Mr Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North): I am pleased to rise this afternoon to speak on behalf of the many thousands of rural Ontario churches and community halls.

The Dalton McGuinty church tax is the newest Liberal assault on the citizens of rural Ontario. It is very clear that many rural Ontario churches and community halls will be forced to close as a result of the implementation of regulation 170/03.

After a very rigorous partisan advertising campaign costing Ontario citizens tens of thousands of dollars, it is now clear that the McGuinty Liberals will force churches and community halls to install expensive water treatment equipment.

Church congregations and community halls are most often supported by fewer than 20 to 30 families, and yet the churches and community halls are the heart and soul of rural Ontario. Without compensation from the McGuinty Liberals, we will see rural communities fall one at a time.

I'm asking the McGuinty Liberals to think beyond the GTA borders and respect the hard-working families of rural Ontario. They expect and deserve to have churches and community halls. They expect that their churches and community halls, most often built over 100 years ago, can remain active and vibrant for many more years to come. I call upon the McGuinty Liberals to compensate the citizens of rural Ontario as they force the implementation of regulation 170/03.

I'd also like to thank the deputy mayor of the township of Severn in my riding, Judith Cox, who is distributing petitions to all the churches and community halls in the riding of Simcoe North.