 It's now time for a member's statements, the member from the Lannark front of athletics and Addington. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, with each passing election we see an ever-decreasing amount of political participation at all levels of government. One of the main contributing factors cited by non-voters is their decision to not participate in elections, is their belief politicians simply pander to the electorate around election time, and are not held accountable for their words or actions through their four-year tenure. Who can blame them when parties campaigning on actions such as no cuts and a balanced budget only define a few months later deep cuts and increased public debt? My solution to this issue comes in the form of my legislation entitled the Election Amendment Act MPP Recall 2015, which I will be debating on May 7th. The purpose of this legislation is to give the people of Ontario a tool to keep their elected officials accountable by giving constituents the power to trigger a by-election when they feel their elected official no longer represents their interest, rather than have to wait for the next election. I believe with the electorate empowered in this way we would see a rise in people encouraged to participate in our democratic process, while simultaneously making the democratic process more direct, more responsible and stronger and restore the much-needed integrity to this province's political system. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Members famous? Members from Welland? Thank you, Speaker. Today I stand in solidarity with members of Opsu Local 294 in my writing of Welland and writings of fellow MPPs in Hamilton, Niagara, Haldeman, Brent, HNHB region. These members have been on strike for 12 days. My inbox has been flooded with emails from many of the constituents who are patients or families of patients that have come to depend on nurses for the irreplaceable health services they deliver day in and day out. Donna Fobert, who suffers from a destroyed skull plate from a brain tumor, describes them not as nurses but as family. She fully supports their right for a fair and quality work environment and would be on the picket line with them if she physically could. She says nobody wins when nurses cannot do their job and ultimately it's patients like her who are suffering the most. Speaker Donna is one of the 1,600 patients affected by this dispute. The CCAC responsible for contracting the work to the for-profit care partners is a publicly funded agency, but there has not been a peep from this liberal government about ensuring the hard-working healthcare professionals and support staff are treated with respect and dignity that they deserve. I stand today to request that the Minister of Labor urge care partners, a for-profit agency, to put patient care before profits and ensure patients go back to receiving the care that they need in the immediate future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today to tell you about a great charitable organization in Halton. Halton is one of the fastest growing and most affluent communities in the province and I can't think of a better place to live, work or raise a family. But we still have too many residents who face significant difficulties making ends meet in their day-to-day lives. These residents need a lifeline, a helping hand to keep them in a warm home. Since 2011, Milton Transitional Housing has been that lifeline. In fact, recently I attended a fundraiser the coldest night of the year, also the empty bowls fundraiser where they hold events to raise funds for this very important cause. For years, this dedicated group has worked tirelessly to build bridges between the short-term emergency shelter system and long-term affordable housing. They do an incredible job in building our community up and making sure that our neighbors don't fall through the cracks. That's why I was so pleased to announce last Friday that Milton Transitional Housing had received a three-year $218,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation grant. This funding will allow the organization to grow its staff, expand support services and provide greater access to affordable transitional housing in Milton by more than tripling the number of housing units from three to ten. Mr. Speaker, nobody in Halton or this province should ever have to live without a stable roof over his or her head and Milton Transitional Housing provides more than just a roof over their heads. They provide a compassionate human connection to those facing difficult times. Thank you. Thank you. Member Stevens, the member from Geron Bruce. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. I want to share today some of the repercussions of this Liberal government's mismanaged energy file, in particular the Green Energy Act, and the consequence that this act has had in my writing and possibly across the province. The Green Energy Act was introduced in 2009 and since then it has wreaked havoc across Ontario and it has increased all homeowners' yearly bills by $1,100. It has torn communities apart and really, Speaker, it's been nothing more than an absolute disaster. I want to refer to a release that I received earlier this week where it says wind lease holders may be on the hook for billions and it goes on to read a recent visit to the Registry Office in Godridge, Service Ontario, has received or revealed that a registration of $1 billion, and I'll repeat this, a visit to the Registry Office in Godridge has revealed a registration of $1 billion by a wind company on approximately 100 wind lease owner properties in Asheville, Colburn, Wallinosh, and certified public records indicate that some properties may be encumbered at least 20 times more than their farmland value or more. Speaker, this is of grave concern and I ask today if the Liberals really anticipated the results of their poor decisions back in 2009, it's time they repeal this Green Energy Act and the disaster that it has wreaked across this province. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Last Friday I hosted a celebration for the Seven Women and Girls Honoured by this year, the Leading Women and Leading Girls Building Communities Recognition Program in Kitchener Waterloo. Melanie Baker was a core organiser behind Voices Carry, an event which raised $10,000 for women in crisis in response to Bill Cosby's appearance in Kitchener. Georgia Cunningham is a vice president of SG Cunningham as well as other women in construction while donating her time to numerous causes and fundraisers. Carly George is a writer, producer and director who made a point to hire women for traditionally male technical roles when producing her play Fool's Paradise. Sarah Ingle is a wee day ambassador, student council and model UN member and was recognised by her potential by Blackberry's Build a Village Awards Program. Janice Lee is the City of Kitchener's 2015 Artist-in-Resident. She founded KW Poetry Slam, chaired Rainbow Reels Queer Film Festival and runs workshops teaching girls to express themselves through poetry. Fauzia Mazar is the founder and chair of the Coalition of Muslim Women KW which has grown to include over 100 active volunteers. She works tirelessly to encourage other women as they become community leaders. Kirsten Pendlebury is the founder of the Female Equality Matters Club at her school which fosters a passion for social justice and gender equity among her peers. I would like to congratulate all of the leading women and leading girls, recognise and thank them for the work they do to speak up, speak out and as Janice said on Friday, live a life with dignity and integrity. It was a pleasure to honour them in my community. Thank you very much. Thank you for the member's statements and the member from Newmarket, Aurora. Well, thank you Mr. Speaker. Today I rise in the house to say Aalaho Abha and joined by my colleague Reza Moridi MPP for Richmond Hill and to wish the people of the Baha'i Faith a happy Resvan. Resvan is a 12-day religious festival and is one of the most important celebrations of the Baha'i Faith, often referred to as the King of Festivals. It takes its name from the garden of Resvan located near Baghdad, Iraq. The site is historically significant as it's where Bahlaloo, the founder's faith, spent 12 days prior to his religious journey to Istanbul before declaring that he was a divine messenger in 1863. Beginning at sunset on April 20th until sunset May 2, followers of the Baha'i Faith honour the 12 days that Baha'u'llah spent in the garden of Resvan by celebrating spring and renewal of spirituality. There are approximately 35,000 Baha'i living in Canada, Mr. Speaker, more than half of them living here in Ontario. In York Region, which includes the great writings of New Market Aurora and Richmond Hill, more than 22 individuals practice the Baha'i Faith and celebrating the Festival of Resvan. I would like to wish everybody celebrating this 12-day religious festival a happy Resvan including the constituents of New Market Aurora who celebrate this festival particularly Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Farzanay, Peterson and members of the Assembly of Baha'is of New Market who are here with us today. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I'm pleased to recognize my nephew, Jason Pettipies. Jason is an avid runner and yesterday he competed in the prestigious Boston Marathon. He completed the marathon in three hours, 22 minutes and 51 seconds. This is an outstanding accomplishment. He's also proud of his fine finish and for all the work he has put in to make it to this point. Perth Wellington was well represented at this year's Boston Marathon. Local racers include Matt Feltham, A. Curl Guidi, Julie Nickel, Pete Wilson and Tammy Story. I would like to congratulate everyone who participated in the 2015 Boston Marathon and again I would like to congratulate Jason on his remarkable accomplishment. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in the house today to commemorate and remember those lost in the Katin Massacre of April 1940. The Katin Massacre was the mass execution of 20,000 Polish military officers by the Soviet Union during World War II. Mr. Speaker, for the people of Poland, Katin is the symbol policy of the Soviet system against the Polish nation. After Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union concluded their non-aggression pact of 1939 and Germany invaded Poland from the west, Soviet forces occupied the eastern half of Poland. And as part of this occupation, 20,000 Polish military personnel fell into Soviet hands and were interned in prison camps inside the Soviet Union. However, when the Polish government said that the Polish military personnel be released in order to fight the Nazis, the Soviets said they couldn't be found. And the fate of these missing prisoners remained a mystery until the Germans found the mass graves in 1943. This crime against the Polish nation decimated the ranks of the Polish military, the ruling class and its intelligence yet. And Soviet leaders insisted for decades that Polish officers found in Katin had been killed by the Nazis. It wasn't until 2000 that Russia admitted that the Soviet Union was responsible for this crime. Mr. Speaker, today I stand with the families and the victims of Katin, including my own family, having lost two great uncles there, as well as with all Polish people who still feel the haunting cloud of this atrocity. We shall remember them. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is an inspiring story I want to share with you from my writing of Kitchener Centre. It involves a group of talented young people who won big at a recent national singing competition called the 5th annual Show Choir Canada Championship. The KW Glee Club was one of this year's 14 competitors. According to their artistic director Amanda Kind, KW Glee was definitely the underdog. While their competitors were costumed in a sea of sparkles, the KW Glee Ensemble was not. As many of the youth in the 72 member choir simply couldn't afford the flashy costumes. Instead, the students wore their own clothes and called it the Urban Look. The theme of their performance was called School of Pop and the songs they belted out over 20 minutes included Pop 101, Uptown Funk and Shake It Out. I can't say that I know any of these songs but I'm sure it was fabulous. It was clear that the audience and the judges were evaluating based on substance rather than sequence. On hearing their name called as the first place winners the young singers fell to the ground with relief noting that this was a wow moment in life. In addition to winning a big trophy KW Glee also received a gift certificate from Yamaha which will help them to buy microphones and other equipment. Mr. Speaker, I'm so proud to serve title of Grand Champions and I look forward to many more creative performances in the coming years. Thank you. Thank all members for their statements.