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May 5, 2005

38th Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2005-May-05 (PDF)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L'ONTARIO

Thursday 5 May 2005 Jeudi 5 mai 2005

PRIVATE MEMBERS'

PUBLIC BUSINESS

ONTARIO PRODUCE

HEALTHY LIVING

ONTARIO PRODUCE

HEALTHY LIVING

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

AGNES JAMIESON GALLERY

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

COMMUNITY-BASED

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

DAVID WELDON

MIDWIFERY

FERGUS BRASS BAND

EDUCATION WEEK

STUDENT LITERACY

REPORTS BY COMMITTEES

STANDING COMMITTEE

ON GENERAL GOVERNMENT

SPEAKER'S RULING

STATEMENTS BY THE MINISTRY

AND RESPONSES

MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

DRINKING AND DRIVING

MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

DRINKING AND DRIVING

MENTAL HEALTH WEEK

VE DAY /

JOUR DE LA VICTOIRE EN EUROPE

ORAL QUESTIONS

FISCAL AND ECONOMIC POLICY

CHILD CARE

HEALTH CARE FUNDING

CHILDREN'S TREATMENT CENTRES

SCHOOL CLOSURES

SMALL BUSINESS

EDUCATION FUNDING

GAMBLING

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

FIREFIGHTERS

HYDRO RATES

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SUPPORTS

CANADA-ONTARIO MUNICIPAL RURAL

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

FUEL DISTRIBUTION

SECURITY DEPOSIT

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

PETITIONS

SENIORS' TRANSIT PASS

ANTI-SMOKING LEGISLATION

TENANT PROTECTION

CREDIT VALLEY HOSPITAL

ANTI-SMOKING LEGISLATION

CREDIT VALLEY HOSPITAL

GO TRANSIT TUNNEL

CREDIT VALLEY HOSPITAL

ORDERS OF THE DAY

ELECTION STATUTE LAW

AMENDMENT ACT, 2005 /

LOI DE 2005 MODIFIANT DES LOIS

EN CE QUI CONCERNE LES ÉLECTIONS

The House met at 1000.

Prayers.

PRIVATE MEMBERS'

PUBLIC BUSINESS

ONTARIO PRODUCE

Mrs. Maria Van Bommel (Lambton-Kent-Middlesex): I move that, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should develop a framework

for promoting Ontario-grown goods.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Mrs. Van Bommel has moved ballot item number 65. Pursuant to standing order 96, you have 10 minutes.

Mrs. Van Bommel: I think that it is time to develop long-term and innovative solutions that will ensure a sustainable and profitable

agricultural sector and a healthier Ontario. As a government, we need to focus our attention on the promotion of Ontario products to a well-informed consumer. Ontario food is safe, plentiful and

nutritious, and we need to market those qualities.

Our farmers have responded to consumers' demands for safe food. Farmers use processes and practices such as on-farm HACCP, hazard analysis and critical control

point, to ensure traceability of everything that enters the food chain on their farms and beyond the farm gates. We have quality products that are researched to meet the demands of consumers and

the criteria for healthy food, but we need to develop a framework that will not only encourage domestic production and promote the high quality that is produced on our Ontario farms, but will also

make the link in the minds of consumers between the food that goes into their bodies and where it comes from.

We need a framework that will make the connection between what farmers are doing and what consumers expect from their food producers. To do this, we need the

support of both the rural and urban people. We need the support of farmers, government, industry and consumers.

Consumers dictate what is on the grocery shelves, and processors and retailers respond to those demands. Consumers should not only demand Ontario products, but

they should understand why they want those products. Farmers must explore new marketing methods and develop new products for niche markets, such as bio-based and organic products. Farmers'

potential is limited only by their imaginations in this field.

Our government can help by creating marketing policies that encourage local and regional food systems and markets. This means developing a government policy

framework to assist farmers, processors and consumers to become part of that synergy, policies that provide consumers with information to make knowledge-based decisions about the food they buy.

This, in turn, will increase the economic viability for farmers. Farmers want to make their living from the marketplace, not from the mailbox. Safety net

programs should be just that: for economic security in difficult times. I feel that by increasing consumer demand for Ontario products, that will ultimately lead to more dollars in the pockets of

our farmers.

We can compete with any other country, but consumers need to be convinced that by buying Ontario first, they are doing something that is important and that will

benefit not just themselves but our entire economy. It's all really very cyclical. Strong domestic markets are an incentive to farmers and producers to go to higher levels of quality and

production. Give consumers the assurance that the Ontario food they have is better because it is nutritious and safe and is produced in an environmentally responsible way, and they will return over

and over again to purchase those products.

Consumers significantly influence the marketplace, and this government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, has the potential to capitalize on the

purchasing power of consumers. Foodland Ontario is a brand that is widely recognized, but we need to develop a marketing strategy that will take that brand beyond the grocery shelf to represent a

comprehensive system of delivering quality-assured traceable foods to consumers. Consumers can be strong supporters of Ontario farmers, as they've proven during the BSE outbreak, when they

deliberately set out to purchase Ontario and Canadian beef in support of our beef producers. We know that informed consumers will support their communities.

Some commodities already have marketing programs to promote individual products, but there is no coordination between them. Other groups are doing research into

things such as alternative crops that they hope will catch the imagination of consumers. But there is no common plan, a plan that would work toward securing consumer preference for Ontario

products.

There are local groups who have recognized this opportunity and have already started to work toward creating local marketing strategies. One of those groups is

the GTA Agricultural Working Group. I attended one of their meetings this past winter and came away with their proposed GTA agricultural action plan. In it, they explore an approach that will lead

them to agricultural self-sufficiency in the GTA. They recognize the value of being near a market of millions of people. They brought together farmers, community and stakeholders, and their goal

was to develop a strategy that would keep the agri-food industry in the GTA competitive and strong. They looked not only at their farms and potential markets but also at the other forces that

impact the operations they have, forces such as changing consumer demand, new technologies and research, government and municipal policies and laws, labour requirements and standards, current

coordination between producers, research organizations and, ultimately, the marketplace, and they looked at their own ability and willingness to change.

This process is being repeated over and over in localized areas of the province or by specific commodities, often in isolation. These groups of people recognize

the potential and have answered the call to do something about it. With a provincial framework, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food would be able to bring all these groups together in a common

strategy, a strategy that will bring a knowledgeable consumer together with a knowledgeable, responsible and responsive producer.

Health-conscious eating is in vogue now, so we need to exploit that opportunity and create a consumer demand for Ontario product. We need to make it fashionable

-- or, as they say in the ad game, sexy -- to buy Ontario first. Exotic items are becoming the norm in this province, and we have the potential to supply a growing ethnic population. During the

greenbelt consultations, we talked about the population growth of more than four million people by 2031. Much of that is going to be coming from immigration and from a specialized market. We need a

plan that not only delivers new products to these consumers, but a plan that causes consumers in Ontario to choose Ontario product deliberately, even to demand it. A framework for promoting

Ontario-grown goods will create new opportunities for farmers as they explore new value-added and niche markets.

I want to take a minute to talk about our own farm. On our farm, we produce poultry. We have good markets for that poultry, and that's because we are involved in

a marketing system called supply management, which allows us to produce to a domestic market. Nevertheless, trade rules require that we also import product. So it's very important for producers in

the poultry industry to have the market predominantly taken by Ontario product. We need our consumers to understand when they're buying Ontario chicken and when they're not, and we want them to ask

for Ontario chicken.

There's a retail group that, during the BSE crisis, were selling beef. Many people go to these shops. What people didn't realize was that they were not selling

Ontario or Canadian beef in those shops. But during that particular outbreak, people recognized that and they asked for Ontario product. That is the kind of support that we are looking for. We want

people to look for things such as strawberries in season that are produced here, and not simply to grab a quart of strawberries off the shelf and assume that they're Ontario product.

The ultimate result, I feel, will be that we will have a healthier Ontario consumer and a strong agricultural economy for both farmers and producers, once we

have that kind of framework in place.

The Deputy Speaker: Further debate?

Mr. Ernie Hardeman (Oxford): I want to thank the member from Lambton-Kent-Middlesex for putting this motion forward. I very much appreciate

that, and I think we all realize that to help our farming community, we need to do more to encourage people to make sure that they consume Ontario-grown products.

I believe that I agree with needing the government to do more. I'm a little surprised that this member would deem it necessary to put this motion forward. I

totally agree with it, but it would seem to me that the minister has been telling us that he's already doing this. I guess what it really comes down to is -- at this point, I think the member must

agree with me -- that the minister, with what he is doing, either doesn't understand what he's doing or what his ministry is doing or he has absolutely no plan at all to deal with trying to get

people to do more.

I think it's important that we recognize and that we put this motion forward, so that if that's the case -- if I'm right that there is no plan in furthering the

consumption of Ontario products -- this will help. Although I do want to say that the motion reads, "that, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should develop a framework for

promoting Ontario-grown goods, "and the presentation that the member made seemed to include a much broader issue as a framework of how we deal with the agriculture community in Ontario, which is

suffering great stress at the present time and, as a government, we definitely need to do more to help it along. Again, I support that principle that more needs to be done. I just want to make

sure. This motion really doesn't do that; it just talks about a framework for promoting consumption.

At this point, we already have Foodland Ontario that deals with the produce. We have a supply management system for a lot of our commodities in agriculture that

helps the issue of people eating Ontario product because that's what's on our store shelves. A program that just helps to convince people to eat is not necessarily the answer; it's to convince

people to eat Ontario products.

As we speak of Foodland Ontario, I am somewhat surprised that as we drive down the 427 coming into Toronto, at the food terminal, on the big sign that is used by

Foodland Ontario to advertise to the good folks driving down the highway, there is no specific Ontario commodity on the market that we're advertising. You drive by and you see food products

advertised from all over the world: "Buy Prince Edward Island potatoes." "Buy citrus from California." It would seem to me that as a government, we would do better to use that billboard to

advertise other products that are available here in Ontario, grown in Ontario, to encourage people to purchase those products. But I expect that the rules, as they were set up many years ago with

the billboard, are something to the effect that it must be produce that is advertised on the board, because that's what is sold at the Ontario Food Terminal. Again, as part of a plan, it would be

great to look at that to see whether that could be changed so we actually advertise and promote Ontario products, as opposed to a certain type of Ontario product. It's just a suggestion I would

make.

Of course, I very strongly support promoting Ontario products. I'm sure everyone in the House this morning will recognize, and a lot of the people watching will

know, that the Progressive Conservative government has always felt that it was important to promote Ontario-grown produce. In fact, it was the Davis government that opened up the Foodland division

in the agriculture ministry. Premier Davis recognized the importance of Ontario-grown foods. I'm going to take a moment to give you a bit of a history lesson on Foodland Ontario and how it came to

be. It's important to recognize the importance of this motion as it relates to Foodland, because I think what's really being asked for in the motion is to do for the rest of agriculture what

Premier Davis did for the produce people. For those of you who don't spend all your time researching the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Web site, I'll read some of the information that is

available to our consumers.

Foodland Ontario, founded in 1977, was, and still is today, a consumer promotion program where the ministry works with Ontario produce growers to help them

achieve maximum penetration of the Ontario market for provincially grown fresh fruit and vegetables.

One of the main objectives of the program is to encourage consumer intent to purchase Ontario produce. Their goal is to keep purchasing at the 80%-plus

threshold, which helps Ontario growers maximize their market share.

Although Foodland works with all agriculture sectors, efforts are concentrated in the area of fresh fruits and vegetables, since this area is subject to the

greatest challenge in the market and has a limited ability to respond due to resource restrictions.

To achieve the market objective, Foodland communicates the benefits of Ontario produce, encourages the purchase of Ontario produce, coordinates promotion and

research activities with producer organizations and industry stakeholders, and promotes the Ontario brand.

Foodland Ontario consists of five program components: consumer advertising, retail marketing, public relations, trade liaison and market research. All components

work in a complementary fashion to address a common target market: the primary and secondary food purchaser.

During the life of the Foodland program, the target market has evolved from the principal grocery shopper, mothers 25 to 49, to adults 25 to 64 years. The latter

definition includes both males and females and reflects recent research that food buying is a shared activity. Many household have two principal grocery shoppers.

When the Foodland program began, the advertising message informed consumers of the wide variety and availability of Ontario-grown food products. Both the theme

line "Good things grow in Ontario" and the Foodland Ontario symbol encourage consumers to buy Ontario by promoting and identifying quality Ontario products. The advertising message evolved further

to include economic benefits and commodity-specific attributes. In 1986 the slogan "Good things grow in Ontario" gave way to the more competitive slogan "Ontario: There's no taste like home," in

order to better communicate the single most important Ontario food benefit: taste.

Consumer communications have evolved a two-pronged promotion approach, focusing on taste through community-specific messages and a local/home message. The

introduction of Foodland's television commercials in 1997 supported a two-pronged strategy, the first of which reinforced the attributes of buying fresh, high-quality, locally grown produce and

introduced a new theme, "Invite Ontario home for dinner." These commercials expanded Ontario's close and local message to mean more than distance: strong values, strong community, and trust.

The second stage of this campaign builds on the attributes of buying fresh, locally grown, high-quality produce. It focuses on the more subtle element of trust.

"Trust" refers to trust in Ontario's farmers, in their products and in their contribution to the fabric of Ontario's society and economy.

When the Foodland program began, the advertising message informed consumers of the wide variety and availability of Ontario-grown food products. But both the

theme line "Good things grow in Ontario" and the Foodland Ontario symbol encouraged consumers to buy Ontario by promoting and identifying quality Ontario products.

Retail marketing identifies and promotes Ontario foods in grocery stores through the distribution of point-of-purchase material and in-store promotions to 1,600

stores across the province by Foodland retail representatives. Thanks to the full retail support, food stores continue to be the main source of awareness of the Foodland Ontario symbol. An annual

retailer awards program recognizes the contributions of retailers to the program.

Public relations encourages media support for Ontario-grown food products through the development and distribution of media releases, newsletters and broadcast

appearances. Consumer publications and other promotional activities are also developed to support Ontario food products. In trade liaison, Foodland Ontario works closely with commodity groups and

associations to share information and encourage co-operation and participation in specific activities and the use of Foodland symbols in their own marketing efforts.

That ends the history lesson. I think the Davis government got it right when they decided to brand Ontario produce as the best that people can buy. I agree with

the member for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex that we should be promoting Ontario eggs, beef, lamb, pork, chicken -- and I could go on for 10 minutes on all the other Ontario-grown goods that we should be

promoting through Foodland Ontario or a similar type of program.

I know my colleagues would also like to speak to this. At this point, I would like to say that I think the motion very much addresses the issue that we need to

expand a Foodland Ontario-type program for all the things that are produced in agriculture.

Last but not least, it's great to set up a framework to do that for all Ontario products, but the thing that makes it work is the funding for it. I do not share

the confidence of the member who introduced the motion that the government will put enough money into the budget coming up next Wednesday to expand that program. Many of the other commodities have

asked the minister in the past to include their products in the Foodland program, but it can't be done at the expense of the program that's successfully running now for the produce; it requires

more funding to make this program work on behalf of all agriculture in Ontario.

I commend the member. I ask all members of the House to vote for this motion and to encourage the Treasurer and Minister of Finance to put enough money in there

to make it work.

Mr. Kim Craitor (Niagara Falls): I'm pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the debate this morning, and I want to compliment my

colleague from Lambton-Kent-Middlesex for putting the motion forward that the government of Ontario should develop a framework for promoting Ontario-grown goods.

What better place to make a confession than right here in the Parliament Building? I will tell you that, as the member for the Niagara Falls riding and having

spent 13 years on city council, much of my time was involved with economic development, and that was tourism. That was the economic development in our community.

When I first ran for office -- the riding covers Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Thorold South -- I never realized how important that economic development

of agriculture was to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I didn't realize the significance of a $1.3-billion industry and how it affected not only Niagara-on-the-Lake but the Niagara region and the province of

Ontario, and how important the economic health of the farm industry was going to be to build sustainable support for our greenbelt policies. Now I know. I have the honour and, more importantly, the

trust to represent one of the most important agricultural districts in Canada, and that's why I'm so delighted to have the opportunity to address the assembly.

I will tell you that the greenbelt hearings were an eye-opener to me. They were an exciting time. I was really proud the other day when the regional chair

attended our Niagara Week event and stood in front of many of the MPPs from our caucus and other caucuses, and many of the ministers, and proudly said that he and the region were in support of the

greenbelt. That was fabulous to hear, although I'd always heard that unofficially.

When I was first elected, one of the very first things I did was to invite the farmers to come down and meet with me at a town hall meeting. I expected 20 or 30;

I wasn't sure what the results would be. I expected maybe a half-hour meeting. We arranged for it at Niagara College. One hundred and twenty-five farmers came out, and three hours later we were

still talking. I learned so much from those people in those three hours. Two things I learned: number one and number one. Their number one was the issue of economic viability, and number two -- but

I say it's number one as well -- was, "Buy Ontario first." They must have hammered that into me for three hours.

Promoting Ontario goods and beverages is particularly important to the Niagara and Niagara-on-the-Lake farming community. Did you know that they are the largest

and most productive per acre agricultural land in Ontario? Did you know how big the greenhouse industry is? Did you know that the tender fruit industry is huge in our area? Just drive down there

through the summer and you'll see all the fruit stands and you'll have a chance to sample some of the greatest produce in all of Canada. Did you know how big the wine industry is?

It is time for long-term and innovative solutions that will ensure a sustainable and profitable agricultural sector in Ontario. The number-one concern of the

growers of the Niagara Peninsula is economic viability and sustainability. I want to tell you that foreign markets are being closed off to Ontario because of huge farm-gate and backdoor subsidies

in other countries. We've already lost the grape juice industry, and we're in danger of losing the tender fruit industry. We must sell our products at home. If we can't sell them at home, where

else can we sell them? The alternative is not acceptable.

Ontario growers produce world-class food and wines, and these qualities need to be properly marketed at home. Just opening up a few fruit stands or VQA stores

doesn't work. Marketing isn't just about a flyer or two during harvest season or a bottle of wine or two advertised in the LCBO publication; marketing development is a serious business. As my

colleague said, it's a sexy business. It's the business of this government, and it has to start at home. In order to achieve this, the government of Ontario needs to focus our attention on the

promotion of Ontario products and the elimination of artificial barriers to local markets. We must provide better and stronger promotional programs and better access to shelf space for home-grown

products, and the sooner the better.

The Ontario government -- our government -- needs to develop a visible and supportable framework that will enable us to encourage domestic production and promote

our high-quality products of fruits, vegetables and wine. Through this type of framework there is a great potential to contribute to a healthy, prosperous economy, and it's time to act. Consumers

here in Ontario have the potential to significantly influence the agricultural marketplace. This government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, needs to continue to capitalize on the

power that consumers hold and work toward establishing a marketing brand for Ontario products. A "Buy Ontario First" marketing strategy is an integral component of achieving a sustainable agri-food

system. The marketing strategy must work toward changing consumer preferences and creating the demand for Ontario products, like our world-class VQA wines.

I'll tell you, as a non-drinker, my knowledge of wine, liquor or beer is very limited. I was quite surprised, shortly after being elected, sitting with the grape

growers, who explained to me that a bottle of wine that's labelled "Ontario" can have as little as 20% of grapes from Ontario and as much as 80% of foreign grapes from Chile. When I travel around,

I carry these two bottles of wine and I ask people that question, "How much is from Ontario?" They're quite shocked when I quote them that figure.

The marketing strategy we have to work toward is something that will benefit all of us. In order for this to occur, our government, through the Ministry of

Agriculture and Food and the LCBO, needs to create policies that will foster a marketing system that brings locally and regionally produced food and beverages to the consumer.

I was particularly proud that recently, through the efforts of a number of ministers -- Minister Jim Watson, Minister Bradley, Minister Sorbara, Minister

Cordiano, and a number of MPPs in areas that have this type of industry -- we've formed a wine caucus. We met for the first time -- a very productive caucus. I think it was fabulous that we all got

into the same room and had a chance to express our views, our concerns and our ideas, but we did it collectively. That was just the start. I talked to Minister Watson the other day and that caucus

is going to continue, and we have a number of things that we're working on.

Developing and expanding markets is one of the keys to improving the profitability of farmers and ensuring long-term viability in the industry. What that brings

me back to is the Niagara growers, the ones who came into my first town hall meeting, who complained that the current practices they've been under for a number of years were promoting foreign grain

subsidy products. They told me that something is wrong and they said it's time it was fixed.

I'm pleased to support this motion, a great motion, and I ask the House to support it as well.

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): It's a pleasure to stand today in support of the motion brought forward by my colleague from

Lambton-Kent-Middlesex that, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should develop a framework for promoting Ontario-grown goods.

It was mentioned before by the member for Oxford that Foodland Ontario is set up and is doing a good job of promoting Ontario produce. It's a consumer protection

program of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and its main objective is to maintain an 80%-plus threshold for Ontario produce and its content. So I think it is successful, but, yes,

you're right, we need to do more to promote locally grown products.

Last week, I believe it was, FarmGate5 was here. That's a group of supporters of Ontario's dairy and poultry farmers who feel strongly that Canada's government

must continue to work to support a balanced trade position in the WTO. It brings together people and organizations that believe in a strong agricultural sector and a prosperous food industry. That

is an example of a large organization.

Locally, in my riding, there are two terrific examples of how to promote locally grown products. I know of Kawartha Choice Farmland Foods, involving Peterborough

city and Peterborough county, and the member from Peterborough spoke in the Legislature about that. It promotes a wide variety of products grown and produced in the Kawartha region. They quickly

moved from a "Buy Local Beef" campaign to include other products. It's had a wide range of support from the chamber of commerce and producers and local businesspeople. So it is a great initiative.

I was pleased to be there on April 20 for their "BBQ in a Bag" launch, to do more promotion of that area. There, you can buy everything from beef, emu and elk to buffalo, and there's even a winery

in Buckhorn that is in their group. So it's a great initiative.

In the city of Kawartha Lakes, we have Kawartha FarmFresh, which was launched last year. They had a VIP farm tour to promote more awareness for the politicians.

It was hosted by Great North Premium Foods, Sunderland Co-op, the beef farm operation of Paul and Robin Brown, who had us for lunch. Margaret Cunningham, Carolyn Puterbough and David Amos of the

city of Kawartha Lakes have done a great job in promoting that.

It was in the Victoria Haliburton Federation of Agriculture, the fact that more than $86 million is generated in farmgate sales in the city of Kawartha Lakes. So

the focus is on the importance of agriculture to economic development and on striving to impress upon people that they should buy locally. I know the farmers' markets are soon to start up. Kawartha

FarmFresh has brought a lot of farmers together. They have their labelling, as does Kawartha Choice, so that people go into stores, or if there's a sign on the end of the farmgate, people will stop

in, and not just our locals; we're trying to attract tourists, who have already started to come into the area. Both of these local initiatives have Web sites that people can tap into. I know that

Kawartha Choice is www.kawartha.choice.com, and Kawartha FarmFresh is www.kawarthafarmfresh.com.

This is a great local initiative. I support the member's motion here today. I think that we can't do enough to educate our young people on the importance of food

and food safety in Ontario. If we can spur economic development and do anything more to support our farmers locally, we should be doing that. The intent is great, brought on by a very strong member

who's been promoting the agricultural sector. What we would like to see in the budget, as my colleague from Oxford mentioned, is some money to go forth to support our farmers.

Mr. Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay): I really appreciate an opportunity to participate in this debate, and I want to congratulate our good

friend Mrs. Van Bommel for bringing this resolution forward. I first of all want to say it's been a pleasure working with her over the last year and a half in the Legislature. I find her to be

quite a reasonable person to work with, and you can put that in your election leaflet; all right? So I've said something nice now.

Listen, a couple of things: I'm going come at this, obviously, from the perspective of the area that I represent, which is northern Ontario. I just want to say

up front that I support the motion; I think the motion makes infinite sense. We should be doing all we can to promote the purchase of Ontario goods within the province. That makes ultimate sense. I

think the more we say about that, we're just going to convince ourselves, so I support that.

I want to talk about a couple of things in regard to agriculture from the perspective of northern Ontario. I'm going to start from the far north, up on James

Bay. There used to be a time many, many years ago -- which is not some of the best history we have in northern Ontario, but nonetheless, it is part of our history -- where at one point there was a

small amount of agriculture happening in communities like Fort Albany and others. Now, unfortunately it was farming around residential schools, and I wouldn't advocate that we go back there

again.

The point here is that what the Catholics and Anglicans learned is that in order to provide food on the table for the people in their care, there was an

opportunity to do some farming in places like Fort Albany or Kashechewan or Attawapiskat. In fact, there still is a gentleman up in Attawapiskat who has a bit of a potato farm. It's not a farm as

we know it in southern Ontario, meaning Timmins or Sarnia or wherever it might be, but a particular gentleman cultivates potatoes on the big island out in James Bay, the one next to Attawapiskat.

Look at the map: Akimiski. I never say it right. The point is that there is a potential to do a certain amount of farming in communities like that.

What I would implore this government to do is to open a dialogue with First Nations about what we can do provincially in order to support those First Nations to

provide some of their own food by way of farming or livestock. There's really never been any attention by the federal government to this particular item and this particular issue. I think it's a

real shame because, as we know, we have high levels of unemployment in those communities. If you go to any of our communities across northern Ontario, north of Highway 11 -- the fly-in communities,

as we call them -- unemployment levels are anywhere from 90% to 95%. That creates, along with everything else in the community, a certain sense of despair. I think one of the things that we could

do, which is not going resolve the 90% to 95% unemployment issue but would certainly give the community an opportunity to care for itself a little better, is to do something about providing some

funding in order to assist those individuals or band councils who are interested in doing something when it comes to some form of agricultural activity within or around their community. As we know,

the Mushkegowuk Cree up in the northeastern coast of James Bay, or the Crees further inland, were hunter-gatherers, and have basically survived for the millennium living off the land. But they've

done it from the perspective of gathering, either when it comes to fish or when it comes to game. There was also a certain amount of food that they were able to get off the land, berries and

different things.

All I'm saying is that we have never looked at this very seriously. One thing that would be interesting to do is for the Ministry of Agriculture to sit down

with some of the First Nations individuals, probably at the band council level or the tribal level, or even within NAN itself, Nishnawbe Aski, in order to talk about, is there a possibility of

creating some sort of pilot program that would allow a First Nation, or individuals in a First Nation who were interested, to start growing potatoes, to maybe keep and raise chickens, or whatever

it might be? I don't know what the possibilities are, but I'm sure they're there. The problem is, the community -- the band council, the tribal council or the individual -- has no money. Let's be

real clear. We're talking 95% unemployment. There's not a lot of disposable cash; whatever cash they've got goes to trying to survive.

So there may be an opportunity, in order to provide somebody with a bit of a business opportunity within their own community, to grow some of the food that

would go into the food chain for that community, that would create a business opportunity for an individual, and/or you could approach it from the community farming perspective, where people are

able to do something. We know things like carrots, lettuce, beets, potatoes and certainly some livestock could be cared for in the James Bay or northwestern part of the province. I would urge the

government: If we're talking about trying to encourage the use of goods grown and produced in Ontario, we should look as well at what is possible in the far north.

On the issue of the far north and First Nations communities, I want to say again -- because any time I get a chance to say this, I want to say it over and over

again so people get it -- the federal government drops the ball when it comes to First Nations. They're terrible. They're absolutely terrible. If the federal government were to be measured as far

as its success or its diligence when it comes to dealing with First Nations communities, they would rate very, very low on whatever rating you create. I've travelled the world and I've seen some

places that have poverty, and we can compare some of that to what's right here in our own backyard. The basic problem is that the federal government just doesn't get it. They think that because

those communities are isolated and out of the way, they can throw a couple of dollars, through what's called Indian Affairs -- INAC, as we refer to it -- and somehow issues will go away. I'll give

you just one good example.

Last week I had the opportunity to fly up to Kashechewan with Minister Kwinter, the minister responsible for community safety. I want to, on the record again,

thank him for coming up. He was very responsive. The issue? There was a flood. Minister Kwinter went up, and as he was there he noticed what was going on in the community. When he came out, we had

a bit of a chat. The minister said, "My God, Gilles, I can't believe that these communities are in that shape. That's terrible." They've been on a boil-water advisory off and on for the last eight

years. Do you know why? Because the federal government doesn't provide the money to train the water plant operators. The same situation that killed people in Walkerton, we're allowing to happen

every day in our First Nations communities.

Now, we've managed piecemeal to find some solutions. For example, in the community of Attawapiskat, which is north of Kashechewan, we managed to wangle some

money out of the federal government, after a whole bunch of effort on the part of the previous band council and myself and the then federal member. We got money from INAC only after we twisted

their arm and embarrassed them to provide dollars to have plant operators trained so they could run their water system. It took a year. They did very heavy training. The community of Attawapiskat

now -- you can go there, turn on the tap and drink the water and not fear for your life. If you go to Kashechewan, it's not the same. So the federal government sees one community's needs in

Attawapiskat, but it's not prepared to see the needs of another community farther south. Kashechewan is not the only community under a boil-water advisory.

My point is, as it relates to this debate, that the federal government just doesn't get it. One of the things we have to decide here in this Legislature is,

are those reserves within the province of Ontario? I think we all answer yes. If they are residents of the province of Ontario, then certainly we have some sort of responsibility. I am more and

more of the mind that we should be negotiating with our First Nations, and we should be negotiating with the federal government to transfer many of the responsibilities that the federal government

has now to the province, with adequate funding and a non-derogation clause that makes sure there is no negative effect on treaty rights, and a fiduciary responsibility of the federal

government.

I say that for this simple reason: Can you imagine anywhere in Ontario, a non-aboriginal community, where there's been a boil-water advisory for eight years?

Anybody know of one? Not one. If there's a boil-water advisory for a short period of time, there's a process within the Ministry of the Environment provincially, and the municipality, to work

toward trying to fix the problem.

I know we've been challenged as of late because of the new water regs and some of our water plants, which are safe but need to be made safer -- we're having

some problems trying to fund those -- but my point is that we as a province take our responsibility. We have the bureaucracy to back it up. We have the ability to make sure that the people who work

in the water plants are tested, that the plants are certified, that they follow provincial regulations that are quite stringent so that people don't die when they drink their water. But because

they happen to live in an aboriginal community -- and in most cases, 99.9% are aboriginal residents -- they're put in a position where they're treated differently. They're treated as second-class

citizens.

I'm really, really upset with our federal government at the way that they deal with aboriginal communities in this province and across this country. They do an

awful job, and I really implore the government to take a look at the issue of trying to look at ways of negotiating with the federal government and aboriginal communities to take responsibility for

things like water, education, and we're already working on health care -- health care is being transferred over, by and large, to the province -- because we are much better able to deal with those

things, and the federal government's track record, quite frankly, is unbelievable.

Now, second issue: farming. I want to raise -- because I've done this with my good friend Mrs. Van Bommel, and her office is looking into this -- the situation

in Opasatika when it comes to the mushroom farm. There's an organization, a business, that was created with some dollars from the federal government about five or six years ago. It was a mushroom

farm that was built in Opasatika. Unfortunately, the mushroom farm went under. There were some issues around hydro. They had some hydro problems. As a result, they lost a couple of crops. They were

not a very cash-rich operation, and at one point, they shut down.

priesthood after he had been -- I think he became a priest in his 30s or 40s. So the man was a contractor and has a little bit of money from his time before he went into the priesthood. He really,

as everybody else, feels for his community and is trying to do what he can as an individual to give the community some hope, as far as employment. So he has taken all of his life savings, personal

money, and he's basically bought the mushroom farm. He's paying out of his pocket all of the construction that needs to be done in order to put this mushroom farm in place so that the community has

some form of employment.

Now, I don't have to convince you. Priests don't normally do this kind of thing. This is a pretty special individual. I'm not saying that other priests are not

as caring, but this is a little bit of an odd situation. So here he is. He's putting in all of his money in order to be able to get the mushroom farm back up and running. Unfortunately, what

happened was, the people who are working with him to put the project in place -- and I've got to say, there's a lot of volunteerism going on in the community, where people are volunteering their

time to reconstruct, fix and do what has to be done to put the farm back into operation -- applied under the RED program for some dollars in order to buy the computers that are needed to run the

farm so that they can do that efficiently.

Unfortunately, the application through the RED program was somewhat delayed. I'm not going to point fingers at the government, because these things are always

a little bit of this and a little bit of that. The point is, it took a little bit longer than it had to. They had their backs against the wall. They had to say, "We can't go any further, because if

we, at this point, wait for the RED application, we cannot do any more development on the farm because the computers are the bottleneck." They had to get the computers up and running. So they went

out and spent, I think, about $50,000 or $55,000 to buy the technology to install it in the mushroom plant so that they can get to the next step of getting this operation up and running.

As a result, they are basically disqualified from the RED program. I've asked Mrs. Van Bommel and her office to try to intervene with the ministry in order to

say OK. Normally, we don't fund things after -- I understand that; I've been around government long enough -- but this is a pretty exceptional case, and I would ask that the government take a look

at, through Mrs. Van Bommel's office, an opportunity to do something to assist them. It may have to be under another form. We may have to say, "Well, maybe not the computers," but that you've got

something else. "Let's see if we can help you that way."

I just want to stress that there are not a lot of mushroom farms in northern Ontario, so this is a really good opportunity for us in northern Ontario to

venture into this type of business. It's a community business, as I see it. Even though it's owned by Father Christmas, le père Noël, it's still, in my view, very much a community project

and something we should be trying to solve.

I want to thank Mrs. Van Bommel on the record for helping us on that file and I look forward to some sort of resolution to that particular issue.

The other thing I want to put on the record is the issue of trade with the United States. Listen, we're all on the same book when it comes to this one. We

thought we had negotiated free trade and NAFTA so that we'd have access to the American market. In exchange for doing that, we lost certain things in Canada in terms of some of our sovereignty, I

would argue. Here we have yet again another example, in the agricultural industry this time, where the federal American government is doing everything they can to block goods going into the United

States from the Canadian or Ontario agricultural industry.

We have seen what has happened with BSE. Certainly the border should have been opened a long time ago, but state and federal legislators do everything they can

to protect their own people, and as a result, everything from beef to lamb to sheep to deer etc. is blocked at the border so we can't get them in. I just want to urge the government, on the record,

to do whatever is in its power to try to get a resolution to this particular issue, because it's hurting everybody, as you well know.

From northern Ontario, I raise the case of Cedar Meadows, where they grow deer. As you know, there is a market for deer that's pretty specialized, but a big

part of the market has been taken away by virtue of the border being closed. I just urge the government to do what it can to work toward a speedy resolution.

Again, I point the finger at the federal government. I wonder what's going on over there sometimes, because this issue has been dragging on long enough. I

don't understand why we haven't found a resolution as of this date.

I want to congratulate the member on her motion.

Ms. Jennifer F. Mossop (Stoney Creek): I'm pleased to join in this discussion. I'm going try to refrain from using the term "sexy." It has

been used a few times, and every time it happens, I see our young pages start blushing. I don't want to make that happen again, so we'll refrain from that, but I might have to use it once or

twice.

I have to say that earlier I heard some remarks, and I take exception a little bit to what I think is really rigid dinosaur thinking: "The minister's got to

look after it. We've got to legislate it and regulate it and throw money at it." Well, part of what we have to do in this initiative, which is Buy Ontario -- this is a promotion. We're talking

about promoting and marketing something here, and the way you do that is that you talk about it, you educate it. We're also talking about consumer power.

What we have going on right now -- I kind of feel like the member from Trinity-Spadina; this is something he would talk about -- is a one-hour commercial.

We're doing a one-hour television commercial on Buy Ontario and all the reasons why we should be buying Ontario. And, yes, because it's a commercial, I have to say it's sexy. You always have to

mention sex if you're doing a television commercial. So there you go: it is a sexy thing to go out and buy Ontario.

Let me tell you some of the reasons you should be buying Ontario. It is something that governments and consumers should be doing -- not "should be"; that they

have to do. This is a consumer project we're talking about here. This is where consumers have all the power: Get out there and buy Ontario food. When you do, first of all, you will get the

freshest, best-tasting, most nutritious, safest food that you can get, period, bar none. That's number one. But you will also contribute to your local economy, to the provincial economy, by buying

Ontario. We can talk a lot about buying Ontario in terms of cars, if they're manufactured here and all rest, but largely that can be an export market. But when you buy Ontario food, you are

supporting something that we cannot, as a society, live without. We're talking about the sustainability of our society when you buy Ontario food. We have to have the ability to feed ourselves. We

have to support those people who produce our food so that we can support ourselves and feed ourselves. That's absolutely basic. It comes down to something as simple as that. As a society, if we're

going to be a success in any way, shape or form, we need to be able to feed ourselves.

You can add to that that the other things we need are clean air and clean water. Three basic things: We need clean air, we need clean water and we need to be

able to feed ourselves. In the area of clean water, this government is bringing in the source water protection, and in the area of clean air, we are closing down coal-generating plants.

Now, in the area of feeding ourselves, what we're doing is promoting Buy Ontario, because this will be what we need to do. I like to go a little bit further

than just Buy Ontario. I say celebrate Ontario in every way, shape and form. Celebrate Ontario food because it's the best-tasting. Celebrate Ontario music because it's the best in the world, in

many cases: Celine Dion -- no, she's from Quebec. Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette -- there we go -- and some of the best in the world. Or in art, literature, all these areas, celebrate Ontario.

In fact, in my riding of Stoney Creek I have the only Canadian-owned producer of whisky left in the world. I can't tell you if it's good whisky because I don't

drink whisky, but I hear it's fabulous whisky. It's the only Canadian-owned whisky producer left, and that's a tremendous shame. It's Kittling Ridge. John Hall produces a great product called Forty

Creek. Buy Ontario: Buy Forty Creek, if you happen to be a whisky drinker. If you're not, there is our wine. We have some of the best wines in the world. The industry was very brave a number of

years ago and ripped out all sorts of their vineyards because they were challenged to make better wine. They put in better vines, and now we're producing some of the best wine in the world.

We've talked about the safety and nutrition.

I just want to leave you with one thought: When my uncle came home from the war, my grandmother said to him, "What would you like to eat?" He said, "I want a

fresh Ontario beefsteak tomato and a glass of milk." It was the taste of home. It's the soil, it's the air, it's the water. It's the taste of home. It's the taste of Ontario. It's the best in the

world.

Hon. James J. Bradley (Minister of Tourism and Recreation): I want to compliment my colleague from Lambton-Kent-Middlesex, Maria Van Bommel,

for this particular initiative. She's been a strong supporter of the rural community.

You know, the interesting thing is that since we moved from 130 seats to 103 seats in the Ontario Legislature, the rural voice has diminished. I know there

were those who thought, "Isn't this great? Let's get rid of politicians." There was a mentality that it was all evil. I'd like to remind some of my rural friends that what happened from that was

that the rural voice was diminished in number, and that's most unfortunate.

We're lucky in Ontario that we have fresh food. The Foodland Ontario program promotes our fresh food. That's what people have when they visit, if I can be

parochial again, the Niagara Peninsula. They have available to them all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables. We have other products, animal products, in Ontario. We have a lot to be proud of here,

and we have to promote those products in the best possible way and as often as possible. The fact is that they're fresh. The second is that they're of high quality. The third is that they're safe.

It seems to me that all of us have to work with our retailers in this regard to promote these products as well. I think some of them want to be very co-operative about that.

I heard two members of the Conservative caucus say today that they want to spend more money promoting Foodland Ontario, yet yesterday and the day before in the

House, I heard John Tory, the leader of the Conservative Party, and Jim Flaherty, the finance critic, both condemning the government for spending too much money. They'll have to have a debate in

their caucus about whether they want more money spent or less money spent. You can't have it both ways.

I compliment my colleague for this particular initiative, which I think all of us will support.

The Deputy Speaker: Mrs. Van Bommel, you have two minutes to reply.

Mrs. Van Bommel: First of all, I want to take a moment just to thank all the members who spoke: the members for Oxford, Niagara Falls,

Timmins-James Bay, Stoney Creek and St. Catharines.

One of the things that happened to me this week was that on Tuesday night, I got a phone call from my daughter. It was 7 o'clock at night and she said, "Mom,

come quick." I knew what it was. It was my next grandchild, my eighth grandchild, and I went racing down there. I missed the birth of Anthony Michael Van Meurs by 15 minutes. It was wonderful just

to be there. One of the nice things about it was that Anthony, or Tony, as we're starting to call him already, was born at a rural hospital. He was born at Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital. One

of the things that happened at Strathroy hospital in its early years -- and it happened at all rural hospitals -- was that they had a farm and they supplied food for the patients from that

farm.

I think that in a lot of ways we've gone back into that again. We're starting to recognize the important role that food plays in our day-to-day health. We are

starting to talk more about high fibre and having vegetables and fruit in our diets, and we understand that we can keep ourselves healthy by eating good, safe food. One of the things, in setting up

a framework, is that I want to stress, and I want people to be able to understand, that buying Ontario first, buying Ontario food, whether it is produce, meats, grains -- all of those things help

us to stay healthy, and at the same time we create a strong agricultural economy in doing that. I hope that everyone will support this, and I thank everyone.

HEALTHY LIVING

Mr. Kuldip Kular (Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale): I move that, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should designate the

first week in October of every year as Walk to School Week, as part of the international Walk to School program, to encourage physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle among our youth.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Mr. Kular, pursuant to standing order 96, you have up to 10 minutes.

Mr. Kular: Thank you for the opportunity to speak to this private member's resolution, motion number 45. It's my pleasure to rise in the House

and ask today for the support of my colleagues on this resolution, which, if passed, would designate the first week in October every year as Walk to School Week in Ontario. This week would be a

part of the international Walk to School program, which gives children, parents, schoolteachers and community leaders an opportunity to be a part of a global event as they celebrate the many

benefits of walking.

Walk to School Week was first initiated in Great Britain in 1994, and Canada joined the international program in 1998, with 16,000 students from 100 schools

across five provinces participating. Of those 16,000, I'm proud to say that 14,500 of these students were from our own province of Ontario. By 2004, over 2,000 Canadian schools participated, and

over 850 of those schools were in Ontario alone, promoting physical activity, safer streets and a cleaner environment.

The goal of International Walk to School Week is to make people think about the many positive benefits that can be gained from regular walking to and from

school. The international school week is more than just getting together with children and walking to school one week a year. The event's greater goal is to bring about permanent change in

communities and lifestyles throughout the world.

Walk to School Week in Ontario would encourage physical fitness through the easiest-to-do form of exercise, and safety by teaching children the skills to walk

safely and to identify safe routes to school; increase awareness of the importance of physical exercise and its role in preventing future health and medical problems; and show concern for the

environment and raise awareness of our role in protecting the environment.

It would reduce traffic congestion and would reduce pollution. It would create awareness of how walkable and safe a community is, and where improvements can be

made. It would promote social interaction by allowing the people of Ontario to share valuable quality time with local community leaders, parents and children.

For many parents around the world, the car has become the main means of transporting children to and from school. Work and family commitments, convenience,

safety concerns, and general changes in lifestyle are just some of the reasons that parents are using their cars for this activity. The proportion of trips to school made by car has increased

considerably in the last several years, leading to a gradual decline in the number of children walking to and from school on a regular basis.

As a family physician turned politician, I have seen first-hand how physical inactivity and lack of exercise contributes to health and medical problems. This

is particularly of great concern when it comes to our children. Children who are overweight as youngsters tend to be overweight as adults. According to the Canadian Institute for Health

Information, levels of obesity among children aged seven to 13 have nearly tripled over the past 20 years. The increase that we are continuing to see in childhood obesity is alarming. It's crucial

that we stop this trend. As we all know, health problems can result from obesity; for example, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis and other joint problems, to name just a few.

This is costly not just in terms of health but also in terms of dollars.

These alarming trends need to be addressed. One important strategy is to help our young people be more physically active by walking, cycling or in-line skating

to and from school, and not just during International Walk to School Week, but year-round.

Children are inactive for reasons ranging from watching too much television and spending too much time on computers to the lack of daily physical activity such

as walking and cycling to school. The Canadian 2004 national survey on active transportation found that only 22% of children walk to school most of the time or always. Here in our province, the

Active and Safe Routes to School organization determined that only 36% of children who live within a 30-minute walk of their school actually do walk to school, yet Ontario walkability studies found

that nearly 75% of Ontario elementary children surveyed would prefer to walk or cycle to school rather than travel by motor vehicle. This is a remarkable finding. The study also found a significant

gap between the number of students who are currently cycling to school and those who would prefer to cycle. Three and a half per cent of the Ontario students surveyed ride their bicycle to school

regularly; however, a striking 26% would prefer this method of transportation.

Part of the International Walk to School Week is the walking school bus, an innovative tool where parents and neighbours supervise a group of students on their

way to and from school. This approach reduces congestion and teaches traffic safety. The walking school bus provides a great social atmosphere for both adults and students. For example, if just

nine families participate in a walking school bus, they can collectively prevent almost 1,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere.

I'm proud to say that a school in my town of Brampton, Morton Way Public School, was the first runner-up for the first-ever International Walk to School Award.

This award recognizes the outstanding achievements made to encourage children to walk to and from school and create healthier, safer and caring communities. Every week for the past few years,

Morton Way Public School has celebrated Walking Wednesdays, encouraging students to walk to school with their friends, families or caregivers. Parent volunteers lead walking school buses. This

encourages family members to walk to school and helps develop a sense of community. On Wednesdays, between 88% and 98% of students reportedly walk to school.

I ask you to please seriously consider this resolution and I ask all members to vote in favour of it. This is a resolution that will help reduce childhood

obesity, encourage community spirit, help protect the environment and reduce reliance on energy-consuming vehicles.

Healthy people make healthy communities. By making people healthy, we can create strong and caring communities. I would again request all members of this

Legislature to support my private member's resolution. I would say, let Walk to School Week be a part of the history of this province and help create healthy Ontarians and a healthier

environment.

The Deputy Speaker: Further debate?

Mr. Frank Klees (Oak Ridges): I'm pleased to participate in this debate on the resolution brought forward by the member from

Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale. How could anyone in the House not support this? Probably all of us remember the days when we did indeed walk to school. Speaker, I know that you were one of those

who walked to school, uphill both ways, and what good exercise that was.

Certainly I, and I know all members of my caucus, will support this bill. Anything we can do to encourage physical fitness, especially among our young people

-- because that is where it all starts. As we survey this Legislature, we know that some of us should probably be walking to the Legislature every day, because it would be good for us. I won't

point out any honourable members. I do note this, though: I look at our pages and they're all in great physical shape. So obviously they're doing their sports on a regular basis. They're either

walking or running to school or running to the subway, doing whatever they need to do to be physically active and physically fit.

I'm sure the signal the member wants to send, by putting this into the form of a resolution and having it debated by the Legislature, is that it indicates his

priority and how important he believes physical fitness is for young people and for our society in general. He must indeed consider it important, because it's not often -- in fact, each member of

the Legislature only has the opportunity to bring a matter before the House for debate about once a session. So to take one hour of debate in the House and invite all members of the Legislature to

speak to this issue, it obviously is very important to the member, and we therefore participate gladly in this debate.

As a former Minister of Tourism and Recreation, I have a particular interest in physical fitness and amateur sports. I see the current Minister of Tourism and

Recreation is here and listening to this debate intently. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the wisdom of this minister in bringing forward an issue that I had the opportunity to put

on the table when I was minister. I refer to that as my open doors policy. I want to commend the ministry staff who worked with me on that issue, for the support that I had from them. I also want

to thank them for not shredding those documents following the last election, and for the fact that this minister, the member from St. Catharines, in his wisdom, has chosen to bring this forward, if

not in totality, certainly the essence and the spirit of it. That open-doors policy was that I felt that we should be viewing every school in every neighbourhood of this province as a recreation

centre. Rather than have those doors closed after school and on weekends, those doors should be open. They should be open to the community, and those doors should remain open, not only to our young

people, but the facilities there, that are paid for by their parents -- whether it's the gymnasiums that are there, whether it's the sports facilities in and around the school -- should be

available to the community.

There is no reason why our young people should be forced to congregate in malls or on street corners when we have these incredible facilities, paid for by

taxpayers, paid for by the parents of those young people, who often say they have nowhere else to go. Those doors should be open, and the fees should either be non-existent or certainly subsidized

by the provincial government to make it possible for everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, to have access to those recreational facilities.

Again, I want to give credit to many people across the province, because we did consultations with coaches, with individuals involved in recreation across the

province. We did consultation with teachers who were involved in teaching physical activity, and with various organizations, from the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to others, to talk about what it

would take to ensure that these facilities were available for our young people. Again, thanks to the ministry staff who took this on as a very important project, who helped work out some of the

details. Again, I want to acknowledge, and gladly so, the current Minister of Tourism and Recreation for making a subsequent announcement when he took over that portfolio. I know that what he's

doing now is just the beginning, because it's the right thing to do. It's a place where we should be investing, because by making those facilities available, we're investing in our young people. As

important as the academics, I believe, is the physical well-being of our youth. This is one effective way of doing it.

I also want to go on record as saying that I am an advocate of mandatory physical education in our school system. I remember well, when I attended elementary

and secondary school, there was no question -- in fact, you needed special permission not to participate in the physical education class. I want those days back in Ontario. I believe one of the

best things we can do for our young people is to encourage them to be actively and physically engaged in sporting activities, to understand the importance of what it does to our own mental

well-being when we're physically in shape. So whether that's the team sports aspect of the exercise, there's nothing like learning how important it is to be a member of a team, to be working as a

team, and to have the competition, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You learn that when you're involved in organized sports. What better place to learn that than within the school

setting with your school colleagues.

With regard to the resolution that's before us today, this issue of ensuring that there is recognition, as the member wants us to do, of one particular week

within the year -- I believe he's referring to the first week of October that the member wants designated as Walk to School Week. I certainly support that. I do believe it's important that somehow

we as legislators do what we can to encourage that kind of activity.

I will leave the rest of the time for debate to my colleagues, who I know also want to comment. I thank the member for bringing this forward and look forward

to this playing a role, although perhaps minor. I look forward to the government assuming its responsibilities to do much more in this area of encouraging physical activity and encouraging amateur

sports.

We have a budget coming within the next few days. I'm hoping that the Minister of Tourism and Recreation has been able to convince his finance minister and his

cabinet colleagues to designate a certain amount of financial resource so that he can in fact further this important policy of encouraging our young people to be engaged in sports, to ensure that

the resources and the supports are there, whether that be coaches or teachers, with regard to physical activity within the school system, whenever it may be. I wish the minister well in achieving

that.

Mr. Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay): I want to point out that I'm a product of a policy like this, as you well see. On the positive side, I

support the member opposite for bringing forward this motion. As we say in the language that most people understand, this is a bit of a no-brainer. The motion basically says two things. The first

part of the motion talks about designating the first week in October as Walk to School Week. Well, maybe we should have a Walk to Queen's Park Week. That would probably be good for many of us who

are here today. Because you know that you have to follow my example and my physical physique, as good as it is. I want people to come to my level. I won't stand sideways as I say that.

The other thing that the particular motion talks about is doing something in order to encourage physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle amongst our youth. I

would say that a lot of that is being done already. As you well know, health units and school boards across this province, along with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism and

Recreation, are doing a pretty phenomenal job, are doing a pretty good job of educating the public, both young and old, about the need to live healthier lifestyles, with everything from what we eat

to physical exercise. We all recognize, at the end of the day, that a healthier lifestyle, as far as physical exercise and a better diet, will give a better lifestyle and will hopefully lead to

less disease and a longer life.

There's an interesting conundrum in that, because one of the things that happens is -- just one moment. I was eating a peppermint. You should never do that

before you get up. I just saved myself on this one. I would just say one of the ironies of all of this is that we go out and promote these types of activities in order to make people healthier and

to save money on the health care side, which clearly we do. But do we? I guess that's the point I'm raising. I'm not arguing against the member's motion, but what we end up having is that, as

people live longer, the diseases get much more complicated and much more expensive to deal with. I know the good doctor understands what I'm talking about because it's one of the discussions I have

on a fairly regular basis with a number of friends of mine within the medical community, as we talk about how to contain the cost of health care -- with hospital administrators, nurse

practitioners, doctors and others. How do we contain the cost of health care as it escalates?

There are those in our society who would argue that we need to move to a more private system, as they've done in the provinces of Quebec and Alberta. There are

even those on the farther right who would say that we have to go to a system where you can completely opt out. If you're on the list for knee surgery, you should have the ability to say, "To heck

with the public system. I'm jumping the queue and I'm going to pay extra money and go get my knee surgery done at a faster pace." I'd just say that people should be careful what they ask for,

because they might just get it. At the end of the day, if we allow that type of slip to happen to the private system, eventually our public system will be so underfunded, because there will be a

larger reliance on the private system, that the governments of the day will have less pressure to make sure that our public system is properly funded and well organized, to the point that the

public system will deteriorate. Over a period of time, you will have what you have in the United States, where there is a public system -- and most people should understand this. We talk about

private health care in the United States. Yes, the health care system in the United States by and large is much more private, but there is a public system run at the state and local levels, where

you have state or county hospitals that are funded by the states themselves and through some funding from the federal government. But the point is, you'd better not go in there with something

really serious because the reality is, there's very little coverage in the state programs as compared to what there is here in Canada. People can basically go bankrupt with one illness.

I will also point out that the cost of health care in the United States under the private system is much more expensive. You would know the name Leo Gerard,

Speaker. Most people would know that I was at an event last night. It was the annual Cesar Chavez awards, given every year in his honour to workers across this province with regard to their

activities within the labour movement and human rights overall. Leo was one of the recipients of the award. He talked about a very interesting experience that he is living today. He is a Canadian

from Sudbury who understands very well the Canadian experience of public health care, who is living in the United States as the international president of the United Steelworkers of America -- or

the United Steelworkers, as they're called under their new title. Last night, he talked about the whole difference of our health care systems vis-à-vis the United States. One of the things he

pointed out that I think some people may or may not be aware of is that if you're working for an employer, most employers, if they're unionized, negotiate health care programs in order to cover

their employees. The cost of those health care programs is somewhere around $8 per hour. So when you're negotiating with an employer in the United States and you're trying for the first time to get

a health care program, good luck. Imagine you're working for $10 an hour and your local union goes in and requests a health care plan partly paid by the employer and the employees for the insurance

company, and it's eight bucks an hour to get a basic plan. It's extremely expensive. Why? Because, quite frankly, they're much more inefficient than our public Canadian system. All the studies have

shown that the Canadian system is a much less expensive system to run health care. Why? Because it's done in the public sector and we have some efficiencies of scale when it comes to running

everything under one particular service provider, that being the province of Ontario.

Do we have problems in our health care system? Certainly. But I do want to say this: You get a heart attack in the province of Ontario, you get seriously ill

and wheeled into emergency and you have a serious illness, they'll take care of you, and you don't have to check your credit card at the door. Unfortunately, I had a bout of flesh-eating disease

back a couple of months ago. That's why I wasn't here for a little bit. I went into the hospital -- and it was serious enough that, bam, you're into the hospital. They took care of me. They did

what had to be done. They sent me home. Home care came to my house and gave me IVs for about seven days to clear the infection, and eventually it went away.

My point is, the public health care system responds very well. There's this fallacy out there that our system is in total crisis. Yes, there are problems, but

the system is not in total crisis. I really get upset when I hear people talk about the crisis in health care, because the only crisis that we have in health care is the ability for us to fund it

to a certain degree, and we need to be able to respond to that. There are a number of things that we can do to make sure that health care expenditures are affordable and that we get the best bang

for our dollar when we do invest.

I was elected here in 1990, some 16 years ago. The overall total budget back then, if I remember correctly, was around $40 billion-odd a year. That was the

Ontario budget, of which about half was health care, roughly some $20-odd billion. Now our provincial budget is at $80 billion; it's pretty well doubled in the time that I've been here. Of course,

proportionately, the health care expenditure has gone up as well; it's about half of our budget, which is just under $40 billion total. So there is a challenge for provinces like ours to be able to

afford the dollars necessary to keep up with a good health care system.

I come back to the motion that my good friend and colleague brought into the Legislature today. He knows well, as a doctor, that people are living longer. When

they live longer, the diseases that we treat in our hospital wards, emergency rooms, health clinics and doctors' offices are far more complex and expensive to deal with than in the older days when

people dropped dead of heart attacks at age 55. That's not very expensive. My grandfather worked in the bush all his life and died of an aneurysm when he was 52 years old, in large part because of

his lifestyle and where he worked. That didn't cost health care very much. He dropped dead. They put him in an ambulance, brought him to emergency and said, "Too bad, so sad, you're gone," and the

family grieved. That was not a very expensive system.

Nowadays, people live far longer. How many people in our communities that we know personally today are in their 90s? Certainly, there are many people in their

80s who are living very active lives. Yes, hip replacements, knee surgeries, cardiovascular bypass surgery, cataracts -- there are all kinds of diseases that we're able to treat now quite

successfully, allowing people to live a lot longer. Of course our health care expenditures have gone up, because we have been successful with the very point that the member brings into the House

today, which is that we are living a much healthier lifestyle than we did years ago. Our diet is better; our exercise is better.

I look at communities like Smooth Rock Falls, Hearst, Kapuskasing or Timmins, but Smooth Rock Falls just as an example. There is a very large and healthy

seniors population in that community, and luckily for them, when they retired, there were good pensions out of the old Abitibi plant, now Tembec. They're very active. There's a golf course there.

Just go there any time. I hate golf, by the way. I want to admit that it's the one game I am totally frustrated by. I couldn't hit a ball straight if my life depended on it, but I get dragged out

by my friends every now and then, and they get to laugh at me. But that's another story.

There is a very active senior population on the golf course in Smooth Rock Falls. I would guess almost a majority of the players are seniors, because they've

got time on their hands and disposable income, and they're very physically active. There's a very active curling club; they're out curling all the time.

Yes, people are living healthier lifestyles and, as a result, they're living a lot longer. The challenge for us is, how do we fund this success? That's really

where we're at. How do we fund the success that we've had in educating people to live healthier lifestyles, eat better and to generally live longer? How do we fund our success? That's the issue.

Our health units, our public education and our schools have been very successful in getting people to do that. Consequently, people are living longer, and now we need to figure out how to fund

it.

I think there are a couple of things we can do, and I want to come to that. For example, one of the things that drives me crazy in our health care system is

this: I walked into the office of my flight surgeon last Friday. I went for the bi-annual physical for my pilot's licence. If my doctor had sent me out for tests: blood work or whatever it is they

wanted for the test; they didn't in this particular case, but it's happened before -- there is absolutely no way for the health care system to know I haven't done that same test with another doctor

the day before.

I have had that happen: I've gone to see my family doctor in Timmins, Dr. Steve Cohen, because of an issue. I come down to Toronto and I'm still not feeling

well, so I drop into the health clinic, Centre de santé communautaire on College Street, and they send me off to do the same test. I say, "Why don't you just call the lab in Timmins or my

doctor's office, and you can get the results? I just had it done." "No, we've got to do it again."

It seems to me that we should be able to digitize this information somehow and share the information across all health care providers, so that if a doctor

says, "I wouldn't mind seeing what your PSA count is" -- or your blood count or your white cell count, whatever it is -- and there has been a test done within a reasonable amount of time, he or

she, as a nurse practitioner or doctor or whatever, could look up your file electronically and say, "There was the same test that I'm trying to prescribe to you now done but a week ago. Maybe I

could rely on that as the indication of where I go next in my treatment of whatever disease you've come in to see me about."

So one of the things I think we need to do -- it would be a fairly significant investment up front -- is figure out how we can share medical information, when

it comes to tests, across all of the various people and health care providers, so that we don't have a duplication of testing. It's a huge cost, as we well know.

I think one of the other things that we should do, and we've started down this road -- the NDP, the Conservatives -- I give them some credit -- and the

Liberals are continuing in that way -- is look at how we have a multidisciplinary approach to health care. We don't always have to go to the doctor's office. It's not always a doctor who's got to

treat you. There are nurses out there. There are nurse practitioners and other people in the health care field who are just as qualified.

You know, a nurse today entering the system goes to school for -- what? -- five years now. The BScN program is five years? My daughter is a BScN nurse. She

originally did three years of college and two years of university. Now she's doing her nurse practitioner's degree. My point is, she is very well qualified, after five years of school, to treat or

deal with somebody when it comes to some of the health ailments they may have as they walk into a health clinic, a doctor's officer or whatever. So I think a more multidisciplinary approach to

health care is where we've got to go. We've got to figure out better ways of being able to get doctors' offices in on this.

I was just at my flight surgeon Larry Mallo's office the other day, and this is where they're going. They're one of these group health care teams or networks

or whatever.

Mr. Khalil Ramal (London-Fanshawe): Community care access centre.

Mr. Bisson: No, no, not a CCAC. They're one of those health teams or networks, depending on when they were created.

The point is, that's where they're going, but they're having a hard time trying to attract a nurse practitioner. He was just telling me the other day that

they've got one -- they've got room for two -- but they can't recruit the nurse practitioners because there are not enough of them being put out of our colleges in order to qualify them to work in

northern Ontario. So I'm working with Northern College right now, with president Hill, to look at whether we can partner with Laurentian University in order to offer a post-BScN program part-time

for nurses in our area so that they can qualify as nurse practitioners.

I think one of the ways that we can save money is to invest upfront and say, let's look at ways of dispensing health care by way of not just doing it with

doctors, and allowing doctors to do the more complex things.

It also deals with the shortage issue. One of the reasons we have a doctor shortage is that it's a very doctor-driven system. We need to find ways to make sure

that doctors who are practising deal with the more complex cases and reduce some of the burden on them. That burden can be transferred over to other health care practitioners to deal with.

So I support the member's motion. I just want to say again, I'm a good physical -- how would I say? -- example of that particular policy by which you preach.

Hopefully, I'll live to be 90 years old, too.

Mrs. Linda Jeffrey (Brampton Centre): I'm happy today to have the opportunity to speak in support of the resolution that was brought forward

by my colleague from Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale.

My colleague alluded to the health aspects of Walk to School Week and his attempts to promote this resolution. I'd just like to reiterate the importance of

encouraging a healthy lifestyle for our young people. Walking is an important activity for our children and can counter the effects of obesity and inactivity that are prevalent among many young

people in Ontario.

Brampton has the distinction of being one of the safest cities in Canada. This gives parents the peace of mind that their children are able to walk to school

on a route that will be safe. This is an important additional benefit of living in Brampton.

Every morning, when possible, I make an effort to walk my dog, Bailey, before I come to Queen's Park. Bailey is a golden retriever, and our walks give me the

opportunity to clear my mind and survey my domain. Bailey and I have seen many wonderful creatures. On our walk the other day, we saw a rabbit. We have seen a coyote. We walked the other way when

we saw the coyote. We've seen deer. We've seen foxes. We've seen beavers, egrets, snakes and gophers, and we did see a large turtle one time that was about as big as a soup plate -- really big.

In fact, walking to school is something I believe most people, young people particularly, enjoy. For example, when Dr. Kular spoke about Morton Way Public

School, they are a shining example, and one of the students made this comment about International Walk to School Day: "Everyone in our school tries to walk for a healthy body and safer streets. I

like walking to school with my friends because we can talk. Walking is way better than riding in a car because walking is more fun than getting a ride." That was a student at Morton Way Public

School in Brampton, Ontario.

Brampton has worked really hard to create some of the most beautiful and abundant park systems in any city in Canada and to protect our natural environment.

Brampton offers an enviable community setting and enhanced lifestyle that is attracting thousands of new families every year.

In fact, Brampton has many trails throughout the city. The three main ones are the Chinguacousy Trail, the Professor's Lake Trail and -- the longest one --

Etobicoke Creek Trail, which I walk most mornings. All three run north and south. The trail runs from the southern end of Kennedy Road near Highway 407 to Mayfield Road in the north.

Unfortunately, even though most people have lived or grown up in the city of Brampton, many have not explored the full length of the trails. They haven't

discovered the flora and fauna that are right beside some of our major thoroughfares. In fact, one that I walk quite regularly has some of our wild trilliums, both the white ones that people

traditionally know and the very dark ones that are almost black or purple in colour.

The Etobicoke Creek Trail begins just north of Highway 407 on the west side of Kennedy Road across from the north tip of our sports park. The entrance is at

the north edge of Brampton golf course, just north of the Etobicoke Creek bridge, and runs through Loafer's Lake.

Towns in Ontario are often named after their first postmaster or are named after the city of the same name where the founder originated. Brampton was named by

John Elliott of Brampton, England, but the area was also known as Buffy's Corners after Mr. Buffy's tavern opened on Queen and Main in 1822. In days gone by, Brampton had many flower nurseries and

in particular was known for raising beautiful orchids and roses. Even today, should you visit or walk along the trails and paths in Brampton, you'll notice that the city remains "The Flower City"

by the many beautiful park displays that we've been honoured for quite recently in Communities in Bloom.

The healthy and safe lifestyle that this resolution is trying to promote is exemplified by a well-known Bramptonian named Leo O'Brien. Leo was the winner of

the Brampton Community Safety Hero of the Year Award in 2004. Leo can be seen several times a week on his unicycle walking his dogs Purdy and Tippy or with dogs from the local animal shelter. On

these walks Leo carries a bag to collect broken glass. He has been doing this for more than five years. His efforts have saved countless dogs from serious injuries and make the trails in Brampton

safer places for young people to walk. Walkers Against Glass is made up of an army of volunteers who are dedicated to making Brampton a safe place to walk.

In closing, thank you for the opportunity to speak on this resolution. I am in full support of the promotion of International Walk to School Week, the first

week of October, and I would be happy to support this resolution.

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I'm pleased to rise today on the motion brought forward by the member from

Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale: "That, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should designate the first week in October of every year as Walk to School Week, as part of the

International Walk to School program, to encourage physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle among our youth."

I know that the member's intent is good; it's just sometimes a little difficult with our rural communities, and it seems to have more of an urban focus, which

we see a lot from this government -- a more urban focus without consideration for a lot of the rural areas.

There's widespread support. We all support more exercise among our young people and more of a healthy lifestyle, and we need to be better at that.

Just to take a few moments to share some of the statistics from one of the school boards in my riding, Trillium Lakelands District School Board: There are 41

elementary schools, seven secondary schools and six adult education centres that serve the needs of approximately 20,000 students. Eighty-eight per cent of those students in that school board

travel to school by bus. I know it's not uncommon in some of the GTA areas for buses to pick up students, but students in my board walk to bus stops to be picked up, and on some days it's quite

treacherous. I know that in the early mornings, when it's still dark, there is the threat of bears coming out and bothering students, and parents are rightfully concerned.

The Trillium Lakelands District School Board requires students to walk up to 1.6 kilometres if they are in junior kindergarten to grade 8. If they're in grades

7 or 8, they can walk up to 2.4 kilometres to catch their bus. If they're in high school, they can walk up to 3.2 kilometres, which is quite a bit of exercise. There are some children who have to

walk that distance, and safety is certainly a concern.

I think we need to emphasize that this has very much an urban focus and needs to be more focused on rural ridings and the walking that the children in my area

have to do every day.

I want to leave some time for the member from Waterloo-Wellington to speak. I just want to say that the theory is correct; just take into focus that rural

areas have different needs and demands than the urban.

Mrs. Donna H. Cansfield (Etobicoke Centre): I am pleased to be able to stand in support of Dr. Kular's motion. I would like to restate what

the Canadian Institute for Health stated: that obesity among our children has increased. It has actually tripled in the last 20 years, between ages of seven and 11, and 36% of our children between

the ages of two and 11 are overweight; 10% are actually considered obese. When you take those facts into consideration, regardless of whether it's urban or rural, it's a staggering statistic that

we need to deal with.

It's interesting -- in today's Globe and Mail, André Picard has an excellent article. In essence he said that 20 years ago, politicians didn't really go

out of their way to triple the number of obese children or overweight children, but in fact our policies, regulations and our pieces of legislation have done that: When you look at the school

curriculum, it doesn't have physical activity in it any more, except as an elective that you can take for one course in the secondary level -- and I know we're changing that; and we do not have an

ability to teach the children around health initiatives. There are just so many reasons why it's such good thing to do, but there's an additional reason that I think sometimes people forget: Not

only does walking allow some socialization for the children, but it also makes them very cognizant of their environment. The fact is that when you take a car off the road, you take emissions that

would be going into the air out of the air.

Mr. Jeff Leal (Peterborough): The One-Tonne Challenge.

Mrs. Cansfield: That's right, it's the One-Tonne Challenge. The fact is that when we drive our cars, there are SO x and

NO x and CO 2 emissions. Interestingly enough, we have Drive Clean processes for our cars, but we don't seem to have any Drive Clean processes for our children. We pick them up

and take them to the school; they don't have a physical activity where they spend five or six hours every day; and then we pick them up from school and take them home or we take them to a course.

Children need more than that. They need to understand their bodies and appreciate that they have to care for those bodies. They also need to know and understand that they have to care for that

environment in which their body lives. Their body requires clean air. I can remember, as a trustee, going to schools where the parents were so lined up with cars that they were double- and

triple-parked. We have policies where we bus our children, knowingly, from their school to their community, yet they could still walk. We don't even encourage them to walk to the local school to

get picked up by bus. We permit the other to occur. What are we teaching our children if we don't teach them to care about the air?

Part of the way we can do that is through the walking tour and the walking bus. Actually, it was initiated by Environment Canada some years ago as well, when

they were looking at roles around climate change. They were trying to figure out what they could do to enable -- because it's through the children that ultimately we're going to make this world a

better place. We know that if we educate the children at a very early age and they continue with their habits, they take them into adulthood, which makes that statistic around obesity even more

frightening, if you consider the health implications and ramifications of obesity in children, and as they move forward as adults, on our health care system.

So really what Dr. Kular is talking about is prevention -- prevention of more emissions in the air, which in turn helps us in terms of our environment and a

sustainable economy, a sustainable environment, a sustainable society. On the other hand, it helps our health care system, because we won't be overloaded with the effects of obesity in children,

and in particular with diabetes, which is horrific disease.

So what Dr. Kular is doing really is, as my kids would say, a no-brainer. This is what we should be doing, but what we must do as legislators is look at those

practices, policies and procedure that inhibit this from happening. Why are we encouraging our children to be bused when they can walk? Why are we not looking at those rural situations to encourage

greater participation in the outdoors, in physical activity? I think if you really want to do something, you can do it. If you really want to put up the barriers, you'll do that as well.

I believes, as this gentleman said at the end, "We have a fiscal and moral imperative to give them a fighting chance to grow up healthy." I don't think you

could say it any better than that. I believe that that's our responsibility here in the Legislature. I don't think kids want to be fat. Do you? Absolutely not, yet they have no voice in all the

things that we do to enable that to happen. So I'm pleased to support Dr. Kular's motion.

Mr. Ted Arnott (Waterloo-Wellington): I am very pleased to have a chance to speak briefly this morning to the motion that has been brought

forward by the member opposite: "That, in the opinion of this House, the government of Ontario should designate the first week in October of every year as Walk to School Week, as part of the

International Walk to School program, to encourage physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle among our youth."

Over the years, I've noticed that the issues that are brought forward on Thursday mornings in private members' time tend to fall into three categories. One

category would be motherhood issues that would enjoy the support of the full House, most likely, and I would expect that this motion will in fact receive the support of most of the members, if not

unanimous support. Another category are issues that need to be raised but are controversial, and the member who is bringing it forward is trying to make a point. I would categorize my Bill 52, the

act to support double-hatter firefighters, as one of those issues. The third category tends to be government backbenchers bringing forward initiatives that the government is not prepared to

introduce but wants to have raised somehow, and they give the idea to a private member.

Again, I think that Dr. Kular has brought forward this issue in a sincere way to try and draw attention to the need to ensure that children receive the

exercise they need. I expect he will receive the support of the House for this particular motion. Certainly, I'm going to support it. If indeed it comes to a recorded vote, he can count on my

support.

Mr. Ramal: I am honoured and privileged to stand up this morning to speak in support of the private member's resolution brought by Dr. Kular,

the MPP from Bramalea-Gore-Malton-Springdale, which seeks to "designate the first week in October of every year as Walk to School Week, as part of the International Walk to School program, to

encourage physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle among our youth."

I think it's a very important resolution. I've heard that all the speakers from both sides of the House are going to support it, because who's not going to

support such an initiative to protect our youth and to create awareness among our youth and our parents about walking to eliminate a lot of problems?

The first important problem is obesity. When I was checking the e-mail about obesity around the world, I read that almost 22 million kids suffer from obesity.

I think that initiative will help them to reduce their weight and create some kind of health, instead of diseases like cardiac problems, diabetes and so many different things we create from being

overweight. I think Dr. Kular, as a doctor, knows the value of youth being healthy in order to create a healthy future for our province, for our country, for our world. As you know, those youth are

our future, so protecting youth means protecting the future.

I was listening to the member from Timmins-James Bay when he was talking about our health care, which costs us a lot of money. This initiative will save us a

lot of money if we encourage it and we help our youth and their parents, help our youth to walk and exercise.

I had the privilege yesterday to meet a doctor who came from France. Everybody thought that France had a great health care system. I was amazed when he was

telling me about their health system in comparison with what we have in Ontario. We have a great system. We have great health coverage. We should protect it by such initiatives as Walk to School

Week, and also, since we have with us today the Minister of Tourism, a program such as Active 2010 to create some kind of activities among our adults across the province.

Today, since we're speaking about the resolution brought by Dr. Kular, I think it is very important to send a great message to all people across the province

about the importance of walking to school. It's not just about health but also about reducing the emissions created by cars, by buses, when we bus students to school, and also eliminating traffic,

which all of us suffer every day when we travel from point one to point two. Even when I come from my apartment to this place, I always face a lot of traffic in the morning. That week will create

such a good environment and all of us will notice. We will also protect our environment. We will eliminate many injuries among our youth, among our students. I think it's a very good initiative.

Hopefully, by our speaking about it today -- all the members of the House -- I think we send a great message to all the people across the province to acknowledge it, and not just know about it, but

use it as a tool in order to create a good, healthy environment, in order to create such an initiative to carry on for the future, and maybe also create a habit, especially in good weather like

today, that from now on until the schools end, we create a habit of walking every day to school.

Also, I listened to many speakers who spoke before me. I want to try to walk every day to Queen's Park, and not just ask the students to walk. I think all of

us should use it -- not just for the students -- for ourselves, because it's very important to walk, to exercise, to maintain our health. By maintaining our health, we're preventing many diseases

and also protecting our health care.

Thank you very much for allowing me to speak. I think it's a very good resolution. I'm honoured and pleased to support this resolution.

The Deputy Speaker: Mr. Kular, you have two minutes to reply.

Mr. Kular: I would like to encourage each one of the members to visit the official Web site of the International Walk to School program --

their Web site is www.iwalktoschool.org -- and consider participating in Walk to School Week in your riding.

In Ontario, Go for Green is one of the organizing groups. To find out more about how schools in your riding can participate in Walk to School Week, go to their

Web site, which is: www.goforgreen.ca. The Web site for Active and Safe Routes to School, a Go for Green initiative, also has information on Walk to School Week activities. Their Web site is:

www.saferoutestoschool.ca for information and resources.

I also want to thank all the members who are supporting my resolution: the member from Etobicoke Centre, the member from Brampton Centre, the member from

London-Fanshawe, the member from Oak Ridges, the member from Timmins-James Bay, the member from Haliburton-Victoria-Brock and the member from Waterloo-Wellington.

I would say Walk to School Week is about sharing quality time with parents and children, creating healthier, safer and caring communities. It's about promoting

physical activity. It's about reducing traffic congestion and pollution. I would ask all the members to fully support it, bring it into practice and start walking. I would say that those who talk

the talk should walk the walk.

The Deputy Speaker: The time allowed for private members' public business has expired.

ONTARIO PRODUCE

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): We will first deal with ballot item number 65. Mrs. Van Bommel has moved private member's resolution

number 43.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

HEALTHY LIVING

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): We shall now deal with ballot item number 66. Mr. Kular has moved private member's resolution number

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

All matters relating to private members' public business having been dealt with, I do now leave the chair. The House resumes at 1:30 of the clock.

The House recessed from 1159 to 1330.

MEMBERS' STATEMENTS

AGNES JAMIESON GALLERY

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I'm pleased to rise today to share with members of the Legislature about an event I attended

this past weekend.

The Agnes Jamieson Gallery in Minden was celebrating their official opening after their recent expansion. The gallery was named after Agnes Jamieson, a local

doctor who was also an accomplished artist. She had a dream of establishing a gallery in Minden and, along with a number of other dedicated individuals, worked to establish the present Agnes

Jamieson Gallery at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre.

The gallery received funding for this expansion from the previous provincial government through the SuperBuild program. They also received federal and

municipal funding, and the Minden Hills Cultural Centre Foundation worked to raise additional funds.

I want to thank the gallery curator, Laurie Carmount, whose tenacity kept the project moving forward.

When Frank Welch, a local undertaker, willed André Lapine oils and watercolours to his community in 1973, he did so on the condition that they be cared

for and displayed.

They needed this expansion and renovation in order to properly house the André Lapine permanent collection at the gallery and to allow the gallery to

showcase travelling exhibitions. The Lapine collection draws tourists to the gallery and to the Minden area. André Lapine was a renowned Canadian artist who painted predominantly farm

landscapes and wilderness areas and is widely regarded as Canada's finest painter of horses.

Haliburton is fast becoming an artists' community and is thought of by many people as the Banff of the east. Being able to showcase other artists as well will

help further this transformation. I encourage everyone to visit Minden and the Agnes Jamieson Gallery this summer.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Ms. Shelley Martel (Nickel Belt): With the budget close at hand, I remind the McGuinty Liberals that Ontario colleges are ranked 10th of the

10 provinces in per student revenue. At a time when we need skilled trades and technology graduates to support our industries, our health care and social services system, and the hospitality and

tourism sectors, Ontario colleges are at a breaking point. The Rae review said colleges need an additional $400 million by 2007-08. How much money will the Liberal government actually commit in

this budget to narrow that gap?

At the beginning of March, the president of Cambrian College in Sudbury wrote to me, outlining the situation facing the college. She said, "We are still not

able to afford to hire full-time faculty and many of our programs are running with one full-time faculty member and a squadron of part-time folks to serve up to 200 students.... We can't afford a

librarian and our technicians do not have the expertise to manage and renew our collection. Academic equipment continues to fall behind industry standards. We continue to only do the minimum when

it comes to maintenance. Annually, our costs increase between $2 million and $3 million just due to salary and benefit increases. As Cambrian plans its 2005-06 budget, assuming we will have the

same amount as 2004-05, excluding the one-time funding, the college faces a $4-million shortfall. This means potential program closures, hiring freezes, and greater impact on services to

students."

It's a disgrace for Ontario to be dead last in Canada when it comes to per student revenue to the colleges. We need a significant investment in our colleges,

and our universities, in this budget. How much will the government deliver?

COMMUNITY-BASED

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

Mrs. Liz Sandals (Guelph-Wellington): My riding of Guelph-Wellington has an unusually large number of Ontario disability support clients with

mental health issues.

According to a 2001 census, 2,700 residents of Guelph and South Wellington required mental health support, and approximately 670 of these individuals required

intensive management to cope. Providing appropriate community support to prevent psychiatric crises is a major challenge for Guelph agencies. For example, the Guelph Police Service spent $57,000

from January to October last year, providing security for psychiatric patients at the local emergency room.

My constituency office has worked with the family of a man who suffers from schizophrenia to identify the cost of caring for him in psychiatric hospitals and

jails. It appears the cost to the province for institutional intervention for this one individual approaches $1 million.

The McGuinty government has provided $950,000 to support community mental health services in Guelph-Wellington and an additional $1.2 million to help people

with mental illness stay out of jail. This support is very welcome, but Guelph still needs an assertive community treatment team.

An ACT team increases the stabilization rate of individuals

suffering from mental illness and reduces the requirement for institutionalization. I agree with my constituents. Guelph needs

an ACT team, and it needs it now.

DAVID WELDON

Mr. Frank Klees (Oak Ridges): I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding public servant. C. David Weldon, the chief administrative officer

for the town of Richmond Hill, is retiring after 30 years of distinguished service.

The town of Richmond Hill was indeed fortunate when, in 1975, Dave Weldon ventured south from his previous post in municipal government in North Bay and Kenora

to join the staff of the town of Richmond Hill. In 1982, Dave assumed responsibility as the town's very first chief administrative officer.

In the last 30 years, Dave has been instrumental in overseeing Richmond Hill's unparalleled growth. He has played an integral role in directing the town and

its residents, both fiscally and physically, through uncharted municipal development and change. He has overseen the building of four arenas, three libraries, nine major recreation centres and four

fire stations. Dave has influenced the town's direction in policy, setting its course in preserving green space for recreation, sport and the integrity of its heritage. Throughout his tenure, he

has insisted upon fiscal responsibility and, to his credit, taxes were not raised at the town of Richmond Hill for 10 years.

Dave Weldon has not only worked for the town, he has consistently been an integral part of the community as a volunteer. He serves on the board of York Central

Hospital and the board of the Richmond Hill community credit union. He has chaired his parish council, the St. Mary Immaculate school council and the town's Canada Day committee.

To Dave and his wife, Carol, and their children, Shawn, Lisa and Meaghan, we thank you for your unselfish service in the public interest and we wish you all of

life's blessings in the years ahead.

MIDWIFERY

Mr. David Zimmer (Willowdale): I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the progress the McGuinty government has made toward

increasing access to birthing services for women. Throughout the province we have invested $37 million for midwifery services in 2004-05. This amounts to $7 million more than the previous year. We

have the opportunity to strengthen a noble profession that has provided assistance to families in time of great need for generations. The additional $7 million will support 55 new midwives to

provide services to 1,200 more Ontario women in community clinics, community-based agencies, hospitals and, more importantly, in the home. In the GTA, we are providing $1.7 million at York

Community Services and another $237,000 at Markham Stouffville Hospital. This investment will give women both better access and more options for birthing services.

There are many advantages to greater investment in the profession of midwifery. A ministry study of women under the care of midwives and family physicians

indicated three things: Women under the care of midwives had fewer C-sections and forceps deliveries and higher rates of breastfeeding than those under the care of physicians; consumer satisfaction

for midwives is extremely high, at 98.7%; and about 25% of midwifery clients give birth at home, with no hospital stay and no additional cost to the health care system.

To repeat the words of our minister, "This government has made the largest one-year expansion of midwifery services ever in Ontario so that more women and

newborns can benefit from their services." We are making sure new midwives are supported in practice in communities where they are needed.

FERGUS BRASS BAND

Mr. Ted Arnott (Waterloo-Wellington): I rise today to congratulate the members and friends of the Fergus Brass Band on their 150th anniversary

and for entertaining people in Wellington county and around Ontario since 1855.

I also want to thank Pat Mestern for the story that she wrote recently in the Fergus-Elora News Express about the Fergus Brass Band. Pat shares an

extraordinary interest in our heritage in Centre Wellington through her story about the people in the band, supporters of the band, its relationship with our community and dedicated perseverance

over 150 years of performances.

The Fergus brass band is without a doubt one of the oldest continuous public performance bands in the province. The band began as a fife and drum corps to

celebrate patriotic occasions. In the years between 1861 and 1920, they practised in the fire hall and then in the drill shed/town hall, and after 1955 they were headquartered at the bowling green

club house. Their newly renovated building on Blair Street suits their needs very well today.

The band received plenty of support from its community and from its local government, and it has always given back. Main street businesses pitched in to

construct a bandstand in Webster Park in 1919, right after World War I, and during the summer months in those days, hundreds and hundreds of people came to Fergus to attend the weekly free

concerts.

The band continues to boost our spirits and culture in Centre Wellington. In my 15 years as an MPP, and lately as a resident of Fergus, I have attended many

events where they have been front and centre, if not the main attraction, often supporting fundraising to meet our needs in our community. I agree with Pat Mestern, who says, "Fergusites should be

proud of the band's accomplishments and lend them the support necessary to continue the tradition for another century."

EDUCATION WEEK

Ms. Laurel C. Broten (Etobicoke-Lakeshore): I rise today to recognize Education Week 2005 and also to encourage and persuade the more than 30

schools in Etobicoke-Lakeshore to Read to Succeed. As a government we are celebrating 18 months of progress in Ontario's publicly funded education system. Our efforts for education include

supporting improved student achievement, new respect for teachers and education workers and more peace and stability in Ontario's schools.

Etobicoke-Lakeshore understands the importance of education in our children's lives. There are so many residents who are consistently active on this front, and

it has been a pleasure to be involved with them. Last week, I visited Islington Junior and Middle School, and tomorrow I will be at George R. Gauld Junior School as part of MPP back-to-school week.

Getting back into the classroom is helpful in learning from students, teachers and parents in my community.

I also wanted to say thank you to the teachers in my riding who last month took

part in an advisory to discuss local initiatives to benefit education and a

future education forum in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. But it is just as crucial that parents are part of the equation, and I'm happy to say that in my community they are. I recently had the opportunity to

listen and communicate with parents' councils who are participating in this forum from all across my community.

This week we celebrate education in Ontario, in all of its forms and with all the people who make it work. Etobicoke-Lakeshore knows its significance and worth

to our most valuable asset: our children and young people in our province.

Mr. Phil McNeely (Ottawa-Orléans): Education Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of educators and students in

our local schools. Yesterday I went back to school in Orléans. In fact, I had the opportunity to meet with students at five schools in my riding, and what a great experience it was.

I started my day with a visit to Cairine Wilson Secondary School. They told me about their participation in the Nelson Mandela children's fund and their

partnership with a rural school in South Africa. I then attended a career fair at St. Matthew Catholic high school. Grades 11 and 12 students made displays of their co-op work experiences to

inspire younger students to take advantage of the experience co-op offers in preparing kids of a great future. At Convent Glen Catholic School, I discussed provincial governance with a grade 5

class, and the questions were not always easy. I next I had the privilege of attending an assembly celebrating the 35th anniversary of Queenswood Public School. I was honoured to present the school

with an official scroll from our Minister of Education to mark the special occasion.

My final stop was truly inspirational. At Orléans Woods Elementary School, I met with student Miranda Tofflemire, who recently donated her pony tail so

that it could be made into wigs for children with cancer. I have to say that the funniest moment was when I learned that Miranda's social science class had made political trading cards for a

project, and two students made cards of me on them: a picture on the front and statistics on the back. Next thing I knew, I was handing out autographs.

So what did I learn in school today? I learned that the programs and partnerships these schools have developed along with the excellent school and community

spirit they foster are a tremendous asset to Ottawa-Orléans and to this province.

STUDENT LITERACY

Mr. John Wilkinson (Perth-Middlesex): Ask any student -- well, maybe any parent -- what is the most important skill for children to learn in

school, and I suspect they would say reading. That is why I rise to share the good news that the province-wide results