I want to thank all my MPP colleagues across both sides—all parties, everyone. Thank you so much for your kind words and your support today in support of Orthodox Christian Week in Ontario.

I want to recognize those who spoke today, members from Toronto–Danforth, Sudbury, Oakville North–Burlington, Mississauga–Erin Mills, Scarborough–Agincourt, and although she didn’t speak—a new Orthodox Christian in this chamber—the member from Mississauga Centre.

I want to thank Father Geoffrey Ready, Deacon Daron Halajian and Diane Draga Dragesevic for your help in drafting my speech today, and the many who have helped to make this day possible with your strong support in spreading the word of this important recognition.

And finally, I thank all of you who are here today, including my son Aleksandar, and all of you who are watching from home, including my family. None of this could be possible without all of your strong support.

Representation is important. As an Orthodox Christian, I am proud to have spoken here today on behalf of my hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters across our great province. We are here—here in the seats of the Legislature, here in the galleries today. We have been arriving here for over a hundred years. We are born here. We are a part of Ontario’s history, present and future. We are an important part of our province’s diversity.

Today, we have taken a large and important step in recognizing Orthodox Christians in Ontario. I invite you all to continue on this journey together so that Orthodox Christian Week will be formally recognized every year in Ontario. And God willing, if we all work together, this can happen soon—maybe even to celebrate this very year.

Thank you all for your support today.

I want to thank the member for her great speech.

I have a question, and I think I know the answer to it—at least the first part: Does the member believe that finance, the ability to pay, should be a barrier to justice in Ontario? And if she doesn’t believe that, which I’m sure she doesn’t believe, why won’t her government properly fund and increase legal aid so that everyone has access to the justice they deserve?

I want to thank my colleague and mentor, actually, for speaking for an hour, making us laugh at times and always providing important and interesting information.

Being in the GTA, we complain—and I know the Brampton member there in the back was complaining about what it feels like to be in gridlock on the roads here. But when I hear my colleagues from the north talk about the challenges they face as drivers, it’s very difficult to hear: accidents, as I see it mentioned, that result in four times more likelihood of death as compared to other parts of the province. We talk about gridlock. People are stuck in traffic in the dead of winter, sometimes for half a day, a day, or even more.

And so, my question is, what do you think it’s going to take for this government to adequately bring the investments to make the roads safer and where they need to be in the north? Or is it going to be lip service forever from them?