 introductions. Therefore, it's time for members' statements, the member from Bruce Gray on its own. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Today is the World Health Organization's World No Tobacco Day, an annual event that is particularly relevant for our province given Ontario's serious illegal cigarette problem. Contribute tobacco is extremely cheap, a baggie of 200 cigarettes often costs less than a movie ticket or one-tenth the price of legal product. It is sold through a criminal distribution network that connects cigarettes to kids without the hassle of checking for ID. I've heard it from people right in my own riding at Bruce Gray on sound. The youth today are smoking contraband because they are very inexpensive and easily accessible. As such, illegal cigarettes are a prime source for youth smoking. In fact, a study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health flagged the easy accessibility to contraband tobacco at its low price as prime reasons for a stubbornly high youth smoking rate. Ontario has the worst contraband tobacco problem in Canada. An average of one in three cigarettes purchased in 2015 were illegal, and so far these disturbing statistics have held true for the first half of 2016. Illegal cigarettes also fund some of Canada's least desirable elements. The RSNP estimates that contraband tobacco is a cash cow of more than 175 criminal gangs who use the proceeds to finance other activities, including guns, drugs and human smuggling. World No Tobacco Day offers an important opportunity to discuss that illegal cigarettes continue to be a scourge on Ontario's communities. They fund organized crime. They facilitate youth smoking, and the short-change tax payers a phenomenal amount of money. In Quebec, tough anti-contraband measures introduced in 2009 have led to a 50% decrease in contraband. As such, I remind the Interior Government that it too needs to fully enforce its Smoke-Free Ontario Act and take action today to crack down on the sale of contraband tobacco in our communities. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Further member statements? The member from Hamilton East on the creek. Thank you, Speaker. Pauling levels of poverty persist in this province, most especially and shamefully in many of our First Nations communities, but also in my own writing of Hamilton East, Stony Creek. Ontario's desperately low social assistance rates leave family tonguery, under housed and sick. And 30,000 people in Hamilton work every day but do not earn enough to pull themselves out of poverty because they do not earn a living wage. As a result, more than one in five children in Hamilton live in poverty. But today, I'm bringing good news, Speaker. The City of Hamilton this month announced a 10-year poverty reduction strategy, which I hope the government will follow in. Funded with $50 million of the city's own resources, even though the city's suffering from infrastructure problems, the city is investing $20 million in affordable housing and $30 million on other anti-poverty work. The city's investment plan will be guided by the priorities articulated by local residents and community groups instead of following the all too familiar top down approach. Some may say that tackling poverty is part of the province's job description, and indeed it is. We here have a moral imperative to reduce poverty, but instead of passing the buck and waiting for adequate provincial help, Hamilton leaders are taking responsibility for their people. I want to commend Hamilton City Council and the Mayor of Hamilton in particular for their leadership and initiative in fighting against poverty. I ask the provincial government to work with the City of Hamilton and to offer real financial support to build on this rare municipal investment. Thank you. Thank you for the minister of students and members from Hamilton. I wanted to speak today on a somber anniversary for so many Ontario residents. This past Saturday marked 25 years since the tragic death of prominent South Asian radio and television broadcaster, Mr. Lolly Vige. On May 28th, 1991, this respected Toronto journalist was gunned down in an act of senseless violence in the parking lot of his downtown studio. And while this is a sad anniversary, we will always remember Lolly Vige for his wonderful personality and numerous contributions. He was the popular host and producer of the Sounds of Asia television show that ran for many years on both global television and city TV. It featured many talented people from South Asia and gained international recognition. Prior to that, he hosted a radio program called Voice of India broadcasting in Hindi. Lolly Vige was a respected and admired member of the South Asian community and was instrumental in shaping multicultural media and entertainment right here in Ontario. I hope that all members of the House will join me in extending our sympathies to his wife, Samir and their two sons. The impact Lolly Vige made on the South Asian ethno-cultural communities will be long lasting. 25 years after his passing, the legacy of Lolly Vige remains strong. Thank you. Thank you for the member's statements. The member from Nipissing. Bonjourno a tutti. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the importance of foreign language training in our education system. Learning a foreign language not only supports the social and cultural development of a child, it also provides them significant economic advantages in an increasingly globalized and free trade-oriented world. As such, it is deeply concerning to see that the York Catholic District School Board is once again considering cutting its Italian language program. This program boasts a 40-year tradition and more than 1 million students in Ontario have studied Italian in Toronto and York region. In fact, Italian Ambassador Giancornado recently wrote directly to Premier Nguyen urging the government to ensure the long-term sustainability of this program. However, the school board has cited, quote, funding reductions announced by the province, quote, as a reason for the potential cut. This is unacceptable, given the auditor general recently found the government has taken over $80 million out of the classroom, effectively starving funding for programs such as this. I urge the government, specifically those MPPs representing York region, to do the right thing and fight for the preservation of Italian language program at this evening's school board meeting. Thank you. Excuse me. We've really taken a spiral when we're starting to heckle each other in these circumstances. The member from Algoma Manitou. Well, I'll speak on a little bit of a lighter note. May is Lime Awareness Month. Stakeholders, organizations, lime advocates and various participants across the country hold events as a way to raise awareness and shine light on the importance of lime disease. In Ontario alone, we have several awareness events being held. One on May 17th, when Niagara Falls was lit up lime green. May 21st, the Alpine Falls were made a special lime lighting. On May 22nd, the CN Tower was lit up to recognize green chronic lime disease awareness. A few weeks ago, I participated with Lime Ontario's A Walk for Hope in Burlington. A Walk for Hope is not only for lime patients, it includes caregivers, families and friends. It is an opportunity for the lime community to gather together and show support for one another. As lime disease grows, we continue to work together in a common goal, raising awareness and developing diagnosis and treatment options within Ontario and in Canada. Often people ask me, why do you do this? I do it for Sarah Brunner, a nutritionist out of Thunder Bay. I do it for Doug Thompson, a maple syrup producer out of St. Joseph Island. Paige Spencer, a beautiful young girl out of Mississauga. Dennis Bilbrough, a father and grandfather out of Elliott Lake. Corinne and Sarah, two beautiful young ladies that I met in Burlington just a couple of weeks ago. Organizations like Lime Support Groups, Lime Alliance Ontario, Lime Ontario, Can Lime and a beautiful little boy from Thessalon, Austin Children, which I just met just a couple of weeks ago. It's easy to get involved. Several Ontarians have already taken up the challenge. I have taken the challenge, Mr. Speaker. Have you? Take a bite out of the lime, Mr. Speaker. It goes a long way. I have no comment about that, prop. Thank you. Members, David's the member from Trinity Spadina. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today to acknowledge and celebrate the upcoming Session Toronto Craft Beer Festival that will be taking place in Toronto on June the 11th. The 7th annual Craft Beer Festival will open Craft Beer Week, bringing brewers from all over the province to Toronto to showcase their unique beverage. This morning, I was honored to work in the collaboration with Toa Basu to make this very special brew of craft beer that will be entering this year's Craft Beer Festival. The special brew will bring a cultural aspect to the festival by marrying a signature three brewers out with a special Chinese tea. As the culture of craft beer continues to grow in Toronto and throughout Ontario, I'm excited to see this festival and many more like it coming to Trinity Spadina. I would like to invite everyone, every member of this house to join me on June 11th and I encourage all Ontarians to come experience the festival firsthand and remember, always drink responsibly. Thank you. Thank you. Further members, David's the member from Elgin, Middlesex London. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I'm pleased to rise today to recognize the St. Thomas athletes who competed in the Special Olympics Ontario Provincial Spring Games. The Games just took place on May 26th to 28th in Guelph. The motto of this year's Games was believe and achieve and was one of the largest games held ever in Ontario with six sports and over 900 athletes, coaches and team delegates. The sports included swimming, powerlifting, basketball, rhythmic dance, five and ten pin bowling. I'm delighted to note that every athlete from St. Thomas achieved medal standing and I'd like to announce their names. Dan Robertson, five pin bowling, a silver, Matt Morrow swimming, three gold, one silver, Zach Griffith swimming, one gold, Gordie Mitchie swimming, four gold and Gordie is going to the Rio for the Paralympic Games. St. Thomas Swish basketball team won a silver. Team members were Rahim Jamani, Pete Martins, Jason Spriggs, Nick Hansen, Dylan Kelvert, Jared Paznak, Isaac MacDonald Gordon, Chris Freeman, Captain Alex White and coaches Trevor Armstrong and Dave Strickland. Since the very first Special Olympic Games are held in Toronto in 1969, the organization is going to grow providing year round sports training and athletic competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities. It's a wonderful opportunity for participants to demonstrate courage, experience, joy, develop skills along with friendships along the way. Once again, congratulations to all the athletes and thank you for the coaches and volunteers that helped make this a successful event. I'm not going to tell the member that my buddy, P.D. Charnish from Bradford had four golds and a silver, so I'm not going to tell him that. The member from Ottawa or the only. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 10th anniversary of the Smoke Free Ontario Act and the World No Tobacco Day. On this 10th anniversary, I want to extend congratulations to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and to the end their Ottawa model of smoking cessation. There were one of 10 recipients of the Governments of Ontario Etter Crow Award that were presented earlier today. The purpose of the Etter Crow Smoke Free Ontario Award is to recognize individuals, groups, and organizations across Ontario that have made a significant contribution towards achievement of milestones and accomplishments of the Smoke Free Ontario Strategy in the past 10 years. I also want to highlight the tremendous work done by my predecessor from the wonderful writing of Ottawa Leon in creating a Smoke Free Ontario. Phil McNeely was a Smoke Free advocate to propose an amendment to the original Smoke Free Ontario Act. The amendment that he proposed would ban having an open wall of cigarettes in convenience stores and retail businesses. The McNeely amendment was adopted and put into the Smoke Free Ontario Act and has helped keep cigarettes out of sight of children. And so, Mr Speaker, on this 10th anniversary of the Ontario Smoke Free Act, I am very proud of what has been accomplished by the province in order for the next generation to live in a very healthy environment. Thank you very much. Members, David, the member from Brampton, Springer. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise before you today to speak about a religious event this upcoming Sunday in my writing of Brampton, Springdale. This Sunday, the Guru Nanak Mission Centre in Brampton, Springdale will host their fifth annual parade to commemorate Sikh martyrdom. Martyrdom and Sikhism represents an important element of the faith. The martyrdoms of the Sikh Gurus and those who followed are regarded as instructional ideals for Sikhs and have greatly influenced Sikh culture and Sikh practices. The concept of martyrdom was made explicitly part of the Sikh teachings by Guru Nanak Devji. The fifth Guru, Guru Arjun Devji, is regarded as the first Sikh martyr. The later martyrdom of Guru Devji who refused to convert to Islam in an effort to protect Hindu religious practice is credited with making respect for freedom of conscience a key part of Sikh identity. Our government has always made a longstanding respect of human rights in respect for religious freedoms. These rights are vital to us as Canadians and those responsible for atrocities must be held accountable. As we remember the lives lost in 1984, we must remain vigilant that the basic human rights of all individuals are respected and such tragedies are never repeated. I invite everyone to join me in the Brampton Springdale community at the Gurudwara Guru Nanak Mission Centre and commemorating the lives of the Sikh martyrs. The parade will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. and we will walk in the memory of Shaheed, those that lost their lives in the name of the Sikh faith during injustices against the religion. The annual religious parade highlights the concept of religious freedom, freedom of expression and the value and tolerance in the Sikh faith. I sincerely thank all residents and businesses in the neighborhood for their support and cooperation. I once again join everybody to join us. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I thank all members for their statements. I beg to