 therefore now time for members statements the member from member from Perry Sound Moscow thank you mr. Speaker I rise to commend a local initiative my riding to help bridge the gap in mental health services the Perry Sound Moscow branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association has opened a once weekly after-hours walk-in clinic in Perry Sound the clinic is funded in part by local golf tournament the Ridge Golf Classic organized by the Ridge at Manitou I want to thank the team at the Ridge for their dedication to this cause local people struggling with mental health issues have faced long waiting lists a place where people know that they can seek help immediately will help many of my constituents research suggests that single session consultations can be quite successful and for people who need more than one consultation this clinic can help connect them with the service services they need this clinic is a great addition to Perry Sound but being open only one evening a week means it can serve a very limited number of residents clinics like this one should not have to rely upon donations to offer these essential services I'm proud that the PC party has recognized that mental health is just as important as physical health and committed to major investments in mental health services I will advocate for clinics like this to be funded I hope the new Minister of Health will consider funding this important project so that the clinic can be open more than one evening I commend the community-minded individuals who have worked so hard to make this clinic a reality thank you Mr. Speaker for the members Davis the members from Oslo March 8th is International Women's Day and I hope everyone is able to make it to events celebrating and supporting women and girls in their communities I want to highlight an important campaign launched in Durham region by the Violence Prevention Coordinating Council of Durham the VPCC is comprised of 32 member organizations committed to addressing the issues of violence in our community this organization supports women while planning community events and initiatives to increase awareness and make change regarding violence in Durham region from a presentation given by the VPCC I'll share some of the realities faced in our area in Durham region the police respond to an average of 21 domestic calls per day 25% of all calls for violent crime are domestic violence cases in Canada a woman is murdered by her intimate partner every six days in the last year we have had four murdered women in Durham Durham region's four shelters housed 608 women and 320 children this past year even harder to imagine is that the shelters turned away 1080 women because they were already over capacity and the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives conducted a study and ranked Oshawa second worst out of 25 cities to live and work as a woman Durham region was ranked last for personal security the violence prevention Coordinating Council is working with partners in community to change those stats join us in supporting the hashtag love shouldn't hurt campaign to ensure that love doesn't hurt and to eliminate violence against women become a champion be part of the solution support this campaign and all calls to end violence against women and because love shouldn't hurt I will stand in this Legislature and use my voice to help and violence against women what will you do thank you Mr. Speaker I rise in the legislature today to talk about the Chinese New Year it was my pleasure to attend the Mississauga board of Chinese professionals and businesses known as CPB Chinese New Year Bank at this past weekend Mr. Speaker this year is the year of the dog known to be honest friendly faithful loyal and smart dogs also have a strong sense of responsibility I would like to thank you the young and the whole team of CPB for hosting such a wonderful event in my riding of Mississauga Brempton South all of the proceeds from this event went to the Hong Center for geriatric care which is located in my great riding of Mississauga Brempton South E Hong is a long-term care center and a nonprofit seniors organization which has been operating since 1994 E Hong annually serves about 15,000 individuals in the GTA they provide a number of services including adult day programs active senior programs chronic disease self-management and many more I would like to extend my best wishes to all those who recently celebrated the Lunar New Year thank you Mr. Speaker thank you I'm pleased to rise today to speak about the 27th annual Godrich and Clinton kinsmen and connect TV auction I had the pleasure to announce the items in the auction and let me tell you there were so many good things from a doll high chair that was handmade through to autographed basketball jerseys gift certificates and even vacations in fact more than 900 items were auctioned off thanks to generous donations from across the community and speaker this year the Clinton and Godrich kinsmen and connect set a new record their auction actually raised a number record number of donations which translated into an amazing fundraisers for the club these funds will be used to support local projects such as outdoor ice rinks playgrounds and community events also the money will be used to support cystic fibrosis of Canada the Kin Canada project that is supported by clubs throughout Canada and in fact they've been supporting cystic fibrosis for over 54 years and over that time have helped raised 45 million research dollars for cystic fibrosis so speaker I would like to recognize the volunteers the community leaders and everyone who made a purchase and to all who participated in the 27th annual Godrich and Clinton kinsmen and connect TV auction as well as the volunteers in the nearly 500 kin clubs nationwide the work you do is truly remarkable and we thank you thank you I dedicate my statement today to a senior an 81 year old former constituent and friend of mine whose name is George Rattick George is retired living on a pension he lives at anchor point in St. Catharines and received notice for a rent hike in the retirement facility he lives in the rent increase alone is seven and a half percent well above the 1.8 percent limit for 2018 set by the residential tenancies act and translates into almost $500 a month my office contacted the retirement homes regulatory authority only to find out that anchor point is not considered a retirement home as defined under the retirements act because the home does not provide two of the 13 criteria required to have it regulated that means it falls into a gray area that seems to allow landlords to bypass rent increase limit set by legislation giving these retirement facilities free rain to charge whatever they please we were told to contact the landlord tenant board but after two hours of getting a busy signal we gave up Mr. Speaker on behalf of George and countless other seniors in our province who find themselves falling between regulatory gaps will the minister's responsible the health long-term care the ministry of housing responsible for regulatory changes please review amend the legislation to protect vulnerable seniors such as George Rattick across this province thank you further member from Davenport thank you mr. Speaker this Thursday March 8th marks International Women's Day since 1914 this important day has been celebrating women around the world to pay tribute to this occasion I will host my monthly art gallery on my constituency office tomorrow Wednesday March 7th the gallery will exhibit the work of a number of women from the Toronto School of Art a fantastic organization in my writing of Davenport the exhibit will also display several pieces of pottery from inspiration studio for 23 years the studio has supported hundreds of low-income women impacted by poverty homelessness trauma and mental health issues in my writing of Davenport and across Toronto the studio helps women learn to craft ceramic goods and develop business skills so they can earn supplemental income as one member expressed I'll quote I own what I do and I earned it I'm in a happy place in my life I haven't been homeless again it has given me purpose inspirations saved my life in 2016 the program lost its funding and was at risk of closing but thanks to a rent commitment for sistering and almost eighty four thousand dollars in funds raised via crowdsourcing private donations the city of Toronto friends of inspiration studios and outstanding levels of community support inspiration studio has secured the funds necessarily necessary to continue through 2018 and finally the opening night for this month's art gallery will serve as an opportunity to formally recognize seven outstanding leaders in my community of Davenport mr. speaker indulge me so I can at least all seven for him jude Mason lourdes Fuentes Mariela Soto Mary Oko Angela Machado and Alicia Bianca are all recipients of the leading women leading girls awards congratulations to them thank you for their members thank you some members from Lee Trenville thank you speaker I rise on behalf of North Grenville residents who will be watching this year's budget closely for funding to finally expand County Road 43 it may surprise the government so fixated on the GTA to learn this but rural and small-town Ontario have transportation infrastructure needs nowhere in my riding is it more evident than on County Road 43 a vital link between Kempville and Highway 416 I'm so proud how Mayor David Gordon and his counsel have worked to make North Grenville one of the fastest growing communities in eastern Ontario however that growth in future economic development requires the province to be a partner in upgrading local infrastructure for years the municipality and the United Counties of Leeds in Grenville have identified expanding County Road 43 to 4 lanes as their top infrastructure fire priority and for years provincial budgets have come and gone with no funding for this badly needed 30 million dollar project to get in gear speaker you know quite frankly the municipality is tired of waiting on any given day 18,500 vehicles travel this busy highway there's congestion it's a barrier to growth it's a public safety issue for motorists and pedestrians it puts them at risk but you know what speaker all the work has been done this is a shovel ready project it's finally time for the finance minister to give the County Road 43 expansion the green light thank you very much Mr. Speaker and March is lymphedema month in Canada and around the world and I like to recognize the lymphedema community as today March 6th is world lymphedema day which helps spread awareness about the seriousness of this chronic disease lymphedema is an accumulation of high protein lymphatic fluid that causes swelling in the legs arms trunk head or neck it is a chronic condition it can be an inherited condition or it can be acquired through surgical procedures cancer treatment or infection it impairs the mobility and function and can cause pain and significantly impacts the quality of the sufferers life many people who suffer do so silently lymphedema is not well known or understood by the broader community unfortunately many of those who are diagnosed are stigmatized or marginalized society as a result of the disability and living with this chronic disease has a negative physical and emotional psychological and financial impacts I'd like to thank my constituents Stephen Kellan for bringing this bringing lymphedema to my attention and for bringing to me his own personal story which is right come quite compelling and I'd like to thank him for a strong advocacy on behalf of the lymphedema community I'd also like to thank caregivers and family members for all the work that you do to help those who have been diagnosed with disease thank you very much thank you for the members David Snow from Stormont Dundas I rise today to acknowledge the passing of a great champion of agriculture and rural Ontario from my riding in Stormont Dundas in South Hungary Noble Villeneuve former MPP and Minister of Agriculture and for Francophone Affairs passed away in Maxwell just last Wednesday. Noble was born and raised in a farm in Moose Creek and began a career in farming in real estate before being elected the legislature in 1983. Noble understood the issues facing farmers and was a strong advocate for rural issues I remember meeting Noble at the Good Roads Convention in 1996 and saw first hand his dedication and hard work that he brought to the job. He stopped into the wardens room one night to meet the constituents but was whisked away by staff within minutes to his next meeting. As a minister of agriculture he provided a strong voice in support of farmers of this province suffering from high interest rates and low commodity prices. Through his role in Francophone Affairs he was instrumental in securing equal funding for French language schools. We will sorely miss his insight wisdom and integrity as he was a role model for how elect officials should serve their communities and the province who is called upon to storage. Noble was a dedicated family man and her heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Elaine, and family. I thank all members for their statements.