 Hey, it's now time for member statements the member from Kitchener Conestoga. Yes. Well, thank you speaker speaker I stand to recognize the township of Wilmot in my riding of Kitchener Conestoga today on a significant achievement of Eradicating all debt from their books. That's right Yesterday was debt-free day for Wilmot following a final $30,000 payment for road work on New Hamburg's Hamilton Road in Arnold Street. How'd they do it speaker? Well, Mayor Les Armstrong told the Warblue record quote We managed to be able to keep ourselves controlled over the last four years Knowing that this day was coming. We managed to keep ourselves under control and not go into a bunch of debt and go under control speaker. Yeah, I Pause to just make sure my colleagues on the opposite side heard that and while they stayed Controlled the township managed to build the $10 million Wilmot Recreation complex Begin work on the New Dundee Splash Plan renovations at New Hamburg Arena and of course the New Dundee Library as well as work on road and bridge Improvements it can be done. You can have fiscal control and forward-moving progress at the same time now Rather than throwing tax dollars at debt interest payments and at one time roughly $160,000 annually they can go towards building an even brighter future in Wilmot and and so I asked my colleagues to join me in congratulating Wilmot Council Mayor Armstrong councillors Peter Rowe, Al Junker, Barry Fisher, Jeff Gerber, Mark Murray, CAO Grant, Whittington and his staff on this significant achievement. Thank you Members statements? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This weekend we lost a gleaming light in my riding of Oshawa and a bold trailblazer for women's and workers rights across this province Bev McCloskey was an active member of local 222 in Oshawa for 65 years She started at GM in 1949 and served on the executive board for 17 years She was a founding member of local 222's first women's committee in 1968 and in 1969 the members of that committee successfully fought to end segregated seniority lists and male-only jobs at General Motors The women's committee was also instrumental in changing the Ontario Human Rights Code to include gender as a prohibited ground for discrimination Bev would not back down for anyone She fought battles on the shop floor to get sunshine girls and pin-ups taken down When they wouldn't she would slap a sticker on the picture stating this offends women She also gave out famous yellow cards to men who spoke offensively to women Her activism spanned the community of Durham region including the unemployed health center and Sunrise seniors center, excuse me sunrise seniors place Bev received the Agnes McPhail award from the Ontario NDP women's committee in 2012 She was named the CAW's outstanding retired worker of the year and named to the OFL's labor honor roll in 2013 Bev leaves behind her husband Pat and generations of women across our province that will be forever in her debt For that I'm honored to have the opportunity today to recognize her immeasurable impact. Thank you, Bev McCloskey To speaker today members of the Ontario Environment Industry Association or O'Neill are here holding their annual Environment and Industry Day at Queens Park This event which is supported by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Showcases the important work and incredible growth of Ontario's environmental industry Ontario's environmental sector has 3,000 firms employs 65,000 people and is worth an estimated eight billion dollars in annual revenues and One billion in export earnings This is an incredible achievement and one we should all be proud of our province is now home to 35% of Canada's innovative clean tech companies Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to say that a number of forward-thinking environment companies have their offices in my riding of Halton Renewable energy management or RAM is a Burlington based company That's on its way to becoming a leading provider of sustainable water management solutions while contributing energy to surrounding communities Similarly, New Alta is a massive multinational company with 85 offices across the United States and Canada It helps customers reduce disposal Enhanced recycling and recover valuable resources from industrial residues together We will build a clean sustainable and prosperous future for all Ontarians. Thank you very much Thank you Thank you speaker this year I was proud to attend two bridge dedication ceremonies in Gananakway to honor a pair of true hometown heroes The tragic deaths of Corporal Randy Payne and Constable Henry Harper in the service of others was the reason we gathered in tribute But the ceremonies were also a celebration of two remarkable lives and a strong message to the families of both men That they will never be forgotten First, I want to publicly commend the Ministry of Transportation for its bridge dedication program and for working with the Canadian forces to extend the honor To Corporal Payne a military police officer I also want to thank my friend Jerry Carmichael for his invaluable role in championing Constable Harper's tribute these public memorials are a reminder to millions of motorists on provincial highways of the risks the brave men and women of our Police services take every day to keep us safe Constable Harper a 28 year old father of four died after being struck while investigating a traffic incident in August of 1957 Corporal Payne a 32 year old father of two died on patrol in Afghanistan in April 2006 When his vehicle hit a roadside bomb The deaths of these young husbands and fathers hit their small town Very hard and sadly stole a lifetime of new memories from their children To motorists passing these Dedicated bridges in Gennon Ockway or any other Ontario community I asked you for you to reflect on the sacrifices of the officers whose names you read and then honor their memory By asking what more you can do to serve your community Thank you very much mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to speak today about Ontario's NDP 26 by a vote by annual Convention this past weekend with over 1100 delegates the convention was the most well-attended in the party's history It was a rejuvenating convention And there was a great deal of the kind of vigorous policy discussion that new Democrats are known for During her speech to the convention our leader Andrea Horvath spoke to the delegates of the importance of confronting climate change Immediately she said climate change is real and a threat to the future of the human species on this planet Are an important reminder of the work that we all need to be doing one theme of the convention was something the interior NDP have been talking about for years and that's the importance of ensuring our shared Prosperity taking seriously the challenge of climate change and the protection of our environment is a pivotal aspect of our shared Prosperity and there's also convincing evidence that the degradation of our environment will have an even greater impact on our most vulnerable Citizens just days before the convention I had the opportunity to speak at the creating action event in Waterloo hosted by climate action Waterloo region I spoke of the grave state of the environmental policy in this province, but also of the opportunities for the future There is so much more that we should be doing and can be doing we should be pursuing environmental assessments on line nine We should be addressing transit infrastructure and not building diesel trains We should be addressing the fact that OMB's can override progressive planning in this province Clearly local Communities are leading on this front and we need to catch up. Thank you, Mr. Speaker Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today at the house and to welcome and congratulate the CCSN the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network I had the honor of sponsoring the group for their legislative breakfast this morning Thank you to all who took time to drop in and to hear all the good things that goes on through the CCSN as a cancer survivor Myself, I would have appreciated having access to this wonderful resource when I was going through cancer CCSN works to connect patients survivors and other stakeholder groups with decision-makers and the wider community to engage in discussion and to act on evidence-based best practices to alleviate the medical emotional financial and social costs of cancer and Encourage research on ways to overcome barriers to optimal cancer care and follow up for the survivors of In Canada among other things they educate the public and policy makers about the financial emotional and health costs of cancer and offer positive ideas and recommendations to help them Please join me in congratulating the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network in all the great work that they do Congratulations CCSN and thank you for educating us Thank you Mr. Speaker. On Monday the appeal of the Sumac Ridge wind turbine project finally got underway giving the impacted residents of my riding of Halliburton, Corklake's Brock the chance to have their concerns heard when it comes to five 500 foot tall wind turbines being built in their own backyard Over the course of the next several weeks the tribunal will hear from dozens of concerned citizens including man versus wind concerns the city of Corklake's First Nations groups including Curve Lake and Hiawatha and the Shamshan Buddhist temple which will be the only temple of its kind outside of China when finished Unfortunately, the city of peterborough was denied participation in the tribunal Even though these turbines will impact safety at the peterborough airport in 2001 under our progressive conservative government The Oak Ridge's moraine received special protection from the province of Ontario This present government even created the green belt plan and the growth plan for the greater Golden horseshoe to further protect the Oak Ridge's moraine. The Oak Ridge's moraine is the rain barrel of southern Ontario But now the moraine is at risk if these wind turbines are allowed to go ahead on protected lands This project will require new roads to be built on the moraine Thousands of trees to be cut down and removed and alterations to the elevations in the hilly landscape This will begin the industrialization of this pristine area I hope that the tribunal and the ministry of the environment will hear these concerns and agree to reverse the approval of the sumac ridge wind turbine project Thank you. Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member statements. The member from new market Aurora Thank you, Mr. Speaker for the opportunity to rise and speak about how the people of new market Aurora are committed to protecting our natural environment The lake simcoe region conservation authority is a leader in ensuring the environmental health of the lake simcoe watershed Mr. Speaker, that's why i'm excited about the authority's annual conservation awards, which were handed out in a ceremony earlier in november In new market these awards recognize 22 individuals schools businesses groups that all exemplify the desire to preserve Ontario's natural environment Mr. Speaker two groups in new market and aurora took home an award that night. I couldn't be more proud First lester b. Pearson Public school was recognized for the creation of their echo team made up of young environmental leaders in grades two to eight As an example the echo team organized the week-long litterless lunches program Selling solid fillable water bottles students were able to raise enough money to buy a water bottle refilling station And reduce the use of plastic bottles the future looks bright indeed with tomorrow's leaders like these Mr. Speaker also recognized was the york region geocashers club This group embodies a love of adventure and most importantly the outdoors the club organized two successful cleanup events across the region And encourages all ontarians to contribute to keeping our beautiful province clean Mr. Speaker again, it's an honor to stand here today and thank both these winners for their tireless work And their responsible vision Thank you, mr. Speaker today I rise to talk about an innovative and exciting business presented to me last week Gas stops which stands for gas turbines and other propulsion systems provides supports to the energy Marant marine and aerospace industries by creating equipment which detect bearings and gear damage at its earlier stage This allows operator to reduce loss revenue and repair costs One of the cornerstone products of gas stops is the metal scan, which is installed on more than 2000 Operational gas turbines worldwide The metal scan is an online debris monitor that creates a clear picture of the help of each gearbox to avoid expensive surprises Gas stops employs 130 professional and plans to continue expanding This creates much needed high quality jobs in ontario And will continue to do so at they are committed to remaining in the east end of ottawa Gas stops work closely with carleton university aerospace engineering program and bring in around five students every year for co-ops I would like to thank david newer the president's and chief executive officer of gas stops as well as ross mcdonnell vice presidents of corporate development to have taken the time to meet with me a special tank Q goes to sylvie tremblee manufacturing engineer for showing me around So feel privileged to observe the process of the creation of their product. Thank you, mr. President It has been a privilege to see the creation of their project. Thank you, mr. Speaker Time for reports by committees