I’m pleased to join in debate on Bill 102.

Supporting education of judges and justices of the peace: The Courts of Justice Act and the Justices of the Peace Act—these amendments would support judicial education related to gender-based violence for provincially appointed judges and justices of the peace. I think we would all agree that professionals in our legal system must be trained to understand all of the signs of abuse, including coercive control, because we know that abuse can be more than physical or sexual. Coercive control is part of the definition of family violence contained in both the federal Divorce Act and in the update our government made to the Children’s Law Reform Act in 2020.

Speaker, I need to interrupt my presentation, because I forgot to say that I’m going to share my time with the member from Mississauga–Erin Mills.

To the aspect that I just referred to in terms of the Children’s Law Reform Act in 2020—the member from Oakville North–Burlington introduced the Keira’s Law motion in the Legislature, aimed at protecting children, supporting women who are fleeing abusive relationships, and those who are victims of intimate partner violence and coercive control.

In courts in Canada and other countries, one of the strategies used by abusers is victimizing themselves or suggesting parental alienation. This is a tactic used by abusers whose interest is not in the best interests of the child or the ex-spouse, but in control. We must ensure that decision-making professionals in our Family Court system receive education and training about intimate partner violence, including emotional violence and coercive control.

The proposed changes to the Courts of Justice Act and Justices of the Peace Act would, if passed, ensure a consistent approach to the way judges are educated about gender-based violence and its impacts on children, families and communities.

For this government, nothing is more important than our community safety, and we understand that our police services across our province are the front line that keep Ontario safe.

I recently met with the president of the Durham Regional Police Association and reminded him that we have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe today and every day, and we will do absolutely everything we need to do to help keep the region of Durham and other parts of Ontario safe. In turn, the membership of that association is supportive of this government as champions of community safety. They’ll continue to work with me and our government on changes that mean the most to those members of the Durham Regional Police Association.

To support recruitment efforts at a time when local police officers have signalled challenges in doing so, Bill 102, if passed, would eliminate the post-secondary education requirement to become a police officer, as set out in the Community Safety and Policing Act, the CSPA. If passed, the act would amend the CSPA to provide that a secondary school diploma or equivalent is sufficient education for the purposes of being appointed as a police officer.

Many of us here in the Legislature will be familiar with Jon Reid. Mr. Reid is president of the Toronto Police Association. Mr. Reid had this to say about the proposed legislation:

“The Toronto Police Association welcomes the Ford government’s investment in community safety and policing.

“The public has lived with the consequences of an inadequate bail system for far too long, and resources recently announced mean our members will be able to refocus their efforts on proactively monitoring violent offenders who wreak havoc on our sense of safety.

“We have long advocated for this support, and we will continue to work with the provincial government on the changes that will keep our communities and our members safe.”

He went on to say that the announcement by the Ford government is another positive show of support for police officers in Toronto and across the province—standing with those men and women who keep our families safe.

“Everywhere, police services are struggling to hire police officers. Whether it’s the years of anti-police rhetoric, the impact of the COVID pandemic or the recent increase in violence against police officers, we’re not getting the numbers we need.”

There is safety in numbers, and we know that a well-resourced police service, like the Durham Regional Police Service, improves public safety and enhances our ability to build positive community relationships.

Speaker, the government is taking action to keep Ontario safe today, tomorrow and for future generations—like my granddaughters, Annette and Sophia. This past weekend, they both walked with me in the Brooklin Spring Fair, but before we went to the fair, I spoke a little bit about what I was planning to do here at the Ontario Legislature. I spoke about this particular bill and why I saw this bill as generational, and the impacts it will have in the months ahead but also in the years ahead, going forward. They’re now 11 and 13, and they understand the impacts in their community. They live in Bowmanville, just east of where I live in Whitby. They understand the impacts of this bill—they understand keeping their community safe also.

At the end of the day, we’re providing those at the forefront of community safety with the legislative and administrative supports they need to deliver the highest-quality services to the province overall.

I quoted Mr. Jon Reid, president of the Toronto Police Association, but we also have a quote from John Cerasuolo, president of the Ontario Provincial Police Association: “The grants will provide the necessary financial resources to support active engagement and monitoring of bail compliance. The ability of police services to utilize these financial resources will be limited by an ongoing staffing shortage and competing organizational priorities. The efficacy of this initiative will be tracked with a view to providing long-term, stable funding to engage in this important program that will enhance public safety, officer safety and confidence in the criminal justice system.”

Going forward, we do have the support of many policing associations, including mine in the Durham region.

Speaker, through you, I’ll now cede my time to the member for Mississauga–Erin Mills.