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John Yakabuski

  • MPP
  • Member of Provincial Parliament
  • Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke
  • Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
  • Ontario
  • The Victoria Center Unit 6 84 Isabella St. Pembroke, ON K8A 5S5 John.Yakabuskico@pc.ola.org
  • tel: 613-735-6627
  • fax: 613-735-6692
  • John.Yakabuski@pc.ola.org

  • Government Page
  • Apr/25/23 5:00:00 p.m.

It is a pleasure for me to stand and speak on behalf of Bill 93, in support of Bill 93. I want to thank the member from Carleton for bringing this forward. I know she’s done this not only because she believes in it passionately herself, but she also believes in our old friend Norm Miller, who is here in the gallery today.

I had the pleasure of being in this House when then-MPP Miller brought this bill forward, and it’s a bill we can all easily stand behind because it is such absolutely—you don’t have to think about it. Why would we not want to do everything we can to protect our children or grandchildren or any young person when they’re in a watercraft?

It was the kind of bill that you would expect Norm to bring forward originally, because that’s the kind of person he is. In his over 20 years in this House, he was always looking, “How can I use my voice as an MPP to do better things and do positive things for people in the general population?” He saw an opportunity and he saw something where it was lacking, and that was, why are we not actually doing something to ensure that our children are actually wearing that personal flotation device when they’re in a boat?

So I want to thank, again, my colleague from Carleton and welcome my friend Norm Miller here once again, and thank him for his original idea of bringing this forward so we can make Ontario not only the best place to live, work and raise a family, but the safest place for our children.

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  • Nov/29/22 5:30:00 p.m.

This is the motion that the House will get to vote on today. You know, we’re not dealing in the past. We’re dealing with a motion today that will protect that land in a very special way, and I want to thank the member for doing that. He listed all of the criteria. As the member for Windsor West said, her motion was only different in a few words.

Interjection: Eights words exactly.

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  • Nov/29/22 5:20:00 p.m.

It’s preposterous.

My son-in-law is the head of security in the biggest national park in the country, Wood Buffalo National Park, some 44,000 or 45,000 square kilometres. This is not obviously a park of that nature—not an urban national park but a national park.

What I will commend the member for Windsor–Tecumseh on is he did the research to see what was doable and what was not doable. Unfortunately, the member for Windsor West wanted it her way, which is how she acts in this House—always wants it her way. But we know that you’ve got to work with the partnership.

I want to thank the member for Windsor–Tecumseh for understanding what is actually necessary to get this done. The insinuation, quite frankly, from the member for Windsor West that somehow the way we’re doing it, without transferring the property, puts this land in jeopardy—quite frankly, she invents that scenario because it works for her narrative and she’s very upset that it’s not her motion that is being debated today and that her motion—

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