 It is now time for a Member's Statement. The Member from Simcoe North. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the PC Caucus, I'd like to take this opportunity today to welcome basically Catholic Education Day here at Queen's Park. There's been a strong lobby today and there's also a reception this afternoon at 5.30 down in the legislative dining room. I just wanted to read a statement, Mr. Speaker, that came in with the invitation from the Catholic Education Stakeholders. And it says here, Catholic Schools have been part of Ontario's communities for over 170 years. They are an integral part of Ontario's public education system, helping millions of students to achieve their full spiritual, academic, physical, and emotional potential. Catholic Schools respond to the aspirations and goals of approximately one-third of the interior electorate. And we are grateful for the publicly stated support of all three of Ontario's political parties. Mr. Speaker, that was signed by Thomas Cardinal Collins of the Catholic Diocese of Ontario, Kathy Burtnick of the Ontario Schools Trustees Association, and James Ryan from OECDA. And I also want to say, Mr. Speaker, at this point I had an opportunity in my writing over the last few years until his passing working with Father Carl Matthews, who was a priest, of course, and he worked diligently in getting full funding for Catholic education back in the 80s. And he became an inspiration to me and also a mentor to me on Catholic education. So I just want to say on behalf of our caucus, welcome everyone here today. I hope they take part in the activities. And I hope people have had an opportunity to meet with their Catholic representatives because they do provide a real great option to education here in the province of Ontario. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Stevens, a member from Niagara Falls. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. I'm always happy to rise in a house and talk about Niagara. Since his election, the new regional chair, Alan Kaslin, advocated for one of the biggest issues in my writing, bringing two-way daily GO train all the way to Niagara Falls. I'm happy to work with all the regional councillors, those who are turning and those that are new, and to make daily GO train to Niagara a reality. I'm happy to say that the last municipal election, we once again have united Niagara. It isn't often you can get 12 municipalities to agree on anything, but in Niagara, we've done it. I'd also like to personally thank the mayors in my writing, Lord Mayor Niagara Lake Pat Dart, Mayor Jim D. Daddy of Niagara Falls, and Mayor Wayne Reticop of Fort Erie for their continued support to bring GO train to Niagara. It doesn't matter what area they represent, who they represent, or what political party they side with. Everyone agrees we need Niagara GO train from Toronto to Niagara Falls. I invite everyone here and watching at home to join us this Friday, March 13th, Friday the 13th, at 11.30 in Niagara Falls to kick off a new public campaign to support bringing GO train to Niagara. The Premier said GO to Niagara was a high priority. The member from St. Capron's and caucus chair of the Liberal Party said he could see it coming in 2015. The people of Niagara want it in 2015. Let's bring GO train all the way to Niagara Falls in 2015. Thank you very much. Further statements? Member from Halton. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today in memory of a dear friend who recently passed away, a selfless social advocate and a true giant in the South African Canadian community. Jack Pillay, or Uncle Jags as he was affectionately known by those close to him, was a devoted father to his children, Carmine and Anisha, an adoting grandfather to Spencer. But he was much more than that. He spent his entire life working tirelessly for others. He was one of the founding members of the Nirvana Cultural Society and the Canadian African National Congress of South Africa. And he played a central role in supporting numerous organizations and social causes throughout the world, including the Stephen Lewis Foundation, Princess Margaret Hospital, Mandela Children's Fund, Oregon Transplant Research in Toronto, Earth Crack Relief in Pakistan and Haiti, and Victims of the Bulpal Gas Tragedy in India. The list goes on. The defining quality about Jags is that he was selfless, always working hard for others. He taught me so much about what it means to help others. Perhaps the most incredible thing about him was his humility. He never sought public recognition or personal gain for his efforts. He was a silent warrior, a quiet crusader and an unspoken hero. His only priority was to help others in any way that he could. The outpouring of support for Jags at his funeral last Saturday was overwhelming and it was truly an honor to have been asked to take part in his service. Jack Pillay made the world a better place and he leaves behind a legacy of leadership, compassion and kindness. Uncle Jags will be greatly missed. Thank you. Member Stanis, the Member from Sarnia Lamp. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to inform the members of the legislature that tomorrow at noon the Sarnia Lampton Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the much-anticipated Sarnia Lampton Day reception at Queens Park. The Sarnia Lampton Chamber of Commerce is the area's most influential business ag of advocacy group, representing over 1,000 businesses and over 17,000 employees. They have come to Queens Park with innovative, made-in-lampton solutions to some of Sarnia Lampton and Ontario's biggest issues. During meetings on March 10th and 11th, they were presenting ideas to members of this legislature and of the government in opposition that will drive economic growth and prosperity in southwestern Ontario. Ideas like growing Sarnia Lampton's burgeoning bio-industries, building the critical heavy-haul trade corridor, building the momentum for the Sarnia Refinery Sabre Project, increasing technology commercialization and supporting Lampton College's Centre for Health Education. Though ideas have been created in Sarnia Lampton, if they are supported by this government and members of the legislature, the spin-offs will provide all of Ontario with much-needed jobs, tax revenue and research. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all the members of Sarnia Lampton Delegation who have come to Queens Park today for this very important work. And I once again want to extend the invitation to all members and staff to join us tomorrow for Sarnia Lampton Day at Queens Park in Room 228 and 230. Thank you. Member Samuels, the member from Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. Last weekend, I took part in the Big Brother Big Sisters Bowl for kids' sake in my riding of Windsor West. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windsor Essex host this event to raise money to support their programming for young people in our community. In 2014, this event included 800 bowlers and raised over $52,000 to support five youth mentoring programs coordinated by Big Brothers Big Sisters. At this year's event, I was proud to see so many others in our community taking part, including educators from OSSTF. My team, aptly named Windsor West Orange Crush, was joined by Windsor Corrections Officers from Opsu Local 135. Good name. Although they out-fund raised me, I think I out-walled their captain and local President Randy Simpraga. I was also glad to see our local firefighters come out and show their support. I would like to add that these men and women put themselves at risk for us every day and yet still had the time to come out and support our community's youth on their night off. It's important we continue to give these emergency responders the tools they need to do their job safely so they can return to their families and participate in community events like Bowl for Kids' Sake. Events like Big Brothers Big Sisters of Windsor Essex Bowl for Kids' Sake are true community building partners and I would like to thank our community leaders for their ongoing support of this and similar events. I hope everyone in this chamber will come to Windsor and Bowl with me next year, but full disclosure, Mr. Speaker, I did Bowl over 100. That's too easy to knock down. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. International Women's Day is an opportunity to celebrate the successes and contributions of women all around the world in the past and present. On March 6th, I was able to recognize five outstanding Orléans women who have made significant contributions to our community. Janet Gray is the chairwoman of the Canadian Association of Retired People known as CARB and serve as president of the Orleans Woman Business Connection and the Ottawa Woman Canadian Club. Cathy O'Neill, vice-president, Vice-president for planning at Monfort Hospital is a leader in promoting health and well-being for women and young girls among our community. Das is a long-term, a long-time president of the Blackburn Hamlet Community Association who has engaged women in the democratic process by running in last year's municipal elections. Cathy Smart is a celebrated health icon and is known as North America's gluten-free expert who has encouraged people to live and eat out here. Last but not least, Yasmin Fathers is the president of the Bradley State Community Association where she advocates continuously for her neighbors. Congratulations to all these extraordinary women for the kindness, caring and commitment we want to see across our province. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to extend my regrets that QP Local 3900, representing teaching assistants, graduate assistants and research assistants, voted against the latest offer by York University and will therefore remain on strike. It is unfortunate that students and families who are not at the negotiating table will suffer from classes being dismissed while the strike persists. I understand that these families, some of whom are constituents of mine, rightfully have concerns and have a lot at stake. When students apply for and attend university programs, they have no intention of seeing their studies delayed and students are eager to complete the four years of study ahead of them. Strikes such as the ones occurring now at York and at the University of Toronto make it difficult for students to get the most of their post-secondary education. These strikes also have the unfortunate effect of tainting students' views of their educational institutions and their experiences attending those institutions. It is my hope that the unions and universities can resolve these work-related issues as soon as possible so that students may resume their studies. Thank you. Thank you. Further statements? The member from Berlington. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in the house today to speak to you about mental health in the workplace. We know that one in five Ontarians will be diagnosed with a mental illness in their lifetime. Further, the annual cost of mental illness and addictions in Ontario is estimated to be approximately $40 billion. The Chamber of Commerce in my writing at Berlington understands this issue and has shown great leadership with a policy resolution to the Ontario Chamber of Commerce on Workplace Mental Health. Many members of the Chamber are already showing leadership in this area, too, demonstrating that promotion, prevention and early interventions lead to a positive return on investment. Last Friday, March 6th, together with the Minister of Labor, we hosted a roundtable on Workplace Mental Health at the Berlington Chamber to engage with companies that have introduced strong workplace mental health programs for their employees and to draw upon their experiences. Leaders of businesses from all sizes, small consulting firms, to Bell Canada share best practices for accommodation and prevention. Clinicians joined us, too, as did our community foundation, which has ably highlighted this issue in its ongoing, excellent work. We heard from a representative of Kojiko about the role HR is playing to support mental wellness. We heard about Bell Canada's mission to build leaders within their company who can identify the signs of distress, start a conversation with an at-risk employee and access appropriate resources. We also heard about how the mental health dialogue is rapidly changing within the Houghton Regional Police Service. The CEO of the Ontario Psychological Association here today for a Queen's Park reception shared with us the steps that they are taking with business leaders and frontline personnel, as well. This roundtable was not the first conversation we've had on the topic of mental health, nor will it be the last. I look forward to continuing the work we've started together to make positive changes to workplace mental health, and I thank all of the leaders in my riding for their leadership on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member Stevens, the member of the Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In my riding of Kitchener Centre, we staged our first International Women's Day event this past Friday. The theme for this year is mandated by the United Nations was Make It Happen. So we invited three very successful women in our community to share with those who gathered how they make it happen every day. I asked each guest to tell us about their big life goals and who inspired them. Our first speaker was Sarah Kasselman, Operations Manager at the Sexual Assault Centre of Waterloo Region. Sarah is at the frontline of Public Service advocating for assault victims. Megan Hennessey, only in her late 20s, was very inspiring to the young women who attended. She works at a high-tech company that produces robots in Kitchener with relatively few women employed in the tech field. Megan showed us the possibilities for the future. And Karen Redman is a well-known local public figure. As Kitchener Centre's first elected female federal member of Parliament, Karen is now serving on Regional Council, sharing her know-how and continuing to serve our community. She also encouraged us to think big, not to be afraid to make lofty goals and to see the value in reaching out to mentors. Mr. Speaker, I owe a huge thanks to my staff, Shelley, Carolyn, Allison and Tony who made this event happen. Next year, we hope to stage an even bigger and better International Women's Day event in Kitchener Centre and hopefully I'll have my full voice then. Thank you. Thank you. Thank all members for their statements.