 It's now time for a member's statements and recognize the member for Niagara Falls. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'd like to rise today and talk about one of the best Christmas traditions in all of Canada. The Niagara on the Lake candlelight stroll. Every year we begin at the courthouse singing carols together before the town crier kicks off the event. We walk the historic streets of the old town together as a community. And each street corner we see local residents singing and entertaining us. This year we had over 15 choirs and a group of magicians from across Niagara. It's truly unique and truly special. But this year was even more special and shows just how caring community it is. This year proceeds from the stroll went to a man named Delroy Castello. Delroy is from Jamaica has been working on the local farms for over three decades. This year he suffered a stroke while working in the orchard and is still recovering from the results of that stroke. This year's proceeds are going to Delroy and his family. They cover the costs of travel not covered by either Jamaica or our government and the expensive costs of rehabilitation. He is just one of the many workers who come from around the world to make Niagara on the Lake and our agriculture industry work. Delroy's situation is one that shows us that our community depends on many people both local and from afar to be the community we love. Watching our community come together to raise money for Delroy is such an incredible example of what Christmas is all about and shows what's always say in this legislature. There is no community that cares more about one another than Niagara. I want to thank the town of Niagara and the Lake Chamber of Commerce for making this event happen and all the organizers and the volunteers for the incredible work. I want to thank Delroy for sharing his moving story with all the workers who join us and continue to come and work in Niagara and the Lake. I hope these are lessons we can carry on with us throughout the year. I want to say to everybody here today, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you very much. Member Statements, the Member for Scarborough Rouge Park. Thank you Mr. Speaker. The month of January is proclaimed as Tamil Heritage Month in the province of Ontario. This is a recognition of the valuable contribution that Tamil Canadians have made to Ontario's social, economic, political and societal fabric and the enrichment they bring to our culture through arts, food and the Tamil classical language. The main festival during this month is Taipunga. This festival marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the Tamil calendar year. Thanks are given to nature, the sun and farm cattle for providing grain and harvest. A special dish of Pongal is made. You let this dish boil until it boils over the pot in the belief that doing so will result in a bountiful year. Taipungal is also remarkable in showing how close Tamils were to nature. I wish India Taipungal Valtakal to all the Tamils that are celebrating this wonderful festival. At this time I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Honorable Minister Todd Smith on behalf of Tamil people in Ontario for moving the Tamil Heritage Month Act in this house in 2014. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Next we have the Member for Windsor West. Thank you, Speaker. Today I rise to speak about a serious environmental issue in Windsor. On November 27th, a dock collapsed at the former Revere Copper site along the American side of the Detroit River. The site is now leased by Detroit Bulk Storage, a Canadian company, and it is believed that the collapse occurred after a large amount of aggregate was deposited on the dock, all of it spilling directly into the Detroit River. The spill is a great concern to me and to my constituents. For many years Revere Copper was involved with the processing of uranium for the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. There was also use of other dangerous chemicals like beryllium and thorium. Aside from the contamination of the site itself, there is concern that the gravel spilled from the dock could possibly disrupt the sediment along the river's bottom. According to Dr. Ken Drullard from the University of Windsor's Great Lakes Institute of Environmental Research, the sediment is quote, very highly contaminated and contains toxic chemicals due to the heavy industry along the river. Chemicals like mercury, PCBs, lead and nickel. On Friday I sent a letter to both the Premier and the Minister of Environment asking that they fully support any effort to investigate the impact of the spill. We need to ensure the health and safety of not only our environment and local species, but also to the drinking water supply that both Canadian and American citizens rely on. This Conservative government has continued to fail Ontarians when it comes to the environment. Now is the opportunity to show some leadership. Please cooperate with our partners at the federal and international level and clean up this mess. Next we have the member for Oakville. Thank you Mr. Speaker and as always it's an honour to be able to speak here in the legislature. This afternoon I have the pleasure to speak about a noteworthy event that took place in my riding of Oakville just last Friday. This past Friday as we all know was the 30th anniversary of the tragedy of the Montreal Massacre at Ecole Polytechnique. That is why the Zonta Club of Oakville, a branch of Zonta International, a global organisation of professionals aimed at empowering women worldwide held a walking demonstration on the National Day of Remembrance in action on violence against women. I want to congratulate the Zonta Club of Oakville for raising public awareness, making a statement against gender-based violence and empowering girls and women right here in our community and worldwide. And I'd also like to extend congratulations to Zonta International for their 100th year. As a parent of four daughters I know I want them to have the same opportunities as boys in their classes do. I am thankful that in Canada my girls can aspire to and achieve anything they set their mind to. I certainly want all girls and women to have the same opportunities. That's why I'm proud to be part of this government that is investing more than $166 million in support for survivors and violence prevention initiatives. As we get closer to the new year I want to extend an invitation to attend the Zonta Club of Oakville celebration for International Women's Day on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020. This event will raise money for the Oakville Hospital Foundation and Zonta Club of Oakville and Zonta International. I look forward to attending and encourage all of my legislative colleagues to attend as well. Thank you very much. Thank you. The next Member Statement, the Member for London North Centre. The holiday season is officially upon us, Speaker. Last weekend I was thrilled to attend Lights and Sirens, an annual toy drive sponsored by emergency service workers to support Lifespin, a local non-profit organization which provides toys to low-income families with their Christmas sponsorship program. London's fire department generally opened their doors to host the Christmas event, and local paramedics, police officers, and other emergency workers partnered with Lifespin to make Lights and Sirens a success. Kids got an up-close and personal look at the fire trucks on display, and Santa and Mrs. Claus even took time out of their busy schedules to pose for pictures. Through Lifespin's Christmas sponsorship program, 1,400 London families with around 3,000 children will have a gift to unwrap on Christmas morning. Lifespin is an incredible organization that assists and empowers low-income Londoners. Lifespin started as a charity in 1989 by a group of single mothers seeking to eliminate poverty in our city. Their work has grown since then to include legal and housing supports, the Old East Common Community Garden, a free store, and, yes, ensuring Londoners can enjoy Christmas regardless of their income. I'm proud that London is such a giving community, and I want to thank Jackie Thompson, Lifespin, London's emergency workers, and everyone else who is giving generously this holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Member Statements, the Member for Guelph. Thank you, Speaker. Since the government started its attack on college and university services, thousands of University of Guelph students and students from other campuses have sent me petitioned signatures against the so-called Student Choice Initiative. They've told me that defunding student media, campus food banks, and social justice groups is a recipe for worsening the student experience and undoing efforts to make campus life safe and equitable. These services promote the quality of campus life and reflect student democracy. For example, both CFRU 93.3 FM in the Ontarian at the University of Guelph not only provide local and campus news, but are sources for training and real-life work experience for students. These services play an important role in the life on campus and in our community. A role I hope that they can continue to play, Speaker. The courts have recently confirmed that the government's so-called Student Choice Initiative threatens academic freedom and autonomy. And I agree. Speaker, students in my writing have reached out to me and have asked me to ask the government to listen to them, to listen to the courts, and to not appeal this ruling. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. The next member statement, the member for Barry Innisfil. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to highlight one company called BroTech Precision, a company that's in my writing of Barry Innisfil. It was established in 1995. BroTech now serves the nuclear, aerospace, defense, medical, oil, and gas and automotive industries. It employs 60 people in my writing and its products are globally exported. BroTech has a critical role to play in the Bruce Power Life Extension Program, Canada's largest infrastructure program and contributes to Ontario's healthcare system as a crucial supplier of Colbert 60 capsules. An isotope, which is used to sterilize over 40% of Canada's signal use medical devices. BroTech through the Bruce Power Life Extension Program will contribute 1,028 assemblies per unit for a total of 6,168 over the life of the project, which will assure the production of clean, reliable, low-cost electricity and life-saving isotopes through 2064. This program will deliver significant economic benefits to Ontario by creating and sustaining over 22,000 jobs and ejecting $4 billion into Ontario's economy annually. I am proud of the work that BroTech is doing and of their support for the Bruce Power Nuclear Plant and it's enabling them to make sure that they expand the operations and create new jobs in Barry Innisfil. Thank you. Member for St. Catharines. Thank you, Speaker. In my writing of St. Catharines, the fabric that ties together businesses and social justice are tied together by the very same string. We are a community that is at the front line for the struggle with mental health, affordability and addiction. So when Gord's Place restaurant in downtown St. Catharines closed its doors in June, it took a big chunk of our Christmas tradition with it. Over the last 12 years, Gord's Place has kindly opened its doors for a free dinner on Christmas Day that many families count on each and every year. Except something incredible happened, you could say a Christmas miracle. In just three weeks, the community of St. Catharines rallied together to save this event. This rebirth has been spearheaded by Wendy Duggan and the group Niagara United, a group that has fought for more mental health support, fought against a broken system and a government that is too often forgets our region. It is the part of the Niagara community that always steps up to the plate and does its part. The DeVita's family have committed to doing the cooking at 11 o'clock on Christmas Day and the DSBN has provided the space at Harriet Tubman School, except we need one last push. Niagara United is only $1,000 short of its Goal Fund Me goal. These volunteers and organizations are doing their part, so please join me today donating and ensuring that we can continue the Christmas dinner tradition in St. Catharines. The dinner that will be served to anyone who would like to join. Please search St. Catharines Community Christmas Dinner and let's help them reach their goals. Thank you for such a great community that always seems to do more with less. Merry Christmas. Thank you very much. Next we have the member for Oakville North, Burlington. Thank you, Speaker. Last week on December the 5th, I had the honour to help with the official opening of a great business in Oakville North, Burlington. Farm Boy is a new grocery store that has just opened its 29th location at Dundas & Walker's line in Burlington. It is truly an Ontario success story with a great retail concept providing the freshest of food products and excellent customer service. And it sources hundreds of products right here in Ontario. That's good for our Ontario farmers, good for consumers and good for the environment. The new store will, as the President of Farm Boy has said, create between 130 and 150 local jobs. Since taking office, our government has laid the economic foundation for the creation of more than 270,000 new net jobs in Ontario. And it is Ontario businesses like Farm Boy that are creating these new jobs. I'm very proud that our government has sent a strong message that Ontario is open for business and open for jobs. Taxes for small businesses are down by 8.7%. WSIB premiums by 17%. We are cutting red tape and tackling unnecessary regulations. Our government is committed to standing up for businesses like Farm Boy to make sure that Ontario is a great place for them to invest and grow. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you very much. Next, the Member for Thorne Hill. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. And I'm very honoured today to rise and give tribute to the Honourable George W. Vary. George was educated as a lawyer, economist and engineer. And he came to Canada. And as a developer, he built projects around the world. Most notably the 58th story tour, Montparnasse in Paris, still the tallest building in Europe. Six pavilions and the theatre for the Expo 67 in Montreal. The Hotel Cosmos in Moscow. And as well, George Vary created an outstanding record of philanthropic activity. And I'm quoting, the world can only be saved by education was his fundamental belief. Among countless charitable contributions, this passion for education and research led George with his darling wife Helen to become patrons of great institutions such as Vary Hall at York University, the George W. Vary Engineering and Computing Centre at Ryerson University, the Vary Scope Scholarships at Victoria University Aussie at the University of Toronto, and the Vary Laboratory at Princess Margaret Hospital. And there are many more, Mr. Speaker. George had a strong belief in civic responsibilities. And with this and his Canadian values, he was led to establish the George Vary Award for Good Citizenship at Ryerson University and the French Language Bursary at the University of Waterloo. And I went to the University of Waterloo. And the French connection is through the fact that I'm parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Francophone Affairs, Caroline Morouni. In France, George and Helen Vary were pivotal in the restoration of the cathedral Les Invalides in Paris. Following the 2001 hurricane that destroyed large sections of the historic forest in and around Paris, George donated 3,000 Canadian sugar maples to create the Canadian forest at the Chateau de Versailles and the Ontario Forest in the Bois de Boulogne. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me a little extra time because George Vary, as you can see, was a major contributor to our communities. In 1992, George was appointed a lifetime member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. He received the Order of Canada, the Legion Donneur from France, and the Night of St. Gregory from the Vatican. He was awarded the Commemorative Medal celebrating Canada's 125th anniversary and was also a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal. He proudly accepted honorary doctorates from York and Ryerson universities. And his dear wife, Helen, is here with us today. And she reminded me earlier that when they came from Hungary that they came with nothing and Canada gave them everything. I want to really thank everybody who came down today. I introduced them during an introduction of gas, but I want to thank them again. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I wish to point out that a number of the member's statements this afternoon exceeded 90 seconds on both sides of the House. Reports by committees.