My question is to the hard-working Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. The Lake Simcoe watershed contains key natural, urban and agricultural systems that are vital to Ontario and to the people in my riding of Simcoe–Grey. As our government continues to build Ontario and grow our economy, evolving pressures like population growth present ongoing challenges to our ecosystems and waterways. Some of my constituents have expressed concerns about the sustainability of land and water uses across Lake Simcoe. Our government must continue to respond to emerging issues and adapt to solutions that protect critical aspects of our environment.

Can the minister please explain what action our government is taking to protect Lake Simcoe now and for future generations?

It is evident our government remains committed to improving the ecosystem of Lake Simcoe. Can the minister please elaborate on how our Lake Simcoe Phosphorus Reduction Strategy will support the neighbouring communities?

I know why the member opposite won’t ever be the finance critic for the New Democratic Party.

Speaker, as I said in response to the Leader of the Opposition last week, the number one and number two requests from our municipal partners for the budget were more dollars for supportive housing and more wraparound services for mental health and addictions. We delivered on that budget, something that, at second reading, the NDP voted against.

Speaker, you know who last week really let municipalities down? Jagmeet Singh and Justin Trudeau. There were no new infrastructure dollars in last week’s budget for municipalities. There was no support for the city of Toronto. I had a great meeting on Friday with Deputy Mayor McKelvie, thanking us for our commitment on supportive housing and on our contributions that we promised. There was no clarity on any of the provincial or territorial requests on housing as part of the National Housing Strategy.

We continue to be shortchanged $480 million, something that Jagmeet and Justin need to fix.

I have a few individuals to recognize, so please bear with me, if you don’t mind.

First and foremost, I’d like to welcome and recognize the deputy minister, Maud Murray; the assistant deputy minister, Rakhi Lad; and executive adviser Cameron Yu, from our official side.

I also have members of my team, for the political side, from my office I’d like to recognize: of course, my chief of staff, Robert; Evan; Harjot; Corey; Kosta; Brittany; Jonathan; Kamel; Quinn; and Jared.

All of these individuals work really, really hard to make me look good in here, so I want to thank them for all of their tremendous work.

Madame Gélinas moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 92, An Act to promote transparency and accountability in the funding of health care services in Ontario / Projet de loi 92, Loi visant à promouvoir le financement transparent et responsable des services de santé en Ontario.

I’m delighted to welcome the delegation from Survivors of Law Enforcement who are with us today.

I’m delighted to welcome, from my office, Justin Mihaly; Stan Federman; Mark Tenaglia—my son Aaron Kerzner; my wife’s cousins Bruce and Shelly Gram; and especially my wife, Rochelle Kerzner.

Thank you to the member opposite for the question. In terms of nursing environments, our government has invested $73 million over three years to train and provide clinical placements for over 16,000 PSWs and nursing students; in addition, $35 million to increase nursing enrolment to add 2,000 nurses to the health care system, $34 million over four years to increase enrolment at six Indigenous institutes and $100 million to add 2,000 nurses to the long-term-care sector by 2024-25. Eligible PSWs will receive up to $6,000 a year.

We also have a nursing program transformation, partnering with MCU and LTC, that will increase access to nursing programs at publicly assisted colleges.

Mr. Speaker, we’re investing in PSWs, nurses, colleges and universities, and international students, international nurses and recruitment.

J’ai l’honneur de me lever pour présenter une pétition qui s’intitule « Soutenez le système d’éducation francophone en Ontario.

« À l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario :

« Alors que les enfants francophones ont un droit constitutionnel à une éducation de haute qualité, financée par les fonds publics, dans leur propre langue;

« Alors que l’augmentation des inscriptions dans le système d’éducation en langue française signifie que plus de 1 000 nouveaux enseignants et enseignantes de langue française sont nécessaires chaque année pour les cinq prochaines années;

« Alors que les changements apportés au modèle de financement du gouvernement provincial pour la formation des enseignantes et enseignants de langue française signifient que l’Ontario n’en forme que 500 par an;

« Alors que le nombre de personnes qui enseignent sans certification complète dans le système d’éducation en langue française a augmenté de plus de 450 % au cours de la dernière décennie;

« Par conséquent, nous, soussignés, demandons à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario de fournir immédiatement le financement demandé par le rapport du groupe de travail sur la pénurie des enseignantes et des enseignants dans le système d’éducation en langue française de l’Ontario et de travailler avec des partenaires pour mettre pleinement en oeuvre les recommandations. »

J’appuie totalement cette pétition. Je vais ajouter mon nom et l’envoyer à la table des greffiers avec Morgan.

I have a petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario that reads:

“Whereas to address the current staffing shortages in the health care sector, the Ontario government has proposed an investment of $200 million in 2023-24 to address immediate staffing shortages; and

“Whereas to grow the workforce for years to come, this includes:

“—offering up to 6,000 health care students training opportunities to work in hospitals providing care and gaining practical experience as they continue their education through the Enhanced Extern Program. This program has offered these opportunities to over 5,000 health care students; and

“—supporting up to 3,150 internationally educated” workers “to become accredited nurses in Ontario through the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership program; and

“Whereas more than 2,000 internationally educated nurses have enrolled in this program and over 1,300 of them are already fully registered and practising in Ontario; and

“Whereas Ontario is continuing to hire more health care workers to ensure that everyone can see a trained professional when they need to; and

“Whereas key new investments in 2023-24 to build the health care workforce include:

“—$22 million to hire up to 200 hospital preceptors to provide mentorship;

“—$15 million to keep 100 mid-to-late career nurses in the workforce; and

“—$4.3 million to help at least 50 internationally trained physicians get licensed in Ontario;

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

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the passage of the Ontario budget bill, Bill 85, Building a Stronger Ontario.”

I wholeheartedly support this petition. I will affix my signature to it here and I will be passing it to page Felicity to bring to the table shortly.

I am pleased to share this.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Wolfe Island ferry and Glenora ferry have had serious service disruptions due to a staffing crisis created by the Ontario government; and

“Whereas residents and visitors to Wolfe Island have been trapped on the island for up to 12 hours with no way to leave, even for emergencies or work; and

“Whereas Glenora ferry has had a reduced schedule during this year’s busy tourism season, creating hours of lineups and delays for passengers; and

“Whereas the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) ferry workers are drastically underpaid in comparison to the rest of the marine industry, causing recruitment and retention issues; and

“Whereas instead of paying competitive wages and hiring more permanent staff, MTO has contracted out the work to Reliance Offshore, an out-of-province, private temporary staffing agency, which charges up to twice as much hourly as ministry staff earn; and

“Whereas contracting out the work is a waste of our public funds on a stopgap solution that doesn’t provide long-term stability to our ferry system;

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

“(1) Fix our ferries—stop the service disruptions and reductions caused by ministry understaffing.

“(2) Repeal Bill 124, which has imposed a three-year wage cut on already underpaid ferry workers during high inflation, and pay them fair, competitive wages.

“(3) End the outrageously expensive contracts with private temporary staffing agencies and hire permanent Ministry of Transportation ferry workers to work and live in our communities instead.”

Of course, I support this petition. I will affix my signature and I will send it to the table with page Evelyn.

I would like to thank Pierre LeClerc from Hanmer in my riding for these petitions.

“Saving Organs to Save Lives....

“Whereas Ontario has one of the best organ transplant programs in the world;

“Whereas there are currently” over 1,300 “people waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in Ontario;

“Whereas every three days someone in Ontario dies because they can’t get a transplant in time;

“Whereas donating organs and tissues can save up to eight lives and improve the lives of up to 75 people;

“Whereas 90% of Ontarians support organ donation, but only 36% are registered;

“Whereas Nova Scotia has seen increases in organs and tissue for transplant after implementing a presumed consent legislation in January 2020;”

They petition the Legislative Assembly as follows: “Change the legislation to allow a donor system based on presumed consent as set out in MPP Gélinas’s ... Peter Kormos Memorial Act (Saving Organs to Save Lives).”

I support this petition. I will affix my name to it and ask my good page Jonas to bring it to the Clerk.

It’s my honour to present the following petition on behalf of the good people of London North Centre. It is entitled “Stop Ford’s Health Care Privatization Plan.” It reads:

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

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

The bill enacts Joshua’s Law (Lifejackets for Life), 2023, which requires parents and guardians to ensure that their children who are 12 years of age or younger wear a personal flotation device or life jacket while on a pleasure boat that is under way or while being towed behind a pleasure boat using recreational water equipment. If the child is not under the supervision of the parent or guardian but is under the supervision of a person who is 18 years of age or older at the relevant time, the requirement applies instead to that person. The requirement does not apply if the child is in an enclosed cabin. Definitions of “pleasure boat” and “recreational water equipment” are provided.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Cara McNulty for her work in advocating for this legislation and my former colleague MPP Norm Miller for introducing this back in February 2022.

Would the member care to briefly explain her bill?

I am pleased to present this petition. It has been signed by Sara Labelle of Oshawa.

“Stop Ford’s Health Care Privatization Plan.”

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontarians should get health care based on need—not the size of your wallet;

“Whereas” the Premier and health minister “say they’re planning to privatize parts of health care;

“Whereas privatization will bleed nurses, doctors and PSWs out of our public hospitals, making the health care crisis worse;

“Whereas privatization always ends with patients getting a bill;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to immediately stop all plans to further privatize Ontario’s health care system, and fix the crisis in health care by:

“—repealing Bill 124 and recruiting, retaining and respecting doctors, nurses and PSWs with better pay and better working conditions;

“—licensing tens of thousands of internationally educated nurses and other health care professionals already in Ontario, who wait years and pay thousands to have their credentials certified;

“—making education and training free or low-cost for nurses, doctors and other health care professionals;

“—incentivizing doctors and nurses to choose to live and work in northern Ontario;

“—funding hospitals to have enough nurses on every shift, on every ward.”

Of course, I support this. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Jonas.

The Solicitor General has moved government notice of motion number 13.

Back to you.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas, to address the budget for seniors, the Ontario government has proposed to make changes to expand the eligibility of the Guaranteed Annual Income System, GAINS, starting in July 2024, which would see about 100,000 more low-income seniors receive payments for a 50% increase in recipients, and proposing to lower the rate at which the benefit is reduced from 50% to 25%, which means a senior can keep more of their benefit as their private income increases, and proposing to adjust the benefit annually to inflation to continually put more money in the pockets of eligible seniors; and

“Whereas the government of Ontario is investing more than $174 million over two years, starting in 2024-25 to continue the Community Paramedicine for Long-Term Care Program, which leverages the skills of paramedicine to provide additional care for seniors in the comfort of their own homes; and

“Whereas Ontario is continuing to make progress on its plan to build modern, safe and comfortable long-term-care homes for seniors and residents, and through planned investments that total a historic $6.4 billion since 2019, Ontario is on track to build more than 31,000 new and over 28,000 upgraded beds across the province by 2028, and that the government is helping to increase long-term-care capacity in communities across the province by providing development loans and loan guarantees to select non-municipal not-for-profit homes;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to support the passage of the Ontario budget bill, Bill 85, Building a Stronger Ontario.”

I will affix my signature to this petition.

This petition is from the Island school in my riding.

“Petition to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from the Elementary Teachers of Toronto to Stop the Cuts and Invest in the Schools our Students Deserve.

“Whereas the Ford government cut funding to our schools by $800 per student during the pandemic period, and plans to cut an additional $6 billion to our schools over the next six years;

“Whereas these massive cuts have resulted in larger class sizes, reduced special education and mental health supports and resources for our students, and neglected and unsafe buildings;

“Whereas the Financial Accountability Office reported a $2.1-billion surplus in 2021-22, and surpluses growing to $8.5 billion in 2027-28, demonstrating there is more than enough money to fund a robust public education system;

“We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to:

“—immediately reverse the cuts to our schools;

“—fix the inadequate education funding formula;

“—provide schools the funding to ensure the supports necessary to address the impacts of the pandemic on our students;

“—make the needed investments to provide smaller class sizes, increased levels of staffing to support our students’ special education, mental health, English language learner and wraparound supports needs, and safe and healthy buildings and classrooms.”

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

I have a petition.

“To Raise Social Assistance Rates.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario’s social assistance rates are well below Canada’s official Market Basket Measure poverty line and far from adequate to cover the rising costs of food and rent: $733 for individuals on OW and $1,227 for ODSP;

“Whereas an open letter to the Premier and two cabinet ministers, signed by over 230 organizations, recommends that social assistance rates be doubled for both Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP);

“Whereas the recent budget increase of 5% for ODSP, with nothing for OW, could be experienced as an insult to recipients, who have been living since 2018 with frozen social assistance rates and a Canadian inflation rate that reached 12%;

“Whereas the government of Canada recognized in its CERB program that a ‘basic income’ of $2,000 per month was the standard support required by individuals who lost their employment during the pandemic;

“We, the undersigned citizens of Ontario, petition the Legislative Assembly to double social assistance rates for OW and ODSP.”

I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature and send it to the table with page Evelyn.

I move that an address be presented to the Speakers of the federal Parliament in the following words:

“This House calls on the federal government to immediately reform the Criminal Code of Canada to address the dangers facing our communities and implement meaningful bail reform to prevent violent and repeat offenders from being released back into our communities.”

And that the said address be engrossed.

Madam Speaker, we are here today to debate an important motion: that the House calls on the federal government to immediately reform the Criminal Code of Canada to address the dangers facing our communities and implement meaningful bail reform to prevent violent and repeat offenders from being released back into our communities.

It’s an honour for me to rise here in this House, as Solicitor General, to support this important motion.

Madame la Présidente, c’est un grand honneur pour moi de prendre la parole à la Chambre, en tant que solliciteur général, pour appuyer cette motion importante.

I always knew that sometime in my life I would be part of a story much larger than myself, in a province that gave me more opportunities than I had any right to deserve, and serve here as the 1,947th person to be elected to this House since Confederation on a journey in a community that helped me understand who I am, how I stand and where I stand, with my feet on the ground—just a man, here, in the people’s House of democracy.

Madam Speaker, as MPPs, one of our most fundamental responsibilities is to preserve law and order in our society. It’s obvious, as I’ve said many times all over this province, that when we have a safe community, we have absolutely everything. We have a place to work, and we have a place to play. We have a place to raise our families. We have a place to shop, and we have a place to pray. We have it all. Without safe communities, we have nothing. Safety is the springboard for all we have.

Let me tell you, Madam Speaker, about an event that took place this past Thursday. For me, it was very personal. You see, I had the honour of witnessing something amazing. Over 470 cadets graduated at the Ontario Police College—diverse and different, and on their way with eagerness to serve their communities all across our province. In my remarks to the graduating class, I asked a simple question: Why are we here? What is the essence of the meaning of keeping our communities safe? Some say we should try to do everything, to be everywhere, and to help everyone. But the goal is just too large, and it’s not realistic at times. I told the cadets on their day, “Do one thing for one person each day, and that way you can make a difference in a person’s life.”

Madame la Présidente, notre raison d’être ici est de faire la différence dans la vie des gens.

Madam Speaker, I dedicate my remarks to all of the police officers who we’ve lost in the line of duty and to the people in our communities who have been victims of violent crime.

For me, my own moment in time, the time I knew I came of age, was on September 12, 2022, on hearing the news of the tragic events pertaining to the passing of Constable Andrew Hong of Toronto Police Service. I came of age standing shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of police officers from Toronto as Andrew’s remains were brought with dignity to the coroner’s office later that evening. The lights of the motorcycles and the police cars are etched into my mind. I knew in that moment, when I came home, my life was changed forever.

In the subsequent weeks, again our hearts were filled with unbearable sadness on the loss of Constables Morgan Russell and Devon Northrup of the South Simcoe Police Service and, this past December, Grzegorz Pierzchala of the Ontario Provincial Police in Cayuga.

We also remember those whose lives were cut short, also sadly: Constable Yang of the RCMP, Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan of the Edmonton Police Service and, most recently—so recently—Sergeant Maureen Breau of the Sûreté du Québec. We remember Jeff Northrup and many others whose lives were lost in the years just preceding this.

These brave souls were lost in such tragic circumstances, but they will always be heroes in life.

Madam Speaker, violent crime has changed the lives of so many families in our province. I think of a remarkable organization who’s with us today in the gallery, Survivors of Law Enforcement, whom I’ve had the honour of running with during this past year’s Run to Remember. It was a run for me to remember the rest of my life. For us here today, it is doubtful that we can know how they feel when they lose someone like they have. Many, if not all of us, do not know what they know: that deep, black hole that opens up in their chest, where they feel sucked into it. Many, if not all of us, do not know what they know as to how mean and cruel and unfair life can be. In a personal way, I feel honoured by these families, that they have let me into their lives to listen and to learn about their loved ones, and I have learned some special things. First, they taught me that your loved one may have left this earth, but they never leave your heart; they will always be with you. And second, they taught me that the best way through pain and loss and grief is to find purpose.

I think of the names I saw etched into the National Police and Peace Officers’ Memorial on Parliament Hill this past fall, and the names that will be added in the weeks ahead at the memorial here at Queen’s Park. Each name etched represents a scar on a family’s heart.

Madam Speaker, we know to be human is to be a storyteller. All the narratives we construct—the true ones and the ones we tell ourselves are true but may not be—are acts of self-construction, prisms of understanding by which we build our own identity. We tell all sorts of tales to clean up wrinkles in our own lives. We put the spotlight on certain moments.

But here’s the thing: The uncomfortable truth that we need to confront now is the reason why I’m speaking here today. This story is about the events that shaped my life, as tragic as they were—are undeniably true.

The common thread of the tragedies of our fallen officers is that they sacrificed absolutely everything to keep us safe.

Ourselves are defined by other selves, those who are physically here and those who are present in our hearts, and I know this because I know they are all here with us.

Our purpose, especially now, is to fix what is broken, and we need to go where the clues take us—what is so obvious. I learned, perhaps unexpectedly, about the bond that is universal but perhaps not well-known or advertised, and this is a bond about a brotherhood and sisterhood. And we are honoured that many representatives of the associations of this brotherhood and sisterhood are with us today, and we are grateful to them. You see, the brotherhood and sisterhood look like Ontario, and we’re proud of that. Notre diversité est notre plus grande réussite. Our diversity is our strength. This brotherhood believes in our province and in our future, and they stand shoulder to shoulder in good times and in sad. The work the brotherhood and sisterhood do to keep us safe is righteous. Madam Speaker, one can say there is an absolute righteousness when we run to find the truth. And now, the truth finds us in this moment of a call to action.

Today, we can decide to act. By supporting this motion, we can show our constituents and show the federal government how fundamental it is to implement bail reform now, so we have safer communities.

Our time since September 12 changed everything. And, sadly, we continue to see more officers in Ontario and across Canada be killed in the line of duty.

For me, the Premier and our government, today’s motion is personal. We are proud to support our police officers and everyone who keeps Ontario safe. Our support for them is heartfelt and enduring.

Madame la Présidente, pour le premier ministre et pour moi, c’est personnel. Nous sommes fiers de soutenir nos policiers et tous ceux qui assurent la sécurité de l’Ontario tous les jours.

Madam Speaker, today’s motion is an important step. It’s a critical opportunity for Ontario to speak with one voice to the federal government. But it’s by no means our first step.

I am proud to serve in this government. And, as I’ve said many times, there has never been a government in the history of this province and in my generation or in this country that cared as much about our safety as our government. And it starts at the top. It starts with our Premier for making public safety a priority. We can all be proud that our Premier has led the way in this country when it comes to public safety. It was our Premier who joined together with all his provincial and territorial counterparts to demand bail reform from the federal government. And it was our Premier who supported both myself and our Attorney General in working with the federal government to improve public safety and implement bail reform. These were key topics at the federal-provincial-territorial meetings, both last fall and just a short month ago. It is our Premier who knows that a safe Ontario is a strong Ontario.

The fact is, we need the federal government to step up, and that’s what today’s motion calls for.

Our government went to Ottawa, as I said, just last month to advocate for urgent bail reform. The Ontario delegation sat down with Canada’s Attorney General and Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, along with our provincial and territorial ministers. When we were there, we insisted on change. I remember the advocacy that I made, as well, with our Attorney General when we were at a LEIT meeting this past fall in Nova Scotia—I might add, at the moment we learned of the passing of Constables Northrup and Russell from south Simcoe. We underlined the need, then, for the Liberal government in Ottawa to fix the gaps in the Criminal Code. Some of these gaps exist because of the Liberals’ Bill C-75, while other gaps are longer-standing issues which must also be addressed.

The current bail rules in Canada not only allow repeat and violent offenders to recommit serious offences with little or no consequences, but they truly incentivize this criminal behaviour because there’s little deterrent.

Madam Speaker, as Ontario’s Solicitor General, I hear again and again from our police associations and chiefs about how broken our country’s bail system is. These women and men put on their uniform with pride each day, but the current bail rules put them and our communities at risk of injury and death. These are incredible people who keep our communities safe. They deserve to come home safely each and every night.

Madame la Présidente, ce sont des gens formidables qui nous protègent au quotidien. Ils méritent d’aller travailler et de rentrer chez eux en toute sécurité.

We’ve been asking the federal government in Ottawa to strengthen our borders to stop the flow of illegal handguns coming in from entering the country. I’ve been to the borders, with my great friend and colleague the member from Sarnia–Lambton—I’ve been to Niagara; I’ve been to Sault Ste. Marie; and I was just recently a few miles away from the border in Thunder Bay. The narrative of the illegal guns coming into Canada is absolutely true. As I’ve said previously in this House, legal gun owners are not the problem, and the illegal users of firearms will not be surrendering their guns. I’ve said this in the House—and I’ve urged Minister Mendicino to meet me at the border and see for himself. I encourage the members of the opposition, especially those from Niagara, from Thunder Bay and from Windsor, to join our government in making these calls.

We have also insisted on a commitment by the federal government to long-term, permanent and sustainable funding of the federal Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund. Ottawa has an opportunity to fix it, and they should fix it now.

Madam Speaker, the evidence is clear: The status quo is not working when it comes to bail rules.

I can say that it is absolutely tragic—and I’ll talk about it again in a few minutes—that we were in the House just a week ago to hear the tragic news of young Gabriel being stabbed to death at Keele station in Toronto by somebody out on bail.

We need federal minister David Lametti to make good on his promise on bail reform, because it is time.

In the meantime, sadly, innocent lives continue to be lost.

Imagine that you are dropping off your son or your daughter at a transit station to go to school or to go to work. You would never imagine that they would never come home.

Today we remember Gabriel and Vanessa, who lost her life when she was just 31, the same age as RCMP Constable Yang. The wounds in our hearts are immeasurably fresh as we remember Gabriel, who was killed, as I mentioned, at the TTC station. No parent should have to bury their son or daughter. No parent should have to go through what the parents of Gabriel are currently going through.

It is absolutely tragic that Canada’s bail system is broken. But the government of Ontario is stepping up. The city of Toronto is stepping up. We need the federal government to step up as well. We must do everything we can so families don’t have this pain.

Ontario is taking action in the absence of the federal government. Our continued advocacy to the federal government is something that is absolutely important. I again highlight and showcase the fact that the Premier, in a matter of hours, got all 13 provinces and territories to send a letter to the federal government on January 13. It stated: “A reverse onus on bail must be created for the offence of possession of a loaded or restricted firearm in section 95 of the Criminal Code.

“A person accused of a section 95 offence should not have to demonstrate why their detention is not justified when they were alleged to have committed an offence where there was imminent risk to the public.

“A review of other firearms related offences is also warranted to determine whether they should also attract a reverse onus on bail.”

Madam Speaker, I wish to acknowledge the important work being done by my colleagues in this House. Just last month, the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, with the participation of my parliamentary assistants, the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore and the member from Sarnia–Lambton, issued a comprehensive report that further outlined immediate action that should be taken on bail reform. Five experts were asked a question: Will bail reform save lives? Time and time again, the answer is yes. One of the committee’s recommendations suggested an amendment to the Criminal Code, endorsed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. The amendment would define a “chronic offender” and put the onus on them to show why they should be granted bail. These are important, constructive, concrete proposals in the report. By supporting today’s motion, we can demonstrate our endorsement of the justice committee’s work and support the recommendations on bail reform.

There are a lot of things that we need to do, and we need to do it now. There is an urgency to do it now so more lives are not lost. Unfortunately, the bail system is broken, and it is churning out violent offenders time after time. This is unacceptable. Lives are at stake, and for me and the Premier and this government, this is personal. Disturbingly, we continue seeing instances of organized crime, gun and gang activity, and illegal weapons on our streets. We must be unanimous in our call to keep our communities safe.

As I travelled all across the province, stopping in regularly at police stations, from the Niagara Parks service—perhaps one of the smallest, although I’ve been to the Aylmer Police Service as well—to Waterloo, York region, and south Simcoe, I have met the heroes of today and tomorrow for myself.

It’s important, Madam Speaker, for us to stand today and to support this.

I thought about Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala of the OPP, a newly minted officer who had just been signed off to patrol on his own. I think it was his first day—it’s hard to believe—and by all accounts, he would have been an unbelievable officer. He was ambushed by a criminal who was coddled by the judiciary and was released on bail. It was absolutely callous. That’s what the federal government thinks of justice. We have to make a change. Grzegorz Pierzchala was only 28 years old.

Madam Speaker, as I conclude my remarks, I call on the federal government to act, I call on the opposition to fulfill their duty to keep Ontario safe, and I encourage all members to join me in supporting this motion. This motion represents the will of the people of Ontario. It’s not some empty gesture here in this Ontario Legislature. The federal government must take note and pay attention now.

Madame la Présidente, rien pour moi en tant que solliciteur général n’est plus important que la sécurité de notre province. As Solicitor General, there’s nothing more important to me than the safety of our province. We all have an equal right to feel safe.

Getting back to the beginnings of my remarks: No loss could be so central to our system of values, so core to who we are today than the loss of our own, those who gave their lives in the line of duty. And no amount of comment or reflection could capture the impact of those individuals. Their love for their families and our province was big, and their impact was broad. A part of our lives that we’ve taken for granted as being permanent is no longer here. Their memories must be for a blessing. It is time to do the right thing, and we know it.

Further debate?