 Therefore, it's time for members statements, the member from the honours. Speaker, what a week there has been in Ottawa. As the Ontario representative on the Canadian Region Steering Committee for the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians, I have the absolute honour of being in Ottawa for the daughters of the vote. And Speaker, you would be so proud of these ladies. There were 338 women from every riding in this nation, standing tall in the House of Commons. They were passionate, they were eloquent, they were thoughtful, they were progressive, they were 4-H members and they were ready to be heard and to be and proof that they deserve to be in that House. There were so many highlights. There were girls that spoke about poverty, mental health, climate change, affordability, accessibility for the disabled, for the folks that are disabled or have disabilities, I'll put it that way. And this one lady really stuck with me in the sense that she goes, I have to fight every day just to get around. I don't want to have to fight for equity in education. There was Samantha from Sault Ste. Marie who asked for equity in education for her Indigenous community. There was Ginger Uber who spoke about the importance of supporting rural Ontario and jobs and industry and agri-food businesses, couldn't have been prouder of that. And then there was Trina. She asked for all of us. She asked where are the non-Indigenous allies? We need help with youth suicide. Speaker, these ladies were awesome and I would just want to say to every member in this House, if you have yet to have a young lady volunteer to come here to Queen's Park on April 12th, please get out there, let them know there's an opportunity for them to have their voice heard right here in Ontario. Thank you very much. Further member, status member from Canora Rainy River. Thank you Speaker. My offices have been inundated with correspondence from constituents from across Canora Rainy River who have painstakingly tracked their ever-rising hydro bills. A retired couple from Dryden wrote to me and said, quote, our house is only 802 square feet. We heat with natural gas and the hot water tank is natural gas, too. We have no air conditioning, the garage is not heated and I don't plug in any vehicles in the winter. There is just my wife and I living here. Despite conserving as much as they can, their bills have nearly doubled. A family in Sioux Lookout who pride themselves on being energy-conscious, who only use their washer and dryer at night or on the weekend, have a setback thermostat and use LED lights, showed me bills that have risen by more than 119%. Northerners agree that electricity is not a frill. It's an essential part of our daily lives. But they don't need another 30-year mortgage with a four-year guaranteed rate. Northerners are looking for this government to actually fix the mass it made and to make changes that will permanently lower hydro rates, like returning hydro one to public hands, equalizing rural and urban delivery rates, capping private profit margins and ending the time-of-use billing to start. The Premier says that she understands that people are looking for lasting relief built on real change. So won't she show us a plan that does exactly that? Thank you. The Minister of Education is short. Well, thank you, Speaker. I'm delighted to rise today to talk about an event I was at on Tuesday when we announced the LCBO and Summer Hill and Young, the Small Cidery and Small Dissilery Support Program. It is a culmination, Speaker, of about two years of my advocacy on this side of the House for these changes. And my involvement began as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and a visit to Toronto Distillery in the junction where I met Charles Benoit, a true pioneer of craft distillery production. And there I learned of the very grave difficulties the craft spirits industry was facing, trying to compete with large distillers. And I made a vow to him that I would work hard to try to assist him. I also met up with a group from the cider industry, Nick and Lindsay Sutcliffe, their palmies cider. And they made it very clear how it was important for them to be on a level playing field with craft beer. And that reminded me that about 38 years ago, almost 40 years ago, I participated with the campaign for Real Ale Canada and helped create the laws in Ontario that allowed craft beer to flourish. And I knew we had to do the same for craft ciders and craft distillers, create a level playing field. So this new program will, of course, provide $4.9 million over three years and allow individual ciders and distilleries to get up to $200,000 in support rebase based on what they sell. I'd like to give a shout out to Mike Heintz, owner of Junction 56 Distilleries, and Don DeMonte, the treasurer and association and founder of Lastraw Distillian Vaughn. On the cross, side or side, I want to thank Thomas Wilson, the new president. They're doing a great job. It's good for business. Good. Thank you for the members, thank you to the members from the two private hastings. Speaker, I want to share with members of the House an issue that realtors in my riding won't stop talking to me about. Whether I'm watching a hockey game at the SROC arena in Wellington or sitting at a chamber of commerce breakfast in Belleville, a realtor will without fail come up to me and ask me when I'm reintroducing my bill, allowing realtors to incorporate in Ontario. Personal corporations are an important tool that allows small business owners to retain more pre-tax income. Realtors are pillars of their community speaker. When I'm at a special event in Picton or a hospice gala in Bancroft, realtors are not just in attendance. Their brokerages have usually sponsored the events or they're using their Rolodex to make sure people are buying tickets. Other professionals in Ontario are allowed to incorporate including chartered accountants, lawyers, health professionals, social workers and mortgage brokers by giving realtors the same ability. Some of the money will go into their business, but a lot of it will end up going back into the community. Not only are the majority of professions allowed to incorporate, but other provinces including BC, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba all allow realtors to incorporate. Unfortunately, Ontario continues to lag behind and that's why I introduced the Tax Fairness for Realtors Act yesterday. I've had the opportunity to introduce the legislation in the past. I want to thank the member from Eglinton Lawrence and Kitchener Waterloo for cosponsoring. This time, the Tax Fairness for Realtors Act will amend the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act to enable realtors to form personal corporations. I ask for the legislature to support me. On March 23rd, thank you. Thank you. I remember the statements, the member from Tobacco South, North. We've got it all, Speaker, North and South, but technically North. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. First of all, I'd like to thank our staff, Sinead and Mora for allowing me to share once again the cascade of new developments that are coming to the community of Tobacco North. I'll talk in two sectors, Speaker. One is on healthcare and one is on transportation. In terms of healthcare, we're very proud to announce the $358 million development for Tobacco General Hospital. Speaker, as you can imagine, there's a long list of things that are going to accrue to the community, State of the Art Emergency Department, intensive care unit, critical care unit, new maternal newborn unit, ambulatory procedures unit, cardio diagnostics, neuro diagnostics, and actually it's going to be a 250,000 square foot addition of new space. We're actually, I think, quadrupling the footprint of Tobacco General Hospital. So that's fantastic news for the community. As well, a $2 billion transportation expansion, the Finch West Light Rail Transporter LRT, it's going to have eight, Speaker, eight stops right in the riding of Tobacco North. They are Islington, Kipling, Stevenson, Albion Road, Martin Grove, Westmore Highway 27, all the way going up to Humber College, which, by the way, also is a beneficiary of a $90 million grant from various levels of government, including our own. Speaker, all I can say in conclusion with its transportation, healthcare, education, Tobacco North, like its member, is on the move. Thank you, Member States, Member Perth Wellington. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today is a happy day for Ontario's craft distilleries. This afternoon, we will be debating the Free Myriac, introduced by the member for Gleaves Grandville. Bill 50 expands market access for craft distilleries through the LCBO network. It provides tax reliefs through a graduated tax rate. Welcome relief, I might add, after the Liberal government's tax grab with a new job-killing distillery tax. It allows craft distillers to sell their product directly to bars, restaurants, and consumers, cutting out the middlemen. And it allows for on-site sales spirits by the glass. Visitors to our wonderful craft distilleries, including Junction 56 in Stratford, will surely appreciate this. Last year, I toured Junction 56. Mike Heitz and his team are making an enormous contribution to their industry and our community. We need them to succeed. For a long time, we've called on the government to level the playing field for Junction 56 and many others. Now, the government recently announced some good ideas from the Free Myriac. But their move is a half-measure. It's bathtub gin. Bill 50 goes farther. It better supports craft distillers and gives consumers more choice. That's why the Ontario Craft Distillers Association endorsed it. I think members of all parties should follow their lead. That's something we can all raise a glass to. Thank you, Speaker. For the members, David is the member from Timmons James Bay. Merci beaucoup, Monsieur le Président. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will have the opportunity to talk next week with Caposcois Cheese Factory and Capos Casing. And we have already met. We want those small cheese factories to be able to send their cheese by mail in the province and outside. It's not supposed to be the same rules as milk. If you use one of those, you take one of those cheeses and you put it in the fridge at five degrees. Well, you take away the flavor of the cheese. So those cheeses could be transported, like they do in France, like they do everywhere in Europe, in another way. They are not made to be refrigerated. They're made to be moved at a higher temperature. So we are going to talk about this next week with the Porcupine Health Unit, and I said it in English, because it's not a bilingual organization. So we will meet them. We will have a second meeting to see what we can do at the local level, so that we can have changes. And the Minister of Agriculture said he is ready to make these changes. So if you go through Capos Casing, stop at Capos Cois Cheese Factory. They have the best craft cheeses that you will eat anywhere, including France. Thank you. Merci beaucoup for the member statements, the member from Ottawa South. Thank you very much, Speaker. And, Speaker, you know, we've seen in British Columbia the effects of opioid use and addiction and how they continue to negatively affect the community. And we see those impacts, Speaker, in our communities now. We read stories about the serious consequences that drugs, opioids, things like fentanyl, have in our communities. This is a really serious challenge in our community, Speaker. And opioids, especially fentanyl, are destructive and lethal drugs. Fentanyl is 80 times more powerful than morphine. I was at a community meeting last week, Speaker, and the father of a son who had been addicted to opioids for the last five years said this, said that, the first pill can kill you. The second pill can kill you. The third pill will destroy you. This is a community challenge, and it requires a community response to address this emerging challenge. In particular, parents of teenagers and youth need to understand the resources that are available to them, and we need to utilize our capacity and address any gaps that we have in the needs of our community. I'm very pleased that the Premier made a $2.5 million commitment to support our local plan to deal with opioid addiction and overdoses. I know we're working very hard on getting nalaxone into the hands of first responders. And in that spirit, Mr. Speaker, there's many community meetings being held in my community. There's one in Ottawa at Gleed Collegiate. There's a few more. I will be hosting one speaker on March 27th, Monday evening, a community information meeting for parents, grandparents, youth, and anyone who's interested to come and find out the answers to their questions and what we have in our communities. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Further member Stainless, the member from Niagara West Glenbrook. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As always, it is a great honor to stand in the legislature and speak on behalf of the fine people of Niagara West Glenbrook. I stand today to plead with the government to impose a moratorium on school closures across Ontario. In my riding, Beamsville District Secondary School, Grimsby Secondary School, and South Lincoln High School are being pressured to close by this government, a government that fails to recognize the importance of our rural schools. Schools under capacity are ongoing occurrences in rural and small town Ontario. But instead of helping to keep students in their own communities, government and school boards seem to have lost touch with communities. The bigger is better approach, shifting funding from small schools to larger and combined schools has proven wrong time and time again. Neither the ministry nor the boards provide evidence that larger combined schools enhance student achievement. There is research showing small schools provide excellent learning environments. I'm incredibly disappointed that this liberal government voted against our leader Patrick Brown's motion to put a moratorium on the school closures. I call on this government to listen to parents, stick up for students, and say stop the closure of our rural schools. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I thank all members for their statements. It's now time for reports by committees.