It is an honour to rise in response to the minister’s statement, on behalf of the people in my riding of Scarborough–Guildwood.

February is Black History Month in Ontario. It is a time when we reflect on the rich 400-year history of Black communities in Ontario and all across Canada. Black history is indeed Canada’s history. Black people have been here and helped shape Canada from the beginning—people like Chloe Cooley, a young Black woman who was enslaved in Upper Canada.

On March 14, 1793, in Queenston, Upper Canada, Chloe Cooley resisted being sold, screaming and struggling to be free as her slave owner was taking her across the Niagara River in a small boat. The witnesses of this public struggle are believed to have contributed to providing testimony about her struggle and her resistance about being sold, and this contributed to the passage of the Act Against Slavery in 1793, which John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and an abolitionist, was seeking to pass. Chloe Cooley’s public struggle and their witness testimony helped pass this act. The act banned the import of enslaved people to Upper Canada and made the children of enslaved women free when they turned 25. It also provided legal refuge to those fleeing slavery, which provided a safe haven to 30,000 Black Americans seeking freedom in North America.

In marking the significance of this month, we renew our commitment to the ongoing struggle of building an equitable society and future for all.

TAIBU Community Health Centre in my riding is seeking to improve outcomes for Black health. This is something that is extremely important.

Black History Month is a time to commemorate the steadfast perseverance of Black Canadians in the face of systemic discrimination, racism and inequities. We acknowledge that more needs to be done. I was very pleased to hear the minister agree with that.

Canada’s history includes Black history, as our roots have been here since the very beginning, and we ought to recognize it every day of the year. Reflecting on these roots is particularly important in our province that over 630,000 Black people call home. Celebrating Black history is about discovering the rich history of Black people in Ontario and Canada.

I’m pleased that this Legislature unanimously passed the Emancipation Month Act just a year ago. In the words of Amanda Gorman, the American poet, “For there is always light, / if only we’re brave enough to see it, / if only we’re brave enough to be it.” Chloe Cooley was brave enough, and her public struggle and using her voice to resist enslavement helped light a path to freedom for so many here in Canada.

We are celebrating the final year of the International Decade for People of African Descent, from 2015 to 2024, as declared by the United Nations. The purpose of the decade is for Black people to have full inclusion in society, education, employment, justice and health wherever they live. Let us redouble our efforts here in Ontario to ensure that that does happen.