Ms. Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton): Yesterday was an historic day in this Legislature. For the first time in our history, this Legislature was composed of 25% women, thanks to my colleague from Burlington, Joyce Savoline, as well as the other female members of this Legislature. That is something we can all be proud of on all sides of this Legislature. In particular, as a Progressive Conservative MPP I'm pleased that this is yet another first for Ontario women.

The PC Party of Ontario had the first female Deputy Premier in Bette Stephenson, and we had the first female finance minister in Janet Ecker. There is still a long way to go until we really, truly reach a reflective gender balance in this Legislature, but we are making progress. As a young mom, I was proud to be able to run for John Tory, and I am pleased to now be in a position to help other young women in this province run for office, particularly for this Legislature. It is time that we all in this Legislature become proactive. We need to make the necessary changes to this institution to make it more family friendly and more appealing to women. We should strive to ensure that Joyce Savoline's historic feat in becoming the first female to break the 25% glass ceiling in Ontario politics is just the start in balancing the gender gap.

The time for rhetoric has passed, and the time for action is now to make sure this Legislature is more attractive to members of all kinds. Male, female, young and old, I implore my colleagues on all sides to take Joyce's experiences and the experiences of all members to heart in order to make this institution truly reflective of the Ontarians we represent.