 It is now time for Member Statements, the Member from Perry, Salma, Spokane. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in the House today to recognize the local support being shown for the Almagwin Fish Improvement Association in Perry, Salma, Spokane. The AFIA is a community stewardship program that has been involved in conserving native pickerel populations in Lakes of Seabin, Omic Lake, for over 30 years. Their hatchery is run by volunteers and does not rely on any government funding. Yet the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry contests the AFIA's actions and is again attempting to shut down the operation. My office has received resolutions of support for the AFIA from three municipalities to date. Last week, I tabled on this House of Petition containing 263 signatures and as I speak, support continues to pour in. These individuals and municipalities are all calling for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to take action to support the AFIA and to reinstate the community-operated hatchery. They emphasize that the biological integrity of these lakes is key to the area's economic stability through tourism and that their viability ought to be preserved for future generations. They also highlight the benefits of the education program run by the AFIA for local schools. I support this local initiative and I applaud these communities' efforts. I call on the Minister and Ministry to issue the required permits to allow the AFIA to continue their stocking program. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Member of State, Mr. Member, from Parkdale High Park. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise as a revered doctor with the United Church of Canada to wish Christians around the world and in this Chamber a very holy, holy week and, of course, to pray for those Christians who are under attack around the world, including in the Middle East, and clear up some misconceptions about what Christianity is not. It is not LGBTQ-phobic. In fact, Jesus talked about loving your neighbor no matter who your neighbor was, wanting for your neighbor what you want for yourself. Also, the very first Christian convert was somebody seen as sexually unclean to the powers that be of that day. Christianity is not anti-woman. In fact, women were the last to leave the cross in the very first to proclaim the resurrection and they even changed Jesus' mind about theology. Christianity is also not anti-science and it is not anti-sexuality. In fact, some of the most erotic poetry is in song of Solomon and God gave us the gift of reason for a reason, Mr. Speaker. So to all of those who around the world are celebrating holy week or going to walk with Jesus to the cross beyond and through the resurrection, I say have a very, very blessed Easter and Good Friday and, of course, Monday Thursday. Take care. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge our province's world-class engineers. Recently, I was asked by the professional engineers of Ontario, the PEO, to take part in their Take Your MPP to work day. I would like to thank Darlene Campbell and Hafiz Bashir, the government liaison chairs for putting the event together. The good work done by our diligent engineers largely takes place behind the scenes, but one major aspect of their work, safety, affects us all every day. I commend the PEO for their leadership and developing standards that prioritize the safety of Ontarians and, furthermore, I would like to recognize them for encouraging female participation in engineering. We still have a ways to go, but with their strong support and three of the last five presidents being women, including Annette Bergeron from my riding of Kingston and the Islands, the PEO has established positive, inspiring female role models for the engineers of tomorrow. Going to the front lines is a priority for me, so I was thrilled that my visit took me to Mabardier's state-of-the-art light rail transit design testing and manufacturing facility. Their 450-plus highly skilled employees are building rail transit for cities around the globe for delivery to South Africa, Brazil, Kuala Lumpur and Vancouver. Mr. Speaker, at a time when governments are focusing on environmental stewardship and fiscal responsibility, it is very exciting that rail transit optimized to these requirements is being produced right here in Ontario. Miigwech, merci. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Member Stevens. The Member from Chattanooga, Massachusetts. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The two finalists for the Kraft Hockey Bill were announced during this past Saturday night's hockey night in Canada broadcast, and I'm very proud to say that my hometown of Chatham Kent will face off against North Sandwich, B.C. in the final showdown for Kraft Hockey Bill 2015. What an honor. Both finalists will receive $100,000 in arena upgrades, but the winner will host an NHL pre-season game. I can only hope it's between the Leafs and the Red Wins. If Chatham Kent wins, it'll be a victory for the entire community. It'll mean just a little more to a young, special person in the community, Chad Peterson. Chad has been an inspiration to us all. Chad has been the Chatham Maroons superfan. His love of hockey and life have inspired us all. For months, he's been driving around Chatham Kent in a Volkswagen Beetle with a Kraft Hockey Bill logo on the side. This contest means that much to him. Why? Well, Speaker Chad was born with fine motor skills disability, but he has refused to give up on his dream. And recently, he was quoted in the newspaper saying, we're going to have the best huge party at Memorial Arena. Oh, yeah, we'll be live on hockey night in Canada. That'll be totally amazing. We're going to rock Chatham Kent. So let's get behind Chad and the organizers who made this possible. We've come this far. Now let's bring Hockey Bill to Chatham Kent. So go to www.khv2015.ca to vote for Chatham Kent today. Deadline is tonight. So vote now and vote often. And if we win, I personally invite everyone to the biggest party on April the 4th at the Chatham Memorial Arena. Thank you, Speaker. Far be it from me to interrupt the rant. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I'm proud to stand in this house and represent the people of Oshawa. And today I'd like to say that General Motors has been building cars in Oshawa for over a century. But in spite of our strong history, the future remains uncertain. This morning, Unifor released an independent study on the significance of General Motors to my community in Oshawa and the impact the province would feel in the event of a closure. It was not a surprise to hear that the result would be devastating. According to the report, Ontario would experience a loss of over 30,000 jobs and our GDP would decline by more than $5 billion. And as the government scrambles to sell our public assets to pay for election promises, another $1 billion would disappear from their revenue stream. Speaker, the Liberal government cannot continue to sit on its hands and wait. Ontario's automotive industry boasts state-of-the-art technology and innovation and a skilled workforce that is rivaled by none. But it is the government's job to make sure these advantages are not overlooked. When the industry is considering where they want to build a new plant, we need to put ourselves in the best possible position to secure that investment. In my writing, I've heard from auto workers concerned that their jobs are at risk, pensioners worried about their retirement security, and small business owners afraid for the ripple effects in our local economy. I ask that the government take these concerns seriously and adopt a comprehensive automotive strategy to help to put my community in Oshawa and others across Ontario at ease. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about a great event. I went to in my writing of Ottawa Orleans last week. The event was one to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the plein air ensemble. Twenty-five years ago, three artist brands, Pierre-Ethe Le Beauet, Charles Pratt, and Andrew Lyle organized the first painting trip to teach students outdoor painting. Nobody would have guessed at that point that this small group would grow constituently. The group's aim is to capture the beauty of the landscape while fostering the friendships among artists. Today, the group has about 75 members, which about to 15 to 20 were taking part in each trip event. Most of the artists come from the Ottawa Gannos region. Each year, they plan a spring and fall trip to different destinations. During this exhibition in Orleans, 21 of the plein air ensemble members showed works from different trips. The show highlighted the wonderful talent and diversity of this group of artists. I saw many fine artworks in oil, acrylic, watercolors, and pastel. I would like to recognize the event's organizers, Kirsten Peters and Elaine Martin, for their outstanding work on the event and many more to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to report the results of my recent newsletter survey. I want to thank the hundreds of people who took the time to respond and share their concerns. Mr. Speaker, one of the biggest concerns continues to be the proposal to locate a landfill on fractured bedrock near the Thames River, which would put our drinking water at risk. One of the other major concerns is wind turbines. People are concerned about the impacts of their health, their community, and the safety at nearby airports. 93% of people who responded said municipalities should have a say in where the wind turbines are located. Mr. Speaker, when I read the responses, I'm always struck by the impact of this government's policies and how difficult they are making it for people to make ends meet. 49% of the respondents said that their hydro bills had increased by 20 to 50% over the last 10 years, and 30% said their hydro bills had increased by more than 50%. People are doing everything they can to keep costs down, but the increases are staggering. And this government is now proposing to charge them for a pension plan. It's not that they don't want more retirement income. It's that they can afford this government's proposal. 78% of residents said they can't afford to pay 1.9% of their income into the proposed pension program. These are the numbers government needs to consider before they push ahead. Again, I want to thank everyone who took time to respond so I can continue to raise their concerns here in the legislature. Thank you very much. Thank you. Members, David, Mr. Member from Kitchener Centre. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Recently I had the opportunity to drop in on Waterloo Region's Community Legal Services. This is a non-profit agency under Legal Aid Ontario. Executive Director Shannon Down told me that her mandate is to provide access to legal services for people in groups facing financial barriers when trying to seek legal counsel. In my riding of Kitchener Centre, I often meet with constituents who have benefited from the legal clinic with issues such as social assistance and disability appeals, landlord and tenant board cases, and workplace safety and insurance claims. The clinic is especially important to new Canadians who may not have a full grasp of our official languages. They're often vulnerable and are lacking understanding of our legal system. They don't always know their rights. As part of our government's commitment to promoting fairness and accessibility in the justice system, regardless of their income, we dedicated an additional $30 million in our 2014 budget to Legal Aid Ontario. The result of this investment has meant greater capacity for the clinic to meet with the demand that they face. After more than 25 years, our Community Legal Clinic continues to provide vital access to the legal process for those who might otherwise be underserved or excluded. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated service providers of legal clinics across Ontario who fulfill this very important mission every day. Thank you. Thank you for your statements to the member from Brenton Springdale. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this Friday I have the pleasure of attending the William Osler Health Systems Foundation's second annual holy gala fundraiser. This spectacular community event took place to celebrate holy, which is traditionally celebrated by members of the Hindu faith. The festival is known as the Festival of Colours and the Festival of Love. And as such, the festival has grown to become popular amongst Indians and Canadians of all faiths and backgrounds. Mr. Speaker, on this evening at the Grand Empire Convention Centre, there is a number of colours over 700 guests, including members of all three levels of government, to partake in an evening full of fun, food and dance. There is performances by magicians, dance teams, world-renowned singers, Nindikour and Manj Music, as well as Acting Sensation Benevariani for money. Mr. Speaker, through sponsorships, donations, auctions and raffles, the organisers were able to raise a remarkable $150,000 redevelopment initiatives at all three Osler locations, as well as equipment needs at the Brenton Civic Hospital, which is in my writing. As a direct result of the proceeds from this event, members of our community will have greater access to services than the needs they require in their hospitals, healthcare facilities. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the organisers, volunteers, board members, doctors, nurses and all the staff, as well as William Osler's President and CEO, Matt Anderson, for all the work they continue to do for our community. Thank you. Thank you. I thank all members for their statements. It is now time