former Fred Blackstein Boulevard was renamed First Responders Way.

May 1 was of course chosen to correspond with First Responders Day here in the province of Ontario. Fred Blackstein, a member of the Order of Canada, had approached the city earlier this year and suggested his name be removed from the street and the street be renamed in honour of first responders. I could go on for hours about the contributions of Mr. Blackstein, but this just serves as another example of his selflessness.

The ceremony was well attended by members of the public and representatives of each group of first responders that we depend on so greatly each and every day. Whether it is police, fire, paramedics, ER doctors or nurses and, of course, our military, it is the dedication and commitment of our first responders that allow us to feel safe during the day and sleep better at night knowing they have our back. For most of us, what they do every single day goes largely unnoticed until we need them, but it is tremendously comforting to know that if the situation calls for it, they will be there.

I want to thank the city of Pembroke for making this happen and, of course, Mr. Blackstein for his kind gesture. But above everything else, I want to thank each and every one of our first responders for their unwavering commitment to making our lives safer and better. This renaming in Pembroke recognizes that in a tangible way.

This past weekend, on May 12, we celebrated Mother’s Day. On Mother’s Day, we recognize the immeasurable contributions that mothers make to our lives and society as a whole. Mothers play a vital role in shaping our world, not only through their nurturing and guidance within families, but also their influence as leaders, educators and contributors in all aspects of society. Mother’s Day provides us with an opportunity to express our gratitude for the love, sacrifice and unwavering support that mothers offer every day. It is a day to honour their resilience, strength, courage and boundless love.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let us also recognize the progress we have made in supporting mothers and families, while acknowledging the ongoing challenges they face. It’s essential that we continue working towards creating a society where every mother is empowered to fulfill her potential and thrive.

Speaker, on this special day, let us come together to celebrate the invaluable contributions made by mothers to make this world a better place to live, and let’s cherish their invaluable role in our lives. Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible mothers out there.

I have students from St. Demetrius and staff and volunteers here today to tour Queen’s Park whom I’ll get a chance to speak with and meet, so, of course, I would like to welcome them to Queen’s Park.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker and good morning, colleagues. It’s my pleasure to welcome the mayor of West Grey, Kevin Eccles, to the Legislature as well as many, many residents of that beautiful town in Durham in my riding. Welcome to the Legislature. It’s a pleasure to have you here today.

I also want to welcome some good people from Durham, Dawn McNab and Kris Kennedy, who are the co-chairs of the Save the Durham Hospital committee, as well as everybody else who came to join us. Thank you for being here.

I’d like to congratulate page captain Antonio Geremia from Niagara Centre for a job well done and welcome his parents, Kerri-Ann and Mario Geremia, to the Legislature. I look forward to having lunch with them this afternoon.

I would like to welcome Mr. Ross MacDonald to the Legislature today. Mr. Ross MacDonald is page Lise MacDonald’s grandfather. Lise and her grandfather are not from my riding, but Lise’s father, Anthony MacDonald, is a family physician in the town of Plantagenet in my riding. I had the opportunity to meet several times with Dr. MacDonald. He’s probably assisting patients at the Prescott and Russell long-term-care facility as we speak.

Again, I would like to welcome to Queen’s Park Mr. MacDonald. I have to say, he must be really proud of his son and his granddaughter.

I’m very pleased to welcome Mike Shoreman to Queen’s Park. Mike was the first person with disabilities to cross the five Great Lakes by stand-up paddleboard—folks know him for that—but he’s also an excellent advocate for mental health and a great public speaker. We’re glad to welcome him back to Queen’s Park. Welcome back.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the members of Delhi Chandigarh Elite Indian Community. Please bear with me, Mr. Speaker, it’s a long list: Gaurav Shrivastava founder and CEO, Munish Wadhwa, Lalit Keram, Devyansh Kaura, Sanjeev Sharma, Neeraj Tripathi, Rajan Sethi, Vikram Dhawan, Sherwin Trindade, Sumati Makhija, Ekta Wadhwa, Heena Siddiqi, Harsimranjit Walia, Malika Narang, Nisha Sawhney and Kanika Grover. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I had a great meeting this morning with MPP Burch. As well, in attendance were CAO Ron Tripp from the Niagara region, regional chair Jim Bradley, Daryl Barnhart, Adrienne Jugley, Mark Rupcic and Rachael Ball-Condron. Thank you for the meeting; we had a great time. Welcome to your House.

Today, in the members’ gallery, we are joined by Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill, an amazing leader for Six Nations of the Grand River. They’re holding a reception today as part of their lobby day. We welcome them to this magnificent place. Colleagues, I ask you to drop by rooms 228 and 230 at lunch time to say hello and join us.

This morning, I’d like to welcome Kevin Eccles, the mayor of the municipality of West Grey; Dawn McNab; Kris Kennedy; Dennis Graham; Lucretia Schafer; and the over 60 people who are here and belong to the coalition to save Durham hospital.

I would like to welcome, from my riding of Waterloo, Sara Casselman, who’s the executive director of the sexual assault support centre. Welcome to your House, Sara, and thank you for participating in the press conference.

If there are no objections, I’d like to continue with introduction of visitors. I heard a no.

I recognize the Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.

Government House leader.

I see my buddy Jonny Stathakos in the visitors’ gallery, but I’ve got a special guest here in the Speaker’s gallery. I think he’s here to apologize to the opposition for the son he’s unleashed on the Legislature. But please join me in welcoming my father, Duncan McGregor.

I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 100(e), the member for Waterloo be permitted to designate private members’ notice of motion number 110 as ballot item number 13 to be debated today.

Hundreds of survivors and advocates and crisis support workers were expecting a chance to get answers on why this government has allowed so many sexual assault cases to be dismissed before trial. More than 1,300 cases of sexual assault in 2022 alone never saw a trial because the court system is so deeply underfunded and overwhelmed. Those are not just numbers, Speaker, these are survivors—survivors who are not going to get a shot at justice.

So to the Premier: Why are you silencing survivors of sexual assault who deserve justice from our legal system?

Interjections.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. As the Leader of the Opposition would know, what we voted on yesterday was, in principle, sending the bill directly to a committee of the Legislature. In fact, all Progressive Conservatives, and I would suggest that probably all members of this House, wanted to see that bill sent directly to committee so that it could be part of the study that the justice committee is doing on intimate partner violence.

I remind the Legislature that this Legislature agreed that we should study that and come back with comprehensive recommendations on how we can provide better services to victims of intimate partner violence. As you know, a former crown prosecutor is leading those efforts on behalf of the government side at committee. It is certainly my expectation that that committee will continue to do really good work and bring back recommendations here, and that we can provide real solutions for those—