It’s a great pleasure that I have 70 pages of petitions here, given to me by Marlene Haley, who is one of the co-owners of the Merry Dairy ice cream store back in Ottawa Centre. I’m sure you might have been there once or twice, Speaker, when you’ve been in Ottawa. It reads:

“I Support Small Ice Cream Shops in Ontario.

“Whereas small ice cream shops offer customers a delicious treat, dairy producers valuable clients, and offer staff jobs;

“Whereas the Milk Act prevents small ice cream shops from local wholesaling, even if the source of their dairy ingredients comes from a certified dairy plant. In fact, the Milk Act currently restricts the wholesale of any products made with dairy ingredients, not just ice cream;

“Whereas small ice cream shops that wholesale without their own certified dairy plants are subject to thousands of dollars in fines...;

“Whereas consumers have the right to choose from a variety of safe dairy products...;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to allow small ice cream shops access to local markets for wholesaling, provided all ingredients are fully traceable, and all dairy ingredients come from certified dairy plants in Ontario.”

I wholeheartedly thank Marlene for her work here. I will be signing this petition and sending it to the Clerks’ table with page Elya.