 It is now time for Member Statements, the Member for Algin Middlesex London. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise today in awareness of National Colorectal Cancer Month. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer to date and the second most common cancer cause of death of men and women throughout Canada. Colorectal cancer is preventable, yet thousands of Canadians are diagnosed and die each year of this disease. Majority of cases begin as benign growths in the lining of the large bowel, then move onward to other organs. Therefore, identification and removal of these polyps are critical preventing the development of colorectal cancer. Age, heredity, diet, weight, alcohol consumption and smoking all play factors to the development of this disease. More than 90% of cases occur in people age 50 and over. Sometimes symptoms are not always obvious but they could include blood in the stool, stomach pains or unexpected weight loss. The best way to prevent colorectal cancer is through preventative measures like screening tests. There are a number of screening tests available to Ontarians who may be concerned about developing this form of cancer. Mr. Speaker, 800,000 Ontarians do not have access to a family doctor and those between 1574 can access a fecal occult blood test from their pharmacy, a nurse practitioner or telehealth Ontario. Cancer Care Ontario continues to coordinate this service. In Ontario, there is a 67% relative survival ratio. Although in 2015, we saw 9,200 new colorectal cancer cases that caused 3,350 deaths. Mr. Speaker, colorectal cancer is an increasing concern and I'm pleased to note that March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the member savings, the member from Alcoma, Manitoulin. Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, and it's that time of year where hockey season and a lot of kids, they're seasons coming to an end. So there's a lot of playoffs are going on. And the Little Currant Howlin Minor Hockey Association hosted the NOHA Midget House, the Tournament of Champions on Little Currant Island and, or Manitoulin Island in Little Currant, such teams as East Nipissing, Clarion Resort, Fire Vipers, Hornpain Bears, Kirtland Lake, Gold Blue Devils, Valley East Urban Windows, Little Currant Flyers, Massey Predators, Pawasin Hawks, Tamiskaming Shore, Rooster Bar and Grill, these kids played like giants over the course of the weekend and had everybody on the edge of their seats. I was watching some of my writing in Alcoma, Manitoulin, particularly the group out of the Predators out of Massey. They had tenacity and never gave up in one of their games and continued to plug on. We had the group from the Flyers from Little Currant. They played an immense, a powerful game. They had to win to get in. There were down 6-3, Mr. Speaker, with about four minutes left. They came back to tie. There were this close from going in. But at the end of the day, it was the Hornpain Bears who got to the finals from Alcoma, Manitoulin. Kids like Eric Bafford, Silas Hoffman, Jayden Orr, Jared Trudell, Cameron Bohr, Mackenzie Kistamaker, Logan Latosti, Sawyer Stewart, Nathan Serretti, Nicholas Serretti, Curtis Serretti, Brandon Bell, Tommy Prudam. You guys played like giants. You guys played with boys and girls. There was no contact and it was great hockey, Mr. Speaker. It doesn't matter who won at the end of the day. These kids all showed end-to-end action and they showed they had the heart of gold. I didn't know the NHL was looking for a new play-by-play guy. I wasn't sure. Further member, state of the member from Beaches East York. Well, thank you, Speaker. It's my pleasure to rise today to speak about this year's winner of the Agnes McPhail Award. Agnes McPhail, as you know, is once described as the most important woman in political life that Canada has produced in the 20th century. She received a distinction as the first woman to sit in Parliament from Owen Sound and in the Ontario legislature from a writing that encompassed my area of Beaches East York. In her honour, I've asked Canada Post to put her image on a Canadian postage stamp. So the Agnes McPhail Award is given to an outstanding volunteer and contributor to community life who embodies Agnes' motto of think globally but act locally. This year, Patrick Roca won the award for his outstanding commitment to the East York community. Patrick contributes, meaning flew to the spirit of East York community through fundraising, volunteering and sponsorships. The community is pleased with his commitment because it's further exemplified by the many initiatives that Patrick supports and promotes, such as the Thorncliffe Children's Breakfast Program, the annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway, Thlemydon's New Circles and Morris Cody's Dirt to Turf project. So not only is he involved in various fundraising and community activities that support growth and development, Patrick also was the first real estate broker to become an ambassador for what? A proponent to the inaugural Wear Plad for Dad event. That was raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer Canada. And so, Speaker, I stand in the house today and formally recognize this outstanding citizen and member of the Beaches East York community and I invite all interested members to show up at East York Civic Centre on Thursday, March 24th to see the Agnes McPhail Award ceremony where Mr. Roca will be giving and receiving his award. Thank you. Thank you from the members, same as to members from Oxford. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. On behalf of the people of Oxford and the Ontario PC Caucus, I'm pleased to rise today to recognize the contribution of Oxford's George Leslie Mackay on what would have been his 172nd birthday. Mackay was born and raised in Zora, part of Oxford County, but most people agree that the island of Formosa, now Taiwan, was his home. It was where he married and raised a family. It was where he made a significant contribution to health care and education that lives on to this day. Mackay traveled to Taiwan as a missionary in 1871. He quickly fell in love with the island and embraced the culture, spending 16 hours a day studying the language. Mackay had an unusual method of outreach practicing dentistry. Over 30 years, he claimed he pulled as many as 40,000 teeth. He returned to visit Oxford a while in Canada, raised money to help in Taiwan. When he returned, he built a hospital, a boarding school for girls, a middle school and Oxford College. The college is now a museum dedicated to Mackay, the black bearded by barrier. His legacy lives on to this day. In 2001, Taiwan issued a commemorative postage stamp to mark the centenary of his death. It is there and there is now a modern Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei, a long way from the clinic he started 150 years ago. But as MPP for Oxford, I am also proud of another legacy he created, a strong relationship between Oxford and Taiwan, a legacy we honor by continuing and growing our friendship. Thank you very much for allowing me to present this. Thank you, Speaker. It is always a pleasure to rise in the House to talk about special events and the incredible people of Windsor West and the Greater Windsor Area. Today, I have the distinct pleasure of announcing that 10-year-old Maya McHale, an exceptional young lady from Windsor, is the recipient of the provincial honor of the 2016 Leading Girls, building communities' recognition certificate for exceptional leadership in working to improve the lives of others in Windsor. Speaker, this recognition is only given to young girls 18 years or younger at the time of nomination and the nominee cannot have been nominated in the past. Nominations for this recognition must be made by a member of provincial parliament and community members are needed to provide supporting references. Speaker, without hesitation, I was pleased to nominate Maya McHale for this recognition and there was no shortage of supporters from our community. Through her various fundraising efforts, such as Maya's friend's lemonade stand, Maya has raised thousands of dollars and collected vast quantities of food that has benefited the Windsor area through organizations like the Food Bank, Street Help and the Windsor Youth Center. I am thrilled to announce that Maya has been chosen as recipient for this honor and I am so proud to have an outstanding, dedicated community supporter like Maya in Windsor. Thank you. Members, statements from the member from North-South Western? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am proud to stand in the house today to recognize the 75th Charter Anniversary of the Western Lions Club. The Lions Club of Western was chartered in the town of Western Ontario in 1941. This group of dedicated volunteers have not only built a local recreation arena and swimming pool located at the Western Lions Park, but also continue to operate the arena, staff the snack bar within and manage the recreation hall facilities. The Western Lions Arena is run as a nonprofit operation to serve the community and raises money through the snack bar, a pancake breakfast at the annual opening of the farmer's market and through a partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club. The club's members are extremely dedicated and work tirelessly for their community. The Western Lions Club have generously chosen to assist a number of local community and international organizations with their programs and projects, including the Western Area Emergency Support, which is a local food bank, Frontlines, a local organization that assists youth, the TDSB Foundation for Student Success, the Lions Foundation of Canada, Youth Without Shelter, York West Active Living Centre, which has many programs for seniors, and many other groups that have been designated by the Lions Club to receive gifts totaling over $60,000, Mr. Speaker. Congratulations to the Western Lions on your 75th charter anniversary. Thank you for all that you do for the Western community and beyond. Your dedication to the land tourism and giving back to the community is truly inspirational. Thank you. Thank you for the member's statements, the member from Kirk Wellington. Thank you, Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today in recognition of World Down Syndrome Day. Today marks the 11th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day. This year's theme is My Friends, My Community. The goal is to get the world talking about how inclusive environments benefit everyone. Down Syndrome International wants to show the world how persons with Down Syndrome live and participate in the community alongside family, friends, peers, and the public. To get people talking, they are encouraging everyone to wear lots of socks, perhaps even three socks for three copies of Chromosome 21. The goal is to wear something that people will ask you about so that you can start a conversation about World Down Syndrome Day. I would like to take a moment to recognize Amy Budria who has done an outstanding job of raising awareness of World Down Syndrome Day in the Concarn area. Amy has challenged local businesses to create fun and unique window displays filled with lots of socks. She had a tremendous success and I know that many people will be having important conversations today because of Amy's hard work. We all know the power of an inclusive environment and equal opportunities to participate. Today, let's take a moment to think about what more we can do to make sure everyone has a safe and inclusive community to thrive in. Thank you, Speaker. Good job. Thank you for the member statements. The member from the Tobacco Center. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, last fall I was in Ukraine with constituents of Tobacco Center where we met with soldiers who were wounded during the Russian-backed invasion in Ukraine. These young people said that they were fighting for freedom and democracy, values that we as Canadians hold dear. Today, Ukraine is at war and the situation is dire. Russia has annexed Crimea and Russian-backed forces have invaded and occupied part of Eastern Ukraine. This war touches all of us, Speaker. Thousands are dead and one million civilians have been displaced. The soldiers I met with have shown incredible courage. They are fighting state-of-the-art equipment in many cases with outdated weapons. Many have refused medical treatment so that they can stay at the front and continue to fight. One of those soldiers, Speaker, is Nadia Savchenko. She is a Ukrainian pilot who was captured and then transferred to Russia illegally almost two years ago. Ms. Savchenko is now being sentenced on fabricated charges in Russia and has undergone a trial that even the U.S. administration has referred to as farcical. She has endured repeated interrogations and solitary confinement and recently in protest of her treatment, she undertook a hunger strike even refusing water. Canadians from across the country have been protesting Ms. Savchenko's treatment and I'd like to applaud the Minister of Foreign Affairs to find Dion who recently issued a statement calling on Russia to release Ms. Savchenko. I urge the global community, including Canada, to continue to press for her release and continue to support the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom. This is important, Speaker. Not only because Ms. Savchenko's human rights have been violated and she needs our help and not only because the war is a humanitarian crisis and the Ukrainian people need our help, but because the war in Ukraine is a threat to freedom and democracy and values that as Canadians, we hold dear. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. For the member of the State, it's the member from Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to share with you and members of this House news of a very important announcement that took place in my region last week. 15 years ago, the high-tech company, Sanvine, was just starting out. Around the same time that our local economy was in transition, we were losing low-skilled jobs, but today there's a much different picture in my region, and that is thanks to investments in innovative technology. We are seeing the growth of high-paying, highly-skilled jobs, and that growth has resulted in over 2,000 new tech companies being created in Waterloo Region, generating over $20 billion in revenue each year. That's an awful lot of jobs in a short amount of time. One such investment is at Sanvine. I was happy to welcome the Premier to Kitchener Waterloo last week to announce a $15 million investment to Sanvine to support further research and innovation. This grant is going to allow them to create 75 new jobs added to the 267 they already have, and these are high-paying, highly-skilled jobs. Mr. Speaker, Sanvine operates in a fiercely competitive global market and is now performing leading-edge work in cloud computing. You see this around the world, in Silicon Valley, in Israel, in Germany, in governments that are investing in the tech sector. By our investing in our tech leaders in my community, this is precisely why we've been able to prosper in Kitchener Waterloo. We call these the fast-runners. I am proud of them and proud of the investments that we are making. Thank you. Thank you. I thank all members for their statements. It's now time.