 It's now time for Member Statements, the Member from Nipissing. Thank you, Speaker. I'm proud to rise and recognize the Ontario Convenience Stores Association as they visit Queen's Park today. The convenience store industry in Ontario consists of approximately 9,000 stores, employs 77,000 Ontarians, and serves 2.7 million customers every day. The convenience store industry in Ontario is worth over $18 billion annually, but these businesses provide much more value than that. There's no question that these small business owners are essential to the success of Ontario's economy. These entrepreneurs overcome challenges every day, and their commitment to providing reliable, timely, and fair service to Ontarians is admirable. Speaker, I can tell you I speak from experience. I grew up in a family that owned three convenience stores over our decades. My father, Hub, and my mother, Lena, opened Hub's Smoke Shop in the late 1950s. Then, Hub's Hilltop opened at the top of the hill in North Bay in the 1960s, and a third convenience store, Hub's, in the 1970s. My mum and dad, my grandmother, my aunt and me, my sister Teresa, my brother Peter, we all grew up working in these great stores. The Ontario PC Caucus is proud to stand with the Ontario Convenience Stores Association as they continue to grow and prosper to the benefit of all of Ontarians. Thank you. Thank you. Further members, same as the members from Trowell Danforth. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, today my comments are about the grassy narrowed first nation, where three generations of Indigenous people continue to suffer from mercury poisoning, which attacks the brain and damages permanently. My thoughts are with the mothers raising children challenged by mysterious learning delays, adults who each year lose more of their sense of touch, their hearing, their vision, and their balance. And may we learn from experts that fish on the Wabugun River are still highly contaminated with mercury poison more than 45 years after the government became aware of this dangerous problem. Fortunately, there is a solution to this shameful tragedy. The experts say that the river can be cleaned up so that the fish are safe to eat again, and it can be done safely. This echoes what the Minister of the Environment recommended to Cabinet in 1984. Premier Wynn still refuses to clean the river, but last June, she and the Minister did commit to immediately begin a $600,000 study to be led by grassy narrows and their team of experts. Now as the Wabugun River begins to freeze, I hear that almost none of the money has flowed and that an entire year of field work has been lost as a result. How much longer will this government stall and dissemble why grassy narrows families suffer? Speaker, talk of reconciliation is cheap. Whereas the reconciliation, while babies and grassy narrows are poisoned with mercury. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today is Grouper. Grouper marks the birth anniversary of the first Guru of the Sikhs, Grananik Devji. The Sikh community in Ontario and across the world is celebrating the 547th birthday of Grananik Devji. The basic lessons of Grananik Devji's teachings are truthfulness, living with emphasis on selfless service, tolerance, compassion, love, equality, humbleness, and well-being for all. His teachings are based on three guiding principles, Varn Chakot, sharing with others and helping those in need, Girth Karo, earning an honest living without exploitation or fraud, and Nam Jappo, to meditate God's name. Grananik Devji also passed the message of a universal brotherhood and believed in a casteless society, a society free of discrimination, and he believed in equality for all. All of Grananik Devji's teachings could be found in the Guru Granth Sahibji, the Sikh holy scriptures. Grananik Devji was the founder of the Sikh religion, and his Grouper was celebrated across the world. This morning, I had the opportunity to celebrate at Sarasagar Radio and local media station in Toronto, and tonight I look forward to celebrating in my community in Brampton, Springdale. Happy group. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I'm pleased to rise today to speak on World Diabetes Day. This year's theme, Eyes on Diabetes, was implemented in an effort to help promote the importance of screening for early diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes. Currently, one in two people with diabetes worldwide go undiagnosed. With more screenings, we could impact up to 70% of type 2 diabetes cases, as simply lifestyle changes can help prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In Ontario, over 1.5 million people currently have diabetes, while over 2.27 million have pre-diabetes. By 2025, the number of Ontarians with diabetes and pre-diabetes will encompass over 36% of our population. Many of those affected by diabetes can lead healthy lifestyles, but until a cure is discovered, prevention of the onset and negative health effects is key. It is important to have regular foot exams, eye exams, and screening to manage your diabetes and or watch for signs of pre-diabetes. World Diabetes Day reminds us to make the necessary lifestyle modifications such as eating healthy foods, being active, losing weight, and quitting smoking to prevent the onset of diabetes. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the Canadian Diabetes Association and the countless volunteers who not only support diabetics and diabetes research, but work hard day in and day out to educate Ontarians. I'd also like to take the opportunity to make mention that today is Sir Frederick Banting's 125th birthday. We wish him a happy birthday. Without his outstanding research, many of our loved ones would not be here today. Thank you. Thank you. Further member, status member from London West. Thank you, Speaker. Kamoka Provincial Park, located just outside my riding of London West, is truly a gem in my community. For years, people of London West have visited Kamoka to hike its scenic trails to birdwatch or just commune with nature. The park has allowed Londoners to reap the benefits associated with outdoor physical activity. In fact, Rio Olympian and London West resident Lanny Marchant, who just broke a record for a Canadian woman in the New York City Marathon, trained by running on the trails of Kamoka Park. Speaker, access to the natural environment not only makes people happier and more relaxed, it also makes them healthier, with reduced stress, improved mental health well-being, and lowered risk for chronic disease. I am therefore deeply disappointed by the Liberal Government's introduction of new parking fees at Kamoka Park, ranging from $5.75 to $14.50 for daily use. There was no call for a paved parking lot, and it's hard to see these fees as anything other than a cash grab, a cash grab that is likely to get bigger each year given the Liberal Government's decision to index all government fees to inflation. I am concerned that these new fees will reduce the number of park visitors and negatively affect community health and well-being. In fact, I've already heard from many residents of London West who say they will no longer be able to afford to visit the park. I call upon this Liberal Government to remove the fees and ensure that Kamoka remains accessible to London residents and to all Ontarians. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you. Further member statements? The member from Mrs. August Streetsville. Thank you, Speaker. Our eyesight is considered our dominant sense, providing us our biggest window into our world. People say they fear vision loss more than any other disability. We can protect our vision by visiting our local optometrist. As the primary eye care and vision care professionals in Ontario, optometrists provide services in the areas of urgent eye care, children's vision, seniors' vision, and disease prevention and management. Optometrists have the skills, technology, and expertise to detect and to treat eye conditions close to a patient's home. As Ontario's population ages and grows, optometrists will play an even larger role in Ontario's eye care. The Ontario Association of Optometrists has designated this week, the week of November 7th, as Optometry Week. During this week, MPPs will be able to tour an optometry practice, as I have done, in their communities. My optometrist, Dr. Sabrina Ahmed, explained how complex patient care has become. I hope my MPP colleagues see firsthand the type of services that optometrists provide, the technology that they use, and the contributions that optometrists make to our communities, to the Ontario healthcare system, and to the Ontarians that they assist. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you for your number. Same as the number from Brampton Kent Middlesex. Mr. Speaker, it is with regret that I inform this House the death on October 26 of Mr. George P. Decay of Hyde Park in the County of Middlesex. Mr. Decay was a teacher for 35 years. In the early 1960s, he was seconded from the London Board of Education to the Canadian Forces, and he taught Canadian children living on RCAF bases in what was then West Germany. Always interested in history and in particular genealogy, after his retirement from teaching, Mr. Decay completed his research into several connected families who were among the earliest settlers of London Township, in which included his own family. Mr. Decay contributed to the published histories of Lobo Township, Delaware, and Westminster Townships and West Williams Township. He chaired the committee doing similar work in the history of London Township published in 2001. His research was meticulous and his writing clear. Prior to his illness, Mr. Decay had been a regular volunteer at St. Joseph's Hospital and later St. Joseph's Hospice in London for over 20 years. Speaker, I wish to note the passing of a man dedicated to his community who made a significant contribution to the study of the history of Middlesex County, George Decay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Stateman. Thank you, Speaker. I'd like to take this opportunity to inform the House that the government is currently wrapping up the consultation part of the Northern Ontario multimodal transportation study. And since this consultation wasn't held in my writing and I've been able and unable to attend meetings outside my writing, I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about it here. Some of the things they're talking about are rail, road, air, and marine. I'd like to thank them for actually taking the time to consult because when our only passenger train in North-East Ontario was cut by the Liverpool Government five years ago, there was absolutely no consultation. None. None. So I'd like to put on the record on behalf of the residents of North-East Ontario that we need to look at bringing back some type of passenger rail service because the way it is now, the only public transportation service to North-East Ontario is the bus. And there's a lot of people who cannot take the night bus. Seniors, people with medical conditions, it's almost impossible. Bus travel is almost impossible. It's time to look at bringing back some type of viable rail service to North-East Ontario, especially on a government that claims to be spending all this time and money talking about increased public transportation. Our part of the world needs it as well. If you want to develop Northern Ontario, people need to know that they have public transportation that is viable for not only for themselves, but for their children, for their parents, and for their grandparents. Bring back the train. Thank you, Speaker. Recently, our Minister of Health and Long-Term Care came to the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre to mark the start of construction on enhancements to the centre. Grand River Hospital is currently the largest provider of treatment and cancer surgery in our region. This new project means that about 400 more patients can be treated each year. That's an impressive 24% increase. Improving cancer care for patients is part of our patients' first action plan for health care. And this $5.5 million investment in technology for the hospital speaks to our dedication for that commitment. Speaker, Grand River Hospital has provided radiation therapy to more than 7,300 patients in 104,000 visits and chemotherapy to more than 9,200 patients in 65,000 visits. These investments help the hospital continue the vital services that it provides in so many places in my region. Officials at the hospital share the sentiments heard from patients who were pleased with the expansion, especially those who are no longer needing to travel outside our region for cancer treatment. The expansion not only allows patients to be treated faster but also allows for the introduction of new, more complex and sophisticated techniques that Grand River wasn't offering previously. Speaker, like so many people in my community, I look forward to the completion of the expansion and thank our minister for visiting our community. Thank you. I thank all members for their statements.