This past Saturday, I had the honour of serving as a judge at the Newmarket Lions Club Effective Speaking Contest. The Lions Club is a network of community-minded volunteers who continue to live up to their motto, “We serve.” The effective speaking contest is the largest bilingual contest of its kind in Canada. The goal is to promote competitive speaking to stimulate independent thinking among students.

I was asked to judge speakers in the French portion of the contest—junior, grades 4 to 6, and intermediate, grades 7 to 9. Students delivered a prepared speech, followed by intermediate students presenting an impromptu speech. Topics ranged from the importance of teaching history to animal companionship, to the impromptu speeches on who they admire most and the impacts of social media. Criteria for assessment included subject selection and organization of material, how the student kept the interest of the crowd, the delivery of that speech etc.

Congratulations to the intermediate French speaker, Riley, and the junior French speaker, Romy, for their outstanding speeches, earning first-place accolades. They will go on to compete in the regional contest and perhaps to the provincial contest this May.

Congratulations to all the volunteers.

Thank you to the hard-working member from Newmarket–Aurora for that great question.

Interjections.

You know, Mr. Speaker, the independent Liberals must think that money grows on trees, because their continued support for a carbon tax on Ontarians makes no sense. Somehow, they continue to reject our great members’ motions to eliminate the carbon tax and save businesses and consumers money when shopping for the goods they need to live. Instead, our government is the one standing up for the hard-working people of Ontario, day in and day out, by stepping in and cutting the gas tax and providing savings for people and businesses across this province.

I look forward to that member and the independent Liberals and the queen of the carbon tax voting against a new carbon tax and for our new bill, the Get It Done Act, 2024.

You know, Mr. Speaker, for too long, governments here and in Ottawa have left Ontarians behind. Workers, families and businesses have had enough, and that’s why they elected our government and our plan to get it done.

That’s why it’s our government who is building infrastructure, who is building more and more in Ontario and keeping costs down. It’s our government who is standing up to protect Ontarians from any party or government making life unaffordable, and it is this government who will continue to build Ontario into the best place to heat your home, fill up your tank and buy your groceries. We’re getting it done.