 introductions therefore it's time for members of statements to member from Whitby Oswald. Thank you speaker Roger Anderson the regional chair and chief executive officer from the region died this past Saturday as someone who served with him on regional council for eight years I'd like to speak to his character he was a he was speaker a man who believed in things not seen a man who believed there were better days ahead off in the distance a man of public service who persevered knowing full well he would not receive all those things he was promised because he believed his efforts throughout the region of Durham would deliver a better life for those who followed the regional chair for 20 years Roger embodied a politics that was neither mean nor small speaker he conducted himself quietly and diligently and he encouraged progress not by pushing his ideas alone but by seeking out your ideas partnering with you to make things happen he was full of empathy able to walk as somebody else's shoes and see through their eyes Roger never tried to make anyone feel small speaker powerful as he became he never took advantage of those who were weaker strength he believed was never more admirable than when it was applied with restraint it made no difference Roger treated everyone with the same on failing courtesy acknowledging speaker the innate dignity in us all what a good man speaker sometimes I think that's the best thing to hope for after all the words and resumes are read you just say someone was a good man and as Roger took the last journey and has heaven's morning broke I'd like to think in the words of Bunyan that all the trumpet sounded speaker we hear still move in twilight but we have one beacon to guide us the Roger Anderson never had we have the significant accomplishments speaker let us give thanks today for a life that achieved so much for so many in the region of Durham and Ontario God bless Roger and his family member from London fanshow speaker I am delighted to stand today to talk about an event I'm holding next week with my colleague from London West as we get together to acknowledge women in our community making a difference we will be hosting a reception for the winners of the leading women leading girls building communities recognition program and I have the distinct honor of celebrating six women from my riding of London fanshaw Rosemary Nyhoff Marcia Beaton Janice Johnson Dana Copeland Betty Joseph and Misty Craig these women exemplify leadership generosity and perseverance each has made remarkable contributions to their community in their own way they are positive role models in our community showing other women and men alike what it can what can be done and accomplish when people bring their talents skills and passions together for a meaningful cause in a world often caught up in negative news these women demonstrate their actions that change and improvements are possible when people come together with a positive purpose I have nominated women for these awards in the past year and I am struck by the humble and modest attitudes of these leaders they simply see a job that needs to be done and they do it they are not looking for accolades or celebration they are looking to help others but without their initiatives and hard work our communities would not be the same I am looking forward to the reception because these women deserve public recognition the effects of their work reach far beyond what they realize sometimes they are truly an inspiration and it is my pleasure to honor them and recognize them for the heroes that they are thank you thank you Mr. Speaker everyone in this house annually honors all places of worship including Tamil, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and is mainly observances to name a few and including ceremonies of Thipongal, Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan time fasting for Muslims and Holy and Diwali, Yonkipper, Passover and Raj Hashana. Christians celebrate Easter season the faithful observance celebrated worldwide by almost 2.2 billion Christians. Easter is preceded by Lent which began on Ash Wednesday February 14th this year and lasts for a period of six weeks. I attended Ash Wednesday services as I always do and on March 30th this week marks Good Friday and commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary with Mother Mary at his feet. Good Friday represents the sacrifices and sacrificing in Jesus life and selfless acts form a man free from sin to save sinner. They placed a crown of thorns on his head causing further pain and pierced his side with a lance ensuring his death. The crucifixion was the culmination of a number of events in Holy Week including the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday April 1st three days following the crucifixion and his ascension into heaven 40 days later. Holy week including the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is observed by Christians and Catholics in Ontario alone in pray in 30 languages at Easter. Thank you everyone. Thank you. Please remember from Leeds Grenville. Thank you speaker across Leeds Grenville volunteer groups work tirelessly to make their communities better places to live and to visit. I rise to highlight some exciting news for a group of volunteers in the village of Rockport in the township of Leeds in the Thousand Islands. This month the township closed a deal to transfer ownership of the Rockport customs property from the federal government. The agreement followed nearly a decade of talks and came after a last-minute hurdle with the province was cleared. I want to thank the current Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry and her predecessor for working with me in the township to resolve that issue. My federal counterpart Leeds Grenville Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MP Gord Brown has also been a champion of this project. However the real credit speaker goes to the volunteers with the Rockport Development Group and the friends of the Rockport Customs. They had the vision to revitalize this abandoned property along the St. Lawrence River in the heart of the village. Their efforts provided us with an invaluable place for people to connect with the river. I look forward to being in Rockport soon when friends of Rockport Chair Wendy Merkley and her incredible team will launch their fundraising campaign. We're blessed in Leeds Grenville to have so many dedicated volunteers willing to take on these challenges and make their dreams a reality. We all benefit from the work of these community groups and I extend a heartfelt thank you to them on everyone's behalf. Thank you Speaker. Thank you. Further member's statements? Further member's statements? The member from Sault Ste. Marie? Thank you Mr. Speaker. Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of the Liberal Government's Bill 148 having received royal assent. At each stage of the legislative process my colleagues and I cautioned the government with respect to the effects Bill 148 would have throughout the province. Unfortunately Mr. Speaker our concerns have shown to be true and continue to have a negative effect throughout the province but most specifically I wanted to just discuss some of the impacts in my region of Sault Ste. Marie. In varying degrees we have three metro grocery stores in Sault Ste. Marie that are open 24 hours. Not since Bill 148 took effect. Those stores are now closed so people can't shop in the evening or morning hours any longer. Disappointing I used to do a lot of my grocery shopping late at night after the kids had gone to bed. Other impacts have been significant. A number of employment agencies within our community have reduced their staffing hours and reduced staff specifically. Prices are going up. One specific concern of a great nature is that recently the Executive Director of Child Care Algoma Anna DeLucco issued a memo to all of her staff indicating that child care Algoma is making $300,000 worth of cuts in fact of this April. They're removing 15-minute breaks to cut down on staff hours. They're freezing sick days until further notice. They're closing a number of programs and in some cases even reducing staff pay by a dollar per hour. This is just one of the many examples of how 148 has affected my community. Thank you. Further member statements. The member from Timmins James May. Thank you Mr. Speaker. We know in our communities throughout Ontario it's always a challenge in terms of finding home care. The current system that we have sometimes it doesn't allow the services necessary in order to ensure care at home. And when I look at a community such as hers that has a very interesting project that says instead of implementing a system that's managed in Sudbury or in Timmins why not bring all the services together in the community of hers where everyone can be covered by the hospital or other organizations such as community health centers. When they can then manage home care for people in the community they know who the people are they know how to manage the services and they have the ability to provide the services to the community that is reasonable. I think Mr. Speaker it's time in this assembly to recognize that there are solutions that can be found locally when it comes to providing services home care and long-term care services so we need to support those services in order to implement a system that is more locally focused for the member statements. Thank you very much. Further member statements? A member from Dufferin, Caledon. Thank you speaker. Today the Liberals will introduce their final budget before June's general election. After spending weeks criss-crossing the province making promise after promise after years of neglect and mismanagement we are expected to forgive and forget but we will not forget the billions of dollars that the wind Liberals have wasted on everything from e- health to cancelled gas plants. We will not forget that after promising a balanced budget Ontario has a multi-billion dollar deficit. We will not forget that the wind Liberals have doubled Ontario's debt to over 300 billion dollars. We will not forget that Ontario has the highest debt of any sub-sovereign state or province in the world. The interest on debt alone costs taxpayers one billion dollars a month and worse the Liberals have no plan to pay down that debt. We will not forget that in the last 15 years the Liberals haven't spent a dime on reducing Ontario's debt which of course eats into our ability to pay for the services Ontario families need and deserve. When students visit Queens Park I often ask them what the top three expenditures of the government are. They are shocked to learn that servicing the debt is the third largest government expenditure. We can do better. We need to do better and under a Doug Ford led conservative government we will do better. Thank our members for their statements it's therefore time for reports by committees. I have a point of order and the member from London