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.

It’s an honour to stand here today on behalf of our Ontario Liberal caucus to pay tribute to Mr. Gordon Irvin Miller, Liberal MPP for the riding of Norfolk from 1975 to 1990. And we all heard that right: 1975 to 1990, a Liberal MPP in Norfolk. That in itself probably says a lot about Gord Miller.

Now, I obviously never had a chance to meet Mr. Miller, but you get to know people by going through articles and talking to other people. I know that he was raised by his family in Jarvis, Ontario, and he and his brothers, Bruce and Bob, took over the farm from their father. Fittingly, as we said earlier, that farm is on the road that’s named after him, the Gordon Miller Trail.

He started his political career as a school board trustee in 1960, and he was a trustee from 1960 to 1967, followed by many years in municipal politics—town councillor from 1978 to 1981, reeve from 1971 to 1973, regional councillor from 1973 to 1975, and deputy mayor of the city of Nanticoke in 1975.

As if that wasn’t enough, when the residents of Haldimand–Norfolk weren’t happy about the two-tiered government that was pushed on to them by the Conservative government of the day, Mr. Miller decided to run in the 1975 provincial election to have his constituents’ voices heard at Queen’s Park. He went on to win by over 2,000 votes over incumbent MPP Jim Allan, who had held the riding for 23 years. He was re-elected in 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1987, and served as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Transportation.

From what I gather, he cared deeply about his community. He was a community builder. He was someone who wanted—and we’ve heard it here today—to make his community better, and the work was fun. That’s a good sign.

As the Hamilton Spectator puts it, Gord was “the quintessential good neighbour.” What a nice legacy.

Mr. Miller was named the 1990 Jarvis Citizen of the Year.

Again, as if all those other things weren’t enough, he was a Sunday school superintendent, member of the Haldimand–Norfolk United Way, advocate for Crime Stoppers and chair of the West Haldimand General Hospital Foundation. It was a life full of service that I won’t say is unmatched, but it’s up there, near the top of the kind of service that we’ve spoken about in this community, with some members here who have passed away.

Aside from being a politician, he was a big-time sports fan, a coach, a player, interested in baseball and hockey.

I think it’s really important, when someone serves 30 years in public service—and the family is here today—to thank the family for allowing their father and grandfather to serve his community. We all know that in that kind of service, it takes you away from the things that you—where you want to be, who you want to be with, sometimes. It’s a big sacrifice. It’s a big sacrifice for us as members, but it’s an even bigger sacrifice for our families,

So to his son Doug; daughter-in-law Flora; grandsons Jamie, Geoff and David; granddaughter Meghan; great-grandchildren Brynn and Mason, thank you.

And on behalf of the Ontario Liberal caucus, I want to thank Mr. Miller for dedicating his life to public service. Thank you.

Applause.

It is an honour and privilege to speak in this House today to honour the late Julian Reed, member of provincial Parliament, on behalf of the government and the people of Ontario.

Let me begin by welcoming his family and friends who are joining us today: his daughter, Melanie Reed; his son-in-law, Jeff Doupe; his grandchildren Shannon and Weston; and his cousin Linda Mcgregor.

It’s always a sad occasion when we rise to honour a former member of this House, but it does give us the opportunity to speak about their service to their constituents, their community and our province. We can reflect on the work they did in this House and in their community and talk a little bit about the character and personality of the individual.

Julian Alexander Arnott Reed passed away on January 6 of this year, at the age of 85. Former Premier David Peterson remembered him with fondness, saying, “He was a delight ... with a wonderful sense of the community. He loved to tell stories. He loved to talk. He was full of fun and love.” This was reinforced when I spoke to long-time Milton mayor Gord Krantz, who was re-elected for his 14th term last night, about Julian Reed. They worked closely, attending community events with their spouses, and Mayor Krantz remembers him as playing the banjo and as a jovial entertainer. He said Julian was known as a showman and a good singer.

Julian Reed served in this Legislature for the riding of Halton–Burlington from 1975 to 1985, being re-elected in 1977 and 1981. He retired from public life in 1985 but obviously decided he hadn’t had enough of politics, as he then was elected and served as the member of Parliament for Halton–Peel and then Halton, from 1993 to 2004.

The Reeds were an old family in Halton county and Halton region, with roots going back to the 19th century. Julian Reed was born in 1936 and grew up near Norval, east of Georgetown, on a farm that had been in the family most of the time since 1868. He had worked as an actor, seed salesman and pig farmer before getting involved in politics. I’m not sure which of these roles would have been a better preparation for a political career.

In 1968, he got his big break in show business when an agent saw him in a production of South Pacific. This led to work in a variety show and commercials. Mayor Krantz remembers him doing a Vicks cough drops commercial.

The political bug struck him when he got involved to save Norval Public School from being closed. He had met the Minister of Education and asked him if the only way to save the school was to run for office. The minister shrugged and said yes, and so Julian Reed ran for the Legislature.

He had a strong interest in alternative sources of energy—a man truly ahead of his time. He built a small power-generating station on the Credit River, by his family’s farm, in the 1970s, and another later, near Peterborough, connected to Ontario Hydro’s grid. In this Legislature, he spoke out on Ontario Hydro, biotechnology, energy efficiency and many other energy topics. He shared his great knowledge with the members of this House during the late 1970s and early 1980s in the energy crisis. When he went to Ottawa as a member of Parliament, he helped secure funding for an ethanol plant in Chatham and $11.9 million for biodiesel, both approved in the same budget. His passion for alternative energy was almost lethal one day, as he took a bottle of new diesel made of canola oil and 12% methanol to a lunch with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. The Prime Minister could smell the canola and took a drink from the bottle with the poisonous methanol. Julian Reed then took a drink himself, figuring, “If he was going out, I was going out too.” Thankfully, no by-elections were needed that day.

When one reads about Julian and what his colleagues thought of him, it is obvious he was greatly respected and loved—respected because of his commitment to the causes he believed in, including alternative energy, and because of the knowledge and skills he offered on these causes.

He was a great contributor to public life and public service, but he also knew how to enjoy himself and how to make others happy, especially his family.

He is missed by his family, many of whom are here today, and by his many friends, both in the Liberal Party and in the community he served.