I would like to thank the member for such an important question, and I’d like to congratulate him on the marvellous work he’s doing for his riding of Thunder Bay–Atikokan.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to share with the House today that under the leadership of their fantastic member, the Thunder Bay Museum, Lakehead Social Planning Council and the township of Conmee will each receive a Seniors Community Grant.

This total of $62,724 will help deliver programs and support to help seniors to stay fit, healthy, active and socially connected to their community.

We are providing Seniors Community Grants in every single riding in Ontario. Since 2018, we have invested close to $22 million, providing 1,249 Seniors Community Grants to community groups all across Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, our government is providing the tools and resources for organizations across the province, empowering seniors to continue being active participants in their communities. When we work together, we can ensure that seniors can access the quality programs and services they need and deserve.

My question is for the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. Unfortunately, due to years of neglect and underfunding from the previous Liberal government, many seniors in my riding were left discouraged and isolated. They lacked the resources and opportunities they required in order to stay active, fit and socially connected in their communities.

Speaker, can the minister please tell the House what our government is doing to support our seniors throughout Ontario and in my riding?

We know that social isolation can lead to serious health effects and reduce the quality of life for our seniors. That’s why our government must provide the necessary resources for our seniors to ensure they can remain active, fit and socially connected to their communities.

Speaker, can the Minister of Seniors and Accessibility please share what our government is doing to safeguard and support Ontario’s seniors population?

Minister of Health.

The Solicitor General.

This is not what nurses are proposing and what they know is safe in our operating rooms.

Over 4,000 community members have signed petitions calling on this Premier and his government to stop cutting corners and compromising their surgeries. Speaker, when you go into a surgery, you want to know that the right people are in the room to give you the right care when you need it. Ontarians deserve nothing less than experts and specialized nurses on their surgical team.

Will the Premier do the right thing and stop using their Surgical Innovation Fund to replace registered nurses in the operating room?

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for the question. The problem is not with legal gun owners. And to be clear, those who possess illegal guns will not be participating in the C-21 program. This is obvious. That’s why we’re treating combatting gun and gang violence as a priority. But we’re telling our federal government to step it up at the border, because this is a priority.

I did just that when I attended in Halifax at the federal-provincial-territorial meeting, and I will continue to press the federal government: Step it up at the border. This is important now, and we have to keep Ontario safe, because we know that almost every gun that is used in an illegal activity in Ontario is coming from across the border.

I’ve seen for myself when I toured at the border with the member from Sarnia–Lambton at the St. Clair River. I saw exactly where the drones came in with the illegal guns. And I went with the member from Sault Ste. Marie to his border, and I saw the proximity between the US and the Ontario border.

The federal government must do more. Our message won’t change. We are telling the federal government: Step it up—less talk and more action.

Hyperbole is never going to replace facts in this place or in Ontario. For clarity, what we have is, Hamilton Health Sciences have worked alongside and through the innovative partners at Niagara Health and Mohawk College to establish a credentialing program that enables various existing members of the health care team to gain competencies required to practise as operating room technicians and attendants. These HHS team members include medical device reprocessing department techs, health care aides and support workers. This is part of the innovation that Hamilton Health Sciences proposed and we funded.

Hamilton Health Sciences spent a lot of time working with their partners like Mohawk College to make sure that they can additionally skill existing staff members who are working in the system. We continue to see this kind of innovation making a difference, because we know that there are so many incredibly capable health human resources who are working in the system and want to improve it, unlike the member opposite.

The latest report from the Ontario Association of Interval and Transitional Houses, or OAITH, says there were 52 femicides in Ontario this year. One woman or girl killed, I think we can all agree, is one too many. Each of these losses were preventable through action on the many recommendations this government has at hand to address the systemic issues that make it difficult for women and children to escape violence in the first place: actions on affordable housing, supportive housing included; wage parity; paid emergency leave; and doubling ODSP/OW benefits—because there are folks with disabilities who are victims of violence—just to name a few.

My question is to the Premier: Will this government put their words into action by implementing the many recommendations that the official opposition and community agencies have provided to finally end gender-based violence in Ontario?

Back to the Premier: Community-based investments like interval and transitional houses save lives, yet they still don’t receive annualized funding like many other public sectors do. What this means is that resources that could be put into preventing violence are instead put towards administrative hurdles and the precarity of short-term financial outlooks.

My question is back to the Premier. Will he commit to funding gender-based violence prevention and intervention through annualized funding, so that front-line workers, counsellors, agencies, sexual assault and rape crisis centres, shelters and all the community-based spaces and human beings who are caring for folks who have experienced violence aren’t left nickel-and-diming, which squeezes staff and the programs needed, and ultimately hurts women and children?

The associate minister.

My question is for the Minister of Colleges and Universities. One month ago, the Minister of Colleges and Universities spoke about the new agency Intellectual Property Ontario, and how work would shortly be getting under way to support this agency’s mandate.

I will keep my question short and brief: Can the minister inform the House on what progress has been made and when can Ontario expect to see some impact of IPON?

Through you, Speaker, can the minister explain exactly the benefits that IPON is intended to bring to the province of Ontario’s taxpayers?

I thank the member opposite for the question. Precarious, low-paying jobs keep women in crisis and in abusive homes and very dangerous situations. That’s why this government is investing in increasing women’s economic participation: because it’s good for families. We have invested over $18 million in 35 community-based organizations and educational institutions, to help women facing socio-economic barriers develop in-demand skills to enter and re-enter the workforce.

Mr. Speaker, we understand that when women are economically empowered, when women are able to take care of their family, they have the choice and the opportunity to keep themselves safe, and we are doing that in this government. We are investing in women, because we do believe that when women succeed, Ontario succeeds.

And, Mr. Speaker, we are also investing in child care and addressing the barriers that are preventing women from being economically empowered. We are making these investments. We are going to continue to make these investments and speak to community organizations, to understand what they need, so that we can address them and get women into the driver’s seat of their economic future.

There is no doubt that paramedics play a vital role in our health care system. We have done some innovative things in the last number of months that are highlighting exactly what the member opposite is referencing: the dedicated off-load nursing program that we have put in place, investing over $23 million to ensure that hospitals that wish to hire a dedicated nurse off-load position can do so, so that paramedics can more quickly get back out onto the road and into our community. The 911 changes that we have made to ensure that paramedics, with patient approval, can take that individual to somewhere other than an emergency room, whether that is a mental health facility, a long-term-care facility, has really made a difference. We are making those investments because we see that we have an excellent workforce that really understands how, at their core, we can assist patients in our communities.

Thank you to the member for that question. I’m always happy to stand in this Legislature and talk about the amazing work our intellectual property and research sector is doing.

As the member mentioned, I announced last month that IPON CEO Peter Cowan and board chair Karima Bawa would be hard at work this month laying the groundwork for the agency. Just last week, I invited both Peter and Karima to Queen’s Park to meet with me and update me on the progress they have been making and how our government can better enable their ability to create a meaningful culture shift in the intellectual property community. I’m proud to say that since the announcement, IPON is well under way in making the concept of an Ontario-first and Ontario-driven intellectual property strategy into a reality.

And 2023 will be an incredible year for our research and businesses, and I cannot wait to see how they join the IPON framework to better leverage their work for the benefit of Ontario and taxpayers.

IPON will work with our research and business sectors to create a more robust culture around protecting Ontario-based intellectual property and how to use the economic and societal benefits of the research to fuel further research and economic activity in this province. In short, with IPON we are putting Ontario in the driver’s seat, not only for research ideas but transforming research into new technologies, methodologies and capabilities that will fuel Ontario’s future economic and societal prosperity.

Supplementary?

There being no further business this morning, this House stands in recess until 3 p.m.

The House recessed from 1145 to 1500.

First reading agreed to.

I would like to introduce the grade 12 politics class from Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute in Don Valley West.

Ms. Bowman moved first reading of the following bill:

Bill 50, An Act to amend the Securities Act to require certain issuers to adopt and make publicly available written policies respecting their director nomination process / Projet de loi 50, Loi modifiant la Loi sur les valeurs mobilières afin d’exiger que certains émetteurs adoptent et rendent publiques des politiques écrites concernant leur processus de mise en candidature des administrateurs.

The creation of a policy in this regard is an outstanding recommendation of the Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce assembled by this government in 2020. It is important to see action on this recommendation to advance diversity, because diversity drives innovation, which drives our economy.

I am tabling this bill today to advance the work on this important issue, and I hope my colleagues in the Legislature will give their support.

In my riding of Niagara West and across the entire Niagara region, our government has made substantial investments in the GO train network to ensure that commuters are able to go from Toronto to Niagara and back in record time. These investments have expanded our entire GO network across the entire GTHA system. But accessibility is very important, as is ease of access. That’s why I know it’s so important that in select locations across the GTHA, we’ve seen the Ministry of Transportation expand the Presto tap program.

I’m wondering, on behalf of the people of Niagara West and the entire Niagara region, if the Associate Minister of Transportation can tell my constituents if they soon will be able to access the Presto tap program in Niagara, and in Niagara West specifically.

I know it’s important, as well, that our government takes a digital-first approach to ensure that we are able to have people access government services in a safe and effective manner that makes life easier for them and their families.

Can the minister explain more about how this program will ensure ease of access to the GO train network and ensure that more people are able to hop on the GO train, perhaps down the road at Union Station, and visit some of the unique sights that Niagara has to offer?

I thank her for the question.

For Ontarians, 911 is a lifeline that ensures access to first responders in an emergency, that responds and keeps communities safe.

As the member knows, 911 services will be upgraded to the next-generation 911. This is something that our government is committed to.

I want to state again that everyone in Ontario has an equal right to feel safe in their own communities. I look forward to seeing the next-generation 911 come to fruition.

I’m very pleased to rise today to recognize the month of November as Woman Abuse Prevention Month in Ontario. Like the members of this House, many Ontarians show their support during November by wearing a purple scarf, like the one I’m wearing today. Since 2013, this symbol has gained recognition through the annual Wrapped in Courage campaign, which is organized by the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses to shine a spotlight on the issue of violence against women. The purple scarf is a symbol of the courage it takes an abused woman to leave an abusive partner, seek safety and essentially start her life over. By wearing this scarf, we can help raise awareness and support survivors.

Sadly, most Canadians, Ontarians and members of our communities know someone who has been abused. That is because one in three Canadian women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. To put the severity of this issue into perspective, approximately every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner. These tragedies happen in small towns, big cities and rural communities here in Ontario, across the country and around the world.

According to the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, 58 women were murdered from November 2020 to November 2021.

Among these tragic losses are the three women whose deaths were the subject of the Renfrew county inquest earlier this year. Tragedies like these have a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities. We are deeply grateful to the community jury members in Renfrew county for taking part in this difficult inquest and for their important recommendations. We’re working across government on a collaborative approach to consider the recommendations—because every woman has the fundamental right to live safely and securely in her home and community. We honour and remember these three women, as well as the many others who have been killed, and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with their friends and families.

November 25 marks the beginning of the globally recognized campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. It begins on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on December 10, International Human Rights Day. This campaign, led by the United Nations, calls for global action to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls. Woman Abuse Prevention Month and the 16 days of activism are opportunities to draw attention to this very important issue, but reducing violence against women takes ongoing action and commitment.

That’s why our government is working to prevent and address violence against women in all forms, including human trafficking, by providing wraparound supports to help the women who have survived these crimes to heal and rebuild their lives.

Last year, we invested $11 million in violence prevention initiatives and nearly $200 million in services and supports for the survivors of violence. This investment provides critical services such as crisis lines, sexual assault centres and emergency shelters for women and their children. It also funds programs that connect women who have experienced violence with a wide range of supports, like safety planning, counselling, mental health services, supportive housing, and culturally responsive healing programs—and this is in addition to the $307 million that we are investing over five years to support our anti-human trafficking strategy.

We know that many young women and girls are at risk for human trafficking, especially those from Indigenous and Black communities and youth in care. The average age of recruitment into sex trafficking is just 13 years old. At 13, young girls should be focused on a math test, looking forward to an upcoming soccer tournament, or planning a trip to the movies. They should not be focused on dealing with the horrors of being sex-trafficked.

The province’s anti-human trafficking strategy takes a comprehensive approach to combatting human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children and youth. It is the largest investment in anti-human trafficking initiatives in Canada’s history among all levels of government. Under the strategy, $96 million is going directly to community organizations that support victims and survivors through the Anti-Human Trafficking Community Supports Fund and the Indigenous-led initiatives fund. These organizations are providing wraparound trauma-informed supports and culturally responsive care to help survivors heal and rebuild their lives. Many of these programs are focused on children and youth, as they are at increased risk of being targeted, lured, groomed and manipulated by traffickers due to their young age and vulnerability. These community supports also include programs that are led by survivors and designed by and for Indigenous people.

Speaker, I mentioned earlier that Indigenous women and girls experience increased vulnerabilities to being targeted by traffickers and being trafficked. Indigenous survivors, stakeholders, communities and front-line personnel have emphasized the need for dedicated Indigenous-specific responses to human trafficking. That’s why we’ve worked with our partners to embed culturally responsive, Indigenous-specific elements into initiatives across all pillars of our strategy. This holistic approach to partners responds to the specific needs of Indigenous victims, families and communities.

It is critical that we continue to work together to support culturally responsive interventions and solutions, not only to human trafficking, but to broader issues of violence against Indigenous women.

Indigenous women are three times more likely to experience violent victimization than non-Indigenous women, and they are two and a half times more likely to experience spousal violence. To address this startling fact, we are investing $80 million in the Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy. This strategy supports a continuum of Indigenous-designed and Indigenous-delivered holistic programs that focus on reducing family violence and violence against Indigenous women and children, and improving Indigenous healing, health and wellness. Working with our partners, Ontario is committed to healing and reconciliation that is guided by Pathways to Safety, our strategy in response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This important work must and will continue, as will the work to end violence against women across the entire province.

I would like to acknowledge the release of Canada’s first National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence earlier this month and our government’s endorsement of this plan. The plan was developed collaboratively by the federal-provincial-territorial status of women forum and is a historic milestone in fulfilling a long-standing commitment of all levels of government to work together towards a Canada free of gender-based violence.

In closing, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the professionals who are working on the front lines to support and comfort survivors of domestic and sexual violence and to help them redirect their lives. It is difficult and often unsung work, but it is life-saving and life-changing.

I look forward to working together with the dedicated network of agencies and professionals to achieve our mutually shared goal of an Ontario that is free of violence and full of opportunity for girls and women to be connected with their community and to live the life they choose.

Well, paramedic effectiveness is directly linked to the quality of the dispatch system that sends them to the call.

Did you know, Speaker, that Ontario is the only province that does not have 911 everywhere? Every year, in my riding, people in distress find out that 911 is not available. The paramedics are there, but you need to dial a 1-800 number that nobody knows.

When is the Premier going to modernize our province’s emergency dispatch system to ensure that 911 is available everywhere in Ontario?

Thank you to the amazing member from Niagara West, who works tirelessly for his constituents.

He brings up a very good point, because it’s not just about building rapid transit, which this government is doing—$61 billion to expand the grid, a spiderweb of transit; it’s also about making sure that riders have a more convenient experience throughout the GTA—

Interjection: Yes, and doubling the cost of the Ontario Line.

Speaker, the member asked a very valid question about credit card tap. The rest of the world seems to have this ability to tap with your credit card and go onto your transit system. It’s very convenient. It makes life easier, especially when there are lineups at the Presto kiosk.

Since August, 300,000 riders have been able to tap their credit cards on GO, Brampton Transit, MiWay and Oakville Transit, and that’s working—including your smart device, which is important to note, because a lot of people have that ability on their technology. It’s coming to the rest of the GTHA next year, and that includes the great people of 905 and in that member’s riding.

What the member is highlighting here is that it’s about choice. It’s not just about digital; it’s about having the ability to pay by different means and giving the riders of this great province the ability to have that option. That’s exactly what we’re doing.

Again, it’s interesting to hear that the Liberals are still vocal on this issue, because under their watch, they wasted $470 million in cost overruns and millions more on faulty Presto machines. They not only didn’t build transit; when they did, they got it wrong.

Speaker, this government believes in doing things differently. For every dollar we’re investing in our transportation network, $3 is going to invest in transit. This is the only government that’s going to get it done for commuters in this province.