Percy Hatfield - MPP for Windsor-Techumseh (September 30, 2014)

Father, we commit to you MPP Percy Hatfield. The strains of political life can sometimes be so great, and the pressure to conform so strong, but we ask that You would give peace, serenity, and assurances to the everyday direction from Your Hand that he may know that you are guiding his endeavors. I pray that the people of his constituency would see, hear and know that You have placed him at this moment in time, as a member of Parliament for such a time as this.

I pray this in the Name that is above every Name. Amen!

BIOGRAPHY

Percy Hatfield is a respected community leader in Windsor-Tecumseh.

A well-known television and radio personality, Percy was the CBC’s municipal  affairs reporter in Windsor and he hosted his own popular TV segment, “Percy’s Political Panel.” After 30 years as a CBC broadcast journalist, he went from  covering city news to creating it.

Elected Councillor for Ward 7, Percy has taken the lead in working for results for the people of Windsor and Essex County. He was on the Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee bringing together Windsor and regional leaders to create jobs and economic opportunities.
He served on municipal decision-making committees to take on the issues that matter to people, including public health, housing, business improvement and culture.

He negotiated for Windsor and Essex County at the national level, serving three years on the board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. At the provincial level, Percy became the first Councillor from the Windsor region to be elected Vice-President of the Association of the Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and served on the association’s Executive Committee. He was also Chair of the Large Urban Caucus in 2011.

Percy works hard to raise funds for local community groups like the Easter Seals, United Way and the Hospice. Together with his wife Gale, a school Trustee with the Greater Essex County District School Board, they support the “Do Good Divas” that recently donated more than $300,000 to local health care causes.

Percy, a self-described “army brat,” grew up on military bases across Canada. He is a proud and active member of the Riverside Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion for more than 25 years.

Percy and Gale have been married for 37 years. They have two adult children, Andrew and Lacey, and two grand-daughters, Paisley and Arwen.

Michael Harris - MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga (September 29th, 2014)

Lord, we thank you for the four years of experience that Michael Harris, MPP [Kitchener – Conestoga], brings to the 41^st Parliament, which began June 12, 2014. I pray that you will continue to lead and guide him and increase his ability and wisdom to fill his role as Member of the Standing Committee on Estimates Critic and Transportation. Keep your caring hand on his family and all his constituents. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.



BIOGRAPHY

Michael was elected to the Ontario Legislature on Oct. 6, 2011, as the MPP for Kitchener-Conestoga – a diverse riding that includes the townships of Wilmot, Wellesley and Woolwich, as well as the southern section of Kitchener bordered by Highway 7/8.

Over the last year, Michael has been a tireless advocate of Waterloo Region, working with local officials to improve regional emergency dispatching; successfully calling for the Highway 7 expansion between Kitchener and Guelph and advocating for roundabout testing on G2 and G road exams in Waterloo Region as a way to equip the next generation of drivers for our changing roads.
Michael also serves as the PC Party Vice Chair of Community Outreach and the Progressive Conservative Environment Critic. In this role, Michael has fought for greater environmental protection using a market-based approach that empowers individuals, not government bureaucracy. He has called for bold reforms to overhaul the province’s recycling programs, which would unleash private-sector ingenuity and divert more hazardous materials and old electronics from Ontario’s landfills. 

Grounding Michael’s politics is a strong belief that government should remain accountable to the people it serves. Michael took a major step toward improving accountability in the Ontario government last year when he introduced his private member’s bill, Transparency in Government Bills Act, which would require the government to assess the financial, social and environmental implications of its proposed laws and post its findings online for all Ontarians to view.
Born and raised on the family farm, Michael is a proud graduate of Conestoga College’s Business Management program and the Leadership Waterloo Region program. Prior to his election, Michael was a business development manager at Honeywell helping local businesses improve their sustainability and energy efficiency.

Michael has applied the same solutions-driven approach to his life-long interest in good government and public policy, including through his service on the Greater Kitchener Chamber of Commerce’s Energy and Environment Committee. Michael also spearheaded Kitchener City Council’s drive to expand public access to life-saving defibrillator technology throughout the community.
Michael enjoys volunteering in the community and has met many of his closest friends through volunteer service with local organizations including Compass Kitchener, the Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region, Anselma House, the Canadian Cancer Society, the United Way, the Juvenile Diabetes Walk to Cure Campaign, and the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

Michael, Sarah, Brayden, Murphy, Lincoln and their dog Eliot live in Kitchener’s Doon South.

Ernie Hardeman - MPP for Oxford (September 26th, 2014)

Father, we come before You with thanksgiving for the men and women that serve us in the Parliament of the Province of Ontario. We lift up MPP: Ernie Hardeman  to You and ask You to pour out Your blessings on him and his family. Be with him Lord, as he serves on committees and in his constituency of Oxford. Open his eyes to new possibilities as he travels and talks to the people of our province.  Renew his strength and vision for the work You have called him to do. We begin to pray for wisdom, courage, integrity, strength, blessing and righteousness to be poured on him that he may help to give good leadership to our province.   We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

BIOGRAPHY

Ernie Hardeman was first elected to the Ontario Legislature in June, 1995 and was appointed as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing until 1999. He was re-elected in June 1999 and was appointed by Premier Harris to Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. He served in this position until February 2001. 

From March 2001 to May 2002, Mr. Hardeman held the office of Parliamentary Assistant to the Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance. In this capacity he was responsible for the SuperBuild program and sat on the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation as the government representative. In May 2002, Mr. Hardeman became Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Community, Family and Children’s Services.

On February 25, 2003 Mr. Hardeman’s long municipal background and rural knowledge was recognized by Premier Ernie Eves when he was asked to join Cabinet as the Associate Minister to Municipal Affairs (Rural).

Ernie was re-elected in June 2014 and is the longest serving MPP in Oxford’s history. Ernie is been a member of the Official Opposition, where he has served as the critic for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and is now critic for Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Prior to the 1995 election, Mr. Hardeman had a long career in municipal politics in Southwestern Ontario. He was first elected to the Township of South-West Oxford council in 1980 and, later, served as mayor from 1988 to 1994. Mr. Hardeman is also a former warden of Oxford County council and has served as chair of the Warden's Association of Ontario.

On the provincial scene, Mr. Hardeman served as chair of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) in 1993 and 1994. He served on the board of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for five years from 1989 to 1994 and, during that time, also served as chair of the A.M.O. 911 Committee and co-chair of the Municipalities in the Future Task Force.

Mr. Hardeman, who owned and operated Hardeman Feed Ltd. in Salford from 1966 to 1995, has served on many other local committees and community boards, including the Alexandra Hospital Board of Trust in Ingersoll and the Woodingford Lodge Board of Trust in Woodstock. For 25 years Mr. Hardeman was a volunteer firefighter and retired in 1995 as Captain of the South-West Oxford Fire Department. He and his wife, Reta, have three sons and a daughter.

http://www.erniehardemanmpp.com/biography.html

Michael Gravelle - MPP for Thunder Bay - Superior North (September 25th, 2014)

Father of lights, we give praise for your goodness and blessing on our province. We thank you for Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North. As he represents the people of Ontario and serves as your representative iat Queens Park, grant him strength, health and wisdom and he leads. Be glorified in all things we pray in Jesus Name.

BIOGRAPHY

Michael Gravelle represents the riding of Thunder Bay – Superior North. He was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 1995 representing the riding of Port Arthur and is currently serving his sixth consecutive term as M.P.P.

Gravelle was reappointed Minister of Northern Development and Mines in June 2014. He has served as the Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry, Government Caucus Chair and as a member of the Priorities and Planning Board.

Gravelle has long been a dedicated community member, with an accomplished political and public service record. He is co-founder of the North of Superior Film Association and has served on the boards of the Magnus Theatre Company and the AIDS Committee of Thunder Bay. In the 1970s, Gravelle served as special assistant to the Honourable Robert Andras, a senior minister in the Trudeau cabinet. He later served as communications officer for the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party and as a special assistant to the federal member for Thunder Bay-Nipigon. He also worked as a publicist for the CBC and as coordinator of Northern Development Councils for the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry.

http://news.ontario.ca/profiles/en/michael-gravelle

France Gelinas - MPP for Nickle Belt (September 24th, 2014)

Father we lift up France Gelinas to you today. We ask that you use her in the role as MPP for Nickle Belt riding.We ask that you give her wisdom in the decisions she makes while at Queens Park. We pray a blessing upon her and her husband Keith, as well as their children and grandchildren. Lord may you show your love to her like she has never experienced before. We ask this in the name of Jesus your Son, AMEN!

BIOGRAPHY

France Gélinas is a resident of the City of Greater Sudbury, a health care professional, and community leader. She and her spouse Keith Harris have three children and seven grand children.

France is a trained and licensed physiotherapist. She started her career in Sudbury at Laurentian Hospital, now part of Health Sciences North. After graduating from Laurentian University with a Masters in Business Administration, she became a health care administrator. During the last eleven years France worked as the Executive Director of the Community Health Centre in Sudbury. Under her leadership the Centre expanded to many small and rural communities in the North East, opened the Corner Clinic serving the homeless population and became the lead agency for the Sudbury Homelessness Network.

France has served in multiple voluntary roles. She was a member of the United Way’s Citizen Advisory Panel, President of the Sudbury and Manitoulin District Health Council, President of the Francophone Reference Group of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and President of the Association of Ontario Health Centres.  France is also a bush pilot, a competitive rower and an avid snow boarder.

http://www.francegelinas.ca/node/730

Lisa Gretzky - MPP for Windsor West (September 23, 2014)

Father, we thank you for MPP Lisa Gretzky.  We ask that you would continue to lead and guide them.  May you ensure that despite the busy schedule they endure that there would always be an awareness of the calling that you have placed on them.  May there be a sense in the family that the strong family that they are gives leadership to the province and nation to be the same.  In Jesus Name we pray.   Amen.

BIOGRAPHY

Lisa Gretzky is the Provincial MPP for Windsor West, and serves as the NDP critic for Community Safety and Correctional Services.
Prior to her election in 2014, she served as:

• The vice-chair of the Greater Essex Country District School Board.
• A trustee who served over 36,000 students and helped manage a $290 million dollar budget.
• An entrepreneur who ran her own event planning business
• A committed community leader who championed (and still does!) many causes and charity organizations throughout Windsor

 http://windsorwestndp.org/lisa-gretzky-provincial-ndp-candidate-for-windsor-west/