Mr Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North): I rise this afternoon to make a few comments about the Simcoe County District School Board. In particular, I'd like to congratulate Ms Diane Bell, who was recently elected chairperson of the board. As well, I would like to congratulate Ms Debra Edwards, who was elected vice-chair of the board. Both of these women are especially committed to the quality of education in the county of Simcoe.

I'd also like to thank them for their commitment to small and rural schools. In the last Parliament, under the Harris-Eves government, 10 rural schools in my riding of Simcoe North received funding under the portable replacement program.

As the new Liberal government implements the remaining recommendations of the Rozanski report, rural Ontario will watch very closely to see if small and rural schools are funded fairly and equitably. In the last provincial election, the Liberals campaigned in Simcoe North by completely fearmongering the public, saying that Simcoe county schoolchildren were underfunded by a minimum of $1,000 per child.

I now ask Minister Kennedy to immediately keep the Liberals' promise to raise funding by $1,000 per child and have the Simcoe County District School Board and the Simcoe Muskoka school board receive an additional $70 million approximately in the grant allocations in the budget year 2004-05. It is one thing to campaign on promises; it is obviously another to deliver. Simcoe county parents, teachers and students look forward to one promise the Liberals won't break.