Speaker, it is an honour to rise today, as a representative for the good people of Scarborough Southwest, to pay my respects to the late member of provincial Parliament for Scarborough West, Jim Brown, a hard-working public servant and a local representative who has shown commitment and leadership for the community that I now have the privilege of representing.

I would like to take a moment to welcome the late MPP Jim Brown’s family to Queen’s Park as we pay our respects and tribute to his life and work: Magdalene Bethune; his daughter Rosie Boileau; son-in-law Billy Boileau; grandchildren William and Elizabeth. Welcome to Queen’s Park. I’m sure you’re very proud of the work that Jim Brown has done. To Liam and Lily, I am most assured that it is incredibly special to be able to visit the chamber where your grandfather proudly and diligently served his community.

I have always said that, regardless of party lines, what unites us—every single one of us sitting in the chamber today, everyone who has come before us and everyone who will have these seats in the years to come—is our commitment and dedication to our community. We’re all here with the shared goal of delivering for the people who put their trust in us. Mr. Brown proudly served as an MPP for his riding, which is also where he lived with his family and passed away peacefully. He represented what was then known as Scarborough West and is now part of Scarborough Southwest.

Mr. Brown has made great contributions to his community and our province, both in and out of political office. He was a spirited businessman with a knack for entrepreneurship, a founding member of the Toronto Sun—one of the most widely distributed newspapers in the city—and a strong supporter of encouraging youth involvement in sports. As a passionate Maple Leafs fan, Mr. Brown was heavily involved in local hockey initiatives, especially ones that created opportunities for girls to get involved in the sport. He coached, sponsored and led many leagues. He was a strong believer that girls could play the sport just as well as the boys, and always advocated for equality in sports.

Mr. Brown was a hard-working, enthusiastic and diligent MPP, and was well regarded by his colleagues, regardless of party lines. Even though I never had the privilege of meeting Mr. Brown, I know that we would have been able to share some great stories about serving this great community full of vibrant and welcoming neighbourhoods. I know Jim and I may not have agreed on many things, but I am certain that we would have enjoyed talking about our shared passion to build a better future for the hard-working people of Scarborough.

So let us all together take this moment to thank and remember the late Jim Brown for his contributions to our community and this Legislature during his time as a member of provincial Parliament for Scarborough West and beyond.

I’m very pleased to stand here and pay tribute to former Scarborough West MPP Jim Brown. Jim Brown was a man of firm values and virtues who believed in the values of family. I admire that MPP Brown was a resolute defender of children’s rights and safety, and he is to be commended for his private member’s bill mandating background checks for those who will hold positions of power over children. By obtaining the support of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, he broke down barriers in a way that is uncommon in our world that is too often defined by red-versus-blue, labour-versus-capital, urban-versus-rural political divides. MPP Brown’s effort was one of those common-sense issues that transcends partisanship and appeals to all of our common decency. MPP Brown was horrified by instances of child molestation and chose to immediately take action.

Another issue for which I owe an enormous amount of respect for the late MPP Brown is the participation of women in sports. There is absolutely no activity in this world which should be reserved for boys and not open to girls, and MPP Brown made great strides toward a more inclusive world through his coaching of women’s hockey. MPP Brown was a lifelong hockey fan, and he passed that love on to his daughter. It was his strong belief that girls should be just as big a part of hockey as boys, and he even took that as far as to enrol the girls’ hockey team he coached in a boys’ tournament. This man was far ahead of his time on this issue, as many men of his generation would have scoffed at the idea of encouraging a daughter to play hockey. These strong family-oriented issues are MPP Brown’s legacy, and I am so happy to stand here and honour his legacy.

Thank you to his wife Magdalene Bethune, his daughter Roseanne Boileau, son-in-law Billy Boileau, grandson William Boileau and granddaughter Elizabeth Boileau for being here today. Thank you for supporting him so that he could do the important work that he did.

Good morning. Let us pray.

Prières / Prayers.

Members may take their seats.

Today we are honoured to remember and pay tribute to a former member of our provincial Legislature, the late Mr. Jim Brown, who was the MPP for Scarborough West during the 36th Parliament.

Joining us in the Speaker’s gallery are some of Mr. Brown’s family: his wife, Magdalene Bethune; his daughter Roseanne Boileau; his son-in-law Billy Boileau; and his grandchildren William Boileau and Elizabeth Boileau.

Also in the Speaker’s gallery today is Mr. David Warner, who was the Speaker during the 35th Parliament.

I recognize the member for Scarborough Southwest.

Next, the member for Scarborough Centre.

Today we are honoured to remember and pay tribute to a former member of our provincial Legislature, the late Mrs. Margaret Birch, who was the MPP for Scarborough East during the 29th, 30th, 31st and 32nd Parliaments.

Joining us today in the Speaker’s gallery are some of Mrs. Birch’s family and friends: her children Randy Birch and Jane Elliott, her friend Karen Stirrett, and Mobina Bhimani, administrative assistant for the Ontario Association of Former Parliamentarians.

Also in the Speaker’s gallery is Mr. David Warner, who was the Speaker during the 35th Parliament.

I recognize the member for Hamilton Mountain.

I rise today to pay tribute to the late James Gary Brown, a former member of this Legislature and respected community leader, who passed away peacefully on January 31, 2020, at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife, Lena; his daughter, Rosie; her husband, Billy Boileau; and grandchildren Liam and Lily.

Jim served as a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Scarborough West in the 36th Parliament, from 1995 to 1999. He was a likable, enthusiastic, hard-working MPP, well liked by members on both sides of the aisle.

Before entering politics, he attended York University and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, currently known as Toronto Metropolitan University, where he received a bachelor of arts degree, an MBA and a diploma in business administration. He continued his education by completing the Certified General Accountant program and the Registered Industrial Accountant program, which is the old RIA, now CMA, program.

Jim began his career as an office manager of the Toronto Telegram in 1971. He became a founding member of the Toronto Sun, where he served as the first chief financial officer. From 1971 to 1974, he lectured at Ryerson, Seneca College and the University of Toronto, where he taught financial management, entrepreneurial studies, advanced accounting and business management.

Jim was also a self-employed businessman. In 1975, Jim purchased and managed a small established manufacturing company, Normandy Manufacturing, for 25 years, where he helped expand its operation into the United States. In addition, Jim became vice-chair, secretary and CFO of three public mining companies. In fact, Mr. Speaker, it is his experience as a businessman that motivated him to get into politics. He thought that government at the time started to dominate his life and pick on small businesses like his. I believe if he were still with us today, he would appreciate the work that our government is doing to cut the red tape and help small businesses create good jobs.

During his time in office, Jim served as parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Correctional Services and as co-chair of the Ontario Crime Control Commission. Jim was dedicated to enhancing community safety, fighting crime, ending youth violence and protecting our kids. He was a strong advocate of having school teachers, sports coaches and scout leaders undergo a criminal background check before holding positions of trust and authority over children.

After his time in the Legislature, he was appointed to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal, where he continued to serve and give back to his community.

When it came to gender equality, he was ahead of the curve. Jim was proud to support girls’ hockey and was passionate about promoting the sport and giving girls an opportunity to play. He coached and sponsored numerous local hockey teams, such as the Toronto Marlborough Girls’ Hockey Club, founded the Toronto Red Wing Girls Hockey Association and served as president of the Scarborough Girls Hockey League, among other leagues.

Scarborough continues to miss Jim and the great work he contributed to our community. I am certain that his life will continue to be celebrated and remembered. May his soul rest in peace.

Applause.

I recognize the member for Scarborough–Guildwood.

It is my honour to rise today and pay tribute to Margaret Birch, a Scarborough hero—anyone from Scarborough will understand that—who broke barriers for women in Ontario politics as this province’s first female cabinet minister.

Margaret’s story is literally the stuff of legends, and it remains a shining example of how important it is to have women in politics.

First elected in 1971 as the MPP for Scarborough East, Margaret’s arrival on the political scene coincided with the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18. There can be no doubt that her presence on a provincial ballot was an immediate source of excitement and inspiration for a great many young women voting for the very first time.

Despite being one of only two women in a Legislature of 121 members, Margaret was far from intimidated, and I challenge you all to check Hansard to see some of her speeches and debates. You will see that she went toe to toe with those men in debates and in question period. She was already experienced with having to overcome adversity, as was said, after leaving school at the age of 12 to support her family. This willingness to help others was a quality that defined Margaret Birch early on, and it influenced much of what she was to go on to do.

After starting out as a volunteer at the Scarborough General Hospital, Margaret worked her way up to become chair of the Scarborough board of health in 1963. She joined the Scarborough mental health council and social planning council in 1967. She later became a member of the new hospital steering committee and was instrumental in finding the land and support needed to build what would later become known as the Scarborough Centenary Hospital. Scarborough Centenary Hospital opened in 1967, and Margaret was appointed to the hospital board of governors as a lifetime member. How fitting was it that a wing that was named after her was the place that she celebrated her 90th birthday with a strawberry social?

In 1970, she was recognized as Scarborough’s Citizen of the Year and was encouraged to run for a seat in provincial politics. Once elected, Margaret took her experience in health care and she channelled it. In her first year as an MPP, she helped to create a summer jobs program for youth. In 1972, when she was named Minister without Portfolio responsible for youth, Margaret Birch became the first female cabinet minister in Ontario’s history. She was later given the expanded portfolio that had responsibility for social services which impacted the lives of millions of Ontarians, including those living in long-term care and people with disabilities.

Margaret toured hospitals. She was open to meeting with patients and she wanted to learn more about the problems faced by the facilities. She was well known for visiting mental health institutions and advocating for improved conditions, and she was instrumental in the creation of the Assistive Devices Program.

She broke barriers in the Legislature and in society as well. To illustrate this, I’d like to read you an excerpt from Steve Paikin’s book on William Grenville Davis. It’s the story about the Albany Club, and it offers us a window into the world of Margaret Birch as she navigated it:

“Breaking the gender barrier in cabinet wasn’t Birch’s only claim to fame. At this point in its history, the downtown Toronto haunt for Conservatives for nearly a century, the Albany Club, still only permitted male members. The federal PC leader Robert Stanfield was about to make a guest appearance at the club, and Birch wanted to go. But, of course, that wasn’t permitted. Birch approached the Premier to discuss the issue.

“‘If I’m good enough to sit in this cabinet with all these men, surely I’m good enough to be a member of the Albany Club,’ she told the Premier.

“‘You’re right,’ Davis answered. ‘We’ll work on that.’

“And that is how Margaret Birch also became one of the first three female members of the Albany Club. Her proposer was none other than the 18th Premier of Ontario.”

I am so proud of this remarkable woman from Scarborough. I deeply believe that it’s vital to have women—and I say more women—engaged in politics and the trajectory of Margaret’s story shows us why. Her many notable achievements offered the people of Ontario real evidence that the contributions of women make a real difference, our voices matter and that better outcomes are possible when women are at the decision-making table.

So today, I want to express my deepest respect and admiration for Margaret Birch for stepping up in 1970 and blazing a trail for women like me to enter politics. It would be impossible to overstate the impact in expanding the possibilities for women in public life. Ontario is fortunate to have had such a remarkable role model.

I thank her family for sharing her with us for all of those years. The difference Margaret Birch has made in this province is profound.

Thank you to the member from Ajax for that question. We need to increase the number of doctors and health care workers across the province, and that includes rural and remote communities and communities like hers in the GTA. That is why our government has taken historic action by building new medical schools in Ontario.

The new Toronto Metropolitan University medical school in Brampton: This is the first new medical school in the GTA since University of Toronto opened in 1843. We’re also creating the University of Toronto academy of medicine and integrated health in Scarborough and expanding the Queen’s Lakeridge Health campus in Oshawa.

But we recognize that more action needs to be done across the province. That is why we also created the first stand-alone medical school in the north through the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. We’ve also invested in post-secondary health care programs like Learn and Stay, and we continue to work with the Ministry of Long-Term Care to increase the number of PSWs and nurses in Ontario.

We are working to fill the gaps across the health care system and across the province after 15 years of Liberal mismanagement. By making these investments in post-secondary education today, our expansions will help to serve a growing and aging population in the years and decades to come.

Our government is making record investments in innovative approaches across the health care system—investments that the NDP and Liberals did not make. That’s why earlier this year we announced that we are making historic expansions increasing the number of seats for doctors and health care students. Over the next five years, we are adding 160 undergraduate and 295 post-graduate seats to six medical schools: medical and education expansions at Western, McMaster, the University of Ottawa and others. This will ensure that Ontarians will always be able to have the health care resources they need here when they need them.

Our government is creating concrete ways in which we can increase the number of health care professionals in our province, but as we know, the NDP and Liberals always say no. Speaker, I am proud to say our government is keeping Ontarians safe with a high-quality health care system, supported by high-quality post-secondary education.