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.