Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Je me lève en Chambre aujourd’hui pour rendre hommage à un politicien de ma région qui nous a quitté récemment à l’âge de 76 ans, M. Jean-Yves Lalonde.

M. Lalonde a été maire de la municipalité d’Alfred et Plantagenet de 2003 à 2014. Il a occupé le poste de président des comtés unis de Prescott et Russell à deux reprises, soit en 2007 et 2011, en plus d’oeuvrer à l’avancement de la francophonie ontarienne à titre de président de L’association française des municipalités de l’Ontario, l’AFMO.

Avant de faire le saut en politique municipale, M. Lalonde a oeuvré pendant 33 ans dans le domaine de l’éducation. Il a été tour à tour enseignant, conseiller pédagogique aux services consultatifs de la langue française du ministère de l’Éducation et directeur d’école. Il a également été membre fondateur de l’Association francophone pour l’éducation artistique en Ontario, l’AFÉAO.

M. Lalonde était un vrai fier Franco-Ontarien, monsieur le Président. J’ai eu la chance de côtoyer M. Lalonde durant son mandat de maire de la municipalité d’Alfred et Plantagenet, et je peux vous assurer qu’il était dédié à sa municipalité et au bien-être de sa communauté.

Plusieurs politiciens peuvent prendre exemple de M. Lalonde, qui avait une excellente formule quand ça vient à trouver le bon équilibre entre le travail de maire et son devoir de père de famille. On mentionne qu’il avait accompli de grandes choses; sa famille demeurait, de loin, son plus bel accomplissement et il était tellement fier d’eux.

À M^me Lalonde, aux enfants, aux petits-enfants et à toute la famille, nos sincères condoléances.

Today, May 6, marks the beginning of Women’s Health Week. Women’s Health Week, anchored by Mother’s Day, is celebrated annually to raise awareness and engagement about lived experiences in women’s health.

I’m proud to be part of a government that this fall announced an expansion to Ontario Breast Screening Program. Beginning this October, women ages 40 to 49 will now be eligible for Ontario Breast Screening Program, improving the odds for early detection.

I would like to highlight the outstanding work of the Women’s Health Coalition in advancing a movement to speak openly, learn and engage, to address barriers, gaps and biases in menstrual, reproductive and sexual health through all the ages and stages of a woman’s health experience. The Women’s Health Coalition works tirelessly to advocate, communicate and connect on these very important issues.

I am proud to be an ally of the Women’s Health Coalition and women’s health in general, Speaker. The Women’s Health Coalition is a diverse network of women and families, health care professionals, community organizations and business leaders who have come together to advance women’s health. Women’s health matters to all of us, in our homes, our communities, and workplaces across Ontario.

Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to join me in celebrating Women’s Health Week and the Women’s Health Coalition for their remarkable contributions to a healthier, more inclusive society.

On April 19, I was very pleased to be able to host the second annual Ottawa West–Nepean Good Neighbour Awards. These awards celebrate the people in our community who brighten and sustain the lives of their neighbours every day in ways big and small. They are all nominated by members of our community.

Some of them, like Shannon, Zoë, Jennifer, Maryam, Rana and Tricia, are amazing volunteers for local community organization like Matthew House; the Caldwell Family Centre; the Nepean, Rideau and Osgoode Community Resource Centre; and the Ottawa Valley Brain Injury Association. They are all doing incredible work supporting newcomers, low-income communities and people with concussions.

Others, like Neil, Leeanne and Paul, show up every day for people in their community, helping with moves, child care, shovelling driveways and lending a helping hand to newcomers and people living with disabilities.

Bill and Jeannie are teachers, sharing their wisdom and life experience with our community. Laura is a school librarian who tirelessly advocates for reading and connects kids with books.

Murray, Joyce, Jayne and Margo are community builders, bringing people together, forging connections and creating social networks that support and sustain one another.

David brightens the lives of his neighbours every single day with a positive message, and Pam supports her neighbours in adopting ecologically sustainable practices.

In a time when there’s so much in the world that can make us feel anxious or concerned, these neighbours remind us that we are always surrounded by goodness and there is always someone there to lend a helping hand. Thank you so much to each one of you for being a good neighbour.

Winston Churchill is famously quoted as saying, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” This spirit of generosity and selfless service was honoured in Niagara West at two local award ceremonies hosted last week.

At the Good Citizen awards ceremony, hosted by the town of Lincoln, 28 local recipients were honoured for their outstanding achievement, commitment and excellence in our communities. At the Paul Harris awards evening, hosted by the Rotary Club of Lincoln, three local recipients were honoured for their outstanding community service: Jennifer Toews, Sheila Laundry and Martha Kralt.

I highlighted the common commitment of Jennifer, Sheila and Martha to family, education and the performing arts at the Paul Harris awards event in Vineland last Tuesday. Jennifer was celebrated as one of the 50 Faces of Lincoln in 2020 and has served as artistic director of the Lamplighter Tour of the Rotary Club of Lincoln, bringing local history to life. Sheila has scripted 15 plays for the Lamplighter Tour, and as an experienced teacher and lifelong learner, earned a master of education in 1992, continuing to serve her community as an active volunteer and also as a member of her local church. Martha has touched the lives of hundreds of children and youth as a preschool program coordinator at the Grimsby Co-operative Preschool, as well as opening her home to Rotary exchange students and vulnerable women and children through the YWCA Niagara Region transitional housing program.

Martha, Sheila and Jennifer, thank you for demonstrating “Service above Self” and helping to build a strong community spirit in West Niagara. From lake to lake, it’s people like you who make Niagara West one of the most vibrant communities to live in in Ontario.

The Sioux Lookout Bombers are a two-year-old Junior A hockey team from Kiiwetinoong. They were named in honour of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s fleet of Canadair CL-415 water bombers, the planes we exclusively use to fight wildfires.

The Sioux Lookout Bombers recently captured their first Bill Salonen Cup as champions of the Superior International Junior Hockey League. In just their second year in the league, they swept the defending champion, Kam River Fighting Walleye, in the final series of the playoffs.

The Bombers support their community, and the community supports our local hockey team. They took the time this season to visit the nearby First Nations like Lac Seul and Slate Falls First Nation to engage with local youth and share their knowledge and love for the game of hockey.

The Bombers were undefeated in every home game when they played in the Hangar, the Sioux Lookout Memorial Arena, to sell-out crowds for their entire playoff run.

This week, the Bombers are travelling south to Oakville to compete against the other champions of the eight member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League for the Centennial Cup, the Junior A title.

Congratulations and good luck to the Bombers. We will be cheering you on. Meegwetch.

It is indeed a privilege to rise today in recognition of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, locally known as NOSM U.

NOSM is Canada’s first independent medical university and one of the country’s greatest education and physician workforce success stories. More than just a medical school, it was purpose-built in 2002 by the Ontario PC government as a strategy to address the physician shortage and health care needs of the region. Born of a grassroots movement, NOSM is a made-in-the-north solution to regional health care inequities, which requires strong ties and engagement with over 500 organizations in over 90 remote, rural, Indigenous and francophone communities.

Today, more NOSM University-trained students from across the north choose family medicine as a career than any other medical school in Canada. Since its creation in 2002, NOSM U has trained 902 doctors. Eighty-eight per cent of those doctors who did both their undergraduate and residency training have stayed in the region and serve the people of northern Ontario.

I take this opportunity to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Sarita Verma for her leadership, passion for serving our people of the north and sincere willingness to collaborate with me in advancing the NOSM vision. Enjoy your well-earned retirement, but don’t go too far.

We look forward to what the future holds for NOSM and our communities.

On Friday, London MPPs had the chance to tour the Health Outreach Mobile Engagement, or HOME, bus as part of RNAO’s Take Your MPP to Work day. It’s an impressive collaboration between CMHA Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services, London Cares Homeless Response Services, London InterCommmunity Health Centre, Middlesex-London Paramedic Services and Regional HIV/AIDS Connection.

In 2021, these partners came together to improve the health outcomes and health equity of highly marginalized individuals in London. The team meets clients where they are, offering low-barrier yet full-scope primary and acute care, follow-up care and referrals to other wraparound services.

The bus is tight but incredibly efficient. What struck me most was how nimble this brilliant program was. On the team of nurse practitioner, registered nurse and community worker, the RNs spoke about how this allowed them to work to their full scope of practice.

This model builds trust and relationships, re-establishes connections and provides access to vital wraparound supports to help people get their health and lives on track. No one gets turned away.

A quote that will remain with me was, “There are no hard-to-serve people, only hard-to-access services.”

Hard-working RNs and the team at LIHC were clear where provincial funding comes up short. What is missing is wage parity for nurses. It’s the not-so-well-kept secret that nurses are dramatically underpaid for home and community care. They receive a fraction of what long-term-care and acute care nurses are paid. Additionally, community health centres have not seen a base budget increase in over a decade.

It’s time this government stopped attacking nurses and front-line workers. Respect them, thank them, pay them properly and invest in the community-based health care that community health centres provide.

I rise today to proudly highlight an event that speaks volumes about the values and sense of community within the riding of Markham–Thornhill.

Last week, I had the privilege of hosting a community litter cleanup event with the residents of Markham–Thornhill. Markham residents understand the importance of taking responsibility for their environment and take pride in keeping their neighbourhood clean.

April was Earth Month in the city of Markham, and it was amazing to witness first-hand as over 50 residents, especially children and youth, came together to participate in our cleanup event. Together, we rolled up our sleeves and set out to beautify one of our amazing local parks, the park called John Daniels Park.

This event was a testament to the power of community collaboration and civic engagement. It showcased that, working together, we can create positive change and make a lasting impact on our surroundings.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of the volunteers who dedicated their time and energy to this worthy cause. Mr. Speaker, the commitment to our community is truly inspiring, and I am immensely proud to represent such proactive, caring and creative constituents.

It’s an honour to rise today to encourage members of this House and the people of Ontario to take part in May Is Museum Month.

Organized by the Ontario Museum Association, this month-long celebration honours more than 700 museums, galleries and heritage sites in Ontario, along with their 11,000 employees and 37,000 volunteers.

For 24 years now, May Is Museum Month has celebrated Ontario’s rich cultural heritage. This year’s theme, museums for education and opportunity, underscores the crucial role of Ontario’s museums as hubs of lifelong learning, innovation and cultural understanding.

As we mark this month, it’s fitting to announce that the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough opens its doors to visitors on May 13. Our government proudly supported the construction of this new institution, which represents a vital part of Canadian heritage and history.

Mr. Speaker, Ontario’s museums make substantial social and economic contributions to our communities, enhancing the quality of life for residents and attracting visitors from both near and far. These institutions bring people together to serve as platforms for conversations about our past, present and future, and foster connections that enrich our local economics and highlight our diverse stories.

I extend my gratitude to the OMA and all of its members for preserving our history and curating dynamic educational content. I also recognize Ontario’s many museum volunteers and thank them for their dedication to the communities that they serve.

I’d like to welcome James Neven and Jan VanderHout from the Ontario Greenhouse Alliance. Just a reminder that they’re having a reception this evening.

I’d love to introduce, from the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, some friends of mine: Timothy Dobson, Glenn O’Connor and Afshin Ashari. Welcome to Queen’s Park. It’s always a pleasure to have you here.

I want to welcome the 283 Air Cadets from Vaughan who are with us today. Thank you for your service and your love of country. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome my constituent from my riding who is here with the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, Justin Whalen. Welcome to your House.

As well, a group compiled from Citizens’ Climate Lobby: We have delegates from For Our Kids Toronto, CAPE Ontario, Seniors for Climate Action Now Toronto and Toronto East End Residents for Renewable Energy, specifically 11-year-old climate advocate Robert; Mary Blake Rose, deputy project manager for Citizens’ Climate Lobby; and Grace Kuang, medical student for the University of Toronto, here today to speak about the negative impacts of fossil gas energy. Thank you and welcome to your House.

I would like to welcome a few people from the Ontario Federation of All Terrain Vehicle Clubs: Shari Black, who is the executive director, and my constituent Shawn Ellenberger, who is the president of the board; as well as, from the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, my constituent, Stefan Fediuk, who is the president. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to welcome siblings from my riding of Simcoe North who are here visiting us today at Queen’s Park: Gabrielle Gilespie and Jacob Gilespie. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I have two introductions. First, I want to welcome the 2024 cohort of the Ontario Parliamentary Friends of Tibet’s summer student program. We have Nawang Garzey, who is placed with the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore; Kalsang Tashi, placed with the member from Toronto Centre; Tenzin Phuntsok, placed with the member from Niagara West; and Shedrup Choepel, placed in my office.

Second, I’d also like to welcome Shannon Baker from the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Happy spring, everyone. I too would like to welcome the association of Ontario landscape architects to the House. They’re doing much work on climate action and sustainability measures—specifically, beautiful Beaches–East Yorkers jazzy Jane Welsh, marvellous Matthew Perotto and sensational Sherry Bagnato, and neighbouring riding Toronto–Danforth’s bubbly Bryce Miranda. Welcome to your House.

I’d like to welcome Steve Barnhart from Niagara Parks Commission and President Stefan Fediuk from the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Speaker, I’d like to apologize, but I got stuck in traffic, and it was a three-and-a-half-hour drive here this morning.

So thank you, and I’m looking forward to meeting with you later on.

It’s an honour today to rise and welcome all members of the Ontario landscape architecture association who I had a chance to meet with this morning.

I want to give a special shout-out to landscape architect and Guelph city councillor Ken Yee Chew, who is here today, as well as to my neighbour in the township of Centre Wellington, Mayor Shawn Watters, who is also a landscape architect.