 It's time for a member's statements, the member from Elgin Middlesex Library. We need to highlight the STEAM Center that is located in St. Thomas. STEAM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. The mission of the STEAM Center is to empower all learners and makers to create the future through play, ingenuity and exploration using the science and math tools they have acquired. The center delivers a comprehensive educational model focused on developing the creativity and problem solving that is necessary to explore ideas and foster growth. The STEAM Center creates innovative curriculums for teachers and provides workshops for all ages and learners. They also provide a collaborative space where the public can access 3D printing, computer numerical controls and other STEAM tools to work on projects and activities. The center has countless programs for youth, adults and educators. There's a variety of workshops for you such as day camps, summer camps, kids coding, kid roboteers, 3D printing and design classes, team video game coding and design. But the learning doesn't stop there. They also offer a variety of workshops for adults as well. With the increasing number, need for science, math and technology skills across the province today, the STEAM Center is a terrific asset to our community. Thanks to the partnership with the Thames Valley District School Board, the City of St. Thomas and the Dorothy Palmer Estate, which has given millions of dollars throughout our community, St. Thomas Elgin is proud to call this Education Center home. Thank you very much. Thank you for your members. Steve, it's the member from London West. Thank you, Speaker. On October 19th, 2016, the Minister of Health was asked why the people of London must wait longer for orthopedic surgery than other Ontarians. He said, I am working with the Southwest Lynn and the hospitals involved in the London area, and I expect in the very near future we will have arrived at a solution. Well, Speaker, five months later, wait times in London are still unacceptably long. My office continues to be inundated with complaints from people who are waiting months and even years for surgery. The Ministry's own wait times website shows that Londoners wait 35% longer than the provincial average, and that's after their initial consultation, which often takes months to secure. Speaker, it is clear that wait times in London are not a priority for this government. Underfunding and arbitrary caps on the number of surgeries that can be performed has resulted in specialists closing their offices, even as hospital operating rooms sit empty. Speaker, we are at a critical moment, and if the Minister will not take action, I will. Earlier this year, I wrote to the patient Ombudsman to urge an investigation by her office, presenting her with a long list of examples of Londoners who are suffering. Whether she investigates or not, you can be sure that I will continue to raise this issue in the legislature. My constituents deserve more than empty promises. They deserve real solutions. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Multicultural Canadian Fair and Trade Show 2017, organized by the Young Professional and Skilled Workers Association in Etobicoke Lakeshore. This is a not-for-profit community-based organization, South Etobicoke, which offers young professionals from different ethnic communities and skilled workers and apprentices throughout the GTA opportunities to network, socialize, and expand their professional horizons. The sold-out Canadian Fair and Trade Show brought together culture, arts, and various ethnic organizations and businesses for a day of networking and understanding. The Fair also celebrated the contributions of multicultural leaders and their organizations towards the success of a diverse social and business environment here in Ontario. I enjoyed meeting a variety of the exhibitors from Humber College to the various international chambers of commerce and local businesses. And I also had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion focusing on the best practices for how business could engage with different levels of government. Mr. Speaker, a trade show is one of the best ways to highlight various organizations and groups and stimulate networking among them. And the goals of this particular event were to improve networking, especially among multicultural groups, and ensure that there's more business opportunities for all Ontarians. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the members of the Young Professional and Skilled Workers Association for organizing such a successful event. And I look forward to their event in 2018. Thank you for the member statements and members from Sarnia Lampton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. One of the seminal moments in the history of our great province was the creation of the provincial college system in 1965 by the Progressive Conservative Government and then Minister of Education, the Honourable William G. Davis. As a result, on April 5th, 2017, Lampton College, in my writing of Sarnia Lampton, will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Established in 1966 and the second-oldest college in Ontario, Lampton College began with just four programs and 54 students at the original Blue Water campus. Today, Lampton College offers more than 90 diploma, certificate, and degree programs and is globally recognized as a post-secondary leader in education, training, and research. In fact, Lampton College was recently named the top research college in Ontario by research info and ink. In honour of its sesquic- semi-centennial anniversary, Lampton College will be hosting the President's Gala on May 13th in Sarnia. Among the guests that evening will be keynote speaker, Canadian funnyman, Rick Mercer, and the Honourable William G. Davis, former Premier and Minister of Education for the province of Ontario. Mr. Davis actually laid the cornerstone of the college's main building and an event in 1970. It will be a special moment for Lampton College and one I look forward to celebrating with them. I look forward to the celebration to all the staff and students of Lampton College on your golden anniversary. There's no doubt in my mind this anniversary is just the start of something amazing. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The reality is in this province far too many workers are forced to work through temporary job agencies. They cannot find permanent employment in this province. And the problem isn't that a temporary job agency connects workers with employment. The problem is that people working through these temporary agencies are often seeing their salaries clawed back and as much as 40% of their salary is clawed back by the temporary agency. Mr. Speaker, this is simply unfair. On top of that, workers that work through a temporary job agency do not receive benefits. This is unacceptable. This Liberal government has known about this problem for years, for over a decade they've allowed this problem to not only continue but to flourish. It's inevitable that people working beside a fellow colleague do not receive equal pay for equal work. That's why we're calling on this government. That's why I'm calling on this government to ensure that this policy, this practice that is so hurtful does not continue. We need to ensure that we have a province where workers receive equal pay for equal work. If you're working through a temporary job agency you should not see any of your pay clawed back. In addition, you should receive full benefits. That is a minimum. That is a requirement that we should have in this province. I call on this government to implement a policy to ensure that people receive the fairness that they deserve. Thank you very much. Thank you. It's the member from Brampton Springdale. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Over the course of this weekend I had the opportunity to talk to many of my neighbors and friends in Brampton Springdale and they're all so excited about the new electricity bills, the reduction in the summer of 25%. Many small businesses will benefit from this cut as the Fair Hydro Plan has been announced by Premier Nguyen and Minister Tipo this week. This bill's won't increase beyond the rate of inflation at least for four years. We're bringing hydro rates down by 25% and fixing the system structure. It's better for Ontarians, it's better for Ontario, and it's more fair for families. Since the announcement last week residents from other parts of the region appeal at the events that they attended all wanted to discuss this great new reduction and they're looking forward to seeing this reduction on their bills. We all understand that electricity is a necessity and that's why we're working to make it more fair and affordable for Ontarians. By fixing problems in the system we'll be able to provide every residential customer in Ontario with an average of 25% off their bill. People who live in eligible rural communities and those with low incomes will see even more reductions in their electricity bills. Now available to more low-income electricity consumers are able to apply online to receive $360 to $425 off per year on their bills through OESP. Taken together these changes will deliver the single largest reduction to electricity rates in Ontario's history. All residents are able to find out how much they will save on your monthly electricity bill and learn more about programs and tax credits to help lower your bills. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Further member Siemens, the member from Ontario has a question. Today we celebrate the 183rd anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Toronto. Of course Toronto is a little bit older than that. The Wyandotte people were perhaps the first to live in the area of Toronto. They had a settlement upon the banks of the Humber River. In 1750 the French established a trading post on the site of what are now the exhibition grounds in Toronto. Not long after that French North America was conquered by the British and the site of Toronto became the capital of the province of Upper Canada. Since then Toronto has always had an important role in Canadian history. Toronto welcomed the loyalists fleeing persecution after the American Revolution. Toronto survived the war of 1812. The rebellion of 1837 failed to shake Canadians attachment to the crown. And Sir John A. McDonough vision of a trans-continental parliamentary monarchy was first developed in Toronto. When the writer Charles Dickens toured British North America in the 1840s he found Toronto a vibrant and exciting place. Now at the beginning of the 21st century Toronto is one of the most populous and dynamic cities in North America. Here's to many more centuries of greatness and happy birthday to Toronto. Thank you. Thank you Speaker. A few months ago Pat Gwynn approached me with a wonderful and creative idea to help celebrate our nation's 150th birthday. These artists created an exhibit entitled Our Canada an impressive piece which dominates every wall it occupies. The mosaic consists of 16 12 by 12 inch paintings. Each tile tells its own story about a specific person or landscape. When viewed together the piece conveys a moving statement about the journey of our great nation one of the inspirational people seen in the mosaic is Terry Fox. There's a special local connection to Terry. 37 years ago he made his way through Barry on his marathon of hope to raise funds for cancer research. On October the 13th 1980 our city became the first in the nation to host the Terry Fox run in his memory and encourage other cities to do so. Other paintings in the mosaic recognize Nellie McClung, Roberta Bondar and lines from John McRae's poem in Flanders Fields. After being showcased from spring water all the way to Milton I am fortunate to have the Bayside artist hang this beautiful mosaic in my constituency office for the month of March. I would like to invite all members to visit my office in Barry to see this magnificent piece of art and to celebrate Ontario 150 with Team Hogarth. Congratulations to the Bayside artist on a tribute to Canada's history. Thank you for the member's statements. The member from Paul Lamarville. Ontario's tobacco growers are fed up with government's mismanagement of the industry. In 2015 the interior government took over former tobacco board licensing duties and today Ministry of Finance has the authority to directly hand out licenses to growers and buyers rather than the board acting as the agent. Ministry of Finance has the authority to hand out licenses and inspections. As a result growers feel like criminals because this is a government strategy on illegal tobacco and they do ask Ministry of Finance and the Premier to stop picking the low hanging fruit. Majority of tobacco farmers they are hard working law abiding citizens they want to be left alone to farm. Prior to Christmas many growers were hit due to the lack of marketing and without details this government would know those fines were unjust. A few weeks ago Ministry of Finance held an information session with growers meeting was long overdue. They expressed to the ministry that making up rules on the fly and that those rules change depending on who shows up to inspect their farm. Tobacco growers they are not bureaucrats they are not criminals and government has allowed contraband to spire out of control and it's up to all of us to identify illegal tobacco as a problem and to fix it. Thank you. Thank all members for their statements. It is there for now time for reports by committees.