I look up to the family this morning—and I didn’t personally know Bob. This is my first honour as a member to stand and provide a tribute to a previous member who was here, and I hope I do him justice for you.

Speaker, it’s an honour to rise in my place on behalf of the official opposition and offer a few words of reflection on the life and service of Bob Callahan.

When journalist Steve Paikin paid tribute to the late Bob Callahan in January 2021, he wrote, “Callahan exemplified some of the best that public life can showcase.” Powerful words.

But when you truly consider Bob’s life and his contributions to his community, it quickly becomes apparent that Paikin’s kind words, while true, don’t fully do justice to the impact the man jokingly known as “Bob from Brampton” had on his city and his family. If you were to drive through Brampton, Bob Callahan Flower City Seniors Centre is an obvious tribute to Bob’s many years of faithful service. But if you took a closer look, it becomes apparent that Bob’s legacy looms large over the Rose City, both in the iconic—such as the Rose theatre, city hall, the Alderlea, and Gage Park skating trail—and the essential public works like GO service expansion, Brampton Civic Hospital, and the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse. And those are only a few of the Brampton landmarks that Bob played a role in bringing to life. In fact, Bob’s 43 years of provincial and municipal service almost seem like a timeline of Brampton’s rapid rise from a small rural town to one of Canada’s most diverse and rapidly growing communities.

After two unsuccessful runs for provincial office in 1977 and 1981, he finally made it to Queen’s Park in 1985, when voters chose him to be Brampton’s MPP, following the retirement of the incomparable Bill Davis—the first time someone other than Davis had represented the city in three decades. Knowing he had big shoes to fill, Bob went to work, mindful but undaunted, building on his many years of experience in municipal politics to become an effective voice for Brampton while carving out a formidable legacy of his own, earning the respect of political allies and opponents alike. After his defeat in 1995, Bob returned to municipal politics, driven by his love for Brampton and his passion for public service.

A man of faith, Bob lived his life by the golden rule, treating others as he would want to be treated. This belief guided him as powerfully during his years as a criminal defence lawyer, when he worked with clients to rebuild their lives and offered his services and expertise pro bono to those in need, as it did during his time in elected office, which he treasured greatly for its opportunity to bring positive change to the lives of Bramptonians.

Bob’s commitment to Brampton also stretched beyond the council chamber and Queen’s Park, including volunteer roles coaching lacrosse and service on the boards of St. Leonard’s House, Peel Memorial Hospital, and the Credit Valley Conservation Authority.

Speaker, as elected officials, we owe so much to our families for their love, support and sacrifices they make over the course of our careers in office. But taking a look at Bob’s obituary, it is clear that he had his priorities right. Those closest to him remember him not for his long lists of political accomplishments, of which there were many, but for the lasting and loving impact his life made on those he held dear. It’s clear that Bob put first things first and understood his legacy as a husband, father, grandfather and friend was no less important than his contribution as a politician. All of us who are elected would be well served by following a similar path.

To the members of the Callahan family with us today and to those watching on television or online, thank you for sharing Bob with Brampton and Ontario and for the sacrifices you made throughout his many years of service. This honour belongs to you just as much as it does to him.

In closing, Speaker, Bob wasn’t just from Brampton; Bob was Brampton, and we are all better for it.

Thank you, Bob. You were an exemplary man, an exemplary person of service. Rest well.

Thank you, Speaker. I, too, want to congratulate you on being in that Chair. It seems like you know exactly what to say and how to identify the members. I tell you, that must really impress the Clerks’ table. That’s a talent that speaks for itself.

There’s no surprise in where I stand on the position of this proposed budget bill that this government has put forward, which I will not be supporting. There’s no surprise. What I want to do is bring a sense of what people in Algoma–Manitoulin were telling me when I was knocking on the doors, and what they’ve been saying for quite a long time. When I was knocking on doors, Speaker, it was health care. Then it was health care. Then it was health care. And then it was health care. They’re not seeing that—we’re not seeing that—in this bill.

Health care comes in a variety of ways. Where are the travel grant increases or the review that we’ve been waiting for? Where are the increased PSWs? Where are the doctor recruitment and retention programs that we need to get doctors? Primary care is absent in northern Ontario.

Also, on the doorsteps, there was nothing as far as the discussion, even when we were talking about the opposition—because there were other candidates who were going to the doors, I was hearing what they were bringing to the doors as well. There was nothing about Bill 7 when we were going to the doors, in regard to removing consent from seniors and being travelled from one long-term care home to another. There was nothing about that.

There’s a variety of things that should have been there. Health care in northern Ontario is imperative, because we have to travel long distances to get to specialists. So primary care is very important to our communities—communities like Wawa, Manitouwadge, Thessalon, Blind River, Manitoulin. Doctor recruitment is a challenge for us. It has been huge. The East Algoma Primary Care Work Team—we’ve been working with this government. I’ve walked over and provided them with a complete proposal on a path toward getting doctors in northern Ontario, or at least to the north shore in my riding of Algoma–Manitoulin, but it has been crickets. I have not heard anything from this government.

We look at this bill, and for the life of me, there are so many things that are in there, but there are so many things that are missing. Speaker, tell me how repealing the requirement that WSIB headquarters in Toronto, under schedule 6—how is that going to help an individual who is being penalized? Deeming is happening, upon them. They are losing their shirt off their back. How is that going to help? Why didn’t we put anything on eliminating the practice of deeming under WSIB within this bill? We didn’t do that. It’s not there.

Price-gouging: Gas prices have been ludicrous in northern Ontario. People have been paying high prices. This is what I was hearing quite often at the doors, where everybody was upset. Did we see anything in legislation that was contained in here? I remember, just before we went to the doors—we had a very nice exercise here this afternoon where we demonstrated a lot of the words that the Premier was using when he was first elected in 2018, on how he was going to bring in legislation and monitor certain individuals to make sure that price-gouging stopped. That didn’t happen.

Health care was also affected in another way in northern Ontario, because people are wondering, “How am I going to get to and from my appointments?” We have to use our roads, right? So the investment that this government has touted, putting $10 billion-plus into roads like the Bradford Bypass and the 413—well, heck, there’s 68 kilometres of Highway 69 that could be finished that this government didn’t put a dollar or a cent towards in this budget. We didn’t see that.

In my specific riding of Algoma–Manitoulin: 542 and 551. Those are roads on Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in this world. You would think it would be a strategy for this government to develop a tourism practice which would attract individuals to northern Ontario, whether it be cycling or just sightseeing, and provide good roads. Well, they did some resurfacing just a couple of weeks ago. Guess what I was informed of this morning? Those roads are already full of potholes—the deterioration. So the five-year cycle is already starting. I can see why the people are so frustrated on Manitoulin Island that this is wasted money, when they could have properly paved those roads, which would have lasted the test of time.

Highway 637 into Killarney: It is a disaster. For crying out loud, that’s one of the best tourism areas we have in this province.

Highway 548 on St. Joseph Island—again I’m very fortunate in my riding. I have two beautiful islands, gems on their own. But again, if we’re going to attract individuals to come to our community, let’s make sure that the infrastructure that is there is properly cared for.

There are many other things that are not in the budget. Why did they not legislate the 10 paid sick days for people across this province? Why wasn’t that done? The experts have been telling this government to do so.

Why wasn’t there anything in this budget on climate change, real action on climate change? There was nothing in this budget. We see what is happening. We see more forest fires. We see more floods. We see the impact that it’s having on our municipal infrastructure. Bigger drains, larger culverts are needed, but we didn’t see anything about that.

Donna Behnke out of Elliot Lake has been writing to me: “Mike, please get them to do something on ODSP.” I told her, “Listen, I hear there’s something coming in the budget.” A 5% increase, $58—my goodness, that is a slap in her face. Those were her exact words that she provided to me. That is an embarrassment. She says, “What am I supposed to do with that $58? Do they not know my rent went up $110? Do they not know the price of food has gone up? Do they not know how much money it costs me in order to get to the grocery store?”

There are many things that are missing out of this budget that should have been in here, and this government again has shown how disconnected they are with those who are not singing their song. If I’m not singing the song, then I’m not going to be part of the band, and a lot of people are feeling like that in Ontario.

I know I’m going to hear from this government, “The member from Algoma–Manitoulin did not support the budget,” and they’re going to quote the area that I didn’t support. You know what? That’s fine. My communities know well enough and they are informed of the game this government is playing. I look forward to the next four years because I will stand in my place each and every day and bring the voices of people across Algoma–Manitoulin to this Legislature.