 It is now time for Member Statements, the Leader of Remandances and Law Opposition. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Today I rise to mark the retirement of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair. Chief Blair's term officially ends on April 26, 10 years from the date he was appointed. His tenure over the last decade has been significant and important, as he juggled the many challenges involved in running the largest police force in the country. He's a cop's cop, having worked alongside the members of his force for more than 30 years, coming up through the ranks to the position of top cop. Prior to his days as Chief, Bill Blair worked in many different areas of the Toronto Police Service, starting out as a beat officer in downtown Toronto, a somewhat different downtown in those days, I suspect, Mr. Speaker, than we see today. His career saw him involved in some of the most challenging areas of policing. Drug enforcement, organized crime, and major criminal investigations were all areas of the force that Chief Blair spent time in broadening his experience. Among the many achievements he has had as Chief, the development and implementation of the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy stands out as an innovative way to go about combating violent crime. As Chief, he has spent the last 10 years working with members of his force, various levels of government and the city as a whole, a valued member of the Toronto community through his involvement in a variety of organizations, such as Covenant House and the United Way. It would be remiss of me not to mention that the Chief, the Chief Blair and I share the same alma mater of the University of Toronto. Well, I'm pretty sure, Mr. Speaker, we weren't there quite at the same time. He certainly, and we didn't major in the same courses. He, having completed his degree in economics and criminology, I'm pleased to say that we are both graduates of that wonderful place across the street and to announce that Chief Blair hasn't really left as he's now going to lecture at the University of Toronto. As his time as Toronto Chief of Police draws to a close, I'm proud to stand in this house, join members of the PC Caucus, and I'm sure all members of the House, and ask my fellow members to congratulate Chief Blair for a very good job and a job well done. Thank you. Thank you very much again, Mr. Speaker. Again, as I introduced Farak Mir founder and President Menegades Relief Canada, I also want to raise my voice on this issue. During the last session I introduced a bill recognizing April 24th of every year as World Menegades Day in this province. I'm happy to see this bill as being reintroduced and it has the full support of the new Democrats. Menegades Relief Canada has done some incredible work in raising awareness around this very troubling and dangerous disease. It's worked towards educating people around the symptoms and dangers of meningitis. It's a charity provides counselling and support for people and families that are dealing with meningitis. It also has an important mandate of raising awareness of this disease which does not have enough awareness. Meningitis is something that can appear quite suddenly. Because it looks like the flu, it's very hard to detect and often the crucial detection in the early hours is very important in order to treat this disease. Tragically it can be fatal with one or two days. About a thousand people die from meningitis every year. Public awareness is key. It's so important that we're better informed, better aware about the dangers of meningitis and that's why recognizing April 24th as World Menegades Day is so important. By proclaiming this day we can ensure that there's a platform to ensure that there's further education and awareness around the symptoms and what can be done to address this very dangerous disease. We can ensure that no one else has to lose a loved one to this very serious and tragic disease. Again, it's my hope to see this bill passed and that April 24th would be recognized as World Menegades Day in Ontario. Thank you. Member from Sargal Age Accord. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today to recognize this week as National Organ Antition Donation Awareness Week. Tonight I'm looking forward to attending the Scarborough Hospital CAC Community Education Session on Organ Antition Donation. Can I applaud the work of the CAC to promote awareness of this important issue? Mr. Speaker, each year the lives of more than 2,000 Ontarians are saved or enhanced through organ donations. One organ and tissue donors can save eight lives and improve the lives of up to 75 others. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of people on the waitlist including 102 Scarborough residents. Every three days someone on that list dies from waiting for a transplant. Unfortunately, less than 25% of eligible Ontarians are registered as donors. In Scarborough, it's only 11%, Mr. Speaker. In 2012, a constituent of mine, Mohan Bissendale, founded the Scarborough Gift of Life Foundation Association. A double-colonial transplant recipient, Mohan's had made his mission to spread donor awareness among Scarborough's diverse community. And I want to thank Mohan and his dedicated group of volunteers for promoting awareness of organ and tissue donations. Speaker, it only takes two minutes to become a donor by signing up online via donor.ca and I encourage every eligible Ontarians to be a donor as each one of us can make a difference in the lives of so many. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I stand to congratulate the town of Gananakwe for recently being recognized as a youth-friendly community by Playworks, an organization that is dedicated to engaging Ontario's youth in their communities. The town received this award thanks to a group of seven students from Gananakwe Intermediate and Secondary School who work with the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Health Unit through the school's cooperative education program in order to determine the youth-friendliness level of the town of Gananakwe. Through the dedicated research efforts of these students, they determined that Gananakwe met the criteria necessary to be designated a bronze youth-friendly community builder. They prepared and applied for the award, which was presented to the students on March 25th at the annual Parks and Recreation Ontario Awards in Collingwood by the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. This designation acknowledges that the town of Gananakwe has a number of youth-friendly communities and acknowledges that the town of Gananakwe has a number of excellent programs and services to offer families and youth and recognizes the positive impact of community youth partnerships. I would like to thank the seven students for their hard work in making Gananakwe one of only five Ontario communities to receive this designation this year. These students were Brinn Glover, Jill Kellogg, Sierra William Selby, Brie Lackey, Ashley Mandeshear, Sydney Albertson and Chelsea High Camp. I wish warm congratulations to the town of Gananakwe for achieving this designation and again thank the students, the health unit, the town and all the other partners that played a role in making this possible. Thank you. Thank you. Merci Monsieur le Président. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. And today I am pleased to address the assembly in français because Oshawa is almost there in achieving designation under the French Language Services Act. We have until May 25th to make comments and I know we'll be successful. Oshawa is a community rich and diversified. I am happy to have the opportunity to... Oshawa is a rich and diverse community and I am very much looking forward to our designation in keeping with the French Language Services Act. I am very proud to be able to support those who really worked towards this designation. All Ontarians deserve to have equal access to public services and this is an important step in this direction for Oshawa. It has been a very arduous voyage for us as a city to get there but I really think that this really will help Ontarians in general and people from Oshawa. I think this is really a step in the right direction. Merci. I think this is really a step in the right direction. I'd like to thank everyone. Thank you Speaker. I am pleased to rise today to discuss the 11th annual Healthy Heart Day that took place in Cambridge this past Saturday, April 18th. Healthy Heart Day was organized by Dr. Shaker Pandey, a cardiologist at the Cambridge Cardiac Care Center. Dr. Pandey is committed to the overall awareness of healthy living and organized this event to provide my constituency opportunity to learn about what they can do to ensure good heart health. I joined the Survivors Walk which began bright and early to celebrate survivors of cardiac conditions. The main event opened at 8.30 in St. Benedict School and several hundred people attended to learn about natural strategies for health. Dr. Mike Laurie discussed the benefits of becoming physically fit and the keynote lecture given by Dr. Peter Lin emphasized a broad concept of healthy living. Dr. Lin encouraged participants to focus on lifestyle changes and preventative measures such as yoga and healthy eating that will enrich their lives and improve their cardiac health. Dr. Pandey's commitment to health is multi-generational. Two of his teenage sons, Arion and Avanesh, spoke at the 2015 Breathe Gala in January about their role as budding medical researchers. The Cambridge Healthy Heart Day was a huge success. I want to thank Dr. Pandey, his team and all the volunteers for their dedication to a happier and healthier Ontario. Thank you for the member statements. The member from Kitchener-Constellation. Thank you, Speaker. Yesterday I had the rare opportunity in Ontario to see what it looks like when a government puts the work into getting its fiscal house in order. While the wind Liberals wait for that day, when in the words of Justin Trudeau, the budget will balance itself, Conservatives will roll up their sleeves and make the tough decisions for a new balanced budget. Here in Ontario after the Liberal government dragged us into a have not status, we've seen 14 billion dollars in transfer payments flow from Ottawa and yet they still can't balance the budget. In fact, as the Harper government balances the books, the wind Liberals continue to increase their deficit to a level 68% higher than those of all other provinces and territories combined. Apparently, budgets do not in fact balance themselves. And while Ontario suffers through a decade-plus of Liberal waste, mismanagement and scandal, the federal surplus in Ottawa means new opportunities for Canadians. When you get your fiscal house in order, you can help families and businesses. Even as Ontario sells Ontario Hydro, or Hydro I to pay off Liberal spending addiction debts, federal Conservatives are delivering a $27 billion package of family-focused tax cuts, including an expansion of the universal childcare benefit. Now that's leadership, taking better care of people by first taking care of our economic priorities. And we must also acknowledge the legacy of the late Jim Flaherty. So while the Liberal regime digs us deeper into feed, their overspending habit tomorrow, people in Ontario can take some solace that there is one level of government looking out for them. And that would be the one on Parvon Hill with a balanced budget. Members' statement. Member from Durham. Thank you, Speaker. We are very fortunate in my right to host a number of streets, festivals and... Stop the clock, please. My patience is a little bit over when it comes to the statements. They're supposed to be dedicated to... The tradition is to dedicate it to your own writing and things that are happening in your community. I'm going to say that, now I'm going to say, and now everyone will be able to put their statements without an interruption, even from your own side. Thank you. It's one of the benefits of living in a beautiful, historic community like Durham. In Bowmanville this weekend, we will be celebrating Maple Fest and what could be more Canadian. Maple Fest gives our local business owners, producers and farmers an opportunity to meet with community and expand the efforts of Durham residents to shop locally. I welcome everyone here at Queen's Park and across Ontario to visit Bowmanville for a hot pancake breakfast, maple donuts, cheese, candy, fudge and so much more. I encourage Durham residents to buy local and to enjoy Maple Fest this Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. sharp. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much, Speaker. And as a former golf course construction supervisor and superintendent, this member statement is right up my alley. All members of the House Speaker can agree that Ontario's agricultural sector is a driving force behind job creation here in our province. The food grown on our farms in Ontario helps feed the growing population of our province, our country and the world. Farming, food processing and food distribution industry supports nearly 158,000 jobs. A crucial component of maximizing crop yield is by using fertilizers and supplements. Fertilizers need help to replenish essential nutrients in the soil that crops need. Using them in an effective manner helps crops grow while maximizing or minimizing the impact on the environment. In fact, the Canadian Fertilizer Institute is taking the lead to ensure farms across Canada are using fertilizers in a safe and efficient manner, such as the implementation of the 4R nutrient stewardship, a strategy to reduce nutrient runoff and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. The principles of the 4R nutrient stewardship are right source at right rate, right time, right place, and this has proven to be an adaptable approach to improving fertilizer reuse. The fertilizer industry is currently working with the Government of Ontario and Ontario Agra Business Association and the grain farmers of Ontario to promote these principles and to develop a larger research network to further knowledge of these impacts. In my right in Blingary Prescott Russell, McEwen Agra Centre has demonstrated leadership and recently was named the R4 retailer of the year. Together, Speaker, we can take steps to ensure crops grow strong and healthy here in Ontario by receiving the right nutrients and also ensuring that the impact to the environment is minimal. Thank you.