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House Hansard - 172

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 23, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 172 - Mar/23/23
Ms. Leah Taylor Roy (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, Lib.)
  • Mar/23/23 2:18:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to congratulate Dr. Isobel Ralston and Dr. Jan Oudenes for receiving the prestigious Forest Stewardship Award from Forests Ontario. This award is presented in recognition of outstanding support for forestry conservation and education. MapleCross, founded by Isobel and Jan in 2017, invests in and protects ecologically sensitive land and areas of significant biodiversity. MapleCross has contributed to the preservation of almost 15,000 hectares of land across all 10 provinces and helped secure the preservation of more than 30 nature reserves, including the Oak Ridges Moraine in our region. In Ontario, our greenbelt and other conservation lands are being threatened by a provincial government willing to allow development to occur on these protected lands. Our federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change acted recently, announcing a much-needed study to determine the effects of development on the Rouge National Park. We are at a nexus where protecting our green space is even more important. Therefore, I want to thank Jan and Isobel for dedicating their time, talent and resources to MapleCross and the cause of environmental conservation. As their member of Parliament, I congratulate them on this well-deserved award.
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