It’s great to be back. Although I’m glad to be back, I was grateful for the time to meet with the constituents in my riding during the break. It was indeed a busy time.

Speaker, I was invited to the Thunder Bay Police Service’s exemplary service awards ceremony this past Thursday where members of the Thunder Bay Police Service were recognized for 20 years and 30 years of service. It was my honour to represent our government and bring greetings and recognition on behalf of Premier Ford. The individuals recognized at this event have served their community and the people of Ontario with distinction, dedication and commitment.

Policing is not an easy job. In fact, I would say it’s not a job at all, but rather a calling and a commitment to serve your community. This career is dangerous and emotional. It can also be a very satisfying experience as well. Many times, all of these feelings are experienced in a single shift.

At the event, we heard stories of such risk, but none as telling as that of Constable Craig Town, who, while on duty in September 1991, was shot twice. He sustained life-threatening injuries that have left him with paralysis from the neck down. His life was saved that evening by his supervisor, Sergeant Mel Vilcek. Constable Town received his 30-year exemplary service medal on Thursday evening.

I also wanted to recognize and thank the family members of those who have served in the police services. The wide range of emotions experienced by police officers can, and often does, impact on family life. You provide the love and support needed as your spouse, parent or sibling deals with the demons following a difficult shift, while at the same time, you deal with the fear and worry every time they are on duty. That cannot be forgotten and I want to thank you for being an unsung hero.

As I’ve said on a number of occasions, the report is quite clear that the OPP were on the ground and were prepared to assist, and, in fact, were providing information to the Ottawa Police Service. But I think there are some lessons to be learned with respect to how we communicate with each other, be it the OPP, the Parliamentary Protective Service, the RCMP and the Ottawa Police Service, in the future.

Again, we are looking forward. We have not stopped doing that, really. We’re building a bigger, better, stronger Ontario for all of the people of the province of Ontario. I look at the investments, in particular, that we are making in Ottawa, the health care investments that the Minister of Health has brought to Ottawa: the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario; the Civic. These are billions of dollars of investments to bring Ottawa’s health care system up to date.

Add on to that the investments that we’re making in long-term care in Ottawa. Go further than that, Mr. Speaker: the investments that the minister of colleges is making, and the fact that we have brought back thousands of jobs in the automotive sector, which means that the high-tech sector of Ottawa can participate in building the cars and vehicles of tomorrow. Good news for Ottawa—

I know many of the opposition members seem to be suggesting that there should be greater debate with respect to who directs the police in times of emergencies, whether it should be politicians or it should be the police themselves. That is a debate that the opposition is welcome to bring forward.

But we are moving forward in building a better Ontario. Many of the people of this province suffered during COVID, and we want to make sure that, as we put COVID behind us, we build a strong economy, where all Ontarians can participate. Whether that is building thousands of new houses so that people can afford to buy their first home, whether it is the work that is being done by economic development—the agriculture minister who, for the first time, is putting agriculture to the top of the list, because we understand—