I’m going to try, but first I want to thank the member from Hastings–Lennox and Addington for his amazing job and the important contributions he makes to our caucus.

It’s that time of year. Spring is finally here across northern Ontario. Leaders from across our vast region meet for an opportunity to discuss best practices every year—especially for the past five, under the leadership of this Premier, and the commitment from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to join municipal leaders and talk about the opportunities across northern Ontario. That was in full display in Thunder Bay. What a lineup: Ministers Surma, Clark, Dunlop, Lecce, Pirie, Smith, and, of course, what I fondly like to call the minister for Thunder Bay, our amazing parliamentary assistant, Kevin Holland. We made a direct pitch to the importance of business expansion and development—179 job placements, to the tune of $7.8 million. We’re on fire—

I made a bit of a pivot. There are so many beautiful small towns up there in northeastern Ontario, and they appreciate our community development tranche that we put into the NOHFC when we modernized it, to the tune of $5 million. We talked about Blind River and rehabilitating their curling club; the township of St. Joseph and rehabilitating a children’s library; Gore Bay and upgrading the harbourfront and making it more accessible. These are the things that matter to young families and retirees in our community—good, hard-working families who want a great quality of life. We remain committed to just that.