 Therefore, it is now time for member statements to member from York's income. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about Journey to Freedom Day, a particularly important day for Canadians of Vietnamese heritage. Originally introduced in Canada's Senate by Senator Ngo who is here today, Journey to Freedom Day commemorates the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and celebrates their acceptance in Canada. Many of the refugees escape by boat, earning the name the boat people. Following the end of the war, Canada accepted thousands of refugees, new citizens who are making a wonderful contribution to our society here in Ontario. Journey to Freedom Day is a very symbolic day. It is about more than recognizing the challenges of the past. It also celebrates the contributions of Vietnamese community towards building in our great country. Today we are lucky to be joined by many Ontarians of Vietnamese heritage. It is especially an honour to have for the first time all MPPs wearing scarves representing Vietnamese freedom and heritage. Based on the Vietnamese heritage and freedom flag, the scarves design symbolizes the enduring strength of the Vietnamese community. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues from all parties will join me in celebrating Journey to Freedom Day, and I'm recognizing both the hardships the Vietnamese refugees had to endure and their many contributions to Canadian society and public life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I didn't have a member statement that day, but April 12th was the day that women achieved the vote in Ontario in 1917. And something did happen that day here in the House that was momentous. It was Girls' Government Day. I tabled a bill to make April 12th Girls' Government Day every year on behalf of Equal Voice. And there were over 50 girls here from, I think, over six ridings that gathered to talk about politics, to meet with cabinet ministers, and to see how this place works. Certainly we do this for a reason, because Canada has done a great record, Mr. Speaker, in terms of the number of women elected to public office. In fact, we're 46 in the world. Well behind most of Europe, behind Australia, we should be ashamed, and we have a lot of catching up to do. What I would suggest to my fellow MPPs, if you have not hosted a Girls' Government session in your writing, please do so. The template is there. Equal Voice has it. My office has it. It's easy to do. Your constituency staff, for the most part, can run it. It's win-win because you get to meet the principals, you get to meet the teachers, you get to meet the girls, and they get to see this awesome place. My girls also go to Ottawa. That's coming up, and they're looking forward to it. So please, if you haven't had a Girls' Government group, do initiate one in your writing. We will help. Equal Voice will help. And here's to women getting the vote. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, it's the member from Mississauga Brampton South. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I make a statement, I would also like to welcome Vietnamese Canadian leaders to the Queen's Park. Mr. Speaker, on April 3rd, Vietnamese Canadians in my great writing of Mississauga Brampton South and across Ontario and Canada will observe Journey to Freedom Day. This day recalls Canada's acceptance of more than 60,000 Vietnamese refugees who fled their homeland at the end of the Vietnam War. We remember this incredible victory over adversity. The perilous high seas journey undertaken by the refugees to finally arrive to Canada. Speaker, we know Canadians' generosity and hospitality have no bounds. We witness this again when our country welcomed 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada. In 1986, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees awarded the Nansan Refugee Award to the people of Canada, making us the first and only people to have been honoured collectively with this award. Today, Ontario is a home to over 100,000 people of Vietnamese origin. Mr. Speaker, I stand with the Vietnamese community to say thank you for the significant contributions it has made to Ontario and Canada and continues to make and to honour Journey to Freedom Day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm proud to rise today on behalf of my residents of Stormont Dundas in South Glengary to remember Johnny Whitaker and his contributions to the township of Williamsburg, South Dundas and the counties of Stormont Dundas in Glengary. Johnny was first elected to the Williamsburg township in 1954 by a mere 13 votes. He went on to serve for 52 consecutive years on the township council, including as the first mayor of the new amalgamated township of South Dundas in 1997. He also served on the SC&G counties council for 47 years, where both my dad and I had the privilege of working with him. He was a county ward in 1975. He was a South Nation Conservation Authority for 41 years and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit for 26. In addition, Johnny was a successful farmer with a herd of over 600 cows, evenly between beef and dairy, and a long time member of the choir at St. Peter's Lutheran Church. To say Johnny was not afraid of hard work would be an understatement. His former road superintendent quickly learned that you didn't take a problem to Johnny on a sunny work day, because you'd have to return that night after chores and drive him out to resolve the problem, making for an extra late night. In his 47 years of county council, he only missed one meeting, and that was because he broke his leg the night before, playing hockey at the age of 90. Johnny was a smart hockey man and avid Gordie Howe and Detroit Red Wing fan. If he had one fault, it would have been his red political leaning. Perhaps the best comment I heard about Johnny was from a fellow council member of 30 years. Rowdy Robert Gillard, who said, his life was well lived. Anyone who did know Johnny Whitaker should have. On behalf of the residents of Stormont Dundas and Vungary, I want to offer my sympathy to his wife, Audrey, and his family. Thanks for lending Johnny to us. Thank you. For the members, ladies and gentlemen from Kitchener Waterloo. Thank you, Speaker. Since the government announced funding changes three weeks ago, children with autism have voiced their concerns loudly about the irresponsible decision to kick children over age of five off the waiting list for IBI therapy. The government responds with its numbers, $333 million invested, 16,000 new spaces, only 8,000 given to families kicked off the wait list. To the enterans affected by autism, this is about so much more than numbers. It's about families and children and indeed the future of this province. But if the Liberal government only wants to refer to numbers, then let's look at some. 85% of Ontario children currently undergoing IBI age are over the age of five. In 2012, more than 14,000 Ontario public school children were identified as autistic. One in 88 children in the TDSB were on the autism spectrum. Last year, the TDSB faced a $22 million shortfall in special education funding. The Toronto Catholic Board, $43 million, supports for children with complex needs are underfunded across the province. This decision will cost school boards and teachers and school communities across this province. We can't afford not to support these families. These children can have so much to contribute to the province if we help them unlock their potential. It's not too late to fix this damaging policy. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's an enormous pleasure to welcome my friends from the Canadian Turkish community today to join us as we celebrate multicultural children's day. This day was first dedicated to the world's children by Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey on April 23, 1920 and adapted by UNICEF in 1979. April 23rd promotes love, friendship and peace, bringing together children from nations around the world to share their cultures, sing songs in their national languages and perform folk dances in their cultural costumes. As our Turkish community shares this wonderful tradition here in Ontario, it brings many children of diverse origin together and encourages them to explore the richness of cultural differences and establish new long-lasting relationships. The goal, of course, is to shape a better, stronger Canada, find the strength and beauty in our diversity and coexist in peace and harmony. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues in the House, I wish all children in Canada of all ethnic origins a very happy multicultural day. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. I would like to congratulate the awards after a very good ceremony here in Queens Park. We have to celebrate a number of francophones here in the province who have received the Medal of the Order of the Pleiad, which is the Order of Francophony and the French culture in Parliamentary Assembly of Francophony. This is to recognize the personalities that have distinguished themselves to promote francophony. And I would like to talk about one of the six recipients, Mr. Alain Baudouin, Diane Dubois, Pierre Fouché, Lauren Hamilton, Louis Patry, Carmen Portlance. Alain Baudouin is the chair of the Association of the York Region, Francophone of the York Region, and they have different events including a summer camp in the York Region. So on behalf of the Assembly, we would like to congratulate all recipients. We would like to thank them for their engagement towards francophony. Thank you, Mr. Member from Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, it is with great pleasure that I share with you and members of this House a recent experience at Kitchener's Sunnyside Public Schools Diversity Day. Now more than ever it's important to understand and celebrate the cultures around the world, especially for our future generations. Last Friday, Sunnyside hosted its third annual celebration of diversity. Students, parents, and teachers had the opportunity to storytell, watch, and dance their way through the world's continents. With over 50 different nations represented and many different languages spoken, it felt like the entire world was brought together at this school in Kitchener. My guest had an incredible story to share. Charles Muley and his wife Esther, along with 20 of the children from the Muley Children's Family Foundation, were visiting the school from Nairobi. They performed traditional Kenyan songs and dances. They're currently on a tour of Canada. This foundation helps children around the world living on the streets who face abandonment, abuse, addictions, and HIV and AIDS. The foundation ensures that they have a home, an access to health care, and a sense of belonging. Sunnyside Public Schools Diversity Day is an important and delightful tradition. In fact, at one point they were having a fashion show and these Kenyan kids decided to jump on the stage and do their own fashion show and they strutted around showing us what they were wearing. It was quite funny. Well, I hope that this tradition continues in the years to come. Thank you. Thank you. Member from Davenport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I rise today to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal which ushered an era of democracy into Europe and Latin America. The Carnation Revolution was a single-day culmination of a long struggle but was notable in that in its last stages the revolutionary soldiers and people did not use direct violence but came together peacefully to overthrow and transform the government from a 40-year dictatorship to a successful democracy. It has been said that the population holding red carnations convinced the regime's soldiers not to resist. The soldiers readily swabbed their bullets for flowers. Replacing the longest-serving dictatorship in Europe, creating democratic institutions and finding new sources of prosperity were urgent priorities for the new Portuguese regime. Nicknamed the Carnation Revolution after flower vendors handed out seasonal blooms to the soldiers, the almost bloodless uprising remains a source of immense pride for many Portuguese and Portuguese Canadians. The Association of 25th of April of Toronto has been promoting the history of the revolution for over a few decades. Earlier this week I welcomed representatives from this organization, from my riding of Davenport, along with Colonel Ruique Mirage who was visiting from Portugal and I personally thank them for their commitment and wish them a happy anniversary. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand here today as the beneficiary of the courage and compassion of so many hundreds of thousands of Portuguese men and women that helped transform Portugal into the country that it is today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the member from Durham on a point of order, I believe. Yes, point of order, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity from the lovely riding of Durham and she lives in Bowmanville and she is here visiting the legislature today. Welcome. Thank you. Welcome. Point of order, the Minister of Labor. Thank you, Speaker. On a point of order, I rise today. This is Harry Blackwell's last day as a page, but he's joined by Jack, Joan and Jack from his family, his brother, his father and his grandmother. Please welcome. I thank all members for their statements.