 There for a time for member statements the member from Oxford. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker today many Canadians of Chinese Vietnamese and Korean heritage will be celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival with their family and friends. On behalf of the people of Oxford and the PC caucus I'm pleased to offer best wishes to everyone celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival as it's often known. This is an ancient festival during which gratitude is expressed for good harvest and abundance and togetherness with family as celebrated. I am looking forward to upcoming events with our friends in the Taiwanese community later this week as we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Oxford is proud of the strong relationships we've had with Taiwan since George Leslie Mackay traveled there from Embro in late 1800s and became one of the most well-known Canadians in Taiwan. In fact Mr. Speaker on March the 21st 2018 Kai the Biberian the George Leslie Mackay story will celebrate its opening night and world premiere at the Embro Town Hall on George's 174th birthday. I would also like to wish a happy belated birthday to George's granddaughter Margaret Mackay who recently celebrated her 98th birthday. I'm sure families from many communities around Ontario will be coming together to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some will bring mooncakes, some will be sharing fruit and gifts and others will be lighting and hanging lanterns. It is in the spirit of celebration and togetherness that we wish them all the best for a happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Thank you Speaker. People across the province are wondering about the impending visit of American Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and why this government would welcome someone whose platform is to publicly, I used to undermine publicly funded education and funnel public dollars into private pockets. Betsy DeVos is part of an administration that dropped protections for trans students. She shields private schools that discriminate against LGBTQ kids and children with special needs. She has cut work-study opportunities, cuts billions out of the education budget and attacks civil rights on post-secondary campuses. I understand we want to build trade relationships. I understand she's the Secretary of Education in the United States so have your meetings. It doesn't mean we have to welcome her with open arms. We need to make it clear to her that strong public schools are inclusive spaces where all children should feel safe and able to learn. The message we send to our students should trump the message we send to Betsy DeVos. Inviting her into our classrooms says we condone her exclusionary views. I will always defend accessible inclusive public education which ensures better futures for all our children. Your liberal government under funds our students and their futures. You sold off Hydro One and cut a revenue stream that funded healthcare and education. You aren't fairly funding our special needs students or strengthening public systems and you can't say you do when you sell off our public assets for parts. Our schools deserve better. Ontario educators and students are amazing. I don't worry about the fabulous impression we will make on the Secretary of Education. I worry about the influence she could have on this government. Public education should not be for sale. Thank you very much speaker and in my member statement today I'd like to honour two members of my community. David Hollinger and Doug Gibbons. This past weekend at the Kitchener Waterloo Sertoma Club David was awarded the Service to Mankind Award. David has lived his life as someone always willing to give to other people. Often performing work to help inspire youth. Serving on the board of governors for Conestoga College and fundraising for local charities and community projects. David is now retired and he still volunteers for One Roof and Kitchener. This is a support centre for youth in crisis. He also helps to run the volunteer coordinated festival of lights in our community called the Wonders of Winter. He spends at least 600 hours a year volunteering at the Wonders of Winter alone. The other recipient Doug Gibbons was also honoured this weekend as the Serto Man of the Year. Doug has been involved in many activities but primarily with our local speed skating club for over 20 years and coaching for 10 years. Doug has been a bingo chairman for the last 15 years and a minor soccer team coach for 30 years. Speakers it is community builders like Doug and David who make Kitchener Waterloo such a great place to live. I congratulate them and it is my pleasure to praise them here today. Thank you. Thank you for the member statements. The member from Carlton, Mississippi Mills. Thank you Mr. Speaker. This statement is on marijuana selling. At the Trillium Party we understand that small business is the backbone of Ontario's economy. We know that small business creates 75 to 80% of all the jobs in Ontario. If small business thrives Ontario thrives. We are strongly opposed to the government's plan to sell legal marijuana through a large single desk LCBO type government monopoly agency. We strongly support selling legal marijuana through regulated independent small business outlets. This will be competitive and it will be effective, efficient and the lowest cost service to consumers. And it will be safe because it will be regulated. The competition that comes from a free market from a free market economy will encourage consumers to use safe regulated marijuana because it will be at a competitive price. This lowest price will provide competition for illegal sellers of unregulated and unsafe marijuana. It will be safer for consumers. Thank you. Thank you for the member's statements. The member from Niagara West Gladwell. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I rise today to speak to a tragic reality occurring in the island in the country of Iceland and to draw attention to a concerning rise in lack of respect for human value, dignity and worth for those individuals and families impacted by Down syndrome. Earlier this year the American broadcaster CBS reported that Iceland is eliminating Down syndrome through the use of abortion. CBS reported that almost 100% of unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted in Iceland. Mr. Speaker, the reality is that Iceland is not eliminating Down syndrome, they are eliminating people. I had the chance to meet with the Niagara Down syndrome society last month and we talked about the enormous social, economic and cultural contributions individuals with Down syndrome have brought to the Niagara region and all of Canada. I was proud to meet with them and stand with the families and individuals who live with the struggles that Down syndrome can entail. The article that CBS released which details what is occurring in Iceland bears a headline which asks the question, what kind of society do you want to live in? I know what my answer is Mr. Speaker. I want to live in a society where individuals with Down syndrome are cherished, loved and respected. I want us all in this legislature to work hard to make Ontario a society where individuals with Down syndrome are recognized for their unique gifts, valued for their rich perspective and treated as equals by a society that esteems them. Join me in that work. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. I rise today in support of education workers and families in Ontario who are extremely concerned and disappointed that this liberal government has agreed to host President Donald Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation President Harvey Bischoff stated that Betsy DeVos' visit is alarming and an affront to our members that Ontario would allow someone who openly promotes a corporate assault on public education to visit schools in our province. This visit is insulting to education workers in this province. We know that Ms. DeVos believes in publicly funded private schools which is something new Democrats will never stand for. Worse than that, she has targeted transgender students and rolled back policies for addressing sexual assault on post-secondary campuses. Why should Ontario schools, education workers and students entertain a guest who is so out of touch with the rights and values that we hold dear? As a parent of a child in one of our high schools, I am appalled by this liberal government's decision. Why would we expose students to someone who doesn't support the very things that we try to instill in our children? Things like acceptance and equality. This liberal government must listen to the teachers and education workers of this province and revoke their invitation to Ms. DeVos. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I'm honoured to rise in observance of Cyprus National Day and recognise the 57th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus is a small Mediterranean country with a population of almost 800,000 people. The friendship between Canada and the Republic of Cyprus goes back over 50 years when Cyprus asked UN to create a peacekeeping force. Canada's peacekeeping operation in Cyprus from 1964 to today is one of Canada's longest and best known overseas military commitments. As we celebrate Cyprus National Day, we also need to remember the sacrifice of the 28 fallen Canadian peacekeepers that paid the ultimate price in our country's efforts to bring peace in Cyprus. Cyprus National Day is the time to recognise Ontarians with Cyprus heritage whose customs have become a part of a cultural fabric who have contributed to the growth, prosperity and vibrancy of Ontario. To celebrate this occasion, Mr. Speaker, the legislature will be raising the Cyprus flag at Queen's Park tomorrow, October 5th, at 12 noon. There will be many special guests in attendance, including the High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus in Ottawa, His Excellency Pavlos and His Thadias. I would like to thank my constituent, Christina Emma Galitis, the President of the Cyprus Federation of Canada, for organising tomorrow's Cyprus National Day celebration at Queen's Park, and for the 50 years of friendship between Canada and the Republic of Cyprus. And finally, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to extend best wishes to everyone celebrating Cyprus National Day. Thank you. Thank you for the member statements. The member from Renfrew University, Pembroke. In 1967, Algonquin College in Pembroke welcomed its first 16 students, primarily in evening courses taught at what was then Champlain High School. The following year, full-time programs began with 49 students in classes that included business administration, general technology and architectural drawing. Later, a permanent location was found at the site of the former Maple Leaf Dairy, which, after modifications, would serve as home to the campus until 2012. The campus would grow and continue to offer more and more programs and opportunities for post-secondary students. Today, it offers 21 full-time programs at its waterfront campus, the most magnificent college location in the province, in my unbiased opinion. Its growth continues this fall as registration topped 1,000 students for the first time. An amazing accomplishment from its humble beginnings some 50 years ago. Its Renaissance Square waterfront campus, which opened in 2012, was indeed a game changer and has helped turn Algonquin Pembroke into a destination college. Since opening, it has encouraged other economic development, including the building of three independently owned student residences providing 170 spaces. These are much needed because approximately 50% of Algonquin students come from outside Renfrew County. Yes, Speaker, Algonquin has come a long way. I would like to thank the visionaries, such as Bill Kutchke, who saw the potential, the opportunities and benefits of establishing a college in Pembroke. I also want to thank the leadership teams, faculty and staff, both past and present, for continuing to make Algonquin a special place and one of the true jewels of the city of Pembroke and the county of Renfrew. Thank you very much. Thank you for their member statements, the member from Davenport. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. October is Hispanic Heritage Month in the province of Ontario. For the third year in a row, Hispanic Heritage Month will honour the more than 400,000 Ontarians of Hispanic and Latino descent and serve as a chance to remember, elevate and educate future generations about the achievements of our Hispanic Latino community. Today, the Hispanic Latino community is one of the fastest growing and most diverse groups in our province, and I'm truly humbled personally to represent 10,000 members of the Hispanic Latino community in my riding of Davenport. The Hispanic Latino community continues to contribute to our province's prosperity. They start and build businesses, volunteer, contribute to Ontario's cultural and artistic landscape. In May of 2015, my first bill as an MPP, Bill 28, an act to proclaim the month of October as Hispanic Heritage Month, was passed in the Ontario Legislature, and by proclaiming the month of October as Hispanic Heritage Month in Ontario, our province recognises the rich contributions of Hispanic and Latino Canadians to our social, economic and political, multicultural fabric. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to urge all members to join me this afternoon, later today, for a reception in the Government Caucus Room to enjoy an exhibit showcasing art from the Hispanic Latino community and recognise and celebrate the third Hispanic Heritage Month in Ontario. I'm truly grateful that I was able to make Hispanic Heritage Month a reality in Ontario and welcome all members to participate in the festivities across Ontario. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. The festival tradition goes back over 3,000 years when it coincided with the harvest. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated by the people of China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam. In the Chinese culture, it is believed that a full moon is a symbol of peace, prosperity and family reunion. To celebrate Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional foods such as Songpyeon, which is rice cake and Yaju, which is rice wine. Here in Ontario, eating moon cakes, other sweet treats is just one of the many traditions associated with this festival. Mr. Speaker, I urge all members from both sides of this house to join me in celebrating this important festival. Once again, let's unite to send a collective message that in Ontario, cultural diverse is our strength. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank all members for their statements.