 It is now time for member statement the member from the P.N. Carlton. Thank you very much a speaker Ken male that was referred this past Friday in a eulogy for my friend Ken Ross of Little emails he would send to his friends and other community leaders just to sometimes give them a boost To make them laugh or give them some support Each time we deal with a provincial budget I would receive Ken male with advice for the provincial government on how to pursue its budget and also just a little nugget of inspiration for me to keep going and I appreciated that I miss Ken a lot as I know many other community leaders do He died at the age of 54 from cancer and some complications with respect to ammonia But I I want to say this not only was he a longtime friend of mine and so many people in the community He was a businessman. He owned Ross's independent. He chaired the BIA. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce As a grocer, he decided he wanted to give back to all the people in our community became a wonderful Philanthropist in fact in the first five years of his business He donated almost five hundred thousand dollars back to the community by this year It had been up to seven hundred thousand dollars He chaired the food bank to make sure people who were less fortunate would have some food in their tummy Especially for their kids at school Ken was a legionnaire. He was with the Order of St. George. He was a lion He contributed to Canada Day. He contributed to October Fest Ken was the type of guy that makes us who we are in this assembly When he died last week it it really rocked our community Young athletes who he had supported like Caleb Maduke the autistic community who he had supported and Those within the Barhaven Legion were also crushed. I want to say this before I end speaker Barhaven's community lost a great leader and the Legion just yesterday decided to provide $5,000 to the food bank in Ken's memory and for that I am grateful and to Kelly Ross Ken's wife and to his four children My thoughts are with you and Ken's legacy will forever live. Thank you. Thank you Thank you, speaker during the break last week I took the opportunity to visit some homes operated by the good shepherd that serve Hamilton youth Angeles place provides transitional housing apartments to young moms under 21 and babies can stay for up to two years where they're supported With healthy lifestyle skills education and child care Brennan house is a 15-bed transitional house committed to youths age 16 to 20 keeping them off the streets They learn life skills and are provided support and tools to deal with mental health abuse and neglect Jebs place provides a residential environment for youth with supporting families the tools and supports when dealing with mental health issues trauma and conflict resolution Notre Dame house is Hamilton's only shelter for homeless and street involved youth in addition to providing beds for 20 youth They have on-site access to mental health professionals a physician and a nurse practitioner Youth support workers are there to help the youth find their way Their drop-in meal program provides thousands upon thousands of meals every year Speaker the staff in these facilities do a fantastic job with budgets that are severely underfunded Government funding amounts to about $44 per day per bed with and but with ongoing fundraising and their selfless Dedication they make it go so much further while this government promises tax cuts to their largest corporations These dedicated workers give their heart and soul for the children that they care deeply about Thank You mr. Speaker mr. Speaker I would like to tell you and the members of this house about a young man named Austin Riley from the wonderful riding of Wonderful City of Oxbridge in my riding Austin and his family are taking it up on themselves to embark on a tour across North America Where Austin will take take his go-kart to race against others From Florida to Texas to California and in BC Manitoba and Alberta Earlier this week the students of Oxbridge secondary school gave Austin a resounding round of applause to help him Launches tour they signed banners of support Got to see Austin go-kart and even go God is out of graph. This is an exciting feat mr. Speaker What makes it even more pregnant though is that Austin races with autism? He and his family will be spending their tour take talking to schools and young people throughout throughout not America Austin about Austin about the challenges faced by individual and families with autism But also about our hard work and opportunity can go a long way. I wish Austin and his family a safe and happy trip I hope you You will follow along with Austin Austin's journey and Twitter At race at racing autism I am proud that the people are from my riding take it up on themselves to spread compassion and awareness And I wish them the very best of luck and their way. Thank you mr. Speaker. Thank you Statements the number from nipissing. Thank you Sorry, thank you speaker Speaker last month I rose in the house to speak about the two wind farm projects being proposed for Merrick and Madawan townships in my riding of nipissing I'm pleased to inform of this legislature that because of the hard work of the local first nations chief Davie Jonisse and chief Clifford bastin The five Madawan area mayors and many stakeholders the Madawan wind farm proposal has been cancelled Well, this is cause for celebration Concerns remain for the wind farm proposed for Merrick Township just north of North Bay last night I held a town hall in my riding on the cost of wind power in Ontario and had over a hundred people turn out They turned out from across the region and spoke about their concerns with industrial wind turbines many commented on how wind power has caused their Hydro bills to skyrocket Claims that were backed up by the Auditors General in 2011 in 2014 reports I have resolutions sent to me from the townships of Chisholm Papinot Cameron and several others all voicing their concerns about the proposed wind turbine installation Speaker this social engineering program has failed and it's time Ontario change its course Thank you speaker recently I had the opportunity or yesterday had the opportunity to attend the annual March Classic meeting held by grain farmers of Ontario in London It's a combination trade show business symposium attended by farmers and agribusiness people from across the province and country It was great to spend some time with my neighbors from back home in district 15 a little place called northern Ontario The delegates took the opportunity to thank Henry Venankum for his contribution as chair of Gfo for the last three years. I would like to echo that sentiment It's been a privilege to work with Henry and his colleagues and issues impacting the grain industry And I look forward to continue with working with the current chair Mark Brock as well As always the organizers of the March Classic had had a very engaging list of speakers But this year the talk in the halls was not about the speakers or crop prices or even the weather Producers were talking about the recently posted regulations restricting the use of neonic the neonicotinoid seed treatments many farmers felt somewhat under fire in the whole neonic debate They realized the importance of protecting pollinators and when it was identified that dust of planting equipment They act quickly to control the problem grain farmers of Ontario continue to work with other stakeholders towards a solution Including proposed increased areas for pollinator friendly plants The government has stated that their goal is to have the strongest regulations in North America Their goal should be to have the most effective Program to protect pollinators and farmers. Thank you Thank You mr. Speaker on March 12th I have the pleasure to attend the 8th annual great big crunch this event hosted by the local Davenport based organization food share Promotes healthy eating by inviting schools communities daycares and workplaces across the province to take a giant Synchronized crunch into a locally grown Ontario apple Nearly a hundred and seventy thousand people from across the province took part in this great event and enjoyed delicious apple supplied by the Norfolk Fruit Growers Association Food share is a fantastic organization in my writing of Davenport Which for 30 years has had its doors open to increase access to healthy food and food education in our province I'd like to personally thank executive director Debbie field for all of her work on this very important cause Joining us at food share that afternoon was grade two and three students from Brock junior public school These students not only enjoyed some delicious Ontario produce But also participated in many hands-on food literacy activities and learned the importance of making healthy eating choices It is truly very important for every one of us to make healthy eating choices in order to lead better and more fulfilling lives I'm proud to say that our government certainly understands the importance of food share services and recently food share received an Ontario Trillium food grant to support their new initiative to develop an urban Agriculture and community building model focused on collective planting. Mr. Speaker I'm happy I could attend this wonderful event and look forward to working together with food share in the future. Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker The Almont General Hospital is suffering from a five-year budget freeze by the Liberal government The hospital has done an excellent job of reducing costs, but it is not enough This spring they had to lay off 11 registered practical nurses. I Would like to invite all frontline health care workers and those who support them to join QP leaders Linda Melbrough and Michael Hurley With myself in front of my in front of my constituency office at high noon on Friday March 27th We will tell the story of how We will tell the story of how this wasteful and big-spending Liberal government has caused our registered practical nurses their jobs and Sacrifice the quality of health care at the Almont General Hospital. What a loss. What a shame Thank you The member from Kitchener Center Thank You mr. Speaker Over the March break while visiting people and groups in my writing of Kitchener Center I had the privilege of meeting with Dr. Margaret Brockett and Dr. Michael Stevenson who are directors of the sanctuary Refugee Health Center the region of Waterloo has become a hub for new Canadians including refugees The sanctuary clinic was founded in 2013 in response to this growing population The clinic serves some of the most vulnerable newcomers many these people were forced to flee their homes due to conflict violence and persecution When they arrive they often have unique and complex health needs that require an integrated approach to care Including psychological Economic and settlement health thanks in part to a grant that they received in 2014 from the Ministry of Health and long-term care The clinic has been able to hire a registered nurse and a social worker to offer public health and counseling services on site At the sanctuary Refugee Health Center No one is turned away as a result many patients are diverted from Emergency rooms and walk-in clinics and mr. Speaker. This is saving us money No one chooses to be a refugee, but as Ontarians we can choose what our response will be to our neighbors in need I'm proud to tell you that the sanctuary Refugee Health Center is doing just that and I thank them for their efforts every day Thank you. Thank you member statements the member from the typical late show Thank You mr. Speaker, and I'm pleased to rise in the house this afternoon To speak about an event that I attended just a few hours ago in my writing the annual Franklin Horner Community Center seniors health fair Mr.. Speaker unfortunate have many facilities in my writing that serve the seniors of my community and one of these facilities Mr.. Speaker is the Franklin Horner Community Center, and they have served the residents of Etobicoke for over 20 years as a Non-profit charitable organization, and they've dedicated themselves to improving the lives of seniors Throughout Etobicoke this community center provides a range of programs from dancing to bingo socials computer classes fitness classes and seniors lunch and learn programs the organization boasts over 1200 members and 52 different subgroups that have programming there And I'm particularly proud of their vibrant seniors club that and was fortunate to attend their health fair today At the health fair mr.. Speaker they feature a trade show vendors food door prizes, but most significantly a presentation about elder abuse and Financial abuse of seniors, and I was delighted to observe the well-received presence of elder abuse Ontario Focusing their efforts on educating our local seniors with regard to bullying financial fitness as well as how they can prevent them Protect themselves against fraud and scams. Thank you mr. Speaker. Thank you