On behalf of the Ontario Liberal caucus, I’m proud to pay tribute to Gary Fox, former MPP for Prince Edward–Lennox-South–Hastings, member in Mike Harris’s government from 1995 to 1999.

Mr. Fox graduated from the Advanced Agriculture Leadership Program at the University of Guelph and was a proud third-generation farmer and, as has just been pointed out, a good old country boy, dealing in beef, cash crop, dairy and sheep at the core of his operation. I’m not a farmer and I’m not a good old country boy, but I’ve had the honour of representing many of them for nearly 20 years. So when I heard that Mr. Fox was county chair and director of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board, served on the Ontario vegetable marketing board, was provincial director of the Prince Edward Federation of Agriculture and a founding member and vice-chairman of Agricultural Marketing for Eastern Ontario, that kind of blew me away. Farmers don’t have a lot of time on their hands, as I’m sure Mr. Vanthof would agree, and to participate in all those additional activities is really quite something. So Mr. Fox was a farmer by trade, but he dedicated his entire life to public service.

He began his political journey as a councillor on Sophiasburgh township council, later serving on Prince Edward county council as reeve of Sophiasburgh. With 20 years of municipal experience, Mr. Fox ran for the Tories in 1995 and joined the Common Sense Revolution to victory. He fought hard every day for the people of Prince Edward county here at Queen’s Park.

In addition to his immense experience in the agriculture sector, Mr. Fox was also a strong advocate for the environment. He was past chairman of the Prince Edward Region Conservation Authority and a founding member of the Prince Edward round table on the environment and the economy.

Sadly, Mr. Fox was diagnosed with cancer about five years ago, and he passed away this past December on the Fox family farm.

We’re joined here today at Queen’s Park by his wife, Lynn; his daughter Lori; his son Kyle; his grandchildren Nicholas, Olivia, Jackson, Ethan, Halla; his daughter-in-law Tanya; Paige Barr; Brendan Taylor; and Mandy Martin, his former constituency assistant. To all of you, thank you for sharing Mr. Fox with us and with the people of Ontario and the residents of Prince Edward county.

Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to make statements in remembrance for the late Mr. Gary Fox, with five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s loyal opposition, five minutes allotted to the independent members as a group and five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s government.

Thank you. I want to wish a very nice evening to all the family members and the friends who have joined us as we remember Ms. Marietta Roberts tonight. Thank you so much.

Today we are honoured to remember and pay tribute to a former member of our provincial Legislature, the late Mr. Gary Fox, who was the MPP for Prince Edward–Lennox-South–Hastings during the 36th Parliament.

Joining us in the Speaker’s gallery are Mr. Fox’s family and friends: His wife, Lynn Fox; his children, Kyle Fox and Lori Slik; his daughter-in-law, Tanya Swan-Fox; his son-in-law, Manson Slik; his grandchildren Nicholas Fox, Olivia Fox, Jackson Fox, Ethan Slik and Halla Slik; Paige Barr; Brendan Taylor; and Mandy Martin. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I also want to note that in the Speaker’s gallery is Mr. David Warner, Speaker during the 35th Parliament. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Applause.