As always, it’s an honour to rise in the House today.

Mr. Speaker, I felt it very important today to take this opportunity to acknowledge the commitment to community demonstrated by all those candidates who put their name forward for municipal council and school board elections throughout Sarnia–Lambton and, of course, the province of Ontario.

I don’t have to tell anyone in this House that putting your name on the ballot is not an easy decision to make. By putting forward your platform and ideas you open yourself up to scrutiny and criticism from the public and our friends in the press. However, the debate of those ideas is fundamental to our democracy, and without a variety of candidates and a diversity of opinions—whether they finished on top of the polls or somewhere farther down the list—I want to congratulate every candidate in Sarnia–Lambton on their campaign and let them know just how much their participation mattered to their community.

I look forward to working with all the returning and newly elected mayors and members of council in Sarnia–Lambton. I want to say congratulations to newly elected mayors Gary Atkinson in Plympton-Wyoming, and Jeff Agar in St. Clair township. I also applaud mayors Kevin Marriott in Enniskillen township; Ian Veen in Oil Springs; Brad Loosley in Petrolia; and Bev Hand in Point Edward on their re-election. And, of course, Mr. Speaker, special congratulations to Mayor Mike Bradley in Sarnia, who was just elected to his 11th term as mayor of “The Imperial City.”

As yesterday was the municipal elections in Ontario, I want to start off today by thanking everyone that put their names forward in the municipal and school board elections across Ontario. Participating in our democratic process by putting your names on a ballot to represent your communities is something that you should all be proud of.

To those that were elected yesterday, I offer you my sincere congratulations. Each of you have been entrusted with a responsibility to serve your communities. Having served on council in my community for 31 years, I can tell you that the experience can be a very rewarding one.

To those that have been elected for the first time, you will soon find out that your responsibilities will demand a considerable amount of your time, and that will impact not only on you but your family as well. Please recognize the sacrifices that your family will be making while they support you.

In my role as PA to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, I look forward to working with all of you toward our mutual goal of continuing to make Ontario and our communities the best they can be. As with all elections, we will see change at council tables across the province. I want to thank all members that are not returning for their service and commitment to their communities.

In my riding of Thunder Bay–Atikokan, there are several members of council that are not returning, but I’d like to mention one in particular, and that is Atikokan mayor Dennis Brown. Mayor Brown decided to retire after an incredible 38 years of service. Throughout his time on council, Mayor Brown has worked tirelessly to make Atikokan a better place to live, work and play, and the word “impossible” was not in his vocabulary. It has been a pleasure for me to work with Mayor Brown over the years, and I want to offer him my gratitude and sincerest best wishes in his retirement.