I want to thank my colleague for the question once again. The 42 different actions being taken in the Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act are game changers for Ontario. The member is correct; the Liberals and the NDP have said no to all of them, unfortunately.

They said no to saving businesses $800 million each and every year, Mr. Speaker. They said no to delivering broadband to every community in our province, Mr. Speaker. They said no to improving road safety. They said no to helping farmers, Mr. Speaker.

While the opposition wants people and businesses to pay more and be dependent on governments, we will never let that happen on this side of the House.

I’m very pleased to confirm to the member opposite that the city of London is going to be receiving an allocation of an additional 2,000 spaces in the first round and an additional 809 in the second round. That would not have been achieved if we followed the New Democratic advice, which would have omitted a third of childcare operators in London. The for-profit centres in your own riding would have been denied participation.

Decouple the ECE issue—you would have removed the capacity of one in three parents from having the choice of lower fees. You’ve ideologically opposed options for parents because you know better, bureaucrats and politicians, instead of the people who pay the bills and raise their kids. It’s absolutely unconscionable that you would have denied that many participants from enrolling. Some 92% said yes to our offer.

We have a reduction of fees by 50%: $46 to $23 today. Yes, we’re going to help support the creation of 86,000 more spaces in London and right across Ontario.

With respect to wages, in the federal deal we did accept that we’re going to create a wage floor for the first time in the sector’s history. We’ve increased the wages by $1 per hour every year over the course of this agreement, and we’ve committed to going even further.

Mr. Speaker, in the member’s community in the Niagara region, there’s an additional roughly 3,000 more spaces which we are going to fund to support expanded access, to reduce wait-lists and make life affordable for families in Ontario. We are going to invest in a quality child care program that’s going to reduce fees. One of the great legacies, I think, when it comes to affordability during this time of rising inflation federally is that this government has slashed child care fees by 50% for non-profits and for-profits—for everyone, Mr. Speaker. That’s a good thing for people in Ontario.

As Niagara families confront the summer child care squeeze, with providers barely running at 60% due to staff shortages, I am troubled and so should you be. Remarkably, two thirds of our Niagara ECE graduates are international students. The minister should be deeply concerned about retaining these graduates in Ontario.

Minister, how can we expect to keep our trained ECEs with a base salary of $19, $6 less than any other province’s? Fourteen months post our federal child care agreement, through you, Speaker, I ask, will the minister present a clear timeline for a workforce strategy to secure essential child care for our families here in Ontario?

I would like to table the following petition:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas police provide protection to some of the most vulnerable members of our society; and

“The provincial government has launched the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy; and

“The 2023-24 budget commits an additional $13.4 million to this strategy;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“That the Legislative Assembly of Ontario reject the ‘defund the police’ position, and continue funding police, seizing illegal guns, suppressing gangs, and supporting victims of violence through the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy.”

I support this petition. I will affix my signature, and I’m going to be passing it on to our page.

I am pleased to share this petition.

“Stop the 413 GTA West Highway.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Ontario government is pushing ahead with plans to build Highway 413, a redundant and wasteful 400-series highway through the greenbelt that would cost taxpayers an estimated $10 billion or more; and

“Whereas according to a TorStar/National Observer investigation entitled ‘Friends with Benefits?’ powerful developers and land speculators with political and donor ties to the Premier and the PC Party of Ontario own thousands of acres along the proposed highway corridor and would profit from its construction, suggesting that this $10-billion taxpayer-funded highway is about serving the private interests of the Premier’s friends and donors, not the public interest; and

“Whereas the Ontario government’s expert panel concluded in 2017 that Highway 413 would be a waste of taxpayer money that would only save drivers 30 to 60 seconds on their commutes; and

“Whereas that expert panel identified less costly and less destructive alternatives to new highway construction, such as making better use of the underused Highway 407, just 15 kilometres away; and

“Whereas Highway 413 would pave over 400 acres of greenbelt and 2,000 acres of farmland, destroy the habitats of at-risk and endangered species, and pollute rivers and streams; and

“Whereas building more highways encourages more vehicle use and increases traffic and congestion; and

“Whereas the highway would cause significant harm to historic Indigenous sites;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Stop the plans for building Highway 413.”

Of course, I support this petition. I will affix my signature and send it with Ameer.

I’d like to present a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

“Whereas two-spirit, transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse, and intersex communities face significant challenges to accessing health care services that are friendly, competent, and affirming in Ontario;

“Whereas everyone deserves access to health care, and they shouldn’t have to fight for it, shouldn’t have to wait for it, and should never receive less care or support because of who they are;

“Whereas gender-affirming care is life-saving care;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the reintroduction of a private member’s bill to create an inclusive and representative committee to advise the Ministry of Health on how to realize accessible and equitable access to and coverage for gender-affirming health care in Ontario.”

I will proudly affix my signature to this petition and send it to the table with page Christopher.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas police provide protection to some of the most vulnerable members of our society; and

“The provincial government has launched the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy; and

“The 2023-24 budget commits an additional $13.4 million to this strategy;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“That the Legislative Assembly of Ontario reject the ‘defund the police’ mentality, and continue funding police, seizing illegal guns, suppressing gangs, and supporting victims of violence through the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy.”

Speaker, I’m going to affix my signature to this and provide it to page Pierre.

I’d like to thank the folks from Guelph, Kitchener and Kitchener–Conestoga for collecting these signatures. It reads as follows:

“Petition to the province of Ontario Premier and members of provincial Parliament:

“We, the undersigned residents of Ontario, call upon the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to stop ordering sprawl via urban boundary expansion and development on farmland and natural spaces.”

I fully support the intent of this petition. I will affix my signature and give it to page Arisa.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas police provide protection to some of the most vulnerable members of our society; and

“The provincial government has launched the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy; and

“The 2023-24 budget commits an additional $13.4 million to this strategy;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“That the Legislative Assembly of Ontario reject the ‘defund the police’ position, and continue funding police, seizing illegal guns, suppressing gangs, and supporting victims of violence through the Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy.”

I fully support the petition. I will affix my signature and pass it to the table through page Halle.

This petition is signed by residents and members of Jean Lumb school, Bishop Macdonell school, Harbord Collegiate, the Waterfront School, Market Lane, and St. Mary school in my riding.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Fund Ontario Public Schools.

“Whereas the TDSB has a deficit of $63.2 million for the 2023-24 school year, due to continuous underfunding by the Ministry of Education;

“Whereas the Ministry of Education has not reimbursed the $70.1-million TDSB reserve used to cover pandemic expenditures;

“Whereas the deficit and pandemic costs combined result in forcing schools to reduce special-needs assistants, educational assistants, clerical staff, teachers and vice-principal positions at TDSB schools;

“Whereas continued underfunding disproportionately affects the marginalized, the vulnerable, and those with special needs;

“Whereas continued underfunding results in larger, more crowded, and unsafe schools;

“Whereas continued underfunding means that students receive less one-on-one time with educators;

“We, the undersigned parents, guardians, caregivers, students, staff and community members, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“(1) To adequately fund and strengthen public education in Ontario so students and education workers get the support they need;

“(2) To reimburse schools and the TDSB for the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

I fully endorse this petition. I will affix my signature and pass it to page Arisa to take to the table.

It gives me great pleasure to present the following petition on behalf of Samantha Bolger, Peri Ren, Ayma Aqib and the class of 2025 medical students from the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. It reads:

“Repeal Bill 124.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Bill 124 removes the right of public employees to negotiate fair contracts;

“Whereas Bill 124 limits the wage increase in the broader public sector to a maximum of 1% per year at a time of unprecedented inflation;

“Whereas Ontario’s public servants have dealt with two years of unheralded difficulties in performing their duties to our province;

“Whereas those affected by Bill 124 are the people who teach us, care for us, make our hospitals and health care system work and protect the most vulnerable among us;

“Whereas the current provincial government is showing disrespect to public servants to keep taxes low for some of our country’s most profitable corporations;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“Immediately repeal Bill 124 and show respect for the public sector workers.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature and deliver it with page Luke to the Clerks.

Mr. Kerzner moved third reading of the following bill:

Bill 102, An Act to amend various Acts relating to the justice system, fire protection and prevention and animal welfare / Projet de loi 102, Loi modifiant diverses lois relatives au système judiciaire, à la prévention et à la protection contre l’incendie ainsi qu’au bien-être des animaux.

Would the minister care to lead off third reading debate? I recognize the Solicitor General.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m delighted to speak and to share my time with my colleagues the member from Simcoe–Grey, the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore, the member from Sarnia–Lambton, and the Attorney General of Ontario.

Monsieur le Président, je suis fier de soutenir nos policiers et nos premiers intervenants et tous ceux qui assurent la sécurité de l’Ontario tous les jours. Ce sont des gens formidables qui nous protègent au quotidien.

Je prends mon rôle sérieusement. C’est un honneur d’assurer la sécurité de notre province, parce que tous ont le droit de se sentir en sécurité chez eux et dans leur collectivité. Chaque personne mérite d’être traitée avec dignité et respect.

Mr. Speaker, it’s a great honour to rise here today and to also acknowledge the president of the PAO, the Police Association of Ontario, my friend Mark Baxter. The associations in Ontario know—Mark and his colleagues—that our government is with you every step of the way.

The safety of our communities is everything. Our growth and prosperity depends on peace and stability. As I’ve said before in this House, and I’ll say it again, public safety means having a place to raise our children, to wake them up from their bedrooms in the morning, to take them to school—it means a place that we can work; it means a place that we can take them to the parks at the end of their school day, and to be with our wives and our partners when we take walks on the street; it means to have a place to play and a place to pray.

Our communities are growing faster than ever before. We know that because we spoke about the need to build houses in Ontario and to build infrastructure in Ontario. As we build our housing and our hospitals and our schools across Ontario, and as we expand our communities, we need to make sure that their policing needs are met. Because the unfortunate truth is, the selfish actions of criminals continue to undermine what we believe is ours: a right to live safely in our communities. Our government recognizes that, now more than ever, public safety matters. That is why, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we have made public safety our top priority.

The reason we introduced Bill 102 is because we have to acknowledge that the sizes of our communities have changed. Technology has changed. There are a lot of things that change. Nothing remains stagnant. This bill, Bill 102, takes us current to where we need to be today. It includes elements, as I will speak to in my remarks, to address the police recruitment, to move us that step closer to getting the Community Safety and Policing Act, the CSPA, in place—an act that will replace a piece of legislation that is over 30 years old, the PSA.

That is why it is my pleasure to rise and to participate in third reading, together with my colleagues, of the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act. It is a critical piece of legislation. It’s a major step in advancing public safety, and it delivers on our promise that we always said to Ontarians, that public safety matters. It helps address challenges and police recruitment by presenting a clear path for more people to consider a career in policing. I have to say, this was one pillar of a great announcement that we made a couple of months back, where we’re waiving the obstacles and the barriers for people to go to the Ontario Police College. This is important. We believe that we will have, next year, about 2,000 new recruits graduating each year from the Ontario Police College. It’s an amazing place. I have seen for myself. The member from Chatham-Kent–Leamington is a graduate and served in the Ontario Provincial Police. He was with me, actually, at one of the marches past. You see the promise in a person’s eyes when they graduate and they go to serve their communities, their First Nations communities, the Franco-Ontarian communities, the municipal police services. It’s absolutely unbelievable.

These amendments in our legislation will also help strengthen the protection for animals and modernize different parts of our public safety.

I want to give a shout-out to our incredible animal welfare inspectors. Why? Because I went to see for myself, just a couple of weeks ago, when they were doing part of their training in Brantford—I saw 37 new animal welfare inspectors who looked like Ontario.

I’m so proud of our diversity, whether it’s in policing, whether it’s in firefighting, whether it’s in corrections, whether it’s in probation and parole, whether it’s in animal welfare, or whether it’s in the telecommunicators, who are having a conference today. I always want to shout out to those amazing 911 call operators. I want to shout out to the support staff who keep everything else functioning.

This is important because this piece of legislation, in so many ways, catches the regulations that we need to catch up with. The amendments focus on oversight and governance and labour arbitration and police recognition and education.

At the same time, we want to make public safety an attractive career choice for a new generation of civic-minded Ontarians. Police services across Canada specifically had struggled to hire new recruits, and there were different reasons for it, but our government stepped up to the plate. I remember a conversation I had with the Premier himself and we talked about what we can do to plan for the future. As our province grows by over a million people in the next number of years—we know that because we know how many homes we need for them to live in—we need so many more people in public safety to keep us safe. This is exactly why this bill will help, amongst other things, address the need to find more recruits so that they can come and protect Ontario and have a career like Mark Baxter—a career of meaning, a career of satisfaction.

Our government treats the care of our animal welfare services with enormous concern. That’s why—and I know my colleague from Etobicoke–Lakeshore shares in this even more, perhaps, than any one of us—the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019, which came into force in January 2020, has set a standard of care for animals and prohibitions against causing or permitting distress to animals. I want to thank her for her leadership in this. What Bill 102 does is take it to the next level. It sends a message to people that if anybody is thinking about causing harm to their animals, they had better think twice. The proposed Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act will improve cost recovery and close the gaps specifically on animal welfare—and this is important.

I mentioned in my kick-off speech in second reading that under regulation 180 of the existing Coroners Act, the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service—by the way, proudly located their head offices in my riding of York Centre. They have the authority to retain and store tissue samples and body fluid obtained during a post-mortem examination. The regulation identifies the types of specimens that can be stored and the length of time that they can be retained. But the act did not contemplate the retention of materials for purposes beyond the needs of a coroner’s investigation, like DNA, something that is part of—to understand DNA today is understanding it in a whole new world. I understand this just a little bit, because in my previous business iteration, before I got elected, I started a company that helped people identity drug interactions that may occur over the course of their lives. DNA provides us with a glimpse into the future, and it solves mysteries that were never before able to be solved. I look back on the announcements just from genetic genealogy, on what that has done, just as of recently, in Moosonee and in other cities—in the province of Quebec, in other jurisdictions where they’re solving 40- and 50-year-old murder crimes as a result of the DNA technology today. So the proposed amendments will deliver this added tool to prevent further deaths now and into the future by the use of it.

Finally, there is the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997. This act established the legislative framework for the delivery of fire protection, but there were gaps in this old piece of legislation, and there were inefficiencies. Bill 102 will close those gaps and streamline decision-making at both the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Fire Safety Commission.

Making the Community Safety and Policing Act a reality, attracting new recruits, and strengthening and modernizing Ontario’s public safety framework is why this is important. This brings us one step closer. Our government is eager to move forward and to proclaim and set the date for enactment.

Again, I want to thank the associations and all of our stakeholders who have worked with us every step of the way. Their concerns matter, and we have listened, and I am encouraged that in the months ahead as we complete the final regulations that need to be done in order for us to move to move forward, we will see that this is something that will be a reality.

Nothing has been as impactful to me as travelling throughout Ontario and visiting the fire and the correction and the police and the communications services in people’s ridings. It has been an honour of a lifetime.

One of the first tours I went to last summer was visiting the member’s riding in Sarnia–Lambton—my great friend—and I saw for myself something that we take for granted: that if we don’t treat our security by having this 360 perspective on it, we don’t know. In many respects, it’s not our fault because we live our lives, as I’ve said before, in a narrow focus of wanting to be safe but not understanding the roles that people do to keep us safe.

When I went with the member from Sarnia–Lambton to the St. Clair River, it was the first time in my tenure as Solicitor General that I saw just how close the other side is, and I became fascinated by the need to learn more. My great friend from Sarnia–Lambton and the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore helped educate me on the needs of public safety not only in their communities, but in their roles as parliamentary assistants to the Solicitor General. They knew, and I knew, that by saying to the public in Ontario that our safety matters, the public will respond by saying, “We agree with you.”

We always have to have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe. Last week, I think it was the 91st AGM of the Police Association of Ontario, and the Premier and I were there. It was important for us to be there, because it also was a time that we had to reflect on the times that find us, on the people we lost just last week—a beautiful constable in Ontario; we lost Steven. Before Steven, we lost Eric, Andrew, Morgan, Devon, and Greg, and the list unfortunately has kept growing. But it won’t define who we are. It won’t take away from the resolve we have to say that our communities mean everything; our public safety means everything. Never before in my generation have we had such a vocal government that has raised public safety to the forefront, that can look somebody in the eye and say, “We will always have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe”—because we need to have public safety, because the rule of law must matter and our public safety must matter.

And for those who wish us ill, as I like to say, who can’t agree that we have a right to live in our communities, however we choose and whoever we want to be with, we have a message for them: We will call you out.

That’s why, as we debate third reading of Bill 102, change is needed. This bill takes us one step closer. It addresses the changes and regulations we need to do to bring us forward, and it acknowledges what everybody knows: that when we have a safe community, we have absolutely everything.

I said at the funeral of Sergeant Eric Mueller of the OPP: « En tant que solliciteur général, je continuerai à travailler chaque jour pour assurer le bien-être de nos policiers et nos premiers intervenants. Pour le premier ministre de l’Ontario et pour moi, c’est personnel. » It really is. It’s an honour of a lifetime to work as hard as I can, day and night, for Ontario’s safety, and we won’t stop. Our commitment to public safety is absolute and constant.

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.

The Attorney General.

It’s great to join in on this debate today. It’s my pleasure to rise and provide added details about Bill 102, the government’s proposed Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023.

As the Solicitor General shared with us, the government of Ontario is taking strong action to improve public safety across the province by transforming police legislation and making it easier for police services to recruit.

Once brought into force, the Community Safety and Policing Act will be the main vehicle for policing modernization in the province of Ontario. It will replace the current Police Services Act and make a significant change to Ontario’s legislative framework for policing.

There are still a number of operational and other changes for the policing sector, municipalities, First Nations and oversight bodies to be considered before the CSPA can come into force in order to support a smooth implementation. We are getting close to that day. The proposed amendments in the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023, bring us a significant step closer. The proposed amendments that are part of Bill 102 are focused on clearer roles, stronger governance, and improved systems.

One key area is related to a proposed amendment to enable the potential expansion of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission’s—which is also known as the OCPC—authority after the CSPA comes into force. The OCPC will continue to act after the CSPA is enforced in relation to its adjudicative functions, such as the completion of hearings and appeals. The proposed amendment will allow the OCPC to continue to act in relation to its other functions, if prescribed in regulation. It is important work and must be part of a seamless transition to the CSPA.

The CSPA also broadens the scope of the current Ontario Police Arbitration Commission to include responsibilities related to police discipline after the CSPA is in force.

Under the CSPA, the OPAC—there are lots of acronyms in this ministry—will be continued and renamed the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission, also known as the OPAAC, with additional responsibilities related to the adjudication of police discipline matters. With this new function, the OPAAC will play a critical role in administrating independent discipline adjudication, where required under the act, to support the government’s goal to improve police accountability and oversight and strengthen public trust in the police disciplinary process.

A function of the OPAAC will also be to continue to assist police associations and polices services boards in resolution of labour relations disputes arriving out of negotiations and administration of their collective agreements. To support the effectiveness of the OPAAC’s labour arbitration function, there are also amendments related to removing police services as a party to arbitrations regarding the police association’s duty to fairly represent its members; providing flexibility to the arbitration decision time frame; clarifying the process for a dispute arising from an arbitrator’s award or decision; improving efficiency in the process for appointing an arbitrator for budget and First Nations funding disputes; and amending who is responsible for arbitrator fees in municipal budget disputes. Part of the adjustment needed, and it is included in this proposed bill, is to alter the composition of the future OPAAC by adding the role of one or more vice-chairs. This change is intended to improve good governance of the agency and to support the integrity of its arbitration and adjudication functions.

A third grouping of proposed amendments includes changes to provisions relating to recognition of education of police officers. This includes allowing municipal and First Nations officers to be eligible to obtain a King’s Commission on the same terms as an OPP officer. It also includes changes relating to police officer education requirements that, if passed, will provide that a secondary school diploma or equivalent is sufficient education for the purposes of being appointed as a police officer, thereby reducing barriers for those seeking a career in the policing business.

The CSPA was supposed to establish an Ontario Provincial Police governance advisory council to advise the Solicitor General regarding the use of OPP-related powers. It has been determined that such an advisory council is no longer necessary as a permanent body. The proposed amendments revoke the provisions for the governance advisory council. Additionally, there are proposed amendments to the governance provisions related to OPP detachment boards.

To be responsive to what we have heard from municipalities and First Nations, changes include allowing for no detachment boards in a detachment or having one detachment board responsible for municipal detachments. Also, most, but not all, regulation-making powers with respect to detachment boards will be transferred from the Lieutenant Governor in Council to the Solicitor General. This proposed amendment would include board composition as the ministry anticipates changes in composition from time to time and as decisions on participation or detachment boundaries change.

Lastly, we are proposing changes that would provide further clarity in the statute and improve alignment with other government statutes.

This government is modernizing the province’s police and community safety framework so that it is fair, so that it is equitable, and so that it is safe, transparent and effective. The proposed amendments to the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023, are necessary to establish a modern and robust policing legislative framework that appropriately addresses the evolving nature of crime and meets the community safety expectations of Ontarians.

I just want to make sure I give a shout-out to Mark Baxter, and I want to thank all our police officers for the work they do. I want to thank our firefighters—all our servicemen and servicewomen in uniform—for the work they do every day. Especially, I would like to give a shout-out to 22 division in Etobicoke–Lakeshore. Thank you for you service.

I encourage all honourable members in this House to pass this bill.

I recognize the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore.

The member from Simcoe–Grey.

It’s certainly a pleasure this afternoon to rise in this House to speak to third reading of the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023. I’d like to start off by acknowledging and thanking the Attorney General and the Solicitor General for their tireless work and dedication to bring this bill forward.

As we all know, crime is on the rise in Ontario and across Canada. That is why our government is taking action to train and attract new recruits, break down financial barriers, and get more front-line officers on our streets.

I’m happy to speak to what Bill 102 will do, if passed, to make Ontario a safer place to live, and I will pick up on some of the comments of the Attorney General in his speech.

We’re looking at new ways to harness thinking about Internet technology to make justice accessible for all. We’re looking to provide increased access to critical services in northern and remote communities.

The members of the House may recall that, at the start of the pandemic, fly-in court proceedings—necessary in many First Nations communities—were suspended. This system, as many of you know, brings judges, lawyers, courts and victim support staff to remote communities, sometimes for single day at a time, to hear a wide range of issues. Unfortunately, access to reliable high-speed Internet had previously been unavailable in most fly-in communities. Something had to be done.

I’m proud to say that this government has invested in reliable, high-speed satellite Internet access and video conferencing equipment to enable virtual proceedings in 29 fly-in communities. This work has been flying ahead. I’m proud to stand here and report that, as of today, 24 of the 29 fly-in communities have Starlink units installed, and the remaining units will be fully installed and working in all 29 communities by the end of the summer. This is a great achievement. It is important and one of the cornerstones of our vision to deliver a justice system that is accessible and works in a timely manner, no matter where you live.

But we are not done making improvements and implementing changes there.

In the bill before the House today, we’re also proposing a housekeeping change to the Provincial Offences Act. This change will clarify an existing process in the courts, indicating that it is court staff, and not judicial officers, who file judicial review applications and materials with the courts. This change will ensure efficiency by bringing clarity to the process and eliminating duplication.

In keeping with our commitment to harness digital transformation, the Ministry of the Attorney General has unveiled the Courts Digital Transformation initiative as part of our justice accelerated strategy in 2021. This is a new digital justice solution that will transform the way people resolve their legal matters by providing on-demand digital access to court services. This end-to-end digital system will feature online self-service, integrated case tracking and more efficient court operations.

We have also introduced electronic filing, as well as a new online court case search tool so that people can access select court information with ease.

We’ve also made other changes that include the authority for provincial offences officers to serve part III summonses on individuals within the province by registered mail, courier or email, thereby updating the current system. Service of a summons on a recipient’s lawyer or paralegal, with their advance consent, is also now permitted in order to streamline processes.

We’ve also continued to support municipal partners in their efforts to enforce and collect outstanding POA fines. We have implemented numerous initiatives to help assist in the collection of outstanding fines, including improving the “Notice of Fine and Due Date” form, to encourage defendants to pay their fines on time to avoid additional fees and other penalties, such as a licence suspension.

Speaker, the Ministry of the Attorney General is also continuing our collaboration with the Bill 177 municipal working group to implement other reforms to further modernize the Provincial Offences Act processes, including implementing additional fine enforcement initiatives.

These are just some of the more recent initiatives we’ve been working on to ensure that the municipal court system works swiftly and efficiently to hear so many matters that affect Ontarians daily.

I’d also like to speak about how digital and Internet access has improved our criminal justice system and tell members about an ongoing transformation project that we are currently working on in collaboration with partners across the justice system, from police to the courts.

For several years, we’ve been working with the Solicitor General to implement the Criminal Justice Digital Design initiative, to transform Ontario’s criminal justice system and enhance public safety in the process. This system involves digitizing the criminal case record and connecting IT systems so that data can flow seamlessly from the police to the prosecution to the courts and then to corrections. Already, we have implemented a number of processes to help share digital information in an organized and timely way.

Since June 2022, criminal eIntake has been available province-wide, which allows police and other investigative agencies to electronically send and receive documents and data so that a justice of the peace can consider the information and allow charges to be laid, where process is issued. This has greatly reduced the time and effort it takes to put information before the courts.

We’ve also introduced a Digital Evidence Management System, which makes it possible for police and other agencies to manage, store and share digital investigative or evidentiary files using a consistent set of tools and standards. As of this January, more than 60% of police agencies have onboarded to this digital system.

There is much more to be done, but we have made great strides here. The safety and well-being of our communities requires an agile and properly functioning criminal justice system that works efficiently for all Ontarians, wherever they are.

Madam Speaker, through this work, we have also learned that enforcement and prosecution efforts are more effective at reducing violence and increasing public safety when combined with meaningful intervention initiatives. We also know that the traditional criminal justice system can, in certain circumstances, be limited in how it responds to the complex needs of communities, victims and offenders across our province.

That is why we have taken steps to introduce justice centres that take a transformative approach to community safety, by moving certain criminal cases out of the traditional courtroom and into a community setting. They help provide wraparound supports for accused persons through coordination with on-site social, health, mental health, addictions, employment education, and housing providers.

That is why, since September 2020, our ministry has launched four justice centre locations: in London, Ontario; Toronto downtown east; Toronto northwest; and, most recently, in Kenora.

The Kenora justice centre was launched earlier this year, in February. It is a groundbreaking initiative—the first of its kind in northern Ontario—and it was developed, designed and delivered in collaboration with local organizations, Indigenous leadership and the courts. It is an initiative that is truly born from a collective partnership, and it represents a meaningful path forward towards creating safer and healthier communities in our north.

Speaker, all of the changes I’ve spoken about today are essential in improving the lives of the people of Ontario, no matter where they live—whether that is through support and safety for victims of crime, effective and appropriate responses to perpetrators of crime, or reducing the complexity of our justice system while increasing its efficiency and its accessibility for all Ontarians.

Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to talk about this very important piece of legislation. I look forward to the vote and encourage all colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.