It’s my great honour to rise today to support Bill 26, Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act. I want to thank the Minister of Colleges and Universities for proposing this legislation, as a strong advocate for protecting our students, our young people—especially young women—so they can flourish academically and socially.

That is why I’m proud to stand up today in support of Bill 26, the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, which will create a safe, inclusive environment within our colleges and universities across Ontario.

Ontario is proud to have some of the largest, greatest colleges and universities in Canada, bringing the brightest students from across the country and across the world into our communities. My riding of Scarborough–Rouge Park is home to great institutions, such as Centennial College and the University of Toronto Scarborough. Furthermore, I’m excited that our government is building the first-ever medical school right in Scarborough, training over 1,500 health care professionals right in our community. I’m proud to represent the many students across my riding who either commute to school or live in residence.

We are building academic infrastructure and creating a new generation of professionals to support our economy, and we need both women and men to be trained in the jobs of the future. Madam Speaker, these students are the future. We have an obligation to support them and ensure it is a safe and inclusive environment.

I have heard about the terrible experiences that many young people have faced in and around campus. I’m truly disheartened to hear that the Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey reports that 63% of university respondents and 50% of college respondents have reported an experience of sexual harassment, while 23% and 17%, respectively, said that they had a non-consensual sexual experience/assault.

This is not a reality that we can continue to let happen within our post-secondary institutions. It especially cannot come from faculty and staff, who have an obligation to teach and encourage our young people. We’ve made it clear that our government has zero tolerance for sexual assault and we are committed to protecting our students. That is why in 2019 our government required each publicly assisted college and university in Ontario to establish a sexual violence prevention task force. Last fall we introduced regulatory amendments to protect students from inappropriate questioning or disciplinary action when they report acts of violence.

Today we are building on our commitment to protecting all students in post-secondary environments. There is a power structure between faculty and students and we must never allow that to be abused. This legislation, Bill 26, is going to help institutions to better address sexual misconduct against students. We need to set the highest standards in Ontario, ensuring that the relationship between faculty, staff and students is consistently professional.

The strengthened policies would give institutions the tools to deem the sexual abuse of a student as just cause for dismissal, and this bill will prevent the rehiring of employees found to have committed sexual abuse of a student. These measures would prevent the use of non-disclosure agreements to address such cases where an employee leaves an institution to be employed at another institution and their prior wrongdoing remains secret. They would also require institutions to have sexual misconduct policies in place that provide rules for behaviour between faculty, staff and students, as well as disciplinary measures for faculty and staff who break these rules.

As I said earlier, these amendments are not just a stand-alone policy; these are to add on to existing policies laid out by colleges and universities across the province. This bill is the next step in protecting students, and I’m proud that our government has held consultations with over 100 stakeholders, including representatives from post-secondary education institutions, labour groups, student groups, private career colleges, faculty associations and community organizations.

Understanding and addressing sexual violence experienced by our students is a priority for Ontario’s colleges and universities, and we remain committed to creating a safe environment and a safe working environment free from sexual violence. I know that these changes are important to the young people in my community of Scarborough–Rouge Park. I know that for members from this chamber, across this province, these remain important priorities for their communities.

Madam Speaker, I know the long and extensive process which members at Toronto Metropolitan University went through, a lot of whom are residents in my riding, in finding a new name for the university that they go to or the university that they’ve been to. Toronto Metropolitan University is going through a name change to represent this modern university. If this bill passes, the legislation will respect that decision to recognize the process of Ryerson University to formally become Toronto Metropolitan University. These are big steps in the future of TMU, which will better align the university with its current values. I look forward to seeing what’s next in the future of this great academic institution.

Madam Speaker, this is not just an important time for students academically, but also socially as well. This is a time to find their personality, meet lifelong friends and, of course, their future colleagues. So ensuring that young people, especially young women, are able to go through their education feeling safe, comfortable and confident is important. It’s important in creating a strong future for themselves and our community at large. That is exactly what this bill does, taking a zero-tolerance stance against sexual assault.

That is why we need to pass these amendments that would require publicly assisted post-secondary institutions and private colleges to have specific processes in place that address and increase transparency of faculty and staff sexual misconduct towards students. This includes deeming the sexual abuse of a student as just cause for dismissal. This bill prevents non-disclosure agreements to hide their misconduct when they move on to a different institution. When they move on to a different institution to continue to teach, this bill will prevent the nondisclosure. This will prevent the secrecy that they want to remain. I welcome this because this particular piece of legislation brings transparency.

Also, the third aspect of this bill provides guidelines of what professional academic relationships must look like. The government stands with students across Ontario, as well as assuring victims that we will not put up with this anymore.

I urge members from all sides of this chamber to support this bill, to make sure that we not only stand with our students, but we also create an environment where our future leaders are protected and learn in a safe environment.

I understand in the last Parliament, 12 members from the opposition introduced petitions around the need to improve Ontario’s efforts towards sexual assault. This bill is doing just that in the education system, where there’s a power imbalance between faculty and students. This is specifically addressing faculty and student issues. We’re being accused, I understand from the member opposite, of tinkering where there needs to be monumental change. So I would ask the member opposite, what are the monumental changes that she thinks—

That is an excellent question. I do believe the province would benefit by having a round table. As we know, one of the first things the Conservative government did was slash a round table that was particularly created and co-chaired by two phenomenal human beings, Pamela Cross and Farrah Khan, literally created to help address the issue of violence against women. The government slashed that round table, along with slashing funding to rape crisis centres across this province.

I would also say as well, as the member from Toronto Centre has raised previously, where is the support around participatory work-integrated learning opportunities like co-op placements, internships? Are those employers, if they happen to be perpetrators, also included in this bill?

But what we could do right now is to pass the piece of legislation that the member from Toronto Centre had put forth calling for a consent awareness week, right here in the Legislature. The member from Toronto Centre put forth this call repeatedly so that we could have had this legislation passed before the end of the summer sitting, and this government said no. If you’re going to help survivors of sexual assault, there’s a tool for your tool box, a piece of legislation put forth by Toronto Centre. Pass that legislation. Let’s have that consent awareness week so the courageous conversations and the actions that have to happen on campus and in the school communities are taking place.

I’d like to thank the member for Spadina–Fort York for that question. As I said in my remarks, Madam Speaker, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities went through comprehensive consultations with over 100 stakeholders, including student groups, labour unions, labour groups, faculty associations and community organizations. They came up with these aspects to make sure that we have action items to prevent non-disclosure agreements, so there is transparency; to make sure that sexual abuse from faculty and staff towards students is just cause for dismissal; and for institutions to create a framework, a policy, to have proper academic staff and faculty professional relationships towards students.

I think this has action items. It’s a good bill moving forward. I hope all members support this bill.

Madam Speaker, it is often in the toughest times that we find opportunities for change, and I feel this bill is such that, after the allegation at Western, President Shepard and his team took a very focused approach to combating sexual violence on campus. It started with supporting students, making sure that those impacted by the events of last September were supported. It evolved into creating further resources on campus for students, and strengthening the sexual violence policy to provide stronger resources for the institution and better protections for students.

I’m proud to say that Western is one of Ontario’s leaders in combating sexual violence and will continue to work towards that. Our government has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual misconduct, and I think this bill is a good piece that we can all vote in favour of.

Thank you to the member from Scarborough–Rouge Park for your comments today on this bill. I think we’re all in agreement that our students at colleges and universities need to be safe from sexual assault. We can also, I think, judging by the statistics you recited, agree that there’s a crisis on our campuses.

The question that I have for you is—this bill doesn’t go far enough. If we’re going to address sexual assault on campus, we need education. We need processes and repercussions for assailants, and we also need support for survivors. My colleague from Toronto Centre has brought forward a bill called the Consent Awareness Week Act. It’s Bill 18. Would you support adding this bill, the Consent Awareness Week Act, to the current legislation when it gets to committee?

Questions?

It has been just over a year since the terrible allegations of sexual violence at Western University were reported in the media. The minister has been very vocal about her zero-tolerance policy for sexual violence, and sent a very clear message to schools after the report came out to reaffirm that zero-tolerance policy.

Bill 26, of course, gives schools more tools to deal with incidents of sexual violence on campus, but it also will be up to each institution to choose what to do in regard to those incidents. Can the member tell us how these policies, outlined in Bill 26, will further empower institutions to be even stronger against incidents?

My thanks to the member from Scarborough for speaking to this particular piece of legislation and recognizing the importance of fighting sexual violence and assault on campus. It’s very, very important, and I’m very appreciative of the ministry’s efforts.

I’m wondering if he could speak a little bit to schedule 1, subsection 3, which is the “no re-employment” clause. I think that’s a very important piece of this legislation, which states, “If an employee of an institution commits an act of sexual abuse of a student of an institution and the institution discharges the employee for that act or the employee resigns from their employment, the institution shall not subsequently re-employ the employee.”

I think it’s very important to also ensure that students who have been victimized and traumatized through assault don’t ever have to experience that trauma of seeing their perpetrator in person, perhaps on campus in a chance encounter or perhaps in a different setting, and I think that’s an important clause. I’m wondering if the member could speak a little bit more about the importance of that and ensuring that we’re taking this heinous crime very seriously.

Thanks to the member. Our government believes that no one should have to worry about sexual violence or sexual misconduct, on or off campus. As I said, in over 100 stakeholder consultations that the minister and his PA and the team went through, one of the quotes that we got from the president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities, Steve Orsini, was, “Ontario’s universities are committed to ensuring student, faculty and staff safety and strongly condemn all forms of sexual violence or harassment. Building on today’s announcement, all of our universities have developed and continue to regularly review their institutional sexual violence policies and processes to ensure that they maintain a survivor-centric approach.”

Madam Speaker, we have consulted the stakeholders, and as a ministry, as a government, we will do so in further opportunities to make sure we are—

The member from Sudbury.

The member from Niagara West.

I appreciate the question from the former member from Scarborough–Rouge Park—or the former question from the member from Scarborough–Rouge Park.

Anyways, I just want to talk about—you said this means that the victims will not have to face their perpetrators, because there’s no re-employment. But there’s a flaw in the bill, and the flaw is that a lot of graduate students are also teachers when they’re on the campus. So what happens if a person who’s also a teacher as well as a graduate student sexually abuses a student? Does that person stay on the campus? They may not be re-employed, but do they stay on the campus as a grad student? Does the victim have to face them?

I’m pleased to have the opportunity to speak today on Bill 26, the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act. This legislation covers topics that are very personal to me, having spent the last few weeks working with my community, my colleagues and hospitals in Niagara to ensure we have better practices for sexual violence and harassment, not only on campuses but for anyone who is seeking support.

I do want to acknowledge, before going too deep into the theme of the bill, that Bill 26 does provide post-secondary institutions and private career colleges with the clear rights to fire employees when they are found to have sexually abused a student, stops them from being re-hired and bans the use of non-disclosure agreements.

It is important to create safe spaces. It is not a surprise that students who had experienced unwanted sexual behaviours reported that it affected their mental health; simply, it affected their life, both academically and their post-academic life. It is traumatizing.

Madam Speaker, I would be doing a disservice to my own community if I did not bring up an incredibly important point on the matter of sexual assault and this legislation: Transparency is important; however, so is the experience of the survivor once they have endured the trauma of a sexual assault.

In Niagara last month, we saw the cost of a health care and hospital system that has been ill-supported by this government in terms of maintaining staffing levels to ensure that a survivor, whether from academia or anywhere else, was able to receive adequate support, namely a sexual assault evidence kit.

Unfortunately, our local hospital in Niagara desperately needs support from this province. It is forced to send away survivors of sexual assault to see nurse examiners in other regions. In the case of being sent to Burlington from Niagara, a victim is being asked to get in a cab with a complete stranger and travel for over an hour to another hospital.

Survivors—ensuring they get access to sexual assault evidence kits in a timely manner and local manner. This is because we can all agree even a single survivor being turned away and a single survivor losing their justice is an issue we need to find a solution to immediately.

Speaker, sexual assault survivors need real, tangible support alongside protections like these. They need to know that we have priorities in this province, across all hospitals, that put survivors first.

In fact, during the same time survivors in Niagara were being turned away because we did not have the staff to give them the support they required, the same thing happened in New Brunswick. The difference between Ontario and New Brunswick has been crushing. Over the last few weeks, New Brunswick has offered sweeping changes to how survivors receive support and education, and guarantees that they get the support they need.

In Ontario, we see legislation like this but no mention of actual, tangible supports for survivors who are being turned away not only in Niagara, but, I’m expecting, across Ontario. Simply, we need to see minimum standards for campuses when it comes to sexual and gender-based violence. My colleagues have raised this issue. We cannot treat this matter as a token of half measure. We must make a full and comprehensive review of the gaps for survivors and close them, as urgently as possible.

Madam Speaker, there is a lot more work to be done to support survivors, and it is dangerous if this support is done in a way that ignores the problem we have at hand.

It is my hope that this legislation is not the government just checking a box, but that they will begin to see awful gaps across communities and help hospitals with funding to ensure no survivor is turned away, whether they are a student or otherwise. In Niagara, our hospital response program is still left with silence from this government on that support. This is a problem that makes it seem that this issue is not being taken seriously enough. That makes me very worried. I would like to see legislation that tackles sexual violence and gender-based violence include support for survivors and hospitals. In this legislation, specifically, I would like to see clear supports for students who are survivors, ensuring they get access to sexual assault evidence kits in a timely and local way.

I want to take some time out during the debate on Bill 26 to highlight that sexual assault and protecting survivors is not a partisan issue; it is not a platitude either. It requires, in a meaningful way, understanding the matter fully. Sexual assault shatters people’s lives, and the impact of this violence must never be minimized.

The rates of post-traumatic stress disorder for survivors of sexual assault are incredibly high. The road to trauma recovery is long, confusing, often volatile and immensely difficult. It is with this in mind and heart that we, as leaders, must work together to ease this path for survivors and remove each and every barrier we can along the way.

Through you, Speaker, I urge the government to include in any bill, especially one that relates to sexual assault, urgent next steps—that must include the immediate repeal of Bill 124 so we can recruit, retain and return nurses to this sector, which will help keep hospitals and community care centres operating at their full capacity, ensuring necessary care can continue uninterrupted. That’s the issue we have seen in Niagara region—survivors being turned away. Limiting what we can do to compensate nurses has led to survivors being turned away, and these survivors could be students or anyone in the public; we will all agree that it is unacceptable.

Supporting members of our community who have been sexually assaulted must include a holistic approach, it must include wraparound services, and it must utilize the great work that is already being done by our local experts—in Niagara’s case, these are performed by staff at the Niagara Sexual Assault Centre.

It is also imperative that this government restore funding to sexual assault crisis centres as well as provide the 30% increase called for by the sector. Sexual assault recovery often requires a comprehensive approach involving both treatment and crisis centre services, both of which are stretched thin, province-wide.

Madam Speaker, before I relinquish my time speaking to this bill, I have one more note to make, which should be tied to this bill: There should be a broader view of all sexual assault funding across the province. As a very local example, Niagara Health has requested $183,000 in additional funding to enhance staffing resources and ensure survivors of sexual assault are fully supported. Their plea for help has not received a response from the Minister of Health as of yet. It is discouraging to know they are still left with silence, despite the conversation about sexual assault support through this bill that is actively being discussed right here today. This money would have incalculable value to ensure that survivors of sexual assault are supported in the aftermath of an assault and are given the tools to ensure justice can be pursued.

Since Niagara Health has not received a response from your ministry, they are forced to fill this urgent funding gap with their own resources, which have already been stretched way too thin. That’s not the right approach we should be having. This is not the conversation we should be talking about. We should not create protections in schools but leave the actual follow-up and justice hanging in the air. There is no justice in that. I think we all can understand that.

Thank you, Speaker, for the time.

Speaker, as the MPP for Ajax, you will know that in the region of Durham we have two universities: Ontario Tech University and Trent Durham—and Durham College.

Underpinning this legislation was a broad consultative process. We’ve had many universities come back to us with their input about the effect of this proposed legislation. I’ll read one paragraph for you: “Ontario Tech University welcomes the province’s strong support for the post-secondary community’s commitment to eradicating sexual violence and maintaining healthy and safe learning, living, social and working environments for its students, staff and faculty members with this bill.”

Taken together, it’s providing the framework to ensure student safety. Furthermore, it is dealing with the issue of staff and staff involvement in non-disclosure.

Would the member from St. Catharines—

I think this bill is not going far enough. As I mentioned, survivors need to ensure that they’re getting access to evidence kits—which they’re not getting. If you’re a student or you’ve been sexually assaulted within your community, it is so imperative that that victim needs to get to a hospital and get a sexual assault evidence kit, in a timely way, and that they’re not sent to another hospital an hour and a half away with a complete stranger. It’s for their mental health, for their wellness and for them to be able to support survivors.

Last year—I believe it was last year, or a year and a half ago—I stood in this House and I brought forward inter-partner violence disclosure and Clare’s Law, and this government turned it down; they didn’t vote for it. That was one more tool that we could have put in the tool box for women who were being sexually assaulted in Ontario, so they could contact the police and find out if their partner or whoever they were with had some kind of charges against them of a sexual nature or an abusive nature.

I think that this government should put more funds in, spend their money where it should be and look back on this legislation—and, like I said, repeal Bill 124, so that nurses can definitely be retained and replenished.

Questions?

I’m glad to be able to ask questions of the member, who spoke well on this important issue.

As we see in the bill, there are some obviously positive aspects, one of which is that survivors won’t be forced to sign non-disclosure agreements anymore. Things like that are positive, but if we’re looking at it from a survivor’s standpoint, it really does fall short.

This is a government whose first step was an attack on clubs and organizations on campus, back in the day, through that so-called opt-out mechanism which defunded social service programs, some of which were survivor-focused.

If this government were actually interested in supporting survivors, what more could they have in this bill, or what more could we see from this government in this Legislature?

If passed, these changes in Bill 26 would better protect students who experienced faculty and staff sexual violence on campus and off-campus. Our government has been clear: We have zero tolerance for sexual assault, harassment or any other forms of violence in our communities, and we will continue working with post-secondary institutions to facilitate safe and supportive learning environments.

Does the member across believe that non-disclosure agreements should be banned in post-secondary education for the purposes of protecting sexual abusers and silencing students?

Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to rise before the House and speak about Bill 26, the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022.

The bill addresses the name change of Ryerson University to Toronto Metropolitan University—TMU—as well as strengthening this government’s commitment to the safety and well-being of students attending Ontario’s world-class colleges and universities.

As the member for Durham mentioned last week in his speech about Bill 26—it gives me the opportunity to also celebrate the legacy of the late Honourable William G. Davis, the 18th Premier of Ontario. He was known as the “education Premier.” The tributes that we did in the House weren’t that long ago, crediting him with our community college system, which provides world-class education.

Each and every Ontario community college provides thousands of students across our great province with a springboard to realize their dreams.

I attended college myself—Loyalist College in Belleville—and graduated as a registered nurse in my early twenties.

I’m always grateful I had the opportunity to know Mr. Davis personally. He was such a great individual.

I know Fleming College in Lindsay—Peterborough and Haliburton are the other campuses—was created as a result of the colleges being formed in 1965, so that’s great. Two of those campuses are in my riding.

It’s important, in legislation, to recognize what has gone on in the past—but also to experience the freedom of higher learning in safe, secure and equitable environments, so we’re making sure that vision continues.

The legislation also amends the Ryerson University Act of 1977 and the University Foundations Act of 1992. It’s kind of technical, but I want to let the audience at home—who, I know, are listening intently—know what the contents of the bill are. It will change the name of Ryerson University to Toronto Metropolitan University—TMU—and it will change the size and composition of TMU’s senate, as we look forward to creating a fair and more equitable education system for all students. Changing the name of the university to TMU is going to better align the university with its students and their shared values.

I want to give another shout-out: I know it’s a bit of history to start with in my opportunity to speak today, but I’m pleased that TMU is renaming its law school the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander was the first Black Canadian member of Parliament and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, from 1985 to 1991.

It seems fitting—we’re just coming back from our Remembrance Day constituency week and attending so many services. In my riding, I have a lot of cenotaphs and Legions which I try to attend throughout the year, if we can’t get to them on Remembrance Day.

Lincoln Alexander also served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, and then he came back to law school.

In 1968, he was Canada’s first Black MP, as I mentioned.

I actually had the opportunity to know Lincoln Alexander. He was a friend of my dad, who was a member of Parliament. Way back when, he would play Santa Claus to me on the phone.

Interjections.

As Lieutenant Governor, he even came up and opened the Kinmount Fair—of course, I’m from the great town of Kinmount. He also served as chancellor of the University of Guelph—so quite a distinguished career. I think it’s so wonderful that his name is going to be associated with the law school.

Similarly, we need to do everything we can to ensure a safe learning environment for our young adults, and especially our young women. The proposed bill shows that this is something our government remains focused on. Our children, young children, vulnerable, going to these post-secondary institutions—we expect that they’re going to be safe and protected while pursuing their education away from home. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. I know that we speak a lot of international students and those increasing numbers who come over and their vulnerability, also, coming into our post-secondary institutions.

I have spoken many times about gender-based sexual violence in our communities.

In 2018, a survey showed that Canadian women experienced disproportionate rates of sexual and physical violence. Around 30% of women aged 15 to 24 report being physically or sexually assaulted by someone other than their intimate partner. And in recent years, 92% of victims of sexual offences have been women, and virtually all of the attackers, 99%, were men. It’s also important to understand that almost 90% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police.

Studies already show that one in three Canadian women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. It’s a horrible statistic, but it’s clear that the issue is much larger than the current statistics report. In an era when we have social movements and we’ve raised global awareness of the sexual harassment, assault and rape of women, it is remarkable that today some offenders are still not being held accountable for their actions.

This legislation also introduces changes necessary to clarify our government’s zero-tolerance position on sexual harassment, assault, and every other form of violence. That is why this legislation will also amend the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act and the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005, to help protect students in instances of faculty and/or staff sexual misconduct and harassment.

The changes being proposed include:

—strengthening tools available to institutions in order to address instances of faculty or staff sexual misconduct against students;

—preventing the use of non-disclosure agreements to address instances where an employee leaves an institution to be employed at another institution; and

—requiring institutions to have employee sexual misconduct policies that, at a minimum, include the institution’s rules with respect to sexual behaviour and examples of disciplinary measures that may be imposed on those employees who contravene such policies.

These measures will help address instances where faculty members overstep teacher-student relationships with inappropriate behaviour, such as an instance in 2016 when an independent review found that a professor at an Ontario institution of higher learning lured a female student with alcohol for the purposes of making sexual advances towards her.

I know my colleagues will agree that any form of sexual misconduct or harassment is wrong, and that is why I support government action that addresses and condemns all forms of sexual violence and misconduct on or off Ontario campuses. It is our students who will continue to drive this province forward, and we know that a healthy campus environment is crucial to every student’s success.

I would like to share with this House a strong and succinct statement from Linda Franklin, the president and CEO of Colleges Ontario. Ms. Franklin remarked that “ensuring every student has a safe and positive learning environment is a top priority.” Ms. Franklin added that “the comprehensive policies and protocols in place at every college are enhanced on an ongoing basis, and we’re committed to working with the government and students on the further measures announced in this legislation.”

I know that Linda Franklin is retiring, after 15 years, next year, so I want to wish her all the best. She has been a wonderful advocate for the colleges of Ontario.

Madam Speaker, it is clear that across our institutions, these changes are welcomed and appreciated for going further than ever before to combat sexual harassment and violence on our campuses of higher learning.

Ari Laskin, CEO of Career Colleges Ontario, said that his organization is “pleased to see the government is taking action on sexual assault and sexual violence in the post-secondary educational sector.” Mr. Laskin also said that he is pleased to see the government formalize this process and knows that “Ontario’s career colleges will continue to put student safety and well-being at the forefront of their operations.”

We all have a role to play to make sure our learning environments are welcoming, protected and safe, where students know that they will always have support. With these amendments, our government is showing the commitment to ending sexual harassment and assault in all learning environments, as well as our dedication to creating a better learning atmosphere for all students.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank all of my colleagues for their support of Bill 26 and, in particular, the Minister of Colleges and Universities and the member from Simcoe North for all her work on this piece of legislation and legislation that has been brought forward by her in different ministries before.

I hope everyone in the House supports Bill 26.

I also have a university in St. Catharines: Brock University. We have Niagara College in Niagara as well. We come from a university/college town.

However, when I write the minister and I don’t get a response—my colleague from Toronto–St. Paul’s as well as myself jointly wrote a letter asking if this government was—