 therefore no time for members statements the member from first grade on sound thank you Mr. Speaker 27 years ago the status declared April 6th is tartan day and I'm sure an honor and celebration of the significant and many contribution of the Scottish community who are among the first people to settle and help build this great province we're proud to call home to Scots April 6th is a special day as it's when Scottish independence was declared in the form of a letter submitted to the Pope to confirm Scotland status as a sovereign state the Arboros declaration of 1320 also laid out a key principle on defending the Scots freedom and it said it is not true it is in truth not for glory nor riches nor honors that we are fighting but for freedom for that alone which no honest man gives up with but with life itself this principle is fully embraced and articulated by notable Canadians of Scottish descent including Agnes McPhail born near Chatsworth in my riding who championed freedom and self-determination while fighting for women's equal share in democratic participation McPhail became the first woman to sit in the House of Commons it's a proud herds it was also championed this house by another Bruce Grey own sound native and former MPP Bill Murdoch Murdoch as most of you know or have heard is a true Scott at heart and not because he gave into its own provincial tartan colors but because he did not like being told what to do and always pound on the partisanship in the legislature with the reminder that and I quote we get elected to speak our minds and that's what I've always tried to do I wear my tartan tie today to salute Bogner Bill and all things Scottish and I thank all of you for doing the same this week as you pay respects to our proud and strong Scottish community material thank you mr. Speaker thank you further member statements the member from Hamilton East Stony Creek thank you Speaker as the old folk song goes this land is our land this land is your land from Bonavista to Vancouver Island I think NDP MP Scott Deval had this song in mind when he started out on his cross-country tour to end pension theft tour so far he's been to Vancouver Island Lady Smith Edmonton Saskatoon and more and he's not stopping he's already started into the Ontario leg of his tour planned to be in London tonight and Toronto tomorrow night he's also planning visiting many spots in Ontario including Sudbury Thunder Bay and our hometown of Hamilton after that he'll be continuing out to the East Coast throughout the great tour the message he has shared has been loud and clear we need pension reform in this country this includes changes to our country's lopsided CCAA and bankruptcy and solvency legislation too many hard working pensioners have been ripped off and we're not going to stand for it anymore speaker I'm happy to be joining him tomorrow night at 7 o'clock the United Steelworkers Hall in Toronto if you're watching from your TV screens or in the legislature consider this a formal invitation to come out to talk about much needed pension changes I've spoken out many times in this house for the need for better pension security for Ontarians they certainly this certainly includes Sears pensioners Stalker pensioners and many more whose plans are both based in Ontario we want to see meaningful commitment made by this province this should include strengthened PBGF fund which serves as a backup relief when application go insolvent right now the PBGF fund only covers pensioners up to 1500 a month meaning that many could be living below the poverty line if this happens that is why I've always advocated the PBGF coverage for at least 2,500 a month this type of upgrade is long long overdue let's make sure our pensioners have a real voice in this province in this country see you tomorrow night their members stated the member from Kingston and the island mr. Speaker I'm honored to rise today to celebrate the month of April as be a donor month in support of organ and tissue donation awareness mr. Speaker the daughter of a dear family friend was in a fatal car crash last October while working as an au pair in New Zealand Angelica Lucas is what bright life her love of life itself of children animals her infectious smile that lit up every single room that she walked into her full and happy spirit was wiped out in a second it is hard to imagine the Lucas's family's loss just as it is hard for us to imagine the families of the Saskatchewan Humboldt Broncos hockey players Angelica's heart was donated to a woman in her 40s her lungs to a woman in her 50s her liver and one kidney to a man in his 50s pancreas and other kidney to a woman in her 30s as well as her eye tissue I would like to thank Ronnie Gapsby and Rachel Levy from the Trillium Gift of Life Network for your tremendous work and leadership I'd also like to congratulate Shalene LeBat of Kingston who received TGLN's Advocates in Action Award this year every single one of us has the power to change and save someone's life one organ donate donor can save eight lives and through tissue donation enhance the lives of 75 others Angelica's mom Anne encapsulated the importance of organ donation beautifully when she said there's an amazing heart that someone has beating in them now her heart was so big be that change that you want to see in the world and take that two minutes register at be a donor dot ca and say yes thank you member from Haldeman Norfolk speaker we congratulate the Delhi Legion Pee Wee Rep Team on becoming OMHAC champions play down saw the Delhi rockets they saw off against the Minto Mad Dogs and with the series tied at two game five was tense Minto took an early 2-0 lead that was left unanswered to the third and then there's an incredible 12-minute rocket scoring frenzy saw a final 4-2 win the quarterfiners Delhi defeated Elmer in five games the semis Eastlampton also fall to Delhi's magic and five and I defeated MPP's Randy Jeff and Monty the other Randy we can arrange some rocket jerseys to be sent up for some picks now speaker I'm told this team in spite of being down at times they never gave up they played their hearts out until the buzzer winning games at point seven eight second point eight seconds remaining these comeback kids played the final game to a pack barn and their victory still has a town of Delhi talking perhaps the team success stems from the true camaraderie as summed up by veteran centermen Carter Dwinakiewicz and I quote they were like my second family he said we all support each other we all do good things off the ice and on the ice and do what we all together since tier congratulations to the boys the coaching staff Steve Ussamans Steve Griffin Sean here and Billy Hobbs and it's obvious and not only installed skill in the team but also a genuine meeting of the sport thank you thank you speaker I rise today to speak about WSI be practices in the sometime catastrophic consequences on injured worker in October 2015 minor Corey Langshire ankle with crushed knees broken lower back injured when a rock fall occurred underground after ignoring the advice from his own doctor WSI be dimmed in fit to become a clerk and enrolled him in a college program Mr. Langshire was not able to complete the clerks program but WSI be used this partial training to deem him compensation of 1350 an hour when he used to make $51 as a minor before his work accident he states it has only been with the ongoing support of my family that I have been strong enough to stand up to the bullying that WSI be has inflicted upon me second injured worker Mr. Laurier Charter he suffered a head and neck injury in a mine he had unbearable pain in his head his arm his chest but a head scan was always denied he asked two neurologists assigned by WSI be if acupuncture might be beneficial they did not answer his question after 27 years of not being able to sleep properly because of the pain his family physicians send him to a physiotherapist he received acupuncture treatment and after few treatment his pain finally went away WSI be tells it deems it doesn't lessen it denies equitable access to diagnostic treatment speaker WSI be is failing injured workers and needs to change thank you thank you speaker earlier today I was joined by the premier and the minister status of women at St. Helens Catholic School of my riding of Davenport to mark equal payday equal payday is a symbolic day when we recognize the pyramid role that women play in our economy and the concerning reality that women on average still earn less than men from my personal experience as a mother and the first female MPP for Davenport I know that the steps taken by this government to correct the gender pay gap and the steps taken to get women back to work after long absence are vital for the health of Ontario's economy our gender wage gaps during committees top recommendation was to invest in childcare since receiving that recommendation our government has announced a hundred thousand new childcare spaces and we are making licensed childcare free for children two and a half to four because access to affordable childcare is key to gender equality at home and at work and I know that when I'm out in my community and I'm out knocking on doors in Davenport this is exactly what families are telling me I wanted to extend a warm thank you to vice principal Bucci at St. Helens as well as the coordinator of the early on center at St. Helens Antonella Tatino and to all the staff at St. Helens Catholic School for the warm welcome this morning thank you thank you Mr. Speaker today marks equal pay day in Ontario and as the PC critic for women's issues and as a PC MPP I have been fighting for women in this legislature for many years last year I called on the government to strike a special legislative committee that would work across party lines to develop amendments to strengthen the pay equity act but sadly that offer was refused by the Minister of Labor what a missed opportunity to work together to improve the lives of Ontario women and girls it is especially unfortunate because 31 years ago all three political parties in this legislature cooperated on the development of the pay equity act which ended up passing unanimously instead after having sat on their hands for 15 years ignored expert recommendations from their own advisory panel and cut the budget of the pay equity office to its lowest levels ever this government tabled and then time allocated last-minute legislation that actually does very little to advance pay equity in this province Mr. Speaker Ontario women deserve more than symbolism rhetoric and political games from their government on equal payday the PC party is proud to stand up for women and all the hard-working people of Ontario and we're willing to match our words with real results thank you very much mr. Speaker as we bring in the sea heritage month and basaki day celebrations for 2018 I would like to take a moment to appreciate and acknowledge the hard work struggles and sacrifices that the sea community across Brampton Ontario Canada and various parts of the world has made over the years the sea community is committed generous and enthusiastic towards the progress of all Ontarians and that of our great province the 200,000 strong community members are active socially politically and have achieved great success in diverse fields and disciplines it therefore pains me when the mainstream media singles out a few from the community who may have at times in the past acted in a deviant manner I see reports of the sea community being mentioned in a negative light post the India visit of our of our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau people who have not read the history and sacrifice of the sea community are calling the community members terrorist let me be very clear the sea community in Ontario and Canada respects democratic institutions and have always worked to strengthen these institutions members of the sea members of the community strive to uphold the rights and freedoms of all Ontarians the community members have made in the past and continue contributing to the economic success of our great province I'm not going to name anyone's names or discuss the fact act of a specific individual or a small French group who do not in any way represent the sea community not just in Ontario and Canada but a sizable population of the sea community resides in the United Kingdom and the United States in both the UK and USA the sea community members have always appeared for freedom of speech and upholding of democratic traditions and values no one should pass judgment on the community based on the actions of one or a few in the distance past the community shall always continue working to build a more prosperous Ontario and Canada thank you very much thank you for their members statements the member from Leonard product Lenny thank you speaker speaker the 31st annual Ontario elementary school curling championships were hosted in calm places past weekend 72 teams from across the province participating consisting of over 300 young curlers plus all their coaches family friends and spectators everyone from beginning curlers to experienced players participated with teams seated into pools and each pool competing to find a champion the tournament was split between the four sheets at the local curling club and the six new sheets installed over one of the rinks at the current place arena just for this event I'd like to extend my sincere congratulations to all the participants and especially mention the a division winner team all them of JD Hodgson elementary school in Halliburton the B division winner team stratton of Harrow public school in Harrow and the C division winner team Malek also of JD Hodgson elementary school in Halliburton I'd also like to extend further congratulations to the tournament co-chairs Brent little and Rebecca Hughes the car in place curling club the car in place arena the town of car in place and the many many volunteers who made the tournament a resounding and memorable success thank you I thank all members for their statements it's therefore time for reports by committees reports by committees