 Us call there we go member statement to member from Brooks Gray and Bowen Sound. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I rise in the house today to congratulate the Hepworth Shell Lake Rotary Club on its 65th anniversary. I had the honor of attending a special celebration on October 3rd along with my friend and MP Larry Miller where we applauded all members past and present for their strong and sustained efforts in raising money for a great variety of causes local and international and to commend the hard work of the men and women who have been doing remarkable work since 1949. I'd also like to recognize one of the club members and a special friend of my family, Mr. Ed Ruth, who celebrated his 50th anniversary with the Hepworth Shell Lake Rotary Club. His is truly an exceptional achievement. Ed suffered an accident in the early 20s, in his early 20s, the result of the loss of one arm. This however did not slow Ed down, with wife Betty who is always by his side and children Ellen, Loretta and Jerry to support he simply took a positive attitude and pushed on. He endeavored to do anything a person with two arms could do and a site I will never forget as a young boy was watching Ed shovel gravel with one arm. He was and continues to be an inspiration. He is a very successful businessman who continues to tinker on a variety of projects and is a value contributing member of our community. One of the reasons he was able to move forward and become the success that he is was the Hepworth Shell Lake Rotary Club stepped up and offered Ed and his family assistance immediately following his accident. This was a compelling reason for Ed to join Rotary in 1964 and he has remained an active member since. Mr. Speaker, I believe I speak for all of us in extending our sincere congratulations to Ed on being awarded the prestigious Paul Harris fellow, the highest honor as a Rotarian and for living the Rotary model service above self. Congratulations to Ed and also fellow Paul Harris recipients who are recognized for their contributions the same evening. Karen Nierhoff, Cliff McMillan and James Jim Noble. We support and appreciate your tireless volunteering and wish you all of the best of health and happiness in future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Members Davis, Member from Oshawa. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Feed the Need Durham is an organization that provides food to nearly 50 member agencies across the Durham region and has an impact on the lives of over 30,000 low income individuals every year. They were founded on the belief that hunger should not prevent anyone from fulfilling their potential and they have worked tirelessly to this purpose. I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of their new facility in Oshawa earlier this month, a move they made to keep up with growing demand. An incredible number of people are supported by incredible organizations like Feed the Need. Our priority as MPPs, however, must be to address the need. The government says they are committed to their poverty reduction strategy, but with no targets or timelines in place, it is hard to believe how committed they really are. Nearly 400,000 Ontarians rely on food banks each month. In fact, nearly 50% of Canada's food bank users are Ontarians. It is our responsibility as MPPs to do everything in our power to improve the lives of the people of this province and this is a group that we are failing. Poverty is not a permanent condition. It is not a natural state and it does not have to be an enduring truth in Ontario. It's time to get serious about eradicating poverty in this province. So let's work together to set real targets and then let's reach them. Then maybe organizations like Feed the Need will no longer be needed in our province. Thank you. Thank you, Member Stamets, the Member from Paulton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in memory of a dear friend, a beloved community leader and a remarkable woman who recently passed away. Yvonne Rowett was a devoted mother to Gillian and Jeff, loving wife to her husband Ken and a doting grandmother. But she will be remembered by many in Halton as a tireless volunteer, organizer and a champion for fairness, justice and democracy. I had the pleasure of getting to know Yvonne well over the last few years, as did the Member from Oakville. She was a dynamo, a woman who didn't understand the word no or impossible. Perhaps what was most impressive was the boundless energy she poured into everything. Everyone around Yvonne was inspired to work a little harder, walk a little farther and stay on the phones just a little bit longer. She was a firecracker with a sharp wit and take no prisoners honesty. No one who spent more than a few moments with her forgot her. I know I certainly won't. She was a force of nature, a woman with a loud laugh and a strong smile and a sense of fun. Her tireless spirit was matched only by her unwavering commitment to creating a better society and improving the lives of the less fortunate. She had a dream, a dream of a stronger Ontario and Canada, and she worked hard to make that dream a reality. We will miss her energy. We will miss her infectious smile. We will miss her shoot from the hip advice. We will miss Yvonne. Thank you. Member Stavis, the Member from Central North. Thanks very much, Mr. Speaker. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to visit the Interior College Information Fair right here in Toronto. Twenty-five colleges in Ontario had representatives at the fair to help students with their questions about all the programs each college has to offer. I think this is a great way to help students figure out what they want to take in college. It is a big step and any guidance is going to go a long way to make sure that these students end up where they want to be. I've always stressed that we need more pathways from elementary and high school into colleges. It isn't enough to start thinking about post-secondary education in grades 11 and 12. I think teachers and schools should start entertaining the idea at an early age so the students know what is out there, whether it's a skilled trade, college or university education. I'd like to commend the people who facilitate this information fair and to all the colleges and the representatives who spent the day with all the students who attended. I could tell each representative really wanted to help guide the students and give them as much information as possible. When I arrived, I witnessed the busloads of students arrive from various schools and to see the amount of parents who had taken their kids to the fair as well. I was also happy to hear that the Interior College Information Fair expects about 10,000 students this year and that number is growing each and every year. So Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to make this statement today, but also I appreciate the opportunity to attend the Ontario College Information Fair. I found it very, very rewarding. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you, Speaker. Last Friday, while no one was watching, the Liberal government quietly announced changes to the computer system used to issue checks to people on social assistance and ODSP. In a letter by the Ministry of Community Social Services was a bombshell that could devastate some of this province's most vulnerable. This new system allows the government to double the clawback rate on some overpayments made in error. For example, people who have health problems and received a little bit more money to cope through a special diet allowance will now have to pay back any money they received by mistake at double the rate. According to the Minister, this will allow the recipients to pay off their overpayment sooners. The overpayments may have been incurred, the Minister says, through a failure by a recipient to report a change of status. Wow, talk about blaming the victim. Speaker, there are a lot of reasons that this province has cash strapped. E-health, orange, canceled gas plants, the list goes on and on. None of those scandals were caused by a single parent in this province on social assistance or a former factory worker who's now battling cancer with a special diet allowance from ODSP. Yet this Liberal government tells them it's their own fault. At a time when child poverty rates have reached epidemic proportions and folks on social assistance have less real income than they did when the Liberals came to power, it's shameful for this government to be making up for its costly mistakes on the backs of the people who can least afford it. Thank you. Member Statement from Ottawa Orleans. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm very proud to announce that in my writing of Ottawa Orleans, I held my first community barbecue and corn roast this past summer to reach out to the citizen I represent. The event was held on August 28th at Petrie Island and it was a resounding success. Hundreds of individuals and their families came out to enjoy good food and entertainment. This was also an opportunity for me to participate in the ALS ice bucket challenge to help raise funds and awareness to fight this terrible disease. Needless to say, everyone was quite amused to see me get soaked by a bucket of ice water thrown at me by my very own daughter Monica. It was certainly for a good cause and I'm proud that I've done it. I would like to say thank you to all the community leaders that attended. I would also like to thank our partners for their contribution to making this event a success. I look forward to hosting my community again next summer to this great event. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I suspect your daughter hated every second of it. Member Statement from Orleans. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I suspect your daughter hated every second of it. Member Statement from Orleans. Well, thanks, Speaker. Among the many attributes making Leeds-Grenville a great place to live is the resolve of our residents to meet any challenge. When there's a problem in our community, people get to work and make things better. I rise to celebrate one of those people, Bill Heasley, a former Brockville citizen of the year. Bill was also the first chair of the Brockville and District Hospice Palliative Care Telethon, an event that 31 years later has raised over $3 million. In 1999, Bill from St. John Bosco Catholic Church and his dear friend, the late Hank Gray from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, saw another need. Too many people in Brockville going hungry. They had a vision to create a low-cost restaurant naming it after a well-known miracle from the Bible. Loaves and Fishes opened in April 1999 and served 35 meals. On the first of the three days, it opened its doors that week. Their vision has grown in ways Bill and Hank likely never dreamed. Today, Loaves and Fishes opens five days a week and its kitchen serves up to 100 people daily, about 400 every week. In return for just $1, diners find food to fill an empty stomach and fellowship to nourish a weary soul. This summer, the Loaves and Fishes Board paid a well-deserved tribute to Bill Heasley, who after 15 years is stepping down to focus on other charity work. He does so knowing that what he helped create will carry on as a source of great comfort for those less fortunate. And that speaker is something we can all aspire to. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I make my statement, I'd like to say that although yesterday was a difficult day for all of us, I'm very proud that we carried on with the obligation and privilege of governing. I would also like to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Corporal Nathan Cirillo. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the Legislative Security Service and to thank the Sergeant at Arms for their hard work and dedication keeping us safe. Today, I'd like to take a moment to recognize the Casa de Willantejo Community Center for my great riding of Davenport. Members of this incredible organization joined us in the House for question period on Tuesday, along with two dignitaries from Portugal and seniors from the University of Algestrel. It was a pleasure showing them around Queen's Park. Casa de Willantejo was founded in 1983 as an Incorporated Not-for-Profit Community Center. It is a volunteer-based and run organization with many dedicated members such as Rosa de Souza, who has been there since day one, and its current President, Carlos de Souza. Together, these volunteers work very hard to promote Portuguese culture and heritage by organizing dinners, themed events, theater, and folklore festivals. This year marks Casa de Willantejo's 31st anniversary. Mr. Speaker, that means for 31 years they have been contributing to the diverse cultural mosaic that is this wonderful province of ours. They do this by organizing all of these wonderful events that bring people together. And Casa de Willantejo was also the first organization to promote cultural weeks, a showcase of Portuguese culture that brings together speakers from Portugal, Canada, and abroad. These weeks often include musical performances, book launches, and other artistic events. And this year's Casa de Willantejo Cultural Week runs until October 25th. I wish them my sincere congratulations on their anniversary and on what has been another very, very successful cultural week. Thank you. Member of statements. The member from the topical lecture. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It's with sadness that I rise today to inform the legislature of the passing of the Honourable Roger Gordon Conant this past Monday, October 20th. I'd like to express my deepest sympathies to my constituent, Armand Conant, and his family on the passing of his father, the Honourable Roger Gordon Conant. Born on May 26, 1922 in Ottawa, Roger Conant was the son of Ontario's 12th Premier, Gordon D. Conant and Verna Conant. Justice Conant was a graduate of the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School. He served in the infantry during World War II, landing on the beaches of Normandy with the British Army, and rose to the rank of major and was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration. Justice Conant was appointed to the District Court of Ontario in 1977, which is now the Superior Court of Ontario, and he was a distinguished jurist who earned the respect of the entire legal community. After retiring from the Superior Court, Justice Conant continued to serve as a public servant and was appointed to the Canada Pension Appeals Board. In a spare time, he was an avid sailor and a proud member of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club for over 70 years. Our thoughts are with his family, and please join me today in remembering and recognizing a truly great and distinguished Ontarian and Canadian. I thank all members for their statements and even the ones that were longer. I would like to thank all members for their statements and even the ones that were longer.