I’m honoured to stand here in the House today for the third reading of the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023. If passed, as you may know, this bill will make necessary legislative changes to strengthen public safety and continue our work providing accessible and responsive justice services for everyone in Ontario.

Before I get into my other remarks, I want to thank the Solicitor General for his passion and dedication to the people of Ontario, along with his entire team and ministry staff—his passion is infectious as we move forward to help those who help us—and for the work they’ve done to make this bill, in particular, a reality.

And I want to acknowledge the stakeholders and justice partners for their valuable input, which has brought us to where we are today.

Madam Speaker, we just heard the Solicitor General speak about the changing nature of public safety and crime in the province. Now, more than ever, people want to see a justice system that works for them and that addresses their needs. So the services we provide must remain responsive, adaptive and dynamic. This includes working towards a legal system with fewer barriers, fewer delays, fewer obstacles.

Today, we’re proposing changes that align with our ongoing work to drive transformation across the justice sector and ensure people feel safe in their own communities. One way we’re doing this is by proposing a change that will, if passed, make the court system more efficient.

Madam Speaker, as part of the act, we’re proposing changes to how low-dollar-value civil claims are handled in our courts. People may remember that a few years ago, we made changes to increase the maximum claim limit in Small Claims Court from $25,000 to $35,000. This change gave people options. Now most claims for money or personal property under the $35,000 mark can be heard in the Small Claims Court, but they can also be heard in the Superior Court of Justice. To ensure court resources are used appropriately and on the right scale, the change we’re proposing in this bill would prevent claimants from starting claims in the Superior Court if instead they should be in the Small Claims Court. If passed, this bill will allow resources to be redirected towards other, more urgent priorities, and it will assist in freeing up judicial time and staff.

Madam Speaker, let me speak for a moment about the legal landscape that’s driving this particular change and the work that we’ve done so far. This House has heard me say this many times, but recent years have shown that our justice system has fallen far behind the expectations of how people expect their services will be delivered. And yet, it has also been an exciting period for collaboration, innovation and opportunity to address these challenges head-on and make the justice system work better for the people of Ontario.

In 2021, we launched Ontario’s Justice Accelerated Strategy to break down the long-standing barriers in our system, overhaul processes and move more services online, closer to Ontarians. Since its inception, and together with our justice partners, we’ve delivered many game-changing initiatives to help create a more accessible, responsive and resilient justice system. For example, we’ve implemented a new digital case management system at Tribunals Ontario. We’ve expanded to a new digital document-sharing platform. We’ve transformed the court’s capacity for virtual and hybrid hearings. These are just a few examples of the many ways that we’ve made things easier, better, more accessible and responsive for the people of Ontario. We’re going to continue to explore every possible avenue to improve systems and the way people interact with their courts.

Madam Speaker, a major component of our work also includes addressing the criminal courts backlog through the implementation of a criminal backlog reduction strategy. As part of this multi-year initiative, we invested $72 million—money that will be used for additional crowns, court services and victim support staff to support prosecutions, the judiciary and, importantly, victims of crime. This will alleviate some of the long-standing pressures. As part of this strategy, we’ve adopted other measures too. As one example, my ministry created virtual resolution teams of experienced prosecutors who conducted an intensive review and resolution blitz of low- and mid-level backlogged criminal cases in 2022. And it worked. As a result, thousands of appropriate cases were resolved, reducing backlog and freeing up court time.

Madam Speaker, in my work as Attorney General, I’ve met victims and survivors and heard their stories. On a more personal level, as I’ve mentioned before, my mother was an abuse counsellor and one of the founding directors of the York Region Abuse Program. Through her work, I saw the strength and courage her clients needed to confront intimate partner violence and the many challenges victims and survivors face as they seek justice. This includes people like Dr. Jennifer Kagan-Viater, who was here in the House through second reading and first reading. We speak about her daughter Keira. And in the wake of Keira’s death, her mother has worked tirelessly to advocate for changes in the way courts address domestic violence. I’m so pleased to say that her efforts have resulted in lasting legislative change. Keira’s Law, the private member’s bill spearheaded by Dr. Kagan-Viater, was passed by the House of Commons federally and the Senate and received royal assent at the end of April. The new law supports judicial education on domestic violence and coercive control. This builds upon legislation passed by the federal government in 2021. That legislation enhanced the judicial education provisions under the federal Judges Act to encourage training on sexual assault for federally appointed judges.

It’s important that we continue to take action on this front here in Ontario. That’s why today, as part of the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, we are proposing changes to the Courts of Justice Act and the Justices of the Peace Act that will support education and training on gender-based and intimate partner violence for provincially appointed judges and justices of the peace. If passed, these amendments will support judicial education on these important issues. I want to underscore here: The type of education we are proposing as part of this legislation will fall within the purview of the judiciary. They will maintain their independence, but they will develop appropriate training—and this must be the case.

We’ve struck a good balance with these changes. We strongly believe that education and awareness are key to addressing these issues and their root causes.

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to honour Dr. Jennifer Kagan-Viater and 18 other individuals and organizations for their work in supporting people who have faced victimization due to crime. A very special event held each year by my ministry, the Victim Services Awards of Distinction is an annual award ceremony organized by my ministry and a number of partners. It honours those who work tirelessly to support victims and survivors of crime and their families. I’m proud that so many members of this House took time to be present, to send words of congratulations, and to engage with the award winners from their ridings. It’s so wonderful to see such a wide variety of recipients from across the province, from social workers, counsellors, even support animals, to various organizations. As many of you know, this award is dear to my heart, and it’s one of my favourite parts of my job—to thank those who made this year’s awards ceremony a reality, but to thank those and recognize the good work done in the province reminds us how much we, as a province, value each other and our shared communities. This year, I was so proud to present this award to 19 recipients who have done so much for victims and their families throughout Ontario. The award is an expression of the gratitude that our government feels for the people of Ontario, for the lasting impacts an individual can have on the lives of victims and loved ones. It’s more important than ever in this current social landscape that we honour individuals and organizations like these.

As I’ve mentioned, if passed, today’s bill is one of many important steps in helping victims feel heard and safe as they seek access to justice. By supporting judicial education, in partnership with the judiciary, we can truly make an impactful difference.

Although it’s critical the judiciary have access to good, up-to-date education on intimate partner violence, this education and training is needed across the justice sector, including for crown attorneys. I’m happy to tell the members of this House today that my ministry’s criminal law division currently offers several courses for crowns, including a week-long intimate partner and family violence course. Staff working in my ministry’s victim services receive training, as well. The court-based Victim/Witness Assistance Program, or VWAP as many will know it by, provides orientation and ongoing staff training related to providing services and support to victims and survivors of intimate partner violence.

My ministry also funds Indigenous-specific and culturally relevant intimate partner violence prevention programs across the province.

But we know there’s always more that we can do to address the immediate needs for support and services.

We’ve also made recent investments in the Partner Assault Response Program, or the PAR Program, which is necessary to tackle the epidemic of intimate partner violence. In December 2022, in addition to our previous investments of almost $11 million, our government announced another $2 million in one-time finding for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

All of these efforts, combined with the proposed changes we’re bringing forward today, are intended to support victims, survivors and families, and strengthen their trust in our justice system.

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss some of the compelling reasons for these proposed changes—changes that will help us to continue to create a more accessible justice system and provide more support for victims, survivors and families as they seek access to justice and pathways to heal.

I want to thank the Solicitor General and his team for his continued collaboration to make our province a safer place to live.

I encourage all members here in this House to support this legislation. Thank you. Merci. Meegwetch.