 guests. It is now time for a member's statements, the member from Nipissing. Thank you very much, Speaker. This Friday, Speaker, I'm looking forward to attending the official campaign launch that is being held for a very important project in my writing of Nipissing. Speaker, that is the Nipissing Serenity Hospice. I want to congratulate all of the hardworking volunteers led by Matilde Bezzanette and the Italian Patron Jim Marmino in moving this much-needed initiative forward. The construction of our residential hospice will create 50 jobs during construction, 15 full-time and 10 part-time jobs when operational. Support for these hospices right across the province is vital. The community had put forth petitions which I supported by reading them into the record in this legislature and now the official fund raising starts. But, Speaker, it's a long road but nowhere near as difficult a path as those who need this hospice will face. Hospices provide a much-needed place dedicated to providing quality end-of-life care and allowing people to die with dignity. The Nipissing Serenity Hospice will be a much-valued addition to our community, and I thank you for allowing me this opportunity, Speaker. Thank you for your members. It's the member from Timon's James Bay. Well, Mr. Speaker, I'm going to be a little bit unorthodox and actually thank you for having started up the book award that we have now for the fourth year here in the province of Ontario, and I'm especially pleased that a friend of mine, Edmund Matata-Wabban, not because we pulled any strings, but he's a great author along with his co-writer, wrote a book called Up the Ghost River that is a story of Edmund and a story of many other people living on the James Bay when it comes to the experience of living out on the land, the experience of what the land means to First Nations, but also with the experience of residential schools have done to members of First Nations across the area. It is a very compelling book, it's a very disturbing book at times, but certainly one that is very much worth reading, and I can say I was no prouder than this Monday night when you pull that envelope, as we do on the awards ceremony during the Emmys or the Oscars, and you said the winner is, and for some reason I kind of knew that Edmund was going to win, because I'd seen his book, I've known Edmund for a long time, and I know what he had written was a very powerful account of his experiences and the stories of the James Bay. So on behalf of all of us here in the legislature, and on behalf of all the constituents across this province, we want to thank you for putting on this award speaker, but I really want to congratulate Edmund Matata-Wabban for being this year's winner of your book award, and very well deserved, and I think a lot of people back home are proud to see that Edmund had won it. A fabulous book indeed. Further Member of State and Member from Halton. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to rise today and speak about an organization doing great work, the Dancing Damsels. This nonprofit group is made up entirely of volunteers who are dedicated to promoting the arts and the empowerment of women. Recently, they held a wonderful event to celebrate International Women's Day. The group honored more than a dozen women for their achievements. Of the 14 award recipients, I was honored to be chosen as one of the women achievers. Several women were recognized, thank you for their contributions to areas like the arts, engineering and social services, but the real star of the show was one particular recipient, the one and only Hurricane Hazel McCallion. Hazel was honored for her 36 years as Mayor of Mississauga. She holds the record as Ontario's longest serving mayor, a title she now shares with Milton Mayor Gordon-Crantz. She established the GTA Mayor's Committee, she created Hazel's Hope, a campaign to help children with AIDS and HIV in Southern Africa, and her list of accomplishments goes on. It was inspiring, Mr. Speaker, to listen to Mayor McCallion speak and see the way the crowd responded to her. As we mark International Women's Day this week, it's been my pleasure to take part in several events celebrating women's achievements, including the Social Services Network in York region, where we have honored important women in the local South Asian community. Mr. Speaker, it makes me proud to be surrounded by such respected women, and I want to thank groups like Dancing Damsels and the Social Services Network for promoting women's empowerment. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Speaker. You know, every day thousands of Ontarians rely on professional police officers, 911 dispatchers, and other police service personnel to keep their families and communities safe. The Police Association of Ontario's first ever police services hero of the year award looks to honor those who make a difference in their communities. Constable Debbie Lafrenier from Chatham Kent Police has been nominated for her work with a young boy who's been faced with challenges from autism and who also lost his father to suicide. She meets regularly with Devon and deputizes him to help in the fight against bullying while promoting safety. Devon says this and I quote, she chases criminals and puts them in jail. She makes me feel safe and happy. She answers my questions and sometimes turns on the cruiser lights for me. She tells me I have to wear a seatbelt in order to stay safe. He adds she took the picture of us by the cruiser. I put it on my police station at school. She shares with me I want to be a police officer and be her partner. We will catch criminals and help people be safe. Thank you Constable Lafrenier for being a hero but more importantly for being a friend and a mentor to young Devon. Nominees must be one of the following. A sworn police officer, a 911 dispatcher, any other employee of a municipal police service and to be eligible for the award nominations must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on March 14th. In closing, to nominate your hero go to the website policehero.ca and be sure to read the stories of the heroes that walk among us. Thank you. Thank you for the member's statements. The member from Niagara Falls. Thank you Mr. Speaker. I'd like to write today and talk about one of the most important projects in the province of Ontario today. The Canadian Motor Speedway in Fort Erie. It's a project that is going to bring half a billion dollars of investment into our community and create good paying and stable jobs for the people of my riding. The talented Canadian Motor Speedway team and their executive director, Azar Mohammed, have been working tirelessly with elected officials from all levels of government over the last few years to eliminate barriers and get this project completed. I'm happy to say we're very close to achieving that goal. This is a project that has partnered with Niagara College, Brock University, McMaster University and the University of Ontario Institution of Technology and invested in research and design that will benefit the people of this province. It's worked with the automotive industry to ensure that the bright young minds of our province have the funding to innovate for a greener, more successful future in this industry. Simply put, this is a project that can help make Niagara the economic engine that drives the growth of this province and I'm proud to support it. Mr. Speaker, I hope that the members in this house will stand with me and ensure that we get this project completed, which can create thousands of jobs for this riding and bring in millions of dollars of economic development year after year after year. Thank you very much. Thank you. Member Stevens, the member from Cambridge. Thank you. Speaker, in my riding of Cambridge last week, a local legend celebrated a personal milestone. Danny the barber, local legend, philanthropist and generous community leader turned 80. Like many others who visited him in his shop on his birthday, I was warmly greeted with cake, a chance to donate to the self-help food bank and his ever-present political opinions. Born Doné Katzrov in Macedonia in 1936, he immigrated to Canada in 1956. In 1958, he opened his first barber shop in Hamilton and he moved to the Cambridge area in 1980. Danny has been a fixture ever since. Photographs cover the walls and ceiling of his shops and he has a story for each. He is fiercely patriotic, displaying a proud to call Canada home sign in front of his famous barber shop window. Danny has made helping others a mantra, donating the proceeds from countless clip-a-thons to the Cambridge hospital, the self-help food bank and veterans, among others. He helped establish the Cambridge Grand River Film Festival and the Macedonian Club. Want an opinion about goings-on or who will win an election? The people in Cambridge asked Danny the barber. He encourages people to vote, runs his own poll by keeping a record of his customer's voting intentions leading up to the election and he makes his thought-after predictions more accurate than the scientific pollsters. Happy birthday, Danny. Thank you for your good deeds, your words and here is to many more healthy years. Thank you. I rise today to highlight the devastating effects of this government's cuts to healthcare and how it's impacting my community. Prior to the release of the provincial budget, I asked the Minister of Health to restore funding to physician services after seeing three out of five labs shut down in Dufferin, Caledon and patients being forced to wait in the cold for service. The minister suggested he was confused by my question and doesn't seem to realize the consequences of his actions. On February 23rd, Life Labs, which operates the two remaining blood labs in Dufferin County, released an open letter announcing their decision to close testing facilities in Thorough, London and Ottawa in addition to consolidating 15 patient service centres ending nine arrangements for local medical office collection as well as reducing hours of operation in 53 patient service centres. While it remains unclear if the labs in Orangeville and Shelburne will be impacted, there is no doubt my constituents now have fewer options and longer wait times when it comes to lab services. In the letter, the President and CEO stated the decision was made in part because of, quote, a series of government funding reductions in Ontario. The minister refuses to admit there is a direct connection between his cuts and lab closures across Ontario. As a result of this latest announcement, I urge the minister to restore funding to health services so patients across Ontario can receive the essential services they rely on. Care not cut. Further member Sting is the member from Trinity Spadina. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I'm delighted to rise today to recognize the interactive digital media companies in my writing of Trinity Spadina. Yesterday, I was joined by Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport at Marble Media in Liberty Village to announce an increase of $6 million to the interactive digital media fund. I'm proud to say that many of these companies are in my writing. The interactive digital media fund will help companies develop innovative projects like video games, mobile apps and online magazines. For instance, I spoke to Mr. Mark Bishop, a partner of Distribution 360, who said this fund will help his business to grow and create jobs. Mr. Speaker, province-wide interactive digital media productions support approximately 17,000 jobs and contribute over $1 billion in revenue annually. It is important that we recognize their contribution and support them for our economic future. The interactive digital media is becoming more and more important in people's everyday lives. Ontario's support to this sector demonstrates our commitment to build an internationally competitive Ontario. Congratulations to all interactive digital media companies in Tunis, Vodana. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you for the member students, the member from Kitchener Center. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On Monday, I had the opportunity, along with my colleague, the MPP for Cambridge, to visit Forest Heights Collegiate Institute in Kitchener, to meet with students, teachers and school administrators, to share with them good news regarding our modernization of the Ontario Student Assistance Program or OSAP. As you know, we're launching the new Ontario Student Grant Program. For the first time ever, students from low-income families earning less than $50,000 a year are no longer going to have to pay for tuition. Mr. Speaker, this is a game changer in my community where we have two universities in a college and for all Ontarians. It means that students who wouldn't even bother applying to college or university because of the cost now have a chance at higher education. Students and families earning less than $83,000 will now qualify for the grants. Now, one of the young people at our event on Monday was 18-year-old Amanda Hicks. She's just been accepted to Ryerson to study in Toronto to study psychology. Amanda first heard about the free tuition from her mother on Facebook and she thought it was a joke until she looked into it and learned more about the announcement in our budget. She said, quote, it changes my whole planning for my future. I'm not going to be struggling to pay for food and living. I can't tell you how happy I was to hear this. Mr. Speaker, I believe that students like Amanda, regardless of their background or financial circumstances, should have a shot at a better future. This is helping to build Ontario up. Thank you very much. I thank all members for their statements. It's now time for