C’est un privilège et un honneur de me lever ici en Chambre aujourd’hui, en présence de mes collègues députés, pour faire mon discours inaugural.

Je veux prendre l’opportunité de me présenter. Je suis Stéphane Sarrazin, Franco-Ontarien, fier député de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, ancien maire de la municipalité d’Alfred et Plantagenet et président des comtés unis de Prescott et Russell.

Le 2 juin dernier, j’ai eu la chance et le privilège de me faire élire dans notre belle circonscription dans l’Est ontarien, où j’y demeure depuis ma naissance. J’habite dans un village qui s’appelle Alfred, un village qui est situé sur la vielle route 17 transcanadienne et qui était nommé la capitale de la patate frite du Canada à une époque. Le nom du village provient de l’honorable Francis Eugène Alfred Évanturel, qui a été président de l’Assemblée législative, ici même, de 1898 à 1902, le seul président francophone de l’Assemblée à ce jour.

J’imagine, monsieur le Président, que sa chaise était au même endroit que la vôtre. On peut, de nos jours, visiter l’église du village d’Alfred pour voir la chaise originale de l’ancien président, plus au moins. On peut aussi voir la photo du Président Francis Eugène Évanturel parmi celles des anciens présidents ici même à Queen’s Park.

Je suis ici aujourd’hui grâce à l’aide de plusieurs personnes, et j’aimerais profiter de cette occasion, ici même, pour les remercier, en débutant par ma conjointe, Chantal, qui est là. Chantal est toujours là pour me supporter dans tout ce que j’entreprends. Le travail de député est semblable à celui de maire. Sans aucun doute, Chantal fera une excellente dame de député, car elle a été une mairesse exceptionnelle pour la municipalité d’Alfred et Plantagenet. Je voulais te remercier, mon amour, d’embarquer avec moi dans cette nouvelle aventure.

J’ai deux filles, Rebecca et Vanessa—14 ans et 18 ans—qui ne sont pas ici aujourd’hui, qui semblaient avoir quelque chose de plus important à l’horaire. Vous savez, à l’âge de 14 ans, 18 ans, on a beaucoup de projets. Elles devront sacrifier la présence de leur père pendant les prochaines quatre années. Elles devront partager leur temps avec plus de 100 000 résidents de la circonscription de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell. J’imagine que les avoir avec nous pendant quelques semaines à Toronto, les emmener faire du magasinage dans les boutiques du centre-ville, pourrait compenser pour le manque de temps avec leur père.

Merci à mes parents pour m’avoir transmis plusieurs valeurs, comme celle d’avoir le désir d’aider les gens de ma communauté.

J’aimerais remercier aussi les 10 maires des comtés unis de Prescott et Russell et de la municipalité de Glengarry Nord. Je vais les nommer :

—Paula Assaly, qui est maire de la ville de Hawkesbury;

—M. Robert Kirby, maire de la municipalité de Hawkesbury Est;

—M. Pierre Leroux, maire de la municipalité de Russell;

—M. Normand Riopel, maire de la municipalité de Champlain;

—M. Daniel Lafleur, maire de la municipalité de Casselman et président des comtés unis de Prescott et Russell;

—M. Yves Laviolette, maire de la municipalité d’Alfred et Plantagenet, celui qui m’a remplacé suite aux résultats des élections provinciales en juin dernier;

—M. François St-Amour, maire de la municipalité de La Nation;

—M. Mario Zanth, maire de la municipalité de Clarence-Rockland;

—M. Jamie MacDonald, maire de la municipalité de Glengarry Nord; ainsi que

—M^me Carma Williams, « deputy mayor » de la municipalité de Glengarry Nord et présidente—« warden »—des comtés unis de Stormont, Dundas et Glengarry.

C’est en majorité l’idée et l’appui de ces 10 maires qui m’a incité à me présenter comme candidat aux élections provinciales. Ces 10 collègues de travail qui sont devenus des amis proches ont mis leur confiance en moi, et j’en suis très reconnaissant. Je vous promets que je saurai bien vous représenter ici à Queen’s Park. Juste pour vous dire—croyez-le ou non—la grande majorité de ces maires étaient réunis avec moi, avec plusieurs personnes et des journalistes dans une salle communautaire, pour suivre les résultats durant la soirée des élections du 2 juin dernier.

J’aimerais aussi remercier les membres de mon équipe qui ont travaillé sur ma campagne électorale :

—M. Mathieu Dumont, gérant de campagne;

—M. François Bossé, directeur financier de la campagne de l’association de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell;

—M. François St-Amour, président de l’association du Parti conservateur de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell; et

—mes spécialistes en communication, Ghyslain Hotte et Maxime Hupé.

Merci aussi à tous les membres de l’association locale. Merci à tous les bénévoles qui ont travaillé lors de la campagne. Certains d’eux étaient des amis, des voisins, des membres de la famille. Tous étaient là pour me venir en aide.

Je voudrais remercier les députés provinciaux de ma circonscription qui m’ont précédé. Il y a encore des gens de l’équipe de l’Assemblée législative qui me font part de comment c’était plaisant de travailler avec M. Jean-Marc Lalonde, qui est maintenant à sa retraite en tant que député mais qui est encore très impliqué dans notre communauté. J’ai eu la chance de m’entretenir avec M. Lalonde lors du tournoi de golf, vendredi dernier, de notre député fédéral. Il fêtait ses 87 ans. Il est encore très actif dans la communauté.

I would also like to thank all of my Glengarry–Prescott–Russell constituents, all these supporters who voted for me and have confidence that I will be a strong voice here at Queen’s Park. I want to reassure you that I will do my best to give you the representation you deserve, which is the representation you did not get for the last four years.

Mes chers électeurs, chères électrices, je suis très reconnaissant de votre appui qui nous a mené à une victoire le 2 juin dernier. Beaucoup d’entre vous ont voté pour la première fois pour un candidat et non pour un parti politique, et sachez que je m’engage à travailler fort pour vous et notre belle région de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, qui, pour les gens qui ne savent pas, débute à la frontière de la province du Québec, à environ 40 minutes à l’ouest de Montréal, et qui s’étend jusqu’à la ville d’Ottawa. En fait, c’est approximativement 100 kilomètres de bord riverain de la rivière des Outaouais qui nous sépare de nos voisins québécois.

Beaucoup d’opportunité dans la circonscription de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell : nous sommes situés entre Montréal, Ottawa et Cornwall, à proximité des autoroutes 401, 417 et des frontières de l’État de New York. Dans notre région, on voit souvent des familles où il y a un conjoint qui travaille à Ottawa et l’autre travaille à Montréal. Certains de nos villages à l’est d’Ottawa ont connu une croissance résidentielle incroyable dans les dernières années.

Beaucoup d’opportunité pour les entreprises, en plus d’être une grande région agricole : plusieurs personnes, sûrement de mes collègues ici, sont des consommateurs de nos produits tels que le fromage St-Albert, qui est reconnu pour ses « curds », et aussi la bière Beau’s, juste pour en nommer quelques-uns.

Quelques belles activités ont lieu dans certains de nos villages. Les Glengarry Highland Games dans le petit village de Maxville, le Beau’s beer Oktoberfest à Vankleek Hill, le festival country de Wendover, le Festival de la Curd de St-Albert et plusieurs foires agricoles.

Notre circonscription est située dans l’Est ontarien, qui est la plus grande région francophone de l’Ontario. J’aimerais dire à ces francophones que nous continuerons, avec l’aide de la ministre des Affaires francophones, l’honorable Caroline Mulroney, à travailler à améliorer les services aux francophones pour plusieurs années à venir. Je remercie la ministre Mulroney et son équipe pour le travail incroyable qui a été accompli durant les derniers quatre ans.

L’université francophone de l’Ontario a ouvert ses portes à l’automne 2021 à la suite d’une entente entre le fédéral et la province. Ce même leadership a également permis la création de la Fédération des gens d’affaires francophones de l’Ontario, qui fournit un espace de réseautage important pour les entrepreneurs, les commerçants et les chefs d’entreprise de langue française. En même temps, Sarnia est devenue une région désignée en vertu de la Loi sur les services en français, et plus d’écoles primaires et secondaires de langue française ont été construites à travers la province. Sans oublier : la première modernisation de la Loi sur les services en français en 35 ans, l’octroi de la gouvernance par et pour les francophones à l’Université de Hearst et le financement de nos organismes et de nos petites entreprises francophones.

Je veux mentionner que j’ai la plus grande admiration pour la ministre Mulroney, et félicitations pour le travail qu’elle et son équipe ont accompli.

J’aimerais partager avec vous une expérience que j’ai vécue à ma première visite ici à Queen’s Park, le 15 juin dernier. Probablement beaucoup d’autres nouveaux membres ont eu la chance d’arriver ici, puis d’avoir cette expérience-là. Je sors du taxi qui m’avait transporté de la station de train Union Station jusqu’ici à Queen’s Park. Je me dirige à l’entrée principale avec un bagage, n’ayant pas accès à ma chambre d’hôtel avant 16 h, un peu curieux à savoir comment j’allais me présenter à ces agents de sécurité. En montant les marches, les agents s’adressent à moi en français. Ils me disent : « Bienvenue, monsieur Sarrazin, et félicitations pour votre victoire. » Mais quelle belle surprise de voir ces gens qui ont pris le temps d’étudier la liste des nouveaux élus pour nous souhaiter la bienvenue. J’étais vraiment très impressionné.

Par la suite, on m’offre un tour guidé avec un guide francophone qui m’explique les moindres détails du bâtiment et de son histoire. Nous entrons ici même dans la Chambre de l’Assemblée législative, puis à ce moment-là, nous voilà en présence d’un guide qui offre une visite à un groupe d’élèves francophones assisté de plusieurs enseignants. Piqué par la curiosité et croyant que personne ne savait qui j’étais, je demande à la guide si je peux poser une question. Ma question avait pour but de savoir de quelle région de l’Ontario provenait ce groupe d’étudiants, mais avant même que je pose ma question, l’employée de l’Assemblée législative, qui est la guide, prend la parole en s’adressant aux visiteurs et leur dit : « Je vous présente M. Stéphane Sarrazin, député de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, une des plus grandes circonscriptions francophones de la province. » Bien, vous ne pouvez pas savoir à quel point j’ai été surpris et submergé d’émotions. C’était très gentil de la part de ces employés-là. Je voulais dire un merci spécial aux employés de l’Assemblée législative d’être tant attentionnés à travailler avec les membres élus. Je voulais les remercier pour ça.

Now to my MPP colleagues, I would like to apologize in advance to you and the Legislative Assembly translators as I will often slip some English words while speaking in French. Donc, I believe that is the reality of many Franco-Ontarians, especially in the northern Ontario region. We call that “franglais.” I admit that it will be fun to see many of you, the members, quickly grab the headset to get translation when I address you in French. I am assuming that you all could have guessed from the start that I was a francophone, and you noticed my French accent, of course.

A lot of my English colleagues make some incredible efforts to communicate with me in French and many of them would really like to learn to speak French. Ces gens-là, on les surnomme des francophiles. A francophile is a person who admires francophones and their language, and I would like to tell you, my colleagues, that I’m very thankful for that.

Like I was mentioning earlier, as a mayor and a warden, I had the opportunity to sit on many councils and committees. I was involved with Prescott-Russell economic development, Prescott-Russell tourism, public works, social services, a long-term-care facility, emergency services, the local police board, a conservation agency, the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and the Eastern Ontario Agri-Food Network. I believe I was very fortunate to be involved with many organizations over the past years and be able to better understand our challenges in the riding.

I’m proud to be part of a team of great people who are all here for the same reason, which is to serve their constituents. An MPP’s responsibility is one that no one should take lightly. I am really impressed by the team, and I’m positive that we will work together to get a stronger Ontario.

Comme mentionné lors du discours du trône, notre province, notre pays a connu durant les dernières années des situations sans précédent. Nous avons de gros défis à relever, et les citoyens s’attendent à ce que les membres du gouvernement travaillent ensemble pour y arriver.

L’inflation est au plus haut niveau. Les chaînes d’approvisionnement sont fragiles à la suite d’une pandémie mondiale et la guerre en Ukraine—de grosse conséquence sur le portefeuille de nos citoyens et nos entrepreneurs. J’ai confiance que notre gouvernement sera fiscalement responsable et remettra l’Ontario sur la voie de la prospérité.

Encore une fois, j’aimerais terminer mon discours en m’adressant aux citoyens de Glengarry–Prescott–Russell. Je serai là pour vous représenter en tant que député pour les prochains quatre ans et je vous remercie pour votre confiance. Merci beaucoup.

Further debate?

Thank you very much.

Point of order.

Again, I would like to express my gratitude for being in this beautiful chamber. I keep looking at these lights and ceilings and can’t take my eyes off it. I love the fact that the people of Cambridge gave me the trust to elect me to sit in this room with this esteemed group, everybody on both sides of the aisle.

This morning, I started talking about Cambridge, a place with vitality, innovation and quality of life. That’s my city part of my riding. I also have a countryside of my riding called North Dumfries township. It’s picturesque. It’s mainly agricultural. Its quaint location and proximity to many large economic centres along the 401—and, like Cambridge, the 401 doesn’t run exactly through it but very close to it. It’s also at a main rail hub with Canadian Pacific that runs through Cambridge also.

North Dumfries is named after a Scottish settler—and I’ve got a little bit of Scottish history beside me, but Riddell is also an old Scottish name. It’s a scenic area that wraps around the city of Cambridge, and it’s located on the south end of the region of Waterloo. The township’s population is about 10,500—not big—with Ayr and Branchton being the largest communities, and settlements of Roseville, Clyde and Reidsville, as well as the Greenfield Heritage District. It’s a peaceful retreat with the countryside charm of rolling hills, ponds, rivers and trails. It’s a go-to destination if you want to have some recreation and relaxation.

People in the riding, whether it’s on the street or in a restaurant or in a campaign office or knocking on doors, would ask me why am I getting into the world of politics. I would tell them, “I’m a lifelong resident of the area, and I’ve always wanted to get involved and make positive change.” And that’s my credo: make positive change.

I’m going to steal from Will Bouma right now. I believe in treating people how I’d like to be treated and leaving things better than I found them.

I have a crazy background. I started off going to school for photography for three years. I worked for the Edmonton Journal and hated it. I saw a side of life that our esteemed member on the other side was mentioning about news, and it just wasn’t for me. But my dad was an electrician. My grandfather was involved with Tender Tootsies slippers, which I’m sure maybe your moms wore at one time.

I was raised around factories, so I thought, “I’ll be a millwright.” I went to school for that and started working at a company in Cambridge called Dresser Industries, building oil rigs. Then I started getting promoted up. They sent me to school for industrial engineering, where I graduated from Conestoga College. Then I did my degree at Wilfrid Laurier and the University of Chicago. And then somehow, I got into working black-box projects for General Motors, Ford and Toyota. I was one of the first people to be sent over to Toyota City in Japan. It opened my eyes like you would not believe.

As that industry started to shut down and move a lot to the States, I got into tire companies. I was the assistant manager of quality of Uniroyal-Goodrich up in Kitchener. We were bought out by Michelin. They looked at me and said, “We’re making you a field engineer,” so I used to go all over Canada, place tires in various facilities and then just report on them to the engineers in Clermont, France and in Greenville, South Carolina, just on their progress. But a lot of my friends from U-G ended up going over to Bridgestone. When I finished at Bridgestone, I was one of the national sales managers, and I thought it’s time to retire.

I was fooling myself. I can’t sit still. I love working. So I got into teaching. I went back and I was a professor at Conestoga College, teaching creative industries. I love that too, but I’ve always wanted to get into political life. I remember an MP in Cambridge named Max Saltsman who had business dealings with my father. He took us up to Ottawa and gave me a tour of the Parliament buildings, and I got bit—just like a tick, only I didn’t get Lyme disease from it.

Part of the thing that was bothering me: The past Liberal and NDP governments left the province in a mess, and I just wasn’t satisfied with that situation. I put my name out there and got a call on New Year’s Eve, of all days, that they’re interested in me being a candidate in Cambridge, so I went for it. About four months after that, I talked to the Premier. We got along, and I thought, I want to do this. But I had a big problem. The New Blue Party was formed in Cambridge, and everyone in this room knows what that is, and that was going to be my biggest challenge, I thought.

Basically, the riding association was destroyed. I had to rebuild that. I had great help from a lot of people. Peter Tudisco was our president. Dr. Matt Stubbings was my campaign manager—a lot of you know Matt; an amazing person. And probably the best person I had to deal with was my wife, Suzanne. She became my CFO. John Wright was my vice-president. Rob Leone, who sat in this chamber too, was on my board. And I had a guy named Nicholas Ermeta, who’s a councilman in Cambridge. He knocked on 10,000 doors for me. I have hobbies. I was a baseball coach. I’m a ski race coach out of Glen Eden, so my knees are gone. How this guy did 10,000 doors, I’ll never know. But in total, we knocked on over 16,000 doors, which was amazing.

There were all these hard-working people who believed in our cause, who were willing to go out there and donate their time, their money, and ultimately their votes to make this happen, and I will never forget them.

I would like to thank MPPs Mike Harris, Will Bouma and Monte McNaughton for helping me out too.

One of the largest advantages I had over other vying candidates—and it was kind of interesting—our campaign office was beside a Dairy Queen. In June, it was getting a little hot. May was hot, and everybody liked going to Dairy Queen. So that was my advantage. I used it for door-knocking schedules so they could have a break on a hot day.

Our government, under Doug Ford’s leadership, has been blessed with a second term and is working hard to correct all those issues and move forward with innovation, growth and prosperity for all Ontarians. I would like to mention a few of those examples that intrigued me—things that have been done and are going to be done:

—the spending of over $1 billion building five transmission lines to address electricity needs;

—$91 million to help electric vehicles and chargers to become more accessible;

—spending $3.5 million over three years, starting in 2022-23, to support over 3,000 hospital beds;

—$2.8 billion over the next three years to make temporary wage enhancements for PSWs;

—$142 million to recruit and retain health care workers in underserved communities;

—investing an additional $114 million over three years in skilled trades. Working with Monte on visiting Conestoga, the new campus, was invigorating;

—making Ontario the electric car manufacturing leader in North America, and I think that’s where we’re going;

—$91 million to help make electric vehicle chargers more accessible—I mentioned that already;

—introducing a new science and technology curriculum;

—spending over $40 billion in the next 10 years on hospital infrastructure. My colleague here from Brampton North mentioned the Peel hospital being shut and then reopened. The fact that we’re building the first medical school for doctors in over 100 years is amazing;

—spending $124 million over three years to modernize clinical education for nurses;

—$42 million over two years to support the expansion of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Ontario; and

—reducing barriers to make it easier and quicker for foreign-credentialed health workers to begin practising in Ontario.

It just goes on and on. I could probably talk about this for an hour, but I’m not going to.

I want to go back to what I said earlier. The people of Cambridge have put me in this honoured role. I am deeply honoured, and I will do my best to bring their voice forward in this chamber.

Further debate?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and congratulations on your election to the role.

I’m excited to be standing in this historic chamber representing the constituents of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry—a dream come true, something that I did not expect or hope for until much later in life, a true privilege I’ll never take for granted.

First, I’d like to thank the previous member, Jim McDonell, respectfully referred to as Jimmy or Gentleman Jim to anyone who worked with him. Both of those monikers proved how hard Jim worked creating relationships with all members of this House, regardless of party. I can only hope to be seen in such a positive light after my time in office. Jim worked tirelessly for the residents of our riding, not only during his 12 years as MPP but prior, with his many years in municipal politics. I have big shoes to fill to carry on the legacy of good representation for our riding. I’m blessed to have inherited a solid Progressive Conservative movement from Jim.

Next, I’d like to thank the strong leadership of Premier Ford and the rest of my colleagues for allowing me to be part of this team and to get things done for the people of Ontario. I’m honoured to be a part of the 43rd Parliament of Ontario.

I’d like to thank my family for allowing me to live out this dream of representing Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry. They’re here today, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you to my wife, Kim, a passionate elementary school teacher. Without her, none of this would be possible. Kim thrives to make a difference in the lives of young children she teaches. Kim is the foundation of everything I do. Thank you, Kim, for taking care of everything at home while I’m away, while also being a successful elementary educator.

To my children, Norah, Nolan Jr. and Nevyn, thank you. Thank you for sharing the time with your father as young kids for the betterment of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry and the province of Ontario. I hope to show you, with hard work and determination, anything is possible.

To my parents, Karen and Frank Quinn, thank you for instilling in me the importance of community involvement at an early age. As long as I can remember, my parents taught myself and my four siblings the importance of giving back to our community, both with our time and financial contributions where possible. My mother and I would frequently go door to door, fundraising for heart and stroke, cancer and many other charitable endeavours when I was only knee-high. My father has volunteered his time for decades, helping many charities on the board of directors and with their bookkeeping and other duties. Now retired from working, he spends many hours helping our local church, St. Andrew’s parish and in the historic cemetery.

To my campaign team that made this possible, thank you. My campaign manager, Adrian Bugelli, kept the campaign focused, organized and on track—not only keeping the campaign on track, but also me. Anyone who knows me knows I’m hard to keep in line.

Thank you to the campaign office staff of Tanya McVey and Vincent Blais, who worked tirelessly with all the volunteers. Some of the key volunteers—and hopefully I’m not forgetting anyone—are Amanda and Dan Brisson; Marcel Booyink; Jimmy Duncan; Sam McDonell, who is Jim’s nephew; Rick Marvel; Pierre Roy; Jason Setnyk; Steve Densham; Geraldine Fitzsimmons; and Gerry Boyce. To the dozens of other volunteers who helped with signs, calls and door-knocking, it is greatly appreciated. This could not have happened without your time.

Thank you to all the supporters who helped fuel this win, whether it was support, funding or words of encouragement.

My riding of Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry consists of the city centre of Cornwall and the counties, with many historic villages and towns scattered throughout. The city of Cornwall’s slogan is “A World of Possibility,” and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry’s slogan is “Where Ontario Began.” Our area has a rich and vibrant history, filled with Franco-Ontarian heritage and Indigenous culture and tradition. Located along the mighty St. Lawrence River, my riding is strategically located beside the border with the United States, our nation’s capital and the province of Quebec. Our neighbours in Akwesasne have lived on the land for centuries, passing down native teachings and tradition from one generation to the next. Akwesasne is an important partner, both culturally and economically, both in the past and in the future in eastern Ontario.

Cornwall began as a United Empire Loyalist town named New Johnstown, originally settled in 1784. It was used as a garrison town in the War of 1812, with the crucial Battle of Crysler’s Farm just a short distance away. Some historians state that the Battle of Crysler’s Farm saved the nation of Canada.

The city of Cornwall housed the first industrial facility to be electrically lit in Canada, under the guidance of Thomas Edison, in April 1883. Cornwall, Akwesasne, and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry were permanently altered when the R.H. Saunders dam was built, flooding many villages—lost villages, as they are called—to make way for one of the largest hydroelectric dams in Ontario and Canada, which was built between 1954 and 1958. Dozens of villages were picked up and moved to make way for the flooding of the river. Queen Elizabeth took part in a royal visit to the area to marvel in the engineering feat of the seaway, the relocated towns because of the flooding, and the power project in 1959. Her visit literally energized our riding.

With a large industrial past, Cornwall has transitioned from a mill town of one square mile, for a short time as a telemarketing region, and now as a distribution hub employing thousands for multinational companies—truly a world of possibility.

Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry has played an important role in the history of Ontario. It’s where Ontario began in Upper Canada. The Honourable John Sandfield Macdonald—as we all know, the first Prime Minister, or Premier, of Ontario from 1867 to 1871—was born in St. Raphael’s West in Glengarry county. He died in Cornwall, Ontario, and rests a kilometre from my family home in St. Andrews West. He lies across the road from the historic Quinn’s Inn restaurant, which was my grandfather’s general store and Sandfield Macdonald’s stagecoach inn stopover that he built in 1865—built right before he became Prime Minister of Ontario. In the same cemetery that he is buried is the prolific Canadian explorer Simon Fraser, with the location of his farmstead on the road I currently live with my family.

Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry is known for our strong agriculture background. Agriculture is a way of life for many citizens I represent. Whether it’s farming, cash crops, raising beef cattle or producing milk, our region is helping to feed the province, the country and the world. Many youth in our area are raised and work on the farm, including many of my close friends.

Before I start on this next paragraph, I just want to mention that I believe this may be the most times Dairy Queen has been mentioned in this House, after MPP Riddell—because I own a Dairy Queen.

The day I was called and asked to put my name forward for the PC Party nomination, I was heading home on the train from Burlington, Ontario. I felt the world was telling me to move in this direction. Being from eastern Ontario, I will be travelling by train quite frequently to Queen’s Park. I was heading home from my last meeting on a Dairy Queen Canada franchise advisory council—a council I sat on for three terms, totalling six years, representing stores in eastern and northern Ontario. Prior to terming off the board, I learned so much on that council about the politics of working hard for your region, but also working with other regions to make things happen—a true give-and-take to achieve success.

The relationships I have built helped me to have a stronger voice for my region. I thank my close franchisee friends for helping me with that—Michael Liber, Laird Lister, Terry Burnett, Trenton Beday, Rob Clemens, Gary Allen, Terry Smith and Sherry Schaap, who actually owns the Dairy Queen up by Wasaga Beach—as well as corporate leadership Candida Ness and Peter White for showing me the ropes of good governance and representation. I am a stubborn person and I’m very persistent, so they helped chisel me away a little bit to get a little bit more user-friendly, teaching me how to work together and get things done. Those work friendships will last a lifetime, and I’m forever grateful for the lessons and advice they gave me over the years.

Another area with the Dairy Queen Canada leadership councils I have thoroughly enjoyed and learned a great deal from was the supply chain council. The strong leadership group of Jeff Planden and Zhaleh Golwalla have helped with mentorship and advice, both personally and professionally.

Although this is my first venture into politics, I’ve always had a keen interest in the provincial and federal political sphere. Many debates—or arguments, as my mother would say—around our kitchen table about politics during my teenage years were quite common and prepared me for the debates that will take place in this historic chamber in the years to come. Being the youngest of five children, quite often I had to be patient to be heard about my political views with my siblings, some who lean in different directions.

My father and myself, fiscal Conservatives, have always supported Conservative governments, candidates and philosophy. Prior to this election, my experience helping to campaign was helping to deliver lawn signs for my federal MP, Eric Duncan, and that didn’t go too well, with myself running out of gas as we were too focused on political conversations and getting the signs delivered. Today, there’s no reason to run out of gas with the new cars we have. Eric’s executive assistant, my campaign manager, Adrian, delivered gas in a jerry can, which we still laugh about; both will not let me forget that any time soon.

My father has spent decades as the chief financial officer for Conservative campaigns in our riding, both federally and provincially, including previous member Jim McDonell’s three terms in office. My father was one of the first phone calls I made after I was approached by the EDA, to bring him out of CFO retirement for my possible campaign. He reluctantly said yes, but he also stated that the provincial auditing is a lot easier than the federal one, so I think that might have been partially the reason why he decided to sign on. As we all know, financials and the numbers are the most important piece, whether it’s a business or an election. A heartfelt thank you to my father for being part of this journey, something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Many other confidential calls were made to trusted community leaders, to see if I was off my rocker to think I could run a successful restaurant, be active in raising a young family and be an effective politician. One phone call to Sean Adams, a local lawyer and important philanthropist in our community, stood out to me. Sean’s father was also a lawyer and community leader. Many years ago, Sean and his father were at a charitable fundraiser and Sean was asked by his father to read the room: Who would he want to work with on an important community cause or fundraiser if one were to arise?

Mr. Adams told his son Sean, after they both scanned the crowd, that he would always want to work hand in hand with the people in the crowd who looked like they had too much on their plates, not the attendees who looked like they were always having too good of a time. His father stated that the people who take on too many projects or keep themselves busy with many projects are the ones who you know can handle the pressure and are able to effectively multitask. That was part of the story that Sean shared with myself. I’ve always taken on too many projects or endeavours, as most will tell me, so his words really hit home. He made be believe I was not crazy to think I could take the challenge on of representing our riding while running a business and raising my children.

My wife, Kim, is a major contributor to this being possible, and that cannot be understated. With my many years working seven days a week at the restaurant, and now this role, my mother reminds me weekly of Kim being a saint for being by my side. Thank you.

Another one of those many calls went out to my oldest brother, Cameron, who lives here in Toronto with his family. He was excited that I was thinking of putting my name forward for the nomination. Again, I asked him if he felt it was possible to manage it all with young children. As everyone in this chamber and those who came before us know, we sacrifice our time with family and friends in our roles for the betterment of our communities.

My personal plan was always to possibly run when I had more life experience, and my brother knew that. His response was that you’ll always sacrifice, whether now when they are young, when they are teenagers or when they are married with children. We all know our children grow quickly, and the time when they are little goes fast. He, as well as many others, told me not to wait.

Other conversations for confidential advice were had with my restaurant managers, as I truly needed their blessing before I put my name forward, and with my other siblings, some close friends and MP Eric Duncan, as well as MPP Jim McDonell.

I’ve spent many years with our local United Way in Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Akwesasne, first as the campaign chair for two years—which was right when Kim and I got married, so there was no honeymoon; I still owe her that—and directly after as a board member. I finished my time on the board as the president for two years. I quickly realized that the need was always greater than we could fulfill with any of the charities under our funding. My experience with the United Way made me appreciate the impact we can have in the short time we are on this earth. Impact is the main reason I chose to run in this past election.

I recently spent time on my local Children’s Treatment Centre board of directors. The mandate of the centre is to look after the well-being of children who have been physically or mentally abused. The centre helps the siblings and the parents cope with trauma as well. This centre has been developed from the community, for the community. Angelo Towndale and Sean Adams have been the heart and soul of this important charity for many years.

I grew up as a shy and awkward youth. Many around me are shocked when I tell them that I’m an introvert nowadays. As a child, I had a slight speech impediment and could not pronounce my Ls. Tagging along with my brother, Tremain, to deliver papers and collect funds, quite often I was asked by the paper customers at the door what this little boy’s name was, to which I would reply, “No one.” I was obviously trying to say Nolan, but shy, awkward me, that is not what would come out. On many occasions the adult at the door would burst out laughing and say something along the lines of, “This boy’s name is ‘no one’”—talk about making a shy kid even more introverted. As I age, I have embraced all of my shortcomings. As most will say, if we can’t laugh at ourselves, it will be a long life.

About 10 years ago, my restaurant won an award with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cornwall and District. We proudly won big business of the year at the gala which, if memory recalls, was the 40th anniversary of the organization, so many were in attendance. When I accepted the award, I had no prepared remarks as I was not aware that I was actually receiving it. When I got on stage, I spoke about the importance of the organization with mentoring youth. I explained to the crowd, probably a few hundred supporters, how important youth mentorship is to help both young boys and young girls gain life skills with their matches. Somehow I connected the youth mentorship theme with the fact that I could not tie a tie and I told the crowd that, even with my father showing me dozens and dozens of times. Since that night, I get many grown men who have not forgotten that moment and quite often come up to me at events after having a few drinks to bravely tell me that they will teach me how to tie a tie. This memory has allowed me to connect with many strangers that I would normally not, sharing a laugh about one of my many weaknesses.

To all the young kids who feel they don’t fit in, are not the smartest student or are just shy, just know that hard work can get you anywhere. I worked my way up from the cleanup kid at my own restaurant who was too shy to serve customers and just cleaned bathrooms and the parking lot, to the manager to owning the restaurant and now a provincial MPP.

My mother would always state two quotes to me growing up. One was that most people don’t like to youngest child in the family as she believed they could be spoiled or have bad attitudes, and she would not let that happen, and I think those are better words than what she used to say, but she was darned that was not going to happen under her watch.

The second quote I will carry from my mom is that God has given you the talents and ability to achieve things others have not and not to waste it.

I am not going to stand here today and say I’m the smartest, most athletic or best looking, as I am not any of those. To be honest, I’ve had about 12 concussions playing sports and broken many bones. But I will proudly state and try to instill in my children, who are here today, that if you work hard and put the extra effort in that most are willing not to do, you can achieve things others may not be able to do.

Everything I do in my role as an MPP in the coming years needs to be appreciated in 20 years by my children, Norah, Nolan Jr. and Nevyn. In the future, if they’re embarrassed of me in my previous role in provincial Parliament, I know I would have failed as MPP for Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry.

I will finish today with a quote from one of the best Prime Ministers, in my opinion, that Canadan has ever had, Brian Mulroney: “I believe in judging people and governments by results, not myths.”

It’s a privilege and honour to address this House as the member for provincial Parliament for Chatham–Kent–Leamington. I want to offer my sincere congratulations on this important role. I also want to congratulate all members on their elections to this historic place in our 43rd Parliament. I acknowledge how proud I am to serve alongside those who chose to dedicate their energies to selflessly serve the betterment of the people of this beautiful province.

As recently as last week, a member here spoke eloquently on the unique and diverse skills elected members of this Legislature bring to serve Ontario. We’re all the products of a diverse set of social, familial, economic and geographic influences. For many reasons, certain people, places and events stand out in our lives and serve to more strongly shape the people we become.

At various points in my journey to this House, I became acutely aware of the many remarkable people I’m indebted to for sharing their time with me, for their mentorship and for believing in me. The commitment I make is to work tirelessly, to the best of my ability and with uncompromising integrity in the service of others. I learned to generously share of my experiences in the hope that it might benefit and improve the lives of others.

I came from a place where you had to earn trust and demonstrate mastery of skills to make decisions of consequence. This is nowhere truer than in this very House, where together we work, debate and ultimately make decisions of great consequence that impact the communities across Ontario.

My story begins at a small family farm in Leamington, near the entrance gates to Point Pelee National Park. Here, the rich earth, being former marshland, is that distinctive, beautiful black loam that grows vibrant onions, carrots, celery and leafy greens. This is where my mother’s amazing Ukrainian family made their home when they immigrated to Canada from a war-torn Europe. My mother, Nellie, is the youngest of 10 and one of only two children born here in Canada to Peter and Minodora Wolf.

From our tiny farmhouse, I could look out my window across the onion fields and see my baba’s house. To this day, I can still vividly recall the heavenly smells from her cooking in that kitchen. This is probably why, in my first formative years, while my parents were busy working, I apparently had the habit of trying to escape their supervision to join my baba in her kitchen for her cabbage rolls, perogies and other homemade treats.

My dad, Paul, worked in a small auto parts factory in Leamington. After his shifts, he would join my mom and her family on that busy little farm. On one occasion during harvest, I succeeded in traversing those fields, alone, barefoot and supervised only by our loyal golden lab retriever to join my baba for lunch. After a frantic call on the party line, which people from rural Ontario will remember, quickly yielded my location, a young Paul and Nellie Jones kept a much closer eye on their adventurous son, who was of course protected from any criticisms by his Ukrainian grandmother.

Our Jones family has Welsh and early American origins, and also made Leamington their home. Attracted to the stunning shores of Lake Erie and the stable, well-paying job opportunities at places like the H.J. Heinz Company, the Joneses lived alongside their dear friends from the Robinson family in a string of small lakeside homes. I am fortunate to have so many fond memories in the company of my great-grandparents, Sidney and Blanche; my lovely grandparents, Joe and Glenna; and our extended family and friends.

At the time, our little lakeside home was well out of town limits, and we were surrounded by orchards, fields and the big waters of Lake Erie. My only sister, Melanie, and I both learned to drive well before 16 years of age in those very fields, and swam nearly every summer day by carefully navigating the rocky makeshift stairs down the cliffs to the waters. Melanie remains one of my best friends and supporters to this day.

The blessing of first being surrounded by pristine marsh fields and then Lake Erie had a lasting impact on me. Since my extended families lived alongside one another and shared our backyard spaces and views of the lake, summer barbecues, bonfires and informal gatherings were a regular phenomenon.

At one such gathering, the Jones gentlemen, most of whom served actively in their younger years as sailors in the Royal Canadian Navy, were trap shooting. With strict safeguards in place that would rival modern military shooting ranges, my grandfathers, great-uncles and father sought out to see if young Trevor, who was the last of their namesake, could shoot. Nervously, I shouldered both rifles and shotguns, and failed to see how this operation worked. I could not actually see the front sight, and I had no idea what was happening to cause this explosion and launching of said projectiles.

After a short evaluation and diagnosis, the result was that I appeared to be left-eye dominant, despite being right-handed. Now, by shouldering the firearm on my left shoulder and closing my right eye, I marvelled at how I could see every bullet travelling to its precise intended destination at the centre of targets, and smashing clay traps as they flew swiftly across the sky. The revelry from the Jones men could not be contained as they continued to test my new-found skill with more and more difficult challenges, and I continued to exceed their expectations. I even surpassed the scores of these senior seasoned marksmen.

Nevertheless, my mother, sister, grandmothers and aunts were far less amused at this and thought I should not be unduly influenced to pursue any hobby or career path that involved firearms of any kind. I was able to appease them for a time, as my early interests were focused on sports, student government and community service.

After graduating from Leamington District Secondary School and understanding that I’d be self-funding any postsecondary education, I chose the University of Windsor to study political science and history, which was a pleasant surprise to my parents, even though I elected to live away from home in residence on campus. I also joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a reservist to help fund my education and carry on our important family tradition of duty.

The community feel of that campus in Windsor, the small classes and engaged professors, certainly contributed to my success and had a lasting positive impact on my life. This is where, despite serious political opinions to the contrary, I met one of my early mentors, friends and life-long professional champions. The first term paper I completed for the Honourable Howard Pawley, my first-year professor, was returned to me with so much red ink on it I surely felt he’d failed me. Much to my surprise, there was a bold “A” on the last page and a handwritten note to “See me” for a visit during his office hours. I took the opportunity and began a lifelong friendship with the kind diplomat who never tried to temper my deep beliefs in fiscal conservatism, but rather offered glimpses into the value of understanding and appreciating opposing perspectives.

After completing undergraduate studies, I pursued graduate work in a unique international program between the University of Windsor and Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. This opportunity was both academically and culturally enriching, as I crossed the border each week to study immigration law and history under the brilliant John J. Bukowczyk, who celebrated my addition to his American graduate class with funny Canadian trivia, maple dip donuts and even rounds of one-dollar Molson Canadian pints—after class, of course—to amuse my American colleagues.

Downtown Detroit, its rich history, sports teams and music, has also had a tremendous influence on me throughout my life. As a student of history surrounded by fascinating architecture and one of the most powerful cities of North America for a time, I was fascinated by the decisions lawmakers made and the impacts these decisions had on the world.

Inspired to serve our communities honourably, I entered Ontario’s public service after graduate school as a front-line member of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. This is where I’d meet my future wife, Najet, this beautiful Lebanese girl from my hometown of Leamington, who was completing her science studies at Western and working as a student. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Ministry of Transportation, or the MTO as we called it, and it was there I became inspired to serve our communities in a different way.

On a warm, humid summer night on Highway 401 in Essex County, I had just finished completing an inspection of a large commercial motor vehicle with several serious safety violations. I had motor oil on my face and grease on my orange coveralls and calmly explained to the driver he’d need to undertake serious repairs before continuing. The driver looked me in the eye and shook my hand and thanked me. He stated he wished all law enforcement officers he encountered could be so respectful, professional and courteous. When I returned home that morning, I had an idea and discussed it over breakfast with Najet and our fussy, beautiful blue-eyed baby son, Nico. I thought about our service, and service to the communities and ways I might be of better service.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, I was standing at attention with a razor-sharp Stetson on, carrying out my first duty as OPP valedictorian, carefully reading out the names of the police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty at the Ontario Police Memorial, only a few steps from here.

As a sworn provincial police officer, I was blessed to learn from and work alongside exceptional leaders from all corners of our province. As far north as Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug—KI—to the western Ontario provincial community of Pikangikum and our National Capital Region, downtown Toronto and as far south as my home communities of Chatham-Kent, Leamington and Peele Island.

As a young police officer, I competed for and successfully earned a position with the OPP’s emergency response team to support a mandate that included canine support, containment, search and rescue, VIP security, witness protection, and complex evidence searches.

My time as a front-line member and, later in my career, as a supervisor offered me very unique insights into better understanding people and peacefully resolving conflicts. Although many of my police colleagues laughed and marvelled at my ability that I maintained since childhood to shoot accurately at great distances even while running fast, I am most proud of my accomplishments in our communities where I was able to bring calm while offering empathy, respect and order to people who somehow found themselves in trouble.

Growing up in a vibrant food-producing area of southwestern Ontario, surrounded by productive fields and the protected spaces of modern greenhouses, I always took note when working in other communities that for various reasons had less access to fresh food, and an early notion of food security and access began to nag at me. Around this very time, I was here in Toronto participating in a training program at the Rotman School of Management, I had the privilege of working with the amazing team of Rose Patten, Jim Fisher, Jen Riel and Roger Martin, who challenged their students to think differently about the problems we encountered.

Inspired by people I met from all across Ontario and drawn to more actively participate in the political process, I answered this challenge and sought out an opportunity to learn new skills and apply the ones I’d acquired in policing. I felt both a nervous energy and a quiet contentment when I returned to my farming roots to support local agriculture producers and ensure Ontario remained a global leader for food security.

After almost five years of working with world leaders in agribusiness and building a strong professional network and business IQ, my journey led me here, as your colleague and the advocate for Chatham-Kent–Leamington.

My home was the ancestral home of the Ojibway, Odawa, Potawatomi, Huron-Wendat, Caldwell and the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown on the Thames, and many other Indigenous peoples. Today, my home is also the home of 110,000 people across 3,000 square kilometres in communities that stretch along the northern shores of Lake Erie, from Leamington to Pelee Island, Staples, Comber, Tilbury, Stoney Point, Wheatley, Merlin, Chatham-Kent, Blenheim, Ridgetown, Kent Bridge and Highgate.

Like many parts of Ontario, we welcome thousands of tourists each year. We’re diverse communities whose early settlers were from the UK, Italy, Portugal, Lebanon, Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine, India and Pakistan. Today, we represent people from every part of the world.

Chatham-Kent–Leamington is an agriculture and economic powerhouse, the historic home to food producers, unique technology companies, freshwater fisheries and manufacturing plants. As a global leader in the production of safe, reliable, nutritious foods, our farms, greenhouses and orchards in Chatham-Kent–Leamington provide thousands of economic opportunities for local and international agriculture workers, who work very hard to directly support our economy and their own families. What led me here is my love of people and my passion for food security, public safety and economic opportunities for everyone who wants to work hard and contribute to the greatness of Ontario.

Speaker, there is nowhere more evident than this very House and from our throne speech that we will rebuild Ontario’s economy. We’ll keep costs down, build highways and key infrastructure like our vital three-highway link from Leamington to Windsor, work for workers by investing in our skilled trades—something that’s happening right now at St. Clair College and in Ridgetown college—and have a real plan to stay open, to have reliable, domestic supply of PPE from producers like Harbour Technologies in my riding of Chatham-Kent–Leamington.

This most recent and most challenging opportunity was only made possible because of the unconditional love of my wife, Najet, a caring and brilliant high school science teacher and vice-principal; our sons, Nico, Alex and Sam Jones; my parents, Paul and Nellie; Gabe and Claudette Andary; my extended family, including Paul and Melanie Mastronardi, Kristina and Aaron Zimmer, Chuck and Jessie Andary, and our nieces and nephews, Annika, Milla, Skye, Macey, Alex and Nathan.

I want to thank my lifelong friends for their guidance and support, including Kelly Robinson, Mark Dunford, Cale Armstrong, Chris Vince, Mark Quenneville, Stew Douglas, Mark Rogers, Chhieu Seng, Tony Tannous, and Ian Barr.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my exceptional campaign team led by Susan Liovas, Kellie Jo Whittaker, Michael Bondy and Sarah Weaver; my special advisers, including the Honourable Darcy McKeough, Doug Sulman, Mike Schlater and Neil Wood; our key supporters and champions that are far too many to mention by name.

I want to thank our Premier, Doug Ford, for his leadership and for believing in me. I want to extend my warmest thanks to the Honourable Ministers McNaughton, Thompson, Dunlop and Todd Smith for offering their friendship, support and advice throughout my campaign.

Finally, I offer my sincere thanks to Chatham-Kent–Leamington for the privilege of serving you and for placing your trust in me. Be assured, I will work tirelessly for all residents with the honour, duty and integrity that you deserve.

I look forward to working collaboratively with all members in this House and will stand shoulder to shoulder alongside our communities to deliver a mandate that builds more homes, brings better paying jobs and builds highways, hospitals and critical infrastructure to return Ontario to its rightful place as a world leader and innovator in business, manufacturing and agriculture. This was the dream that brought my family to Ontario from Wales and Ukraine, and the dream that brought all our families here. This is the dream I want for my sons and for all our children. Together, we will make this a reality.

Report continues in volume B.