 There being no further introductions. It's now time for a member statements the member from the deficit Thank You speaker the rising cost of electricity in Ontario continues to be a grave concern in my riding the township of Calvin Recently passed a resolution Supporting the township of Wayne fleet in requesting that an RFP for added wind generation There be cancelled the leaders in Calvin note that the auditor general's most recent report showed the Ontario power consumers pay a premium of nine point two billion dollars for renewable power with wind power pricing that is double the prices paid in other Jurisdictions they also note Ontario Continues to generate surplus electricity and that wind power is an intermittent source of generation that can't be used to replace dependable Generating capacity as a result Calvin township Resolves at the province exercise. It's right in section four point one three bracket twelve of the current LRP RFP To cancel the process at any stage and for any reason and not issue any new wind generation Contracts they also ask the province to hold off on any further renewable procurement Until capacity is needed and that the IESO review outstanding fit contracts that haven't achieved quote commercial operation and vigorously enforce Fit contract terms speaker affordable energy may be the fantasy to this government But it's something Ontarians deserve and expect Thank You speaker I rise today to talk about Roy Dixon a 79-year-old senior in my writing of Welland and the many seniors across the province whose Lives are being unnecessarily diff made difficult by this liberal government Roy Dutifully received an eye exam with an optometrist once per year three months ago after his last exam His optometrist reported him to MTO after his test Supposedly showed he was a hazard on the road MTO suspended his license Roy is a fixed income senior He paid a hundred dollars for a second opinion with an ophthalmologist that cleared his vision But before reinstating his license he had to do not only a formal driving evaluation But worse he had to pay $75 to do it to be clear Roy was forced to pay $800 in fees to Occupational therapists and ophthalmologists to disprove the initial assessment and to try and get his license back after almost a year without it Roy deserves better Ontario seniors deserve better It's unacceptable for us to be making life unnecessarily difficult for our seniors Forcing them to pay hundreds of dollars to prove what a medical professional had already confirmed I urge all members of this house to Give our seniors the respect they deserve and to stop their unfair gouging and unnecessary red tape Thank you speaker speaker today I rise to say thank you to a group of people and organizations that are making a difference in my community in a Tobacco Center Every day speaker is MPPs. We hear from constituents who need our help Sometimes we are our staff can assist them but often we connect them with government agencies or community organizations That can offer them the support that they need Community agencies are often run and funded by volunteers and they provide assistance daily to all our constituents including my own and They are fundamental to the quality of life in a Tobacco Center and although these organizations offer a lot of useful services Many constituents are unaware of them and therefore can't always access the help that they need when they need it And we can all think of instances when constituents in our respective communities have reached out to our constituency offices To ask us and assisting them in finding local organizations or elements of the government that can actually serve their specific needs That is why a couple of weeks ago speaker I alongside my colleague from a Tobacco Lakeshore Organized the annual government and community services fair at Cloverdale Mall in a Tobacco the fair created a space for 112 exhibitors consisting of community service organizations and government agencies to showcase the services that they offer and we managed to attract over 3,000 members of the Tobacco community again this year mr.. Speaker the fair allowed my constituents to learn more about the services that these Wonderful organizations deliver and ask questions of staff and volunteers I rise in the house today speaker to thank the 112 exhibitors from the community organizations not only for participating in the fair But for dedicating the selves to serving my constituents for making our community a better place to live for making a difference in a Tobacco Center every single day Mr. Speaker the leadership of our medical officers of health and the programs provided by our boards of health and public health units Demonstrate a focus on health not just health care This is essential because Ontario needs a wellness agenda which promotes illness prevention and on keeping people healthy Not just caring for the sick the Ministry of Health has frozen funding for cost-shared mandatory public health programs as well as fully funded programs Health units are being forced to do more with less and reduce staffing This should concern all of us in this house Minister of Health needs to listen to our public health officials in addition to expressing concern about funding challenges They're also responding to his patients first discussion paper The Wellington Dufferin Guelph public health board chair Doug Ald has written an excellent letter to the minister with constructive feedback on the discussion paper Raising the need for cooperation collaboration Recognition of local communities unique needs Accountability appropriate alignment of Lynn boundaries and dedicated funding I've also heard similar concerns from the region of Halton in particular They've emphasized the need for appropriate alignment of Lynn boundaries and consolidating the entire region into one Lynn area They also stress the importance of ensuring that there is sufficient funding from the province to enable them to continue to provide the public health services That our residents need now that the minister has concluded his consultation process on patients first I urge him to pay close attention to the recommendations of our public health officials and remember Ben Franklin's old saying Announcement of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Thank you very much The member from Hx Pickering Thank You mr. Speaker like everyone in this house. I annually honor all Places of worship whether they are Tamil Muslim Hindu Jewish or is merely just to name a few and including ceremonies of Diponga Ramadan eat Elf either which marks the end of Ramadan and holy Diwali Yonkipper Passover and Rosh Hashana This month Christian celebrate Easter the most important observance in their faith Celebrated worldwide by almost two billion Christians. It's important religious observance is preceded by Lent Which began as I attended Ash Wednesday service and mass this past February 10th and received ashes on my forehead to begin The Easter holy season March 24th marks Good Friday and commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His death at Calabary with his mother Mary at his feet as he died Good Friday represents sacrifices and suffering in Jesus life and The selfless acts from a man free from sin to save those full of sin They also placed a crown of thorns on his head causing further pain and also piercing his side with a lance Ensuring his death the crucifixion is the culmination of a number of events during holy week Including the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, which will be celebrated on March 27th two days following Sufiction and his ascension into heaven 40 days later Holy week including the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is observed throughout the Christian world and Catholics in Ontario alone will pray in some 30 languages on Easter weekend Thank you everyone. Thank you. Mr. Speaker. Thank you Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker I rise today recognize a number of fine constituents from my riding a Bruce gray on sound who are awarded lieutenant governor's entero heritage awards on February 26 Long-time volunteer Bob Alexander was presented the lieutenant governor's entero heritage award for lifetime achievement from the entero heritage Trust for his 27 years of volunteering with the gray roots museum and archives After working as a mechanic and serving in the Canadian army and in Korea Alexander retired in a 1987 began volunteering with the former county of gray city of oland sound museum Helping them acquire a collection of classic automobiles and restoring them to their former glory Alexander's most significant project was building the blue water garage in the museum's heritage village and then moving to its new site near Rockford Gray roots who nominated Alexander for the award said it was his devotion creativity and vision over the last 27 years That helped save some significant aspects of gray county's history including military memorabilia Alexander is currently busy restoring a 1943 Ford Canadian military pattern truck used by soldiers in the second war and has no plans to stop volunteering Melanie Pledger who is another oland sound native and a student of OSC VI was also honored receiving entero heritage trust Lieutenant governor's entero heritage award for youth achievement as well as a $2,000 young heritage leaders scholarship for her work on documenting the lives of local soldiers Who served in the first and second world wars? It is no surprise that this 19 year old student aspires to work as a museum archivist one day And finally members of the local community waterfront Heritage Center were recognized for excellence in conservation for the preservation of the oland sound Marine and rail museum the CWHC was formed to save the Marine and rail museum Which it currently operates in the city-owned former Canadian National Railway station as part of this effort I would like to recognize the team members who made it happen Richard Thomas Jan Chamberlain Wayne King Linda Drone Wendy Tomlinson and also Jeff Robbins Ron O'Donohue Doris Frazier Mary Ann Thomas and Pauline. Oh, thank you Thank you speaker last Friday I met with several constituents in my riding who wanted to bring more local awareness toward the spread the word to end the Word campaign the word begins with our and can be used in a derogatory way to describe people who have Intellectual disabilities. I would like to thank Kayla Marwick Kevin Balland Dan Levine Trent Matten Dwight Guppy and Lynn Marwick for taking the time to explain the pain that can be caused by the Derogatory use of the word on those with disabilities and their families and friends It was a heartwarming meeting and I was inspired by the passion and knowledge of not only the issue But the commitment to change the community for the better Many of us could learn from the example that this group has shown When asked if there were others who would help the local effort they identified Deanne Drabaschi Betty stone and flow Bruno March 2nd is the 8th annual spread the word to end the word day Although the movement is closely associated with the Special Olympics The ultimate goal is to eliminate the stigma that continues to impact people throughout society because of the our word I Couldn't find a more appropriate day than to recite the pledge that we all feel in our hearts And I'd like to take the time to recite it I pledge and support The elimination of the derogatory use of the our word from everyday speech And promote the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. Thank you Thank you Merci monsieur le Président this past family day, I was proud to host my second annual family day event in Orléans It was the perfect time to provide an Opportunities for families to come together to have fun and to engage with each others So this year we went bowling at the Orleans bowling center We had the entire venue for a couple of hours in the morning where people could come and bowl for free Thank you to the team at the bowling center Owners Rock Henri and Jonathan Pichet as well as their amazing staff Carmack and Mike who collaborated with us to make this event a success I also would like to thank the great community of Orléans All the family that joined us and our federal MP Andrew Leslie It was truly wonderful to see and meet three generation grandparents parents and their children All together as they join in the fun activities We had an amazing turnout of more than 200 people the resident my community The people of my collectivity Collectivity came and were able to share together nice moments as a family and I would like to thank My staff in my office Annick Marianne and Natalie For the exceptional help During this event. Thank you Thank you speaker international women's day will be celebrated in march 8th around the globe This year's theme is pledge for parity with the objective of planet 5050 by 2030 In my own community the Cambridge suroptimists are very active and volunteer many hours to improve the lives of women and girls Through programs leading to social and economic empowerment Recently, I joined them to celebrate this year's live your dream the education and training awards for women event This award is given to women with dependents who are in financial need and are enrolled in post-secondary educational or vocational training To achieve their dream of a better life through education I was pleased to witness Amanda rice and mary gay received their award. It was a proud moment for all On march 5th the canadian federation of university women in Cambridge Will again host a breakfast for the community to celebrate international women's day The guest speaker is lynn spence a well known tv personality from city line The Cambridge suroptimists support this event and have organized a second annual flash mob following the breakfast Taking the message pledge for parity to the streets of downtown Cambridge Speaker, I will be glad to join these women on the streets carrying the sign many women one goal Creating a better world for women and girls Thank you to avon kane dr. Jean skillman mary lee walker allison sanders Diane long and all the suroptimists volunteers for helping to do just that I thank all members for their comments and their statements and it's now