 Members' statement. A member for Hall of Unawful. Thank you, Speaker. And the Canadian Produce Marketing Association's half-year plate initiative is designed to encourage consumers to increase the portion of their meals devoted to fruit and vegetables. And, Speaker, to be frank, North America and certainly Ontario has a obesity problem. The health costs associated with overweight people is significant and promoting healthy choices is vital to improving health. So the the success of initiatives like half-year plate obviously supports eat local and certainly supports my riding, production of fruit and vegetables. I also think of the community-supported agriculture program run by Karen Farms in the Hall and Marsh. They call it the harvest share food box and in partnership with 50 other farms distributes something like 500 boxes each week. I was up there this summer last season Karen Farms shipped food boxes with 23,000 pounds of potatoes, 18,000 pounds of carrots, 15,000 pounds of corn, 12,000 pounds of apples, 10,000 pounds of onions. Rural economic growth, reducing health care costs and promoting a healthier Ontario is something that all parties should agree on. Let's see Ontario buy into this and make it part of the healthy living platform. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Member Statement and Member for Essex. Thank you very much, Speaker. As you know, Member Statements are usually used to highlight some of the good things that are happening in our writings. Unfortunately, again I have to stand here to use my time to highlight what this Liberal government is doing when it comes to education and in particular in small rural communities. Herald High School has been now put on notice that their community will lose the high school in Herald, the only one, the one that is really a foundation, a pillar of that community. It's being torn apart after 10 years of being put on the chopping block and being under threat through the ministry and through the boards of education. Speaker, I'll read to you according to the guidelines in the act in the Education Act. The Ministry of Education recommends that wherever possible schools should only be subject to a pupil accommodation review once in a five-year period unless there are circumstances determined by the school board such as a significant change in enrollment. There has not been a significant change in enrollment at Herald High. However, that high school has gone through a park review three times in the last five years, not once every five years, three times in the last 10 years, Speaker. They've been under threat. Imagine a community like that. How do you promote growth when you come into the town and your high school is always under threat of being cut? You've ripped the heart out of that community and I want to put the government on notice that the members of that community, Essex County, are going to fight this decision tooth and nail. They will have me as an advocate, but unless they change the funding formula in which you campaigned on, the one that Tori's brought in, you're going to continue to rip the heart out of communities. Do something right, change the funding formula and maintain those small rural remote schools. Thank you. Member Statement, the member for Ottawa Orleans. Mr. Speaker, 2015 has been rich in emotion. 400 years of French presence in Ontario. We celebrated and the Franco-Ontarian community celebrated in October in Toronto during the General Assembly of Franco-Ontarian. It was a good opportunity to celebrate our our roots, our history. It was an opportunity to recognize people for their contribution. Our government, through the Office of Franco-phone Affairs, gave a price to Mariette Carrier Frazier, Mary Crouden, and Ribben Berra, a young slumber. Thank you to Denis Vaillancourt and his executive director for the success of this General Assembly. They have given Jacques de Covernical from Ottawa and Élargir L'Espace was also given a price. Claudin, Claudette as well received a price. Congratulations to all the people who received a price and thank you to my colleague, Minister Mayer, for her work for the Francophonie in Ontario. Thank you. Thank you. Member Statement, the member for Napien. Thank you very much, Speaker. I rise in the assembly today to celebrate National Hispanic Day in Canada and in Spain. With all party support, October is now proudly recognized in our province as Hispanic Heritage Month. My colleague from Huron, Bruce Lisa Thompson, recently spoke in the House about the significance of that proclamation and about celebrating the rich history of one of Canada's and Ontario's most dynamic and fastest growing communities. On October 12th, Hispanic people across the world celebrated Spanish National Day or Fiesta Nacional de Espana. It focuses on the themes of peace and unity. This date was chosen to commemorate Christopher Columbus's first steps in the Americas on October the 12th, 1492. I recently had the distinct pleasure of meeting with the Consul General of Spain, the Honorable Pablo Rías Jaroba, and personally gave him best wishes on behalf of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Caucus. There are now over 400,000 first, second, and third generation Canadians of Hispanic origin right here in the wonderful and diverse province of Ontario. So on behalf of the Proficial Opposition, I hope people from across this assembly and Ontario have a wonderful Spanish National Day and a joyous month of celebrations and festivities during our inaugural Hispanic Heritage Month, and I congratulate them on their initiatives tomorrow. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Members' statement, the member for London West. Thank you, Speaker. Last week, I was pleased to attend the London kickoff of the 2015 Shine the Light on Woman Abuse campaign, which takes place every November during Woman Abuse Prevention Month. The campaign was launched in 2010 by the London Abused Women's Centre and has since spread to 20 communities across Ontario, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Niagara Falls. The goals of the campaign are to raise awareness of woman abuse by turning the city purple for the month of November. This year, more than 30 London locations will be illuminated with purple lights, including once again my own constituency office. The campaign lets women who experience violence know that their community stands in solidarity with them and that any shame and or blame they may feel does not belong to them but to their abuser. It also raises the profile of the community agencies that provide abused women with hope and help as they assert their right to live their lives free from the threat of violence. This year's launch was attended by all 12 members of the London Lightning basketball team along with team owner Vito Frigia. I want to commend the London Lightning for their strong leadership in engaging men and ending men's violence against women with their announcement that all seven teams in the NBLC will be working to shine the light on woman abuse in their respective communities. Speaker, Friday, November 13th is where purple day in London, but wherever you live in Ontario, I encourage all MPPs to wear purple in November by purchasing purple scarves from your local women's shelter. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Members, statement, a member for Ottawa South. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise in this house today to highlight the Canadian Produce Marketing Association's half-year plate initiative. The goal of this program is to encourage Ontarians and other Canadians of all ages to consume more fruits and vegetables. While it may make sense that people should be eating more fruits and vegetables, the reality is it's not happening at all. In order to help improve the health of Canadians, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association has launched a consumer-driven initiative entitled Half Your Plate. Half Your Plate will empower Ontarians of all socioeconomic groups to improve their food choices. The goal of the program is to increase the number of servings of healthy foods Ontarians eat and to demonstrate how easy it can be to choose healthy options for meals and snacks. The Half Your Plate initiative has support of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and many others. By promoting this initiative, we will be combating obesity and chronic diseases. Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for our economy. It will have a positive impact, economic impact for Ontario producers and will help reduce health care costs. I ask that you join me in supporting Half Your Plate by coming into committee rooms 228 and 230 this evening. Chef Michael Smith will be demonstrating an easy to make recipe using fresh Ontario produce. It's as easy as it sounds, fill half your plates with fruits and vegetables when you eat. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Member Statement. The Member for Siner. Thank you Mr. Speaker. On October 28, members of the Greek community from around the world commemorate Ohidae, the rejection by the Greek nation of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on October 28, 1940. The Hellenic counter-attack against the invading Italian forces at the mountains of Pindo during the Greco-Italian War and the Greek resistance during the Axis occupation. On Sunday, October 25, I had the pleasure along with the leader of our official opposition, Patrick Brown, to participate in the Greek parade along the Danforth to commemorate this historic event. The Greek community here in Ontario has thrived for over 100 years, contributing immensely to the political, economic and social fabric of our province. Be it in business or academia, Greeks have always played an important role in shaping our province's civic and cultural institutions. Mr. Speaker, using my best Greek possible, zito alas, zito to Ontario and zito to Okonaval. Very good. Thank you. Member Statement and Member for Kingston and the Islands. Mr. Speaker, on May 12, 2006, 16-year-old Sky Whitman was driving towards your Sudbury home after a late shift at work. It had been raining and suddenly the ground dropped away from beneath her tires. The car plunged and spun, bouncing violently. Sky Whitman was killed. The reason for this tragic accident was the collapse of a steel culvert under the road. It is precisely stories like skies why I am so honored to rise today to recognise Ontario's engineers and, in particular, the work done by the geoengineering laboratory at Queens. With funding from the federal and provincial governments, Queens civil engineering professors Ian Moore and Richard Brackman will be able to conduct controlled experiments with a new and much larger deep burial simulator. The simulator will be able to test how the deep burial of pipes affects their longevity. They will learn how to design and build durable, long-lasting and cost-effective buried pipe systems. It will be the only such system in the world. The research conducted at the lab will help engineers design water and sewer systems that will last longer, leak less and cause less disruption to the ground when repaired with huge savings for municipalities and the provinces. Mr. Speaker, engineers work largely takes place behind the scenes and away from the public eye. Our everyday safety depends on their skill, diligence and hard work. Last week I had the distinct honour of being acknowledged by the professional engineers of Ontario, but it is I who would like to acknowledge them for the work they do to make our communities safer every single day. Thank you. Member's statement and Member for Etobicoke Lakeshore. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's a pleasure to rise in the legislature today to tell members about the Furniture Bank, an organisation that's one of my neighbours in Etobicoke Lakeshore, an organisation that's tackling issues around poverty and homelessness. As I mentioned earlier, Manager Noah Kravitz is here with us today. Furniture Bank is a registered charity and social enterprise that's been helping people in the greater Toronto area since 1998. This organisation takes in gently used furniture and other household goods to help those that are transitioning to new home or newcomers to this country, or perhaps had a tragic fire or other loss where they lost their possessions. This organisation also provides employment and training opportunities for young people and recently Aboriginal youth working together with the Mizuwabic Aboriginal Employment and Training Organisation. They've received support from our own Ontario Trillium Fund to help them manage these initiatives that not only give some assistance but also help people find vocations for the future. Mr. Speaker, this coming week they'll be auctioning off a refurbished sideboard and rustic chair to raise funds to help Syrian refugees that are coming to Ontario and to Canada. I offer to all members of the legislature, please think of the Furniture Bank when you might have some gently used items that you would like to discard. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much.