Mr Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North): Last Friday, June 18, I had the privilege of attending the graduation of the 2004-01 class of the Ontario Provincial Police Auxiliary, held at the Ontario Education Leadership Centre just east of Orillia.

The Ontario Provincial Police Auxiliary program is the top auxiliary program in our country. There are now over 938 auxiliary officers representing 47 detachments across our province. Collectively they contribute over 250,000 hours of volunteer time to their local OPP detachments each and every year.

To show their appreciation of the OPP auxiliary program, a number of high-ranking officials in the OPP attended the event that saw 68 men and women graduate. In particular, Commissioner Gwen Boniface and keynote speaker Deputy Commissioner William Currie attended the graduation.

What is extremely important in recognizing the OPP Auxiliary is the close working relationship of the OPPA and the OPP. They are indeed all part of a larger OPP community. The auxiliary officers assist officers of the OPP detachments at numerous events and patrols through the year. Auxiliary officers come from a wide variety of backgrounds to act as volunteers, assisting police across our province.

I would like to thank Chief Superintendent Terry Harkins for his 36 years of dedication and leadership to the auxiliary program. The auxiliary program continues to be the dominant volunteer police program in our country, and much of its success over the past 45 years comes from the leadership of Terry and his predecessors. I appreciate this opportunity.