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.

I want to thank the government members for their presentation. Several of the members talked about schedules 3 and 5 of this bill, which enact Keira’s Law, the federal legislation that was passed recently. Certainly, that is something that we in the official opposition strongly support.

My question to the government is, when gender-based-violence advocates were calling for stand-alone legislation to implement training for justices and justices of the peace, why did the government decide to bundle those provisions in this bill? And why did they ignore many of the recommendations—most of the recommendations, if not all of the recommendations—that were made by the Mass Casualty Commission, a broad examination of policing in Canada, and also the 86 recommendations of the Renfrew county inquest? Implementing some of those measures would have really made a difference for victims of intimate partner violence.

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.

Thank you to the members for their contributions to the debate. My question is for either of the members across the way. I’m glad to see that there are courses being established for new judges and existing judges with respect to Keira’s Law: domestic violence, partner violence, systemic racism and systemic discrimination when it comes to training in the justice system for judges and justices of the peace.

What we’re hearing from police officers, front-line officers and community members is that they want more training for police officers, not less. How does this bill ensure that all police training will include much more substantial required training like in equity, human rights, mental health and de-escalation so that police have those tools to do their job even better?