 Now it is time for member statements the member from Nipissing Very much speaker over the winter break I was able to join a number of MPPs on an instructional and quite emotional Visit to Israel and no speaker. There were no taxpayers dollars involved Thanks to the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs for hosting our group Sarah Leften Maddie Mararu and Rachel Chirkov gave us a great insight into the past and current situation involving both Israel and the Palestinian Authority our guide Leanna Rothstein gave us a detailed profile and analysis over the course of the eight-day trip to Jerusalem the Golan Heights overlooking Syria and Tel Aviv we heard from political scientists Canadian Embassy representatives the former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority journalists from all sides security experts members of Parliament various ministries staff and several high-tech companies Thanks to their collective depth of knowledge and ability to share this information What I knew going in and what I knew when I left are two very different things Speaker this was an important and informative event for me, and I'm sure for my colleagues as well Thank you very much. I am thankful that I have a mother who encouraged me to challenge the status quo and encouraged me to enter politics I'm thankful for women who march and women who mentor. I'm thankful for leaders who challenge misogyny Individuals who hold established powers to account an organization such as Equal voice that are working to change the political landscape for the better I am thankful for daughters of the vote who will experience the emotions and energy of politics and because of this experience Will not allow gendered barriers such as harassment to interfere with this intense call to public service I see ambition Assertiveness and restless restlessness in these daughters and it inspires and I see it in all of you Even when you don't see it yourselves the power of a principled voice the drive for real change I see in these daughters of the vote hope hope as we establish male allies for equality Hope for a society where every child regardless of gender race Religion creed or economic status can reach their potential and hope for an electoral system Where every vote will count and women will see themselves reflected in the governments They elect and where women's rights are not debated for political points I see the daughters of the vote is the beginning of this movement Towards equality and justice and I'm thankful for this small but mighty revolution It is long overdue and just in time Thank you speaker I Rise today to tell you about how grateful I am that the province officially recognizes February as black history Personally, I'm grateful because it reinforces the pride and satisfaction I have about the many important contributions the black community has made to both Durham region The province and to a great country over the course of the month I have had the pleasure of attending various events in my riding of Durham as well of throughout Durham region To celebrate back black history month and its significance in our community I am so proud of our tradition of gathering to celebrate the hard work and contributions of black people to the province of Ontario There are so many examples of the contributions made to Ontario by people from the Caribbean and African diaspora I personally think of Lincoln Alexander the first black MP the first black cabinet minister and the first black lieutenant governor of Ontario And of Leonard breath weight the first black MPP elected in 1963 Paving the way for people like me from the cultural perspective Our community has such as a Jamaica Canadian club called caribb UIT African Student Association To name a few who have done so much to celebrate the vibrant black culture We have had in the writing of Durham these groups and the many more exemplary black individuals We have in Durham have helped to build a stronger region and province And we should be proud to celebrate that throughout this month and throughout the whole year And for the rest of the year mr. Speaker. Thank you very much Well, thank you mr. Speaker and cunhey fat Choi on behalf of the Ontario PC caucus and our leader Patrick Brown I want to take this opportunity to offer warmest wishes to everyone celebrating the lunar new year The year of the rooster officially began January 28th So for the last several weeks festivities have been underway for Canadians of Chinese Korean and Vietnamese heritage Many of my colleagues and I had the opportunity to participate in celebrations across Ontario As always it has been an honor to be a part of the wonderful traditions of Chinese New Year Soul and tech while the form of the celebration may differ from culture to culture in place to place It is always an occasion for communities to gather enjoy wonderful food express gratitude and celebrate the opportunity of a new beginning Here in Ontario this spring festival enriches our culture Brightens our winter and reminds reminds us of how blessed we are by the diversity of Ontario I hope this year of the rooster will bring happiness health and prosperity for all gungshui fat chai chungman namoi Further member statements the member from Timmins James Bay. Well, thank you very much speaker I last Friday decided I would let people know by way of Facebook that the legislature is coming back and Encourage people to send me their stories in regards to what's happening with their hydro bills. Mr. Speaker It is unbelievable. It's just the the the the anger that people express when they're communicating their frustration with hydro Is beyond the pale, but I'm not going to read word for word, but there's a couple that I thought I would share one is One particular individual says, you know, aside from what's happening in his house where his hydro bill has gone up in price He's a volunteer in the Camus kosher ski hill and to pay the hydro to run the ski hill is getting to the point where? Will the ski hill remain open? He raises the issue what happens to arenas Keeping arenas open in small communities across Ontario So our kids can go out and skate and play hockey and do figure skating is getting to be quite onerous because of the price of Electricity I have another lady who sprites me and says My hydro bill used to be about two hundred and fifty dollars a month. I forget her first name be a Bianca Dunn Says her hydro bill was about Two hundred and fifty dollars a month somewhere around there long on the shore to the story She's not electrically heated. She's heated by gas But she uses a pellet stove in order to save on that or hydro bill now is Four hundred and twenty dollars last month compared to what it used to be This is just the tip of the iceberg mr. Speaker We got to do something to bring hydro prices down because people have had it. They can't pay it no more Well, thank you speaker at midnight last night I found myself on Danforth Avenue in my great riding of beaches east York Celebrating with my Bangladeshi community You may know that Bangla is the second largest language spoken first language spoken among my writing and I was there with representatives of the federal government Bill Blair and my own counterpart Nathaniel Erskine Smith Mayor John Tory took the time to show up and it was fantastic to have them out there in Support of the community earlier in the day I was at a center called Bangladesh center and community services with my good friend the minister of Research innovation and science and it was wonderful to have him there to celebrate with dr. Reza Mahab and has seen a cutter who's the executive director and and Dr. Murady had was the keynote speaker and he was so appropriate to be there because this is the individual who in a Private member's bill a number of years ago had us recognize unanimously in this house In an match international mother language day Earlier in the day I was out in Scarborough with the Bangladesh literary research center Supratakumar Das and there I had a chance to speak at length about the trials that our indigenous people have faced in our Country where we too tried to remove culture from our indigenous people by depriving them of the right to speak in their language And this was the what faced the people in Bangladesh when he's been the Pakistani government said that the official language would be Urdu We will be hearing more about that layer. I just wanted to ride say thank you to the community for the great support They had in recognizing mother languages all across this world. Don't even buy Speaker it wasn't much of a family day for parents from seven elementary schools in my riding That's because they didn't spend the day having fun with their children Instead they worked on presentations to save their children's schools from being closed by the upper Canada District School Board Unfortunately, that's not new for them Parents have spent thousands of hours away from their families since the board's accommodation review process began last fall They've done incredible work developing ideas to keep our rural schools viable But as I feared when this process began they were ignored last week the board tabled recommendations That would devastate rural education in Leeds, Grenville if trustees approved this short-sighted plan next month Seven elementary schools in my riding will close That's one in four of the board's elementary schools in Leeds, Grenville. That's right speaker one in four Today I'm on behalf of these communities that stand to lose so much I'm calling on the Minister of Education to put a stop to this It's time to get off the sidelines minister to and stop professing confidence in this ridiculous process Speaker she must act immediately and put a moratorium on school closures That's what we need a provincial strategy on the future of rural education But we can't plan for the future if this minister does nothing and allows trustees to close schools today For seven school communities in my riding. There is no tomorrow Thank you A rise today to share an important milestone in Scarborough agent court this Saturday February the 25th the Royal Canadian Legion Scarborough Centennial branch 614 will be celebrating the 50th anniversary The Royal Canadian Legion is Canada's largest veteran support and community service organization with over 400 branches across Ontario alone The Royal Canadian Legion advocates on behalf of veterans including serving military and RCMP members since 1967 branch 614 has been a central community partner in providing support for Scarborough veterans and many of whom's Valently served Canada in World War two branch 614 is over 400 members strong and one of the most diverse Legions in Canada I recently met with the veterans who serve under the British in the Hong Kong during Second World War They include John Fung the chairman of the Hong Kong ex-soldiers Association of vice chairman Chin Tam mr. Speaker for over 30 years branch 614 has collaborated with other Scarborough legions and donated over $100,000 to support Scarborough Hospital Mr. Speaker, I also want to recognize a legion branch 614 President Wayne Hayes and the legion members for the service to the community this year also marked Mr Hayes 10th anniversary as legion branch 614 Presidents and look forward to this Saturday celebration and thank you mr. Speaker Thank you speaker, I want to tell the house about the man from Wapus in many ways He's the man who built Wapus in Prince Edward County if you go down County Road 8 past the Wapus pub and marina You hit the intersection with bond guards crossroad It's at this intersection of the world that Grant house Plied his trade unfortunately. We lost grant over the winter break. It's at that intersection Though that the county cider company stands as testament to my friend and his hard work to prove not only that good things grow in Ontario, but you can't beat the things that grow here Canadian legend is full of these larger than life characters When Grant died I said that he reminded me of a character from a Stomp and Tom Connors song Everything about him was as Canadian as the apples that he grew from that big hand of his that was always Outstretched in a friendly handshake to his pride in the community that he called home Grant dedicated every waking hour And I think Jennifer would probably tell you some of his sleeping ones too to making sure that he produced only the best Cider he was so proud of the county mr. Speaker that he put it right there on the label of his ciders It was on the tap whenever Grant was pouring from a keg either here at the legislature or trade shows across the province Since 1995 only the best came from the farmhouse where the bond guards crossroads meets County Road 8 He was a giant and not just because of his stature when I rode into the Picton Gazette after his passing I said that an MPP has a thousand teachers There are people in your community that do their level best to stay in your ear and educate you on any given topic And for me that was Grant. He produced County Cider mr. Speaker renowned around the world. Thank you I thank all members for their statements