 Therefore it's time for member statements and member from Lampton Kent Middlesex. Well thank you very much Mr. Speaker. One of the presenters at my most recent rural and small town poverty roundtable I organized in my writing of Lampton Kent Middlesex was a delegation from NeighborLink, Chatham Kent. NeighborLink is a Christian lay ministry that offers life skills training to assist those in need. In Chatham Kent, NeighborLink is supported by 29 area churches. Their motto is connecting people in need with people who can help. In keeping with this motto, NeighborLink first connects people to services already existing but if a gap in services is discovered, NeighborLink attempts to fill it. Recently the Children's Services Division of the municipality forecast that possible funding cuts would lead to the cancellation of some children's play spaces. NeighborLink stepped forward and found three churches which have unused space and will provide these free to the municipality in order to continue the children's programs. NeighborLink supports many families by offering advice and instruction in budgeting, parenting and home economics. They also provide a free income tax service for people in OW or ODSP. One issue that is constantly raised at my rural and small town poverty roundtables is the lack of availability of transportation. This is perhaps the largest of NeighborLink's projects in Chatham Kent. Almost 50 wonderful volunteers provide free transportation to assist those in need to get to medical appointments, the food bank or to other necessary appointments. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all the parishes and volunteers who support the great work of NeighborLink and who are of such great service to their communities. Thank you. Thank you for the member Stainless, the member from Niagara Falls. Thank you Mr. Speaker. In Niagara the Catholic Elementary School teachers have been locked out since Monday morning. I went to my riding yesterday and the message from everyone is clear this isn't good for children it's not good for families and frankly it's dividing our community. We need to put children first. I was on the picket line today and it's clear to me that the teachers just want to teach. They love their students, they miss their students and they want to be in the classroom doing what they do best, teaching our future generations. We need to get them back in the classroom. From what I understand the teachers have offered binding arbitration to the school board. This would mean they would be back in school tomorrow. Work the world would be over, teachers would be teaching and kids would be in the classroom. I can't understand why the board would reject this offer. So today I have to minister to come to Niagara and speak with the teachers who have been locked out of their schools and also to the board members. Speak to the parents who just want their kids to have an education with the tax dollars they pay for. The province must play an immediate role here. Through binding arbitration we can end the lockout, end the work to rule and we can get those teachers back in our classrooms. I ask the minister please come to Niagara immediately for the sake of the families from across Niagara. Thank you very much. Thank you for the member statements, the member from Agent Scarborough, Agent Carter. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. March is recognized as a nutrition month, a month to focus on healthy eating across Ontario. As a former nurse and member of the Healthy Kids panel I can attest to how vital it is for our children and youth to have the knowledge to make a healthy food choice Mr. Speaker. One of the recommendations from the Healthy Kids panel was require food service provider with 20 or more locations to include a number of calories for each food and beverage items on the menus. Ontario became the first province in Canada to implement this type of menu labeling. This initiative coupled with extensive healthy eating and nutrition component in current health and physical education curriculum is preparing our children to make a healthy food choices. To further enhance this curriculum Mr. Speaker, shortly I will be facilitating a meeting with Neil Curry, the general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and local high school student principals in my writing of Scarborough Agent Court to introduce the 6x16 program. This program was created by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and is aimed to ensure each Ontario teenagers can plan and prepare six nutrition meals by the age of 16. This knowledge will facilitate lifelong nutritional well-being. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate nutrition month I'd like to recognize the leadership of Minister Hoskin, Minister Leo, Minister Hunter and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture in keeping Ontarians healthy and ensuring our youngest citizens making healthy choices. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the members and then we're from Nipissing. On behalf of our entire caucus we'd like to welcome the Credit Unions of Ontario to Queen's Park again today. Yesterday we had the opportunity to take part in a fantastic thought-provoking session with their members. It's easy to say that it's time to talk about the strength of Ontario's Credit Union Speaker because as a strong, secure place to put your money and invest those are the Credit Unions of today. Credit Unions provide support to families buying homes, they provide small business, the money that they need to expand but even though they have a Credit Union as an example inside Ryerson University they're unable to handle student loans. They donate millions to hospitals in North Bay for instance the Credit Union, Northern Credit Union donated $100,000 to our new hospital but they can't handle a hospital's finances so Speaker changes need to be made to level the playing field. Credit Unions need to be able to process payments for municipal property and or university loans, deal with school boards and compete for the hospital's business. These are the dreams of Credit Unions but these are also the dreams of the communities and their members all across Ontario. Thank you. Thank you for the members Phoenix, the members from Toronto, Danforth. Speaker I rise to address the issue of World Water Day which is being celebrated around the globe. For everyone who's ever been thirsty, for everyone who's ever had to go without you know how precious water is. The world's heating up and drinkable fresh water will become harder and harder to secure. Here in Ontario we have a range of laws but we don't have the protection of water yet that we need. The Grassy Narrows First Nation knows exactly what this is about having fought for decades to deal with the mercury poisoning of their local water system. They persevered under extreme conditions to defend their community. In Brant County the concerned citizens of Brant are fighting to protect the drinking water source for the township of Paris from an aggregate project that is scheduled that is projected for the Wellhead Protection Area. In the Guelph area Wellington water watchers are fighting to ensure that local water resources are publicly controlled rather than given over to private bottling interests. Speaker that is why new democrats believe we need an Ontario water strategy. A strategy that puts public needs for water first and that will actually protect Ontario's water resources for the future. Speaker water is life in Grassy Narrows, in Brant County, in Wellington and across Ontario and government action needs to reflect that reality. Thank you. Thank you for the member status. The member from Durham. Speaker I rise today to formally recognize Emma Harris who is here in the gallery with us today a student from my writing of Durham who attends Bowmanville High School. Emma Harris is one of 11 Ontario students who have been named agent of change ambassadors for the Tunis for Thomas campaign. Tunis for Thomas is designed to raise funds and awareness of the importance of student nutrition. Emma organized a movie screening at her school and sold tickets and treats for Tunis. Mr. Speaker I am pleased to share that this event attracted 380 students and raised $976 for the campaign. Emma's initiative have contributed to such an amazing cause. The Grassy Foundation which is one of Ontario's largest funders of student nutrition has raised over 15 million for student nutrition through the Tunis for Thomas campaign. In 2016 the Grassy Foundation launched its agents for change program. This past year a number of teens from across Ontario actively lead efforts in their school to elevate discussions around the importance and impact of these programs are having. Their effort speaks to a bigger opportunity namely a student lead movement that is directly related to feeding healthier generation with our collective support students like Emma Harris can continue to be part of a bigger effort to feed a healthier generation. Thank you Speaker. Thank you for the member statements. The member from here on Bruce. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker and it's always a good day when you can stand in the house and share good news about your riding in this case my riding of Huron-Bruce. Situated on the shores of Lake Huron is the village of Bayfield a picturesque little town that has recently received a huge recognition. In a recent survey conducted by Expedia the little town with a big heart was recognized as one of the top three friendliest towns in Canada. In an article on the Travel Companies blog it was said that bobbing boats, charming boutiques and ringing bicycle bells make it easy to think that you're in some kind of fairy tale when you're walking through Bayfield. One visitor to Bayfield wrote about the town. Bayfield is charming with lots of small beach style shops art galleries and fabulous restaurants all within a few blocks. A perfect setting for a weekend getaway from the city or a relaxing vacation on the beach and anyone that has visited this town will know that you're treated like a friend or a neighbour. Stories of shop owners and residents asking visitors where they're from and offering recommendations for local attractions are plentiful. So with spring and summer just around the corner speaker I'd like to encourage everyone to take a trip out to Bayfield and experience the hospitality for yourselves along Lake Huron Lakeshores and you can take a room at the Yashwood, the little Inn of Bayfield or the loft B&B and explore all that this charming town has to offer. And don't forget when you come to Ontario's West Coast share your experience on Twitter by using hashtag Bayfield Ontario. Thank you very much. Thank you very much speaker and speaker. Last Friday many of us celebrated St. Patrick's Day St. Patrick's Day is a time to reflect upon and remember a vital part of Canada's history, a history which is often forgotten, the history that tells the story of thousands of Irish immigrants who arrived in 1847. Thousands of men, women and children were forced to leave Ireland fleeing the potato famine that devastated Ireland in the 1840s. The journey across the Atlantic was a deadly one seeing thousands of Irish immigrants lose their lives on what were referred to as coffin shifts, many dying of typhus. 38,000 immigrants from Ireland arrived in Toronto in 1847. The population of Toronto was 20,000. So next to the airport, the island airport here, there's the Ireland park that commemorates their arrival located to nowhere the ships landed. The park is home to a group of sculptures serving as a touching memorial to those who arrived in Canada seeking refuge with the hope of beginning a new life. Mr. Speaker, many of those Irish descendants arrived in the Ottawa Valley all the way on the Ontario side, on the Quebec side, and it's a rich deep history of the Irish in the Ottawa Valley that we're all very proud of. Given some of the things that are happening in the world today with relations to immigration, it's important to remember and honour the Irish immigrants, their sacrifices and courage in coming to Canada, and the intrinsic role that they have played in shaping our province and our country. Thank you, Speaker. Thank you for the members savings, the members from Oxford. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise today to recognize United Nations World Water Day. It's a good opportunity to recognize the importance of protecting our environment and to protect this vital resource that we all depend on. It's also a good opportunity to remind the Minister of the Environment and the members of the legislature about the proposal our community is dealing with that could put our drinking water in Oxford at risk. This is a proposal in the village of Beechville to locate a landfill on fractured limestone near the Thames River. It's also located close to one of the town of Ingersoll's main wells. A leak could contaminate all that water. Mr. Speaker, we believe that locating the landfill on this site is simply too great a risk. I've had the privilege of delivering tens of thousands of letters to the Minister of Environment conveying these concerns from my community. The local mayors have been at Queen's Park to deliver the same message. I want to commend everyone who took the time to share their concerns and all the volunteers who have put countless hours into getting the message out, doing the research, raising money, attending events and many other tasks. It's a long fight but these volunteers and community are committed. So today as we celebrate World Water Day I want to remind the government of the importance of protecting our groundwater and the Thames River and ensuring that our drinking water is not put at risk. Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. Thank you. I thank all members for their statements.