It’s an honour to rise today to speak about an incredible program in my riding of Niagara Centre: the Holy Trinity breakfast program. This Thursday, December 1, the breakfast program, which serves meals daily to those in need, will be celebrating its first anniversary.

I was honoured to join the hard-working volunteers serving breakfast when they first launched this program last year. The success of the program can be attributed to the over 200 dedicated volunteers and countless supporters in the community.

Holy Trinity is also getting ready to host their sixth annual Christmas dinner program. Last year, they handed out over 330 meals to those in need and are preparing to hand out over 400 this year.

Beyond the Streets, an organization I have mentioned many times, works in collaboration with the Holy Trinity breakfast program by finding those experiencing homelessness and connecting them to the program. However, with rising inflation and stagnant wages, donations are becoming more scarce. Holy Trinity Anglican Church food bank coordinator Mary Ellen DuPon recently stated, “We can’t just rely on our parishioners any longer ... We’ve never had to do this before, but in changing times we have to change with them ... We have reserves, but we’re knocking them back.”

Anyone who would like to volunteer or learn more can contact them on Facebook or through their email at holytrinitywelland@cogeco.net.

I hope the members of this House will join me in congratulating Holy Trinity on a successful first year of their program and thanking their dedicated and passionate volunteers. Their community spirit and compassion is truly inspiring and changing lives in Welland.

Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Niagara’s families deserve world-class health care, and that’s exactly what I’m working on delivering with Premier Ford. It’s why I was so heartened to see Infrastructure Ontario’s market update last week, which confirms how our government is making record investments in health care, long-term care, transportation, education and other critical infrastructure.

In Niagara, this infrastructure includes up to $1 billion for the Garden City Skyway twinning in St. Catharines, another $1 billion for a new South Niagara Hospital in Niagara Falls and hundreds of millions of dollars for a new West Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Grimsby.

In addition to the Infrastructure Ontario update on projects in the region, I recently had the privilege of announcing over $2 million in community provincial supports for critical infrastructure upgrades and repairs at our local hospitals. This funding is part of the government’s new investment of over $182 million provided through the Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund and the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund to 131 hospitals and 65 community health service providers across this province.

Niagara Health will be receiving over $1 million while the Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. Catharines will receive over $600,000 in provincial support this year through this Health Infrastructure Renewal Fund. Additionally, the Oak Centre in Welland is going to be receiving $41,000, Arid Recovery Homes in Fort Erie will receive $27,000 and Wayside House of St. Catharines will receive $29,000 through the Community Infrastructure Renewal Fund. In addition to the provincial funding supports for these important investments, the Haldimand War Memorial Hospital is also receiving over $200,000.

These critical investments demonstrate our commitment to building capacity and ending hallway health care, implementing the most ambitious plan for hospital expansion in Ontario’s history.

Last week, in a question in question period regarding sewage spillage, the Minister of the Environment said that he believed in full transparency and actually was requesting an audit.

In that spirit, I would once again like to ask the Minister of the Environment for the release of the full documentation of the application and the monitoring documents of a human sewage lagoon located in the township of Armstrong. The people have been asking for the documentation. There have been some legitimate questions raised, starting already with the consultation process. I brought the first issue up more than a year ago.

At this point, we don’t want a technical briefing. We don’t want a letter that specifies one issue or another. We want the full documentation so people can actually see for themselves that the ministry is doing what they claim to be doing, because so far they haven’t seen it. What they’re being told isn’t the same as what they’re seeing on the ground.

Once and for all, please, in the full spirit of transparency, will the Minister of the Environment release the documentation of the sewage lagoon project in the township of Armstrong?

I understand the desire of developers to make a profit by developing the greenbelt. The thing is, we haven’t been elected here to help developers make a profit. We’ve been elected to define and uphold the greater public interest. It’s our responsibility, it’s our duty, it’s our job.

It’s not our greenbelt to give away; it’s the people’s greenbelt. The people’s greenbelt plays a unique and invaluable role for the people. It provides safe, local farm foods for the people. It protects against flooding and helps filter and clean drinking water for the people. It provides natural space, cleans the air and allows the earth to breathe, for the people. It’s the people’s greenbelt. It’s not the developers’ greenbelt, not the government’s greenbelt, not the Premier’s greenbelt. It is the people’s greenbelt.

All of us bear a heavy responsibility to protect the greenbelt for the people. Once it’s gone, once it’s paved over, we’re not getting it back. Because we need to remember: No one is making any more land. We need, all of us here, to protect and preserve the people’s greenbelt for the people.

Today I’d like to share a story about a business in Cambridge that goes far and beyond to assist people suffering from cancer. Rebuild Fitness and Physiotherapy hosts a free eight-week therapeutic exercise program led by this company. For one hour each Tuesday and Thursday, guests of this generous program are instructed in ways that lead to increased strength, stamina and flexibility. The program is designed to combat cancer-related fatigue that results from the disease and its aggressive treatments.

The program began in 2017 and welcomes all fitness levels and is open to individuals who are in pre-treatment, undergoing treatment or post-treatment. I would like to share a couple of comments from people that have gone through this program. A 49-year-old breast cancer survivor had this to say: “I would say that within the first three weeks I could already see the improvement in the mobility of my arm. It was amazing. It was fabulous.”

A 33-year-old lymphoma survivor, whose energy levels hit rock bottom, basically, following six months of chemotherapy, said, “I personally feel 100 times better. I don’t think I’d be this good going back to work if I didn’t” go through this “program. Thank you for the help.”

So I’d just like to have a shout-out for this company and what they’ve done for the city of Cambridge and the residents.

On November 26, I attended a ceremony at the Holodomor Memorial at Exhibition Place in my riding of Spadina–Fort York. The Holodomor is a genocide committed against the Ukrainian people by the Soviet government that took place between 1932 and 1933. The Soviet government came into Ukraine, stole every bit of food—they searched houses and barns to find every bit of food—then they sealed the borders and let millions of people starve to death.

At the memorial, we heard from one of the survivors of this 1932-33 genocide: 95-year-old Mr. Latishko. He told us of the horrific crimes against humanity that had been committed against Ukraine.

When Ukraine was invaded by the Russian army on February 24 this year, the people of Ukraine have fought back with incredible courage and resilience because they recognize that this is another generation of a Russian government that has come in to complete the genocide that had begun 90 years ago.

But the attack on Ukraine is not just an attack on Ukraine. It’s an attack on democracies everywhere. Demo-cracies around the world are under threat, from both within and without. And the only way that we can guarantee freedom against oppression and against future genocides is to support the government of Ukraine until the democratic government of Ukraine has been restored to all of the borders of the Ukrainian country.

Today I rise to congratulate and recognize an amazing young woman from my riding of Perth–Wellington. Amiera Black is 16 years old, lives in Stratford and is an avid swimmer. She recently competed at the World Down Syndrome Swimming Championships in Portugal. Amiera was one of the youngest swimmers on Team Canada and one of the only two teenagers that competed.

Amiera won an outstanding amount of medals, eight medals in total in the junior division: four gold medals in the 100-metre free, 200-metre free, 100-metre backstroke and 100-metre fly events; and four silver medals in the 500-metre free, 500-metre backstroke, 500-metre fly and 500-metre individual medley.

It’s important to note that many of Amiera’s times would have placed her in the top 10 of the senior division, Speaker.

Amiera will continue to swim in events close to home and, pending a Team Canada decision, maybe in Argentina as well. She is looking forward to the next world championships in Turkey in 2024.

Amiera, you did an amazing job representing yourself, Stratford, and Canada. Congratulations again on winning eight medals at the world championships. I know Stratford and Ontario will be cheering you on for years to come. Go, Amiera, go!

It’s exciting for me to be able to rise and speak about something that was quite a lot of fun. Last Saturday I had the privilege and the pleasure of participating, as we always do as elected officials, in our annual Santa Claus parade. The Rotary Club in Sault Ste. Marie hosts the Santa Claus parade; it’s a yearly tradition in our community. Unfortunately, for a couple of years, we weren’t able to participate in our parade as usual.

But I was very, very proud that, during the period of the last couple of years, I’ve been stockpiling these little mini sticks and pucks that we had my office staff put together. I really want to thank my staff in the office—Kathy Beattie, Jen Bellerose and Edie Suriano—who worked tirelessly, putting together all these pucks and sticks. We had 5,000 of them on a trailer and went down Queen Street in Sault Ste. Marie. The look on the kids’ faces was absolutely out of this world. They were so excited.

I really want to thank my wife, Heather; my mom, Lina Romano; and my three boys, Jayden, Jackson and Jarrett, who helped in distributing the sticks; and, of course, all of my staff, again, Edie, Jen and Kathy, as well as Carrie Suriano and Steve Shaw, Jaelyn and Paige, and also Mike—special thank you to you all for helping me out.

It was a huge success, although I had to run up and down the street quite a bit. We had a blast. The kids had a blast. It was absolutely outstanding, and so good to have them all back out again.

I’m very pleased to welcome all of the trustees from the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association today, but especially my own trustee, Alexis Dawson.

I also want to recognize in the House today with us two friends from Napanee: Barb Linds and Eric DePoe, who was the 2022 NDP candidate in Hastings–Lennox and Addington. Welcome to the House.

I’m looking forward to a meeting later on this afternoon with Ontario Public School Boards’ Association and the members Kate Baggott, Tiya Patel, Julia Burgess and Jack Fletcher. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to introduce Kathleen Woodcock, Nadeem Mahmood and Jennifer McIntyre, all here for their OPSBA lobbying day. As the past president of OPSBA, I’m so pleased that you’re here today.

I just got a note from Barbara Stevens. I know she’s watching on TV. She’s really excited and hopes that the President of the Treasury Board gets a question today.

I’d like to welcome all the trustees who are here today for the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association advocacy day, with a special welcome to two trustees who I met with this morning: Jan Johnstone from the Bluewater District School Board and Martha MacNeil from the Upper Grand District School Board in my riding of Guelph. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I just want to rise to introduce Bruce Whitaker from Stratford, a newly elected trustee in the Avon Maitland District School Board, who is here, obviously, as well, for the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association. I look forward to meeting with you after question period, Bruce.

I’d like to welcome, from the Toronto District School Board, trustees Alexis Dawson, Deborah Williams, Michelle Aarts—and other OPSBA representatives: Jennifer Jennekens, Susan Humphries, Karen McGregor, Jennifer McIntyre. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome TVDSB trustees Sherri Moore, Lori-Ann Pizzolato and Arlene Morell. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to welcome and thank D. Williams from OPSBA along with executive director Rusty Hick for a wonderful meeting this morning.

I would also like to say that I recognize PDSB trustee Kathy McDonald in the members’ area—good to see you as well.

And last week, Juanita Jones came to the Legislature. She is with OPSEU, a health care worker and RPN for over 25 years, working full-time. I want to thank her for coming to Queen’s Park last week.

I’d like to welcome students Ethan McQueen, Logan Wolf, Michael Finelli and Hunter Parass, and their mothers, Andrea McQueen and Karen Wolf, from my community. In September, 11-year-old Ethan and his friends held the second annual Sleep Out to shine a light on youth homelessness and human trafficking for Covenant House Toronto. They raised a record $16,000.

I would like to acknowledge and welcome Kathy McDonald, PDSB trustee, wards 3 and 4. I’m looking forward to seeing you this afternoon. Welcome to Queen’s Park.