 It is now time for members statements the member from person Wellington. I thank you speaker Today, I'm pleased to recognize the science Hill drifters. The science Hill drifters are a snowmobile club based out of st. Mary's, Ontario Back in February the science Hill drifters organized an event in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most snowmobiles in a parade The record they needed to beat with 820 machines Two weeks ago the science Hill drifters would receive the exciting news that they had officially set the new world's record They managed to organize a remarkable 847 snowmobiles that's quite an accomplishment for a 26 member club I would like to congratulate the science Hill drifters including the event organizer Dwayne Lawrence I know this took a lot of work to organize and even more time and energy to us to submit the evidence to be eligible for the Record title. I would also like to recognize everyone who took part in the parade People came from all over to support the drifters and be part of this event Again, congratulations to the new Guinness World Record holders. Thank you speaker A government of Ontario progress report from 2011 reads as follows in 2003 classrooms were crowded schools were crumbling and teacher unrest was hurting our children and grandchildren Our students lost too many teaching days to strikes and unrest and that chaos drew too much attention away from their learning Private school enrollment was on the rise as parents lost confidence in our publicly funded schools That statement was from a government that touted itself as the self-proclaimed champion of smaller class sizes It was a government that promised not to cut funding for education and limit classroom supports Ontario families want and their children deserve Today, this is a liberal government that slashes funding for special education Forces a closure of our good neighborhood schools and makes across the board cuts to education It's a government that flip-flops on its class size commitments and thinks it knows better than the professionals who educate our children Speaker, I don't like to speculate what the first future will bring But I took the liberty of writing a future progress report. It reads as follows in 2015 classrooms were crowded good neighborhood schools were being shut down and labor unrest was hurting our children and get grandchildren Our students lost too many teaching days and liberal cuts to education were throwing our schools into chaos While parents were losing confidence in our publicly funded education system They knew that new Democrats were standing up for Ontario families and holding this government to account Thank you speaker I rise today to tell you about an exciting and inspiring event held recently in my riding on May 4th I attended the third annual pythons pit event presented by sponsors MNP and RBC Royal Bank Python's pit provides a forum for creative entrepreneurial residents and students of Halton to pitch new products or business ideas To a panel of investors and business locals or pythons from the local community This local spin-off of the Dragon's Den is similar in many ways to the TV hit show But differs in that contestants receive months of mentorship and invaluable access to business professionals Python's pit is a collaboration of all the Rotary clubs across the Halton region with tremendous support from the community and local businesses as well Mentorship defines Python's pit all through the process mentors are made available to help participants hone their business skills Including developing their value proposition and refining their pitch Contestants enter the pit in two categories the open categories for entrepreneurs with a pot of $20,000 And the high school category were young entrepreneurs pitch for a cash pool of $5,000 On the night of the event the high school contestants partich their ideas to the pythons live on stage at the Burlington Performing Arts Center The winners were forced senior students from Nelson High School who engineered a mobile application that will facilitate a more organized and Systematic coffee run experience. I want to congratulate Farine Samji and Tom McLeod the chairs and community business leaders who led a great team of volunteers for not only a great event But the effort contributing to what I'm sure is a life-changing experience for these awesome entrepreneurs. Thank you, Mr Thank you Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise to recognize everyone who has contributed to a new cheese themed playground in the town of Ingersoll This playground was built as part of the popular TV O kids series giver Which teaches kids about citizen engagement by providing them with opportunities to see how their good intentions Combined with hard work and benefit an entire community Everyone can tune in to TV O at 6 30 tonight Or at the screening party hosted at the fusion youth center in Ingersoll and watch how Ingersoll's cheese themed playground came to life The playground is the result of the hard work of six kids from Ingersoll and more than a hundred and twenty volunteers that helped them This is truly a community project with contributions from the town of Ingersoll playwright committee sinking ship entertainment Amico infrastructures incorporated who contributed to excavating services and Allen Lumber donating all the wood and that celebrates our proud cheese and dairy Industry history in Ingersoll. I want to thank TV O for choosing Ingersoll to date The giver series has dedicated volunteers have the and dedicated volunteers have constructed 33 new playgrounds throughout Ontario That will provide a legacy for new community facilities for generations to enjoy I want to commend everyone who was involved in creating this great playground for children in Ingersoll And I hope that everyone will take the time to tune in to TV O tonight and join and Join TV O kids community volunteers the Ontario parks Association and the sinking ship entertainment to celebrate the construction Of the special screening event and thank you very much. Mr. Speaker. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. I'm happy to say we had the Premier of Quebec here who gave an excellent speech this morning I'm happy he was here so I can illustrate a point the Premier comex promise is one of five promises in this country that currently regulate gas prices in some way Though they all do it differently. They are regulated in place which help to stabilize the market and in some cases protect the consumer Against unnecessary high gasoline prices in my riding in Niagara this weekend gas prices rose 14 cents a liter without any large change in the price of oil That's around 56 cents a gallon increase oil prices since the start of this year have not increased substantially We enjoyed paying 85 cents a liter then yet gasoline prices have steadily climbed since then and now we're paying a dollar 13 An increase of over 30% People are around high hard time covering these bills everywhere. They look in Ontario Gasoline hydro food prices everything is rising This government needs to take a serious look into the price of gasoline If other provinces have turned to regulating their gas markets Why wouldn't we at least talk about it if oil prices are dropping? Then we may have an opportunity to make sure people can drive to work for less And have a few extra bucks in their pocket to spend in their communities. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker Thank you, mr. Speaker Rise in the house today to pay tribute to a trailblazer who raised public awareness for people with disabilities Ellen Anderson has members of this house are aware Ellen Henderson former toronto star life section editor and disabilities columnist passed away on saturday, april 11 Henderson began her career at the star as a business reporter in the 1970s while beginning her journalism career She was diagnosed with multiple sterozes Which led her to pitch a disability column to the star focusing on information and advocacy Reflecting on her career She was able to connect with the grassroots issues and put them into the mainstream Shining a much needed light on disability issues After retiring from the star She serves as a chair of the center for independent living toronto an organization that provides people with disabilities Education to gain independent life skills to facilitate integration into the larger community To end I would like to use the same neil marcus coat that ellen henderson concluded horizon ted talk with Disabilities is not a brave struggle Or courage in the face of adversity Disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live This is the message of ellen anderson's lifetime work And this must be the same message. We continue to communicate to make ontario more accessible. Thank you Thank you Mr. Speaker in spite of the current uncertainty in our schools in ontario last monday was a momentous day for education In the community of rockwood in wellington holton hills That morning the groundbreaking of the new sacred heart catholic elementary school took place And in the evening the official opening of a call harris mill public school was celebrated both in rockwood A call harris mill public school, which first opened its doors to students this past september Is a dual track school with both english and french immersion from jk to grade five and when it opens its doors in September 2016 sacred heart catholic elementary school be home to over 270 students from jk to grade eight It will become the first new school to open in the wellington catholic district school board since 2010 With a safe and inspiring teaching and learning environment I know that students at both these schools will receive an outstanding educational experience leading to achievement and success I've always believed that learning is lifelong and that our teachers are caring dedicated professionals With the positive support of parents community and government working together in the best interests of our students Our schools are second to none in canada and as the member of provincial parliament for wellington holton hills I want to extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to the upper grand district school board the wellington catholic district school board As well as all the parents students teachers and staff who are involved in these new schools Together we can work to give our students the finest education possible. We owe them nothing less Thank you very much mr. Speaker The Thank you, mr. Speaker It is a pleasure to recognize my constituents three fam and rosemary children house and representatives of hypertension canada Who are at queen's mark to share their expertise on vascular health day? Hypertension or high blood pressure affects 20 percent of canadians and will affect 90 percent of those Who live a normal lifespan if we ignore the condition? In our fast-paced stressful lives It is important that each of us be aware of the risk associated with the condition Including heart kidney seribro vascular disease and even dementia Having no obvious symptoms. It can be a silent killer and it is a leading cause of death and disability The work of hypertension canada includes recommending evidence based clinical treatments and education materials Early detection is important to reduce its harmful impacts today Many of my colleagues had the opportunity to join hypertension canada and their partner valiant canada in room 228 to learn more about vascular health I would like to thank hypertension canada and valiant for the work they are doing And I encourage enterians to have their blood pressure checked at a clinic pharmacy or by their doctor Thank you, mr. Speaker