 It's now time for the member's statements. The member from Bruce Gray, Owen Sound. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm honored to rise to recognize a milestone agreement signed between Bruce Power and the independent electricity system operator that will create 23,000 jobs, secure the production of 6,300 megawatts of energy, and generate $6.3 billion in annual economic benefits. Most importantly, this deal secures the delivery of sustainable, clean, affordable base load power in Ontario for decades to come. This is indeed great news for my community of Bruce Gray, Owen Sound. Great news for my colleague and MP for here on Bruce Lisa Thompson and for the entire province. As more than 90 percent of Bruce Power's spend takes place right here in Ontario and supports some 160 supply chain companies throughout our province. The refurbishment of the Bruce Power units near Tiverton will ensure valuable jobs in the positive economic health of the area and the province. It will create long-term employment for materials building and construction trades as the Bruce site is home to boiler makers, carpenters, electricians, insulators, iron workers and rodmen, laborers, mill rights, operating engineers, painters, pipe fitters and plumbers, sheet metal and roofers, and teamsters. Over the past 14 years, Bruce Power has developed a strong working relationship with these trades, with millions of hours of tradesperson work being carried out on and off site. Having worked at Bruce Power as operations manager, I was actually involved in the work of restarting Bruce units 1 and 2. I can tell you first-hand that the Bruce Power is Ontario's success story. I want to take a moment and recognize and thank Duncan Hawthorne, Bruce Power's president and CEO, the board of directors and their workers, whose efforts over the years have helped develop to deliver this next phase of site development. Under their leadership, Bruce Power has returned this 8-unit site to its full capacity, allowing Ontario to phase out coal-fired power generation while providing low-cost, reliable and carbon-free electricity to families and businesses. Again, this announcement is a significant one. It will allow Bruce Power to immediately invest in life extension activities for units 3 to 8 to support a long-term refurbishment program that will commence on unit 6 in 2020. The deal will also see Bruce Power invest about $13 billion of its own money and assume full responsibility of any cost overruns on the refurbishments of the six reactors. The Ontario PC Party has always supported nuclear power and Bruce Power. We built nuclear, one of the most environmentally friendly forms of power we have, led by Premier William Davis. We need to continue to go down that path, Mr. Speaker, and make sure we're providing basal power that people can afford. Thank you. The member's statements. The member from Willand. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to thank the hundreds of community members, dedicated volunteers, local business and unions, and elected officials from across the political spectrum who filled the Croatian national home in my riding of Welland last week to celebrate 40 years of NDP representation to our constituents and our strong community. The evening reflected the strength of our riding association and celebrated the outstanding work and fond memories of former MPPs Mel Swart and Peter Cormas. I'd especially like to thank Jim Wilson from Simcoe Gray and Jim Bradley from St. Catherine's for attending the event and taking part and sharing their stories about Mel and Peter. Our leader, Andrea Horvath, many of our own MPPs, also joined in the celebration. We shared stories, mementos, and many good laughs with the friends and family of both these political icons. As part of the evening, an inaugural Litki Award was presented to my longtime friend, Susan Prine. An award serves to honour a community member for dedicated service to a community cause and is in memory of long-time, for old NDP activist, Bill Litki. My staff in Welland described Susan as someone who is dedicated day in and day out when it comes to community service. So congratulations to Susan. Congratulations to the countless community members in my riding for an incredible 40 years. Thank you. Further member statements? The member from Sudbury. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to announce that I have laid upon the table a motion to ask the government for an official apology to Ontarians for regulation 17. This regulation issued in 1912 under Premier Whitney prohibited the use of French in primary schools in Ontario. This deplorable regulation was an attack on the Franco-Ontarian community. It was also a blow to Ontario's rich and diverse history. Mr. Speaker, the majority of Franco-Ontarians knew very well regulation 17. They knew the history of the sisters in Ottawa and the mothers who resisted this regulation, this discriminatory regulation. The assembly de Francophonie de l'Ontario were created. Ontario's daily French newspaper Le Droit was born and in the 1920s liberal MPP from Russell, MPP Belanger, publicly denounced this regulation every chance he got. Aujourd'hui... Today I would like to recognize that regulation 17 is a strong symbol for the Franco-Ontarian community. Ontario government fully recognizes that French schools are absolutely essential in fostering and maintaining Franco-Ontarian culture and identity. That is why we must recognize what happened in the past. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we know that humankind must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it doesn't end there. We also know that trees absorb carbon dioxide and humankind needs to plant more trees. On October 22nd, I brought forward a private member's resolution calling upon the government to establish an Ontario Green Legacy Program to mark Ontario's 150th anniversary as a province within Canada. This initiative, which would be based on the County of Wellington's Green Legacy Program, would seek to plant 150 million trees starting in 2017. My resolution was passed unanimously by the legislature, with members from all parties speaking in favour of it. I want to again thank the many people who support my resolution, both in this house and outside of it, especially want to acknowledge the role of the County of Wellington, and in particular Scott Wilson and the late Brad Whitcomb for their vision and leadership in establishing Wellington County's Green Legacy Program. Since my resolution was passed by the House, support has continued to grow. Last week I met with representatives from the Credit Valley Conservation Authority, the David Suzuki Foundation, Forests Ontario and local enhancement and appreciation of forests. They were all very supportive of the idea of an Ontario Green Legacy Initiative. On Wednesday of this week, I'm going to be meeting with representatives from the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute and Landscape Ontario to discuss it. I spoke to the Minister of Natural Resources on November 5th to follow up on my resolution, asking him to reach out to the County of Wellington and invite council and staff and many of their representatives to meet with him. I hope that he will do so, as well as publicly commit to moving forward on this initiative. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. The member from Hamilton East, Stony Creek. Thank you, Speaker. Ontario libraries have a long history of fueling community partnerships and collaborative programs. They are vital community hubs and critical infrastructure in the delivery of social services at all levels of government. Our libraries provide essential digital access to all, regardless of means. Our libraries offer over 200,000 programs every year, attended by over 3.7 million people. The proposed Ontario cultural strategy is intended to enable the province of various communities to tell their stories and preserve them for future generations. I ask that the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport recognizes the integral role of libraries in the development of his strategy. Libraries in rural areas and First Nations communities play a special role in their communities, which often lack access to the intensity and diversity of services found in urban centres. They provide agricultural and business development resources and important business spaces. They house municipal information desks and their key locations for local community groups, services and fundraising efforts. There is a library in almost every community in Ontario with a diversity of locations, patrons, expertise and programming. However, only 46 of our 133 First Nations communities have public libraries. Providing funding for First Nations libraries averages just $15,000 a year. Pretty pathetic. Where they exist, they serve as an accessible gathering place and information sharing resource. Our First Nations communities deserve good libraries, both as public service and as part of our responsibility to improve education outcomes. Good statement. Thank you. Further member statements? Member from Scarborough-Lews River. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As we all know, individuals now live in longer and the number of seniors in Ontario is increasing. Our objective is to keep Ontario seniors healthy, active and independent for as long as possible and to feel safe and supported. I recently attended an event hosted by the Senior Guyanese Friendship Association, which was founded in 1973. They provide services to keep their seniors physically and mentally active, all through their own fundraising efforts. They organize bus trips to the theatre, farmers market and other social events. They also make mats and hats out of milk bags, which are sent to countries hit by natural disasters. Mr. Speaker, a few awards were presented at the event that I would like to highlight. Agata Schroeder, at 103, she's the most senior member in terms of age and membership. Lucille Calder, 92, received the annual Leyland Brewster Award for demonstrated camaraderie, enthusiasm, sportsmanship and friendliness during their activities. The Non-Generian Award was presented to Beryl Hall, a veteran of the organization who stays healthy by walking. Eugene Nestor, an accomplished artist and caregiver. Miriam Smart, a positive individual who's proud to reach 90. And Joyce Kowal, she still enjoys the dance floor to Caribbean music. Mr. Speaker, I'm proud that we recognize their contribution to our society and I encourage the government to continue support in seniors. Thank you. Thank you for your member, Mr. Speaker. Last week, the auditor general released a skating report on how Hydro-1 is a poorly run distribution and transmission company. In her report, she cited the government is paying $407 million to companies and $339 million to produce more power than we need and $32 million to export our excess supply. She stated the average family will be overcharged a total of $32,000 for electricity. If the government didn't have such ridiculous energy policies, imagine what families could do with that money. They could pay their bills, buy a car, put a down payment on a home or put their children through college to the directive to Hydro-1 to recover its distribution costs by a new single fixed rate instead of by usage. This means that Hydro-1 could raise the bills again for small, rural families by up to $140 per year starting next year. Enough is enough. As Ontario continues to sink deeper into energy poverty, this government needs to take a real hard look at its energy policies by putting Ontarians first. Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the incredible courage of refugees and the generosity of so many Canadians. As you know, the federal government has committed to accepting 25,000 refugees from the Syrian conflict by the end of 2016 including those being privately sponsored. Many of them will make Ontario their new home. Mr. Speaker, I am proud that Halton residents from all walks of life are coming together to improve the lives of refugee families. Members of service organizations, churches, mosques and individuals are rallying to help in any way they can. In fact, a recent gathering of Burlington and Halton residents on this issue drew hundreds of people wanting to support refugee families. Mr. Speaker, I'm looking forward to seeing the first planes carrying refugees from camps in Jordan and Turkey landing on Canadian soil in coming days. It will be a proud day for all of us. But our job as Canadians does not end there. Mr. Speaker, it's going to take all of us, all of us working together to help refugees and their families get settled once they're here. The Halton region has already established a relationship with the Halton Multicultural Council to help developing issues related to refugees. I know Ontario will be working closely with settlement agencies community groups, hospitals public health units and community centres as they prepare to support the incoming refugees. I'm pleased to see how hard our government and our residents are working to ensure seamless, coordinated and caring support for refugees arriving in Ontario. It's the right thing to do. Thank you so much. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. Last night, December the 6th was the first night of Chanukah, the Jewish festival of rededication which is also known as the festival of lights. Chanukah is a time when Jews throughout the world have begun an eight day celebration commemorating two miracles. The first miracle was the victory of the Maccabees over the mighty Greek army. The Maccabees were a small group of black weaponry and were vastly outnumbered by the Greeks. They rebelled in response to the Greek's attempt to force Hellenistic and Godless lifestyle on them and against all odds, they won. When the Maccabees liberated the temple in Jerusalem from the Greek invaders they found only one day's worth of pure and undefiled olive oil to light the menorah. The second miracle occurred when the oil burned for eight days and nights. For each of the eight days Chanukah Jews celebrated by lighting the menorah a special candelabra with nine branches each day after nightfall except for Friday when candles are lit shortly before sunset. The message of Chanukah can appeal to everyone regardless of one's faith or beliefs. The illumination of the menorah is meant to symbolize an end to war, persecution and oppression. It represents freedom of religion and the restoration of one's autonomy and the triumph of good over evil of light over darkness. This message is as relevant today as it was for the Maccabees two thousand years ago. Thank you. Thank you. The statement says now time for reports.