It’s very interesting; I’ll just say that when we graduated over 110 OPP cadets to constables just a couple of weeks ago, they said to me that when people step forward to say that their community safety matters, the interest in enrolment picks up immediately. So what we all have to do from all sides of this House is simple: We have to say that our public safety matters and that we have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe.

I’ll tell you something that’s even more important. I want to, by the way, give a shout-out to Chief Crowell, the great chief at Waterloo region. I said to him that we’re committed to building the Runnymede centre for first responders, a respite for first responders who will be able to go to Caledon—the location will be Caledon. That’s an example where we view the actions—what are we doing? We’re building the Runnymede centre. We’re going to build a centre where people can go and get the help that they need. This is what’s important, what we’re doing. The actions speak louder than the words.

Just also to the member from Waterloo, who asked a question before: We rely on all the stakeholders to be consulted, to make the best decisions.

To the member from Brampton, a great member: He’s 100% right. We have to have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe. We can’t have people going through Ontario who say our public safety doesn’t matter and that’s why it’s okay not to say we will do everything we can to keep Ontario safe. At the end of the day, it is true—our government will do everything we can to have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe.

My question is for the Solicitor General.

I want to read an article that came out about nine days ago in my community, in Brampton. The title says, “Brampton Shooting Sends 17-Year-Old Girl to Hospital, Schools Lift Hold-and-Secure as Police Look for Suspect.”

“Nine schools in Brampton were under hold-and-secure protocols Friday as Peel police responded to a daylight shooting that sent a teen girl to hospital.”

Unfortunately, these stories are all the more common in my community of Brampton and communities across Ontario.

We hear from some members of the House that their proposed solution on public safety is to defund the police. We hear that from members, particularly, in the NDP. I’m just wondering: Does the minister think that’s the right way to approach the problem, or is there another approach our government can take?

You know what? I want to continue on that theme. I want to thank the member from Toronto Centre for her remarks today. You mentioned the social determinants of safety. Statistics show that in societies where you have a lesser gap between rich and poor, you have lower levels of crime; you have lower homicide rates. Part of it is really obvious.

Under this government, we’ve got an opioid crisis, an epidemic that is exploding. We’ve got a homelessness epidemic that is exploding. We’ve got food bank lines that are around the block. The statistics show that 80% of homeless youth are victims of at least two crimes per year; 32% reported being victims of sexual assault. So when this government refuses to address those social determinants of safety, they’re actually increasing the amount of work that the police have to do.

What would you recommend to this government, and how would you change this bill to address the social determinants of safety?

I really appreciated the thoughtful comments from the member who talked about the social determinants of health, but also pointed out that the social determinants of safety are related, if not the same. Working with folks in the community and different agencies supporting those who are human trafficking survivors—who are the first to say that a shelter is not an appropriate place for them, that there are layers to the needs. Transitional housing or supportive housing or whatever we want to call it needs to be appropriate for the need, and that just doesn’t exist in my community and in most.

When we don’t have the housing that’s needed, when we are forcing people back into harm—when I had heard from the interim police chief a while back, he said “We can move people that are in the parks, but we can’t give them housing.” When there’s such a need in our community for safety, why don’t we see that in this bill, and why don’t we hear that from this government?

Either the member from Mississauga–Erin Mills or the member from Whitby can answer this question. I paid attention to what they had to say very seriously because, like everyone, I care about community safety.

I want to bring to the floor of the House a matter we’re dealing with in Ottawa Centre this week. We’ve had notice that people who do not like queer or transgender neighbours are coming to Broadview Avenue, the site of three public schools, and they’re going to protest and attempt to harass children on their way to school. So we have been working proactively with the police in our community and neighbours who are disgusted with this kind of behaviour.

What I don’t see in the bill proposed, and I hope to see it, are proactive resources that can make sure, as the member for Toronto Centre said, that our police are not responding a great deal to situations where mental health workers could help. They could respond to actual incidents of unsafety, and we could have them there in significant numbers.

Can the members enlighten me: How does this bill make sure people in a community like mine will be safe when they need to be safe?