Mr. Speaker, it gives me a great deal of pleasure today to congratulate the residents and the council of the township of Bosanquet in my riding of Lambton-Middlesex.
On December 1, 1994 by order of the Ontario Municipal Board the township of Bosanquet will be elevated to the town of Bosanquet and its new town council will be sworn in.
The province of Ontario's newest town has a very storied history commencing in 1821 with a 390 acre land grant to its first settler, Mr. Asa Townsend. In 1850 electors met to elect the township's first council. One of the first motions passed by the council was the proviso that there was no qualification necessary with respect to property for the several officers appointed at that meeting.
It is not hard to deduce that the first councillors of the township of Bosanquet displayed the highest democratic principle. Their spirit lives on with the current mayor, Mr. Fred Thomas, and the town's six councillors.
My heartiest congratulations to the town of Bosanquet.