It is a privilege to stand here and speak a few words of tribute to the life and service of Mr. David Rotenberg, who passed away on January 13, 2022.

Politics was Mr. Rotenberg’s passion from a very young age. Born and raised in Toronto, he was interested and engaged in municipal politics even as a child, impressing others with his knowledge of local electoral races. When he went on to post-secondary studies, he followed his passion to the University of Toronto, where he studied political science and economics.

As a young man, Mr. Rotenberg knew that he wanted to be a politician. He worked hard to achieve that goal, bidding for a city councillor position in two municipal elections before he was 28. He was finally successful in 1960, winning a city councillor seat for the first time and beginning a long career in municipal politics that would see him re-elected four more times.

After an unsuccessful bid for mayor, Mr. Rotenberg took a break from politics for a few years before attempting to jump into the provincial arena in 1975. Although initially unsuccessful, Mr. Rotenberg persevered and earned a seat in this chamber in 1977, as a representative for the riding of Wilson Heights here in Toronto. During his time as an MPP, Mr. Rotenberg served as a parliamentary assistant for many years and was appointed to cabinet in 1985.

Apart from politics, Mr. Rotenberg was also very active in his community, serving as president of the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto and vice-president of the Toronto Jewish Congress.

Those who knew Mr. Rotenberg recognized him as a man who was full of heart and care for his constituents, his community and his family.

Family was a priority for Mr. Rotenberg. Despite all the rigorous demands of a political career, he made sure to be home often for dinner with his wife and two daughters, and he often reserved Fridays as family night.

This dedication to his family is demonstrated by the many friends and family who are here today to honour and remember him. I want to thank you all for being here today.

Mr. David Rotenberg lived a life of service to his community and to his province. His life serves as an exemplary model of public service, and for this, he will always be remembered.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. If you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to make statements in remembrance for the late Mr. David Rotenberg, with five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s loyal opposition, five minutes allotted to the independent members as a group, and five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s government.

Good morning. Let us pray.

Prières / Prayers.

Today we are honoured to remember and pay tribute to a former member of our provincial Legislature, the late Mr. David Rotenberg, who was the MPP for Wilson Heights during the 31st and 32nd Parliaments.

Joining us in the Speaker’s gallery are Mr. Rotenberg’s family and friends—his stepchildren Jacob Freedman and Jonathan Freedman; his niece Reena Greenwald; his nephews Noam Rotenberg and Paul Rotenberg; his great-nephew Zev Rotenberg; his grandchildren Joshua Freedman and Elishua Benchoreen; and his great-grandchildren Ora Aviner, Shoshana Aviner and Tiferet Aviner. Also in the Speaker’s gallery: Phil Gillies, who served as the MPP for Brantford during the 32nd and 33rd Parliaments; Judy Marsales, who served as the MPP for Hamilton West during the 38th Parliament; and David Warner, who was the Speaker during the 35th Parliament.

Welcome to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

The member for Humber River–Black Creek.

I’m honoured to rise today to pay tribute to the late Mr. David Rotenberg, who served as the Conservative MPP for the former riding of Wilson Heights—later incorporated into the ridings of York Centre, Willowdale, and Eglinton–Lawrence—from 1977 to 1985. He was appointed the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in 1978 and later appointed parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Housing in 1981.

I’d like to welcome and thank Mr. Rotenberg’s wonderful family and friends who are here with us today. I know this list has grown from when it was first envisioned that you would come, and I know that you are all here with pride. I know the Speaker mentioned your names, but it’s an honour to mention your names as well.

We’re joined by his stepchildren Jacob Freedman and Jonathan Freedman; his niece Reena Greenwald; his nephews Noam Rotenberg and Paul Rotenberg; his great-nephew Zev Rotenberg; his grandchildren Joshua Freedman and Elishua Benchoreen; his great-grandchildren Ora Aviner, Shoshana Aviner and Tiferet Aviner; and former MPPs David Warner, Judy Marsales and Phil Gillies. Thank you all for being here.

Born in Toronto in 1930, he never lost his love and affinity for the city, taking great pride in the belief that Toronto is one of the greatest cities of the western world.

At eight years old, Mr. Rotenberg realized his passion for politics during the 1938 municipal election, when he successfully predicted the four controllers who won the nine-way contest in his then ward of Rosedale. I hope he played the lottery.

He went on to study political science and economics at the University of Toronto and graduated with honours in 1952.

Prior to his service in the Legislature of Ontario, Mr. Rotenberg had already garnered a rich career in politics and public service. In 1961, he won his first campaign and was elected to the city of Toronto council, where he served until 1972. Concurrently, he served on the Metro Toronto council and as president of the city of Toronto council from 1970 to 1972.

During his time serving in municipal politics, Mr. Rotenberg fought to make the city much more livable—something we definitely have to do today, as well. He supported the creation of more parks, stricter pollution laws, and faster action on urban renewal and housing programs.

Afterwards, he served as the commissioner for the TTC, from 1975 to 1977, before winning his first provincial election campaign.

Despite a tireless career in politics and community service, Mr. Rotenberg always made time for his family. He spent more time with his family than the average politician during his time in office. After council meetings, it was conventional to go out for dinner on the city. However, Mr. Rotenberg always chose to go home and have dinner with his family and was always home on Friday nights for family night.

Mr. Rotenberg was likewise an involved member of his community. His community service is remarkably extensive and consists of service with the Toronto Jewish Congress, where he served as vice-president and treasurer; the Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto, where he served as president; the Armour Heights Lodge, where he served as president; the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue, where he served as a board member; and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, where he served as honorary director. Mr. Rotenberg was named an honorary officer in the Canadian Jewish Congress.

Former Speaker Mr. David Warner had the following to say about Mr. Rotenberg: “David Rotenberg was a serious, hard-working MPP. I appreciated working with him on committee because he was a good listener, highly principled and co-operative.”

Mr. Warner also recalls sharing with us that he agreed to participate in a charity boxing match with him once. He was told his opponent would be another MPP. He thought nothing much of the anticipated match and certainly didn’t think he could get hurt—that was until his opponent turned out to be Mr. Rotenberg. Mr. Warner discovered all too late that Mr. Rotenberg took this event with the same seriousness he applied to his parliamentary duties. There turned out to be no need for a bell to end round 1, and the following days left Mr. Warner feeling quite sore and achy. His only consolation was that the Boys and Girls Club in Regent Park garnered a few extra dollars—certainly, at his expense.

Mr. Rotenberg was truly a loving family man, a man of community service, and a dear friend to many.

Again, I would like to welcome and thank Mr. Rotenberg’s wonderful family and friends who are here with us today to share this.

Mr. Rotenberg lives on in his immortalized words in Hansard and in the many results of the efforts he made throughout his political career. Most of all, he lives on in the lives and memories of his loving and proud family and all who had the pleasure of knowing him.

The Love, Scarborough campaign was launched in January to draw attention to the health inequities in Scarborough and to change the statistics that although Scarborough has 25% of Toronto’s population, its hospitals receive only 1% of donations. Thanks to the support of donors, and spurred by our historic investments in Scarborough’s infrastructure and health care, the campaign has been incredibly successful. As a result, the Scarborough Health Network—SHN—Foundation, has now raised the original $100-million goal to $200 million. To date, over $130 million has been raised. The funds will help meet a number of needs within the SHN, including the redevelopment of its emergency departments, facilities and programs for people with chronic kidney disease; improved mental health care; and the new Northpine diagnostic imaging department at SHN General.

As a result of the successful fundraising, the SHN Foundation is planning the next phase of the campaign. It will include investment in teaching and research, establishing centres of excellence throughout the SHN, and raising local support towards the redevelopment of the Birchmount Hospital.

Our government announced over $1 billion in support of the Birchmount project in April.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Premier Ford for his ongoing support of SHN and helping us secure a donation of $75 million from the Orlando group.

Mr. Speaker, I stand committed to unequivocally support Birchmount/Grace hospital and SHN to deliver the exceptional and compassionate care they continue to provide to residents of Scarborough–Agincourt.

I urge everyone to join this worthy initiative and help Scarborough residents get the care they deserve.

I would also like to mention the contributions of my colleagues Minister Raymond Cho, MPP Vijay Thanigasalam and MPP David Smith for their hard work on behalf of the residents of Scarborough.

Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanza, happy Thai Pongal, and happy lunar new year, the year of the rabbit, to all residents of Scarborough.

Silver bells are ringing, Christmas trees are up, shoppers are busy with presents, but I can’t help but think of our non-profit organizations during this time of the year. We all know that most of them have had a hard time during the past two years. The pandemic has affected them, with challenges in getting volunteers and, most importantly, donations. They were not able to run fundraising galas over the past two years. I have heard from many CEOs of non-profit organizations that they are struggling. It is sad to hear that some of them have to cut their programs, while others cut staff or simply pay less to their staff even though they have to work twice as hard.

This year, in February, we held the Non-Profit Sector Appreciation Week. It will be held again on the week of February 13, 2023. However, our appreciation should not be shown only once a year. May I invite everyone to take action to demonstrate your support? Please donate to a non-profit organization of your choice. Send them a card to show your appreciation. This will go a long way. Now is a good time: Any donation made before December 31 will receive a donation receipt in time for your tax return.

I wish you all a merry Christmas.

I am truly honoured to stand here today for this tribute to David Rotenberg, the former Progressive Conservative representative of Wilson Heights.

David Rotenberg, sometimes known as the ultimate underdog, knew at six years old that politics was his passion. He had a mind for names and politics, and he attended the University of Toronto, where he graduated with honours in political science and economics.

By the time David was only 28, he had already made two efforts to win a seat at Toronto city council, and, in 1960, he finally won that spot at city hall, where his fashion-forward business suits would become a fixture.

David had an instinctive nature, and he knew how to navigate through obstacles. David’s motto was, “You have to know how to give in on the minor issues in order to win on the major ones.” This was known as the “Rotenberg style.”

David worked on city council, and his work was immense. He served as vice-president of the Canadian National Exhibition, commissioner of the Toronto Transit Commission, and vice-president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. That’s a handful; I know this, just after sitting in this House for such a short period.

Although David’s work ethic was strong, his passion for politics was only outweighed by his immense love for his family. Cecile, David’s first wife, and his daughters, Meta and Chana, were the loves of his life. When most city council members would commonly go out for dinner—I know the member across talked about that—David always made sure he would go home, even in between meetings at council, and he always made sure he was home for Shabbat dinner.

He spent more time at home than you would expect with his busy schedule, but even with that, it was never enough. When he was asked to run federally, David responded that he’d run on the guarantee that he would lose. David wanted to make sure his girls knew he was home every night.

Often, he would jest that he didn’t have the time to play much bridge—he loved bridge; we know that, up there, don’t we?—or read sufficient light detective novels, but his dedication to his work and family never wavered.

David was constantly multi-tasking. A Globe and Mail reporter once wrote—and this is a mouthful: “In his office, this was the incredible, exhausting scene: he was taking, holding and stacking phone calls. At the same time he was leafing through a mountain of pink telephone-call slips he had to answer.... composing a long, detailed, fact-filled story just solicited by the Globe and Mail, for that night’s edition.... And he was answering a reporter. And he had three department heads or lieutenants walking in right then for urgent business.” He would keep all of this in a careful holding pattern until each matter could be dealt with, and like an air traffic controller, David navigated through all issues.

In 1977, David was elected to the Ontario Legislature. He was an old-school Conservative, and his goals were honest. He wasn’t the type to finger-point when things went wrong. David served as the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Housing. In 1985, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio for urban affairs. David believed in the profession of a politician, always working constructively and collaboratively, serving under Premier Bill Davis then under Premier Frank Miller. He worked well on both sides of the chamber—including a good working relationship with Bob Rae. He worked to get the best results for the people. And he was mindful of the funds being spent on projects, reminding his colleagues that it was not the government’s money; it was the public’s money.

After politics, David happily went back into the insurance business.

David was always very social. Did I mention he loved bridge?

David also sat on countless charity boards—the member across mentioned a few of them—and extensively contributed his time and efforts to his community with many organizations, including as president of the Armour Heights Lodge of B’nai Brith and as director of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.

Unfortunately, Cecile was taken early, and David became a widower far too soon.

But David was given a second chance at love, and in 1996, he married Riva. I was told that it was love at first sight.

As a stepfather and father, David was a tremendous support system to his children. And he was a caring grandfather and great-grandfather to his ever-growing family—and it was growing, as you can see.

David fulfilled his dreams by retiring in Israel, and he continued to surround himself with more extended family. He would never miss a family event or a blessing involved with his synagogue.

David was a “Kohen,” a special lineage within Judaism—a leader, a guide. He felt strongly about his community and was constantly helping others.

Unfortunately, I did not know David personally. To gain access into David Rotenberg the man, I interviewed family members who gave me the essence of David.

One of the things that we should appreciate was the progressive continuum that David felt he was part of. The great Rabbi Tarfon said, “It is not your responsibility to finish the work—but neither are you free to desist from it.” These words depict David’s dedication to the continuum.

David was supportive of the proactive work of this government and the constant common goals of good governance and a commitment to the community. David felt that public service was ever-evolving, and he was content knowing that he had passed the baton to the next generation. I should add that the members from Eglinton–Lawrence and York Centre both feel the sentiment, and they wanted to relay that as well. We are very proud to take that baton or that torch and run with it.

Today, we are fortunate to be surrounded by so many of David’s family members, friends and colleagues in the House—his daughters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, former MPPs, and Speakers of this chamber. It’s a remarkable gathering that is quite redeeming and reflected in a life well loved and lived.

I want to thank David’s family for sharing him with the community and our province.

May his memory always be a blessing.

Applause.

The member for Thornhill.

We give thanks for the life and public service of David Rotenberg.

Orders of the day?

Orders of the day? The member for Barrie–Innisfil.

The House recessed from 0919 to 1015.

The holiday season is supposed to be a joyful season, but for far too many, it serves as a reminder that they’re struggling to make ends meet, to put food on the table.

We have a lot of great organizations working in Hamilton to support people faced with food insecurity, but the situation is becoming dire.

Hamilton Food Share says an estimated 11,000 house-holds will likely reach out at Christmas alone. This will be the largest number in the program’s history.

Food4Kids, a food relief program for children, has been forced to implement a triage system to make sure that the most at-risk children are still getting food because of rising food costs. This program delivers food to roughly 1,400 students across 75 schools in Hamilton every week. Food4Kids is doing a great service to our community, but this year has been hard. Director Cathy Haan shared on 900 CHML earlier this week that they are seeing more requests than they ever have and that they have had to start a wait-list.

Programs like Hamilton Food Share and Food4Kids are filling the gap for this government, but they won’t be able to fill it for too much longer. Community programs cannot be the backbone of the food insecurity crisis. Families are going hungry.

This holiday season, I’m asking the Premier and his government to think of these families, think of these children who are on wait-lists for food, and do something about it.

Point of order.

Last Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of being in Markdale to attend the first screening of a documentary hosted by the Friends of South Grey Museum called No Bed of Roses. It was a story about the first woman ever elected to the House of Commons and to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Agnes Macphail.

Agnes Macphail was born in March 1890, and she was raised on a farm in Proton township in Grey county. She graduated in 1910 with a teacher’s certificate. She applied for five positions and was accepted to all five.

Ms. Macphail became active politically, joining the United Farm Women of Ontario. She sought the nomina-tion for the Progressive Party of Canada in the electoral district of Grey Southeast against 10 men and beat them all.

Interjections.

Then she was elected in 1921, as the first female MP in Canadian history.

In 1943, Agnes Macphail was elected here, to the Legislative Assembly, as one of the first two women elected to the Ontario Legislature. You can see her picture near the east doors of this beautiful building.

Ms. Macphail was eager to see more women in politics. As she explained, “Most women think politics aren’t lady-like. Well, I’m no lady. I’m a human being.”

Agnes Macphail appears on the Canada 150 edition of our $10 note as the first woman other than a sovereign to have a permanent spot on the Canadian currency.

Speaker, Agnes Macphail broke down the barriers. Thinking of the road she had to travel, as a woman, to be elected in 1921 truly amazes me.

Thank you, Agnes for who you were and for all you did. You are an inspiration to all of us every day.

I’m very pleased today to rise on behalf of the people of Hastings–Lennox and Addington.

As we move closer to the holidays, many of us will be participating in the time-honoured family tradition of hunting for the perfect Christmas tree. As Christmas tree farming is a significant part of the forestry industry in Ontario, I’m so very pleased to encourage people to get out to these farms and enjoy their time collecting the perfect tree.

The Christmas tree industry in Ontario employs thousands of workers in the farming, transportation and retail sectors. Each year, more than one million fresh, farm-grown Christmas trees are purchased here in Ontario, and the same number of seedlings are planted for future harvests.

Ontario Christmas trees are all-natural and biodegradable, and many municipalities mulch them after Christmas.

Our tree farms are carbon sponges and oxygen creators. Each acre of Christmas tree farm produces enough oxygen for 18 people every day. It takes six to eight years for trees to come to maturity. So the math tells us, with over 8,000 acres of Christmas tree farms in this province, Christmas trees provide more than 420 million person-days of oxygen. That’s quite an awesome Christmas gift these trees give us.

In my riding, there’s Skootamatta Tree Farm near Flinton and Carole’s Christmas Tree Farm in Napanee, and across Ontario there are over 400 Christmas tree farms. So I hope everyone gets out and enjoys finding just that right tree for their family.

Please always remember to keep your tree watered and safe from any fire risk.

And while I’m at it, I would like to wish all the members of this House, the legislative and political staff, and everyone watching this broadcast a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

We all remember the year 2000. Y2K never happened, but something monumental did happen for the NDP. That was the year that Kevin Modeste started working as a constituency assistant for Frances Lankin.

In the year 2008, Kevin started working for the House leader and whip’s office—once again for the NDP—under Peter Kormos. Peter Kormos was an incredibly intelligent man, but he believed in tough love as teaching, and one of the reasons why Kevin is the great expert on House rules and on procedure is Peter Kormos.

It is a bittersweet day for us in the NDP, because this may be Kevin Modeste’s last day sitting in that chair.

There are many people in the precinct who have never been able to stand on this floor but who have had a great impact for the benefit of the people of Ontario. Kevin Modeste is one of those people. On our side, Kevin Modeste has had a greater impact as one person than, I would say, any of us.

On behalf of all our caucus and, I believe, all the people in this precinct, I would like to thank Kevin. He’s one of my closest friends.

It has been an honour to work with you. I hope to work with you in any capacity in the future.

In Thunder Bay, there are 42 methadone and suboxone clinics, an amazingly high number for a population of about 90,000. Because most of these are for-profit, people are kept dependent for years on end on what are meant to be transitional drugs.

OPSEU’s mental health and addictions workers are advocating for increased capacity in publicly funded, publicly run treatment centres, because they offer far better health outcomes and cost savings. They’re also advocating for mobile crisis response teams supported by ongoing operating funds so that communities can count on these crucial services. These workers also recognize that systemic racism leads to high levels of mental distress amongst racialized people, along with their over-incarceration. For this reason, mental health court diversion programs need to be developed, implemented and promoted.

Being homeless and poor causes significant mental and physical harm. Supportive housing with 24-hour staff care needs to be expanded, and OW and ODSP rates must be increased so that people have the help they need to move on to permanent housing.

Finally, in support of the mental and physical well-being of the workers providing these crucial services, Bill 124 must be rescinded.

It was said of the Blitz that a rich person driving their fancy car through the streets of London was as damaging as a German bomb. You can understand that. Why would you put your heart and soul into the war effort when a privileged few did not?

When we face a social crisis, when we need team spirit to work together, we’ll find it if people believe that society is just and offers equal opportunity.

We do face multiple crises—unaffordable homes, no family doctor, overcrowded hospitals, labour shortages, rising mortgage payments, mental health and addictions issues, education disruption, international conflicts, and overshadowing it all, climate change.

Now, the Conservatives, having promised over and over to not touch the people’s greenbelt, told by their own task force that it was not needed for housing, have withdrawn greenbelt land for development to benefit their political donors. Instead of getting housing built with as-of-right zoning in the greenbelt, it looks like as-of-donation zoning—it’s the government helping some people profit at the expense of everybody else. The worst thing about this is, it’s not just that it’s bad housing policy or bad environmental policy; it’s the corrosive effect—

Interjections.

It gives me great pleasure to advise the members of this House that important representatives from the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation are sitting in the members’ gallery today.

The Bowmanville Hospital Foundation is a key stakeholder in my riding of Durham. Through innovative and collaborative partnerships with families, governments, charities and businesses in Durham region, the foundation fosters a culture of community-based philanthropy to reach its campaign and strategic goals of raising funds for its capital costs toward the redevelopment and expansion of the Bowmanville Hospital.

Last month, the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation held its annual gala, delayed after three years. At that gala, over $374,000 was raised to help the foundation support its phase 2 initiative.

Many of the generous donors that have partnered with the Bowmanville Hospital Foundation include the regional municipality of Durham, the municipality of Clarington, the Halminen Family Foundation, the Kemp family, St. Marys Cement, Steve Hennessey and family, Tyler Smith, the Association of Hospital Volunteers-Bowmanville, Edmond and Sylvia Vanhaverbeke, and the Urso family/Canadian Tire, Bowmanville.

On behalf of this chamber, I would like to congratulate and welcome CEO Frank Cerisano and manager of major gifts and planned giving, Ms. Bethany Dainton. They are present in the gallery today. I salute them for their dedication and commitment to the foundation. I also give a shout-out to board chair Peter Hobb and chief development officer Maria Petri, who could not be with us today.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Lilet Raffinan, the manager of the only Canadian Blood Services location in Brampton. As I spoke to Lilet, she educated me on the importance of donating plasma and how it can help make all the difference for those in need.

Plasma is a protein-rich liquid that is found in our blood and that is used to help treat a number of illnesses and injuries.

Plasma treatment is currently being used to treat illnesses such as cancer, nervous system disorders, organ transplants, bleeding disorders, and many more.

The plasma that is collected by Canadian Blood Services is used for fractionation, which means that your donated plasma will be manufactured into 50 life-saving medications and will be distributed to 730 hospitals and clinics across the country.

Speaker, the wonderful part of donating plasma is that you can donate your plasma every seven days; and international students, who can only donate their blood after they have been in Canada for at least three years, can donate their plasma after 21 days.

I strongly encourage all of my colleagues and the residents of Ontario to donate their plasma to make all the difference for Canadians in need.

I’d like to introduce Sam Ibrahim, president and CEO of Arrow Group of Companies and co-founder of the Scarborough Shooting Stars.

I’d also like to introduce my good friend Gabby Fanous, who is the vice-president of the Arrow Group of Companies and founder of the Red Owl Boxing club in Brampton.

Speaker, I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank some of my all-star staff who are here today: Marcus Battaglia, Shaida Maleki, and Kimia Zamani. Thank you for everything you do for us.

To Sam Ibrahim: Welcome to Queen’s Park, and I look forward to meeting with you after question period.

Order.

Sadly, it is now time to say a word of thanks to our legislative pages. Our pages are smart, trustworthy and hard-working. They are indispensable to the effective functioning of the chamber, and we are very fortunate to have had them here.

To our pages: You depart having made many new friends, with a greater understanding of parliamentary democracy and memories that will last a lifetime. Each of you will go home and continue your studies, and no doubt will contribute to your communities, your province and your country in important ways. We expect great things from all of you. Maybe some of you will take your seats in this House as members or work here as staff someday. Who knows? We wish you all well.

Please join me in thanking our legislative pages.

Applause.

Applause.

I also want to introduce someone today—although he’s not new around the Legislature and he has already been introduced: Kevin Modeste, who has been working with the NDP caucus for 22 years. He must have started as a page to reach that milestone. He is attending, of course, his final question period today as a staff member.

We wish Mr. Modeste well as he moves on from Queen’s Park at the end of this year.

Today’s page captain is Havana Thibodeau, and her parents, Richard Thibodeau and Betsabel Bello Thibo-deau, are joining us here in the gallery. Welcome to Queen’s Park.