East.

I’m going to stray for one second, Madam Speaker, but you’ll see the connection. I know that sometimes the table gets a bit worried that the connections aren’t there. But the connections really are there. We’re connecting the former leader of the NDP, who, until very recently, was a member of this House, who was unsupportive for 10 or 12 or 13 years, as leader of the NDP, particularly in the last four years, of measures that were—transit and transportation: didn’t like it; building homes: didn’t like it. Anti-development—that was the leader. Two weeks after leaving office, running for mayor—well, all just a misunderstanding; people really didn’t understand her.

Interjection.

But what we understand now is, we’ve got to get it done.

Again, I stray a bit far, because the member for Hamilton East, of course, Madam Speaker—and it will come around, I promise you—has a magnificent track record in his community; it goes without saying. The member for Hamilton East is a community builder. He helps build that community. And I will say—I know he will forgive me—there were a lot of people who probably said before the last election, “Conservatives will never elect a member for Hamilton East.” I know they said that.

Interjections.

Could I seek unanimous consent now to speak for an extra hour, Madam Speaker? I’ve only got 22 minutes. So I’ll do it right now.

I seek unanimous consent to extend my remarks by another 60 minutes.

I think that highlights why we can’t support the motion—because it’s not about being heard, because they shot down an opportunity to be heard. It’s not about the government being heard. It’s not about the people being heard. It’s only about what they want.

So, given that the NDP don’t want people to be heard, it makes this whole amendment to the motion irrelevant. Given that they don’t want to be heard, I move the adjournment of the debate.

It’s not often that a House leader has an entire party vote against him and is happy about it—because they did what always happens with Conservative parties: They lifted me up so that we can continue the hard work for the people of the province of Ontario, and again, I thank them for it. We couldn’t get any of this done if we didn’t work together as a team.

As I look across the vast expanse of Conservatives on this side of the House, on that side of the House, where used to sit NDP now sit Conservatives—that’s a majority caucus on that side of the House, over there, and they want to be heard on the budget. They’ve been talking about the great budget that was presented, as I talked about, by the Minister of Finance before the last election.

We’re not going to delay making things better for the people of the province of Ontario—because they wanted to shut down me, they wanted to shut down all of you. We said no. And we came in massive numbers, just like the people of the province of Ontario did on June 2—and in return, a strong, stable Conservative majority government for the province of Ontario. Why did they do that? Because they knew that progress could not be stopped. They said, “There is no way we are going to stop the progress that is made.”

A budget that includes transit and transportation initiatives—we talked about this earlier. When we allowed the NDP-Liberal coalition that almost destroyed the province of Ontario for so many years, they couldn’t come up with a subway. We heard it over and over and over again. I talked about this when I was a federal member. I announced the Sheppard subway and the Scarborough subway four different times, and by the last time, it was like—“Holy mackerel. We’re not coming back out until you guys figure out what you want to do.” And in the first year of our mandate, what did we get done? We got a subway in Toronto. We got a subway into York region. And let me tell you, Madam Speaker—where are the member for Richmond Hill and the minister from Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill? These two drove the York subway extension, and it’s for them. They said, “We need a subway in York region,” and they fought for it. For so long, Liberal politicians failed. But we got it done. We’re getting it done.

For those colleagues who really were so instrumental in saying, “Get out there and talk about the things that are important. Don’t let them shut you down,” I referenced earlier in debate—for some of you who were so intense in reading your files, I wanted to refresh you on how the former leader of the NDP now wants us to pass our budget. Her slogan for mayor of Hamilton is “Get It Done.” Andrea Horwath, the former leader of the NDP, now running for the mayor of Hamilton, supports everything we’re doing.

Look at my Mississauga caucus that was returned to the House—Mississauga–Streetsville, Mississauga Centre, Mississauga–Erin Mills, Mississauga East–Cooksville, Mississauga–Lakeshore, Mississauga–Malton. Are you telling me there are Conservatives in all of Mississauga yet again? Is that what you’re saying to me? Why are there Conservatives in all of Mississauga? Because you’re getting it done.

We talked about the member for Hamilton East, but let’s talk about the member for York South–Weston. When was the last time a Conservative held the seat in York South–Weston? I think it was 75, 76 years ago. They all said, “It’s not going to happen,” but we got it done.

There’s just so much. Where does it end?

There was a very good member in this House—I enjoyed working with him. I’m going to be honest. He was a member for a very, very long time. He is a good, decent man—the member for Timmins, Gilles Bisson. Everybody said, “You’re not going to beat Gilles Bisson.” He’s a good guy. Don’t get me wrong; he accomplished a lot in his time in office. Everybody said, “You can’t do it. You’re not going to win the north. It’s not going to happen for Conservatives.” Well, guess what? George is here.

Interjections.

We heard that before. The member for Sault Ste. Marie said, “Conservatives are never going to win Sault Ste. Marie,” but we got that one done even before the last election.

Then, in North Bay, they said you couldn’t do that, but we still maintain North Bay,

In Thunder Bay—“You’re never going win a seat in Thunder Bay. It’s not going to happen.” But did it happen? It happened.

It’s all about getting things done. That’s why we don’t want to delay the budget. Why would we want to delay the budget, a budget that returned so many Conservatives?

Let’s think for a second, for the new colleagues, about what it was like in this place before the last election. I’m going to share a little story, Madam Speaker, through you, to the colleagues who are new. You will remember, because you’re a veteran of the place, how time after time after time we would talk about things that were important to Brampton. We would talk about things that were important to Brampton, and they said, “Well, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You guys don’t understand the people of Brampton.” We would talk about transit: “You don’t get them.” We would talk about a highway: “They don’t want a highway.” We would talk about health care: “They don’t need health care.” They said, we are going to take them—and actually, the leader of the federal NDP, his brother was one of the members who was in that area. The deputy leader of the NDP was also there. And do you know what?

Help me—Brampton Centre is a Conservative. Is it Brampton East—

Interjection.

Interjections.

I know what all colleagues are thinking. They’re thinking it can’t get any better than that. “Holy mackerel. Does it get any better than that?” I think, yes, it does get better than that, because there were two ridings—Essex and Windsor–Tecumseh. Windsor–Tecumseh—94 years between Conservative—

Interjections.

Perhaps colleagues can help me. Is there a Conservative in Windsor–Tecumseh?

People will remember the former member for Essex. He did a good job for the job that he had to do. I actually like him. He’s a decent guy, but it’s tough to find a more negative take on our—a good guy. He’s a very positive guy—but it’s hard to find a more negative take on the things that we were accomplishing as government. But guess what? Is the member for Essex a Conservative, colleagues? Yes—right there.

Glengarry–Prescott–Russell—“Conservatives don’t win in francophone ridings. That doesn’t happen.” Is the member for Glengarry–Prescott–Russell here? Is he a Conservative? Yes, he is—right there, colleagues.

Across the board, that is what Conservatives do—they get things done.

The NDP bring a motion to the floor of this House, colleagues, and what do they want to do? They want to delay, and how—think about this: We want to continue debate. You all convinced me we’ve got to continue debate and we won’t be silenced. But who was silenced this afternoon? Who didn’t even stand and vote? It was the opposition NDP. They didn’t even have the temerity to get out of their seats on the last vote and be heard by the people of the province of Ontario. It really proves, colleagues, that it’s all about games. That’s all they care about.

Well, we care about getting things done for the people of the province of Ontario.

We want to reform health care in the province of Ontario. That’s why we’re not going to delay. That’s why we’re not going to go for an amendment to a motion—colleagues, you know we brought forward a motion because we want to pass the budget, which the people of the province of Ontario massively approved in an election. We said we won’t delay it. We also brought to this floor a piece of legislation that will help improve health care for millions of people in the province of Ontario. They want us to delay it. They want us to delay any changes—like somehow it makes it better to delay. Well, that’s what they did.

We saw what NDP policies were—you remember this. When they did have the one chance to govern, they almost bankrupted us—an $11-billion deficit in 1995. They closed down—well, colleagues, what did they do? They actually fired nurses, laid off doctors. They then did something called a Rae Day—they made you take 10 days off without getting paid. They closed floors of hospitals, shuttered floors of hospitals—but don’t worry, because then they got together in a room, created a song and sang a song at a piano, “We’re all in this together,” and that was supposed to make everything better, but it didn’t. It took a Mike Harris government to put Ontario back on track—and we got it done.

Madam Speaker, I think it is very clear why we want to continue working for the people of the province of Ontario; why we aren’t going to play the games of the opposition; why I, as the House leader, am going to take the advice of my colleagues and use all of the tools at my disposal to make sure that these two important pieces of legislation pass quickly. Because of that and because I want to get these bills done and passed, I move the adjournment of the House.

East.

Del Duca on roads.

I am proud to rise today in this great place among my distinguished colleagues in this House.

First, Speaker, I wish you a sincere congratulations on your own re-election in this past campaign. I grew up learning quite a bit about you on CHCH television when I could tune in with my rabbit ears. It’s truly an honour and privilege to have the opportunity to serve side by side with you and all 124 members of this House who represent their communities.

I want to begin by taking this moment to wholeheartedly thank the voters of Windsor–Tecumseh. I am grateful to each person who gave me this privilege to serve them. The community told me that this is the government that, when it mattered, supported our community. The delivery of real, tangible results from this government stood out for my constituents.

Les actions de ce gouvernement sont transformatrices pour ma communauté. C’est ce gouvernement qui a fait possible l’avancement de l’hôpital régional de soins aigus de Windsor-Essex. C’est ce gouvernement qui termine enfin l’élargissement à quatre voies de l’autoroute 3 à travers Windsor et le comté d’Essex, un projet autrement suspendu depuis 2011. C’est ce gouvernement qui investit des centaines de millions de dollars en soutien financier pour la fabrication de pointe dans notre région, comme l’usine d’assemblage de batteries de véhicules électriques NextStar Energy, le Centre d’innovation pour les batteries Flex-Ion et le réoutillage de l’usine d’assemblage de Stellantis à Windsor.

The ayes are 0; the nays are 69.

Speaker, I would not be here without those who put their heart and soul into helping me, and many are in the gallery today:

My loving wife, Mary, with her heart of gold, put everything aside to support me in the election and beyond. I hope that Mary forgives me for complicating our wedding plans with an election campaign.

My mother, Mary Jo, who, as a retired Catholic elementary teacher, put herself well outside of her comfort zone as a PC canvasser, but has been so supportive of me and a continued champion for me for my whole life.

My campaign manager and executive assistant, Paul Synnott, who, after 20 years of working hard to help the people he believes in, truly earned a significant win that is reflective of the impact that he brings to a campaign.

And I wish a warm welcome to my constituency assistant Rachel Haddad, here in the gallery, who’s worked with sincere passion and has delivered tremendous results for the betterment of our community since she joined our office.

To all my loyal and hard-working campaign volunteers: I can’t thank you enough. Your support and your devotion, especially for something that wasn’t a sure thing, will never be forgotten.

My journey here really began with Scouts Canada, as a member of the 35th Tecumseh Scout Group. I joined scouting 35 years ago. Today, I proudly serve as the group commissioner. Scouting is where I learned the importance of citizenship, of values and of ethics. Our scout law is a reliable guide every single day to be helpful and trustworthy, kind and cheerful, considerate and clean and wise in the use of all resources. Scouting is also where I learned the importance of teamwork, to pitch in and to share the load, whether it is chairing the jamboree or cleaning the kybo. Every task is an essential one, and there’s often unpleasant work to be done. But the values I’ve learned from scouting have never let me down.

Speaker, I also come to the House armed with a significant career in government, working both as a member of the civil service and as an elected official in my own right. For almost 20 years, I’ve been a civil engineer employed by the city of Windsor. The city of Windsor is home to three quarters of my constituents. It is a city built on grit, of standing up for yourself for what is right and what is just. It is a city that reflects resilience, and a populace that comes together in times of need. Windsor’s history is tailor-made for a movie script. From rum-running to railroads, from a strong Indigenous and colonial history to industrial progress, Windsor is one of a kind. It’s been a privilege to serve the residents of Windsor every day of my professional career and to work to improve our neighbourhoods and their services. I thank Mayor Drew Dilkens for his support, and as my employer that he and the city granted me a leave to have the opportunity to serve here in the Ontario Legislature.

One highlight of working in Windsor was my time spent with former mayor Eddie Francis. He was an incredible salesperson for the city of Windsor. I worked with Mayor Francis for two and a half years on economic development files for the betterment of our community. He showed me exactly why the work that we do here on a policy basis is meaningful and rewarding.

My experience being a civil servant enticed me to apply my skills in new ways. The municipal council of the town of Tecumseh, led by mayor Gary McNamara, took a chance on me by appointing me to the committee of adjustment, the Essex County Library Board and the Property Standards Committee. I’m grateful for the eight years that I served with those citizen appointments.

By 2014, armed with my experience working with Mayor Francis, I ran for municipal council, knowing I could offer the best possible understanding of how government works and how to achieve results; how to apply the problem-solving skills I developed as a civil engineer. In spite of having no profile to speak of whatsoever, the residents of my ward elected me in 2014 and, four years later, in 2018, returned me to council by acclamation. I remain incredibly grateful that most of the residents of Tecumseh chose to continue to support me for a third time in the recent provincial election. I would equally like to thank my colleagues from the town of Tecumseh council, led by Mayor McNamara, who unanimously supported my candidacy for this election across party lines.

I’d like to make a special thanks to councillor Brian Houston, who gave me hundreds of hours of help on this campaign and delivered in spades as my get-out-the-vote chair—and a sincere congratulations on his own acclamation for a third term to Tecumseh council.

Professional Engineers Ontario has noted that I’m the only professional engineer to be elected serving in this House in the 43rd Ontario Legislature. My actions here must reflect the highest level of ethics and of a duty to the public. I pledge to make my fellow engineers proud of the service that I deliver in this Legislature.

Being from Windsor–Tecumseh means that many generations of my family work in or have worked in the auto industry, and this brings forward a set of rivalries that might not be as pronounced elsewhere in Ontario. Speaker, I will let you be the judge as to whether my mom’s Plymouth Horizon or my dad’s Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera was the better vehicle. But my family, like so many others in Windsor–Tecumseh, is ingrained in the auto industry. On my father’s side, it was Newham Chev-Olds in Chatham-Kent–Leamington, in Merlin, Ontario. On my mother’s side were countless relatives working at the Windsor assembly plant. So when family Christmas was hosted every year in Riverside, it just would not be right to stoke the fires of the Chrysler versus GM versus Ford debate. Usually those debates were initiated by my father, and I don’t quite take after him in that sense, but he sure made things fun.

But in Windsor–Tecumseh, the auto industry is who we are. It is our pride. I’m proud of my brother Jim, who continued this legacy as a mould-maker, skilled in what he does in supporting the development of vehicle parts in one of Oldcastle’s world-class advanced manufacturing companies, Crest Mold Technology.

We are home to so much more. We are home to Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd., home of Canadian Club, J.P. Wiser’s, Polar Ice and McGuinness. We’re home to two of Ford Motor Company of Canada’s engine plants. We’re home to Bonduelle, who package many of the frozen vegetables that you buy at the grocery store. And we’re home to Jamieson Wellness, one of Canada’s leaders in natural health product manufacturing.

Nous avons ainsi à Windsor–Tecumseh un fort patrimoine franco-ontarien. Dans ma circonscription, c’est facile de retrouver toute évidence de ça : les chemins Pierre, Lacasse, Lesperance, Lauzon, Drouillard, St. Pierre, Labute, Wyandotte. Cette histoire demeure très importante, et la communauté franco-ontarienne fait grand effort à se faire inclure chez moi.

J’ai eu la chance d’apprendre le français grâce à notre réseau des écoles francophones. Il en existe quatre dans mon quartier propre où les anglophones comme moi peuvent devenir francophiles et partager la culture franco-ontarienne. Mon école secondaire, L’Essor, était même le sujet d’un débat ici dans la 31^e Assemblée. Le projet de loi 3 était une loi obligeant le conseil scolaire du comté d’Essex à fournir une école secondaire de langue française. C’était en 1977. Aux députés qui avaient supporté ce projet de loi, merci. J’ai appris la langue française grâce à vos efforts.

J’ai continué mon éducation à l’Université d’Ottawa. C’était important pour moi de ne pas perdre mon bilinguisme. J’ai complété deux baccalauréats avec une éducation dans la langue française ici en Ontario. Il y a très peu d’autres endroits où c’est même possible, et j’apprécie bien que c’est grâce à la politique provinciale que je peux m’exprimer en français.

One of the best parts of coming home to Windsor–Tecumseh is the immersion in our community of generosity, tolerance and respect for one another—and did the community ever consider trying a new approach on June 2. Speaker, there’s not much precedent for my hometown electing a PC candidate. The people of the town of Tecumseh have not been represented by either a Conservative MPP or a Tecumseh resident since our community’s beloved first mayor and hero from World War I, Colonel Paul Poisson, who served in this House from 1926 to 1934. It is an incredible privilege to be able to follow in Colonel Poisson’s footsteps.

But what is certainly with precedent is a history and a record of good representation, no matter the political stripe. My hometown has been represented by some of the most respected members of this House: Dave Cooke—who I thank very much for watching my speech from his home today; I truly appreciate it—Wayne Lessard, Dwight Duncan and my predecessor in this riding, Percy Hatfield, who remains a giant in our community. Percy was our community’s go-to for politics. He was the host of Percy’s Panel on the CBC Windsor evening news, and is a consummate professional in every sense of the word.

As a municipal staff member, I watched as Percy provided an exemplary demonstration of class and nobility as a city councillor. He did not tolerate disrespect of process or of the people involved. He demonstrated to me and to the civil service that our contributions were appreciated.

Percy clearly had a sincere appreciation for the political process, no matter who was involved. A few years ago, he was one of the attendees for a PC leaders’ debate hosted in my neighbourhood at the Lakeshore Imagine Cinemas, and I was quite happy to see that Percy had secured one of the best seats in the house for that one.

Shortly after I was elected to town council in 2014, I attended the Professional Engineers Ontario Queen’s Park day reception right here at the Ontario Legislature. Percy showed me this beautiful building and the hidden gems in his office, and he also left me with a parting reflection, that at some point in the distant future, he will need to have a worthy successor. I will do my utmost to give justice to the role given to me and to offer the same level of respect and dignity that Percy gave to this role for the many years that he served.

As I know Percy is also likely watching as well, I want to say a sincere thank you to Percy Hatfield for his tremendous service to our community, for his friendship over many years and for the tremendous efforts of him and his staff to transition our constituency office.

I would like to thank Premier Ford and everyone at the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario for believing in me and for supporting my candidacy despite our riding’s electoral history. The truism in politics is typically that you fish where the fish are. But the English philosopher Thomas Paine might have coined it best in this case: “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”

Speaker, I would like to close in recognizing my father, James Dowie. He worked seven days a week, usually beginning at 5 a.m., and had a difficult job as an insurance adjustor. He often gave people news that they would be unhappy with and witnessed the aftermath of countless tragedies. He knew the importance of balance, though. On weekends, he was both the president and the garbage collector at Rochester Place Resort.

One of the last things he was able to tell me before he passed away in 2017 was this: that he would regret very much not having had the opportunity to see me become mayor some day. I told him not to worry, that it was not destined to happen. If only he could see me now, being given the tremendous privilege of serving the people of Windsor–Tecumseh and the people of Ontario.

I look forward to working with all members of this House to move Ontario forward and appreciate the opportunity to listen and learn from every one of you over the next four years.

The government House leader is seeking unanimous consent to extend the debate for one hour.

Interjection: His speaking time.

I hear a no.

All those in favour of the motion, say “aye.”

All those opposed to the motion, say “nay.”

In my opinion, the nays have it.

Call in the members. This is a 30-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1417 to 1447.

All those in favour of the motion, please rise and remain standing to be counted by the Clerk.

All those opposed to the motion, please rise and remain standing to be counted by the Clerk.

We now return to the government House leader to continue debate.

All those in favour of the motion, say “aye.”

All those opposed to the motion, say “nay.”

In my opinion, the nays have it.

Call in the members. This is a 30-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1503 to 1533.

All those in favour of the motion, please rise and remain standing to be counted by the Clerks.

All those opposed to the motion, please rise and remain standing to be counted by the Clerks.

Pursuant to standing order 50(b), I am now required to put the question.

Mr. Mantha has moved an amendment to government notice of motion number 4 relating to allocation of time on Bill 2, An Act to implement Budget measures and to enact and amend various statutes, and Bill 7, An Act to amend the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 with respect to patients requiring an alternate level of care and other matters and to make a consequential amendment to the Health Care Consent Act, 1996. Is it the pleasure of the House that the amendment carry?

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed to the motion will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the nays have it.

A recorded vote being required, it will be deferred until the next instance of deferred votes.

Vote deferred.

Resuming the debate adjourned on August 25, 2022, on the motion for an address in reply to the speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the opening of the session.

The member from Windsor–Tecumseh can continue.

I want to thank the member for Windsor–Tecumseh for sharing his beautiful information and story, and I was pleased to find out that he was a Boy Scout and involved in this wonderful and time-honoured organization. Would the member advise or recall the badges he received at that time?

I want to congratulate the member from Windsor–Tecumseh on your election and also on your maiden speech today. It was really a pleasure to listen to you. And I, too, want to say that your comments about Percy were really heartfelt, and I think it really reflects the impression that we all had of him in this Legislature. I got a chance to speak to and to support his private member’s bill on the Poet Laureate, and am really thrilled that the first Poet Laureate for Ontario hails from Scarborough, Randell Adjei. It’s a big deal for our community to see someone like him, who grew up in the community, having this role and influencing young people to love literature and poetry.

I wondered if you could talk about the importance of representation from your background in Scouts, as well.

Congratulations on your election and your wonderful speech. It was very noble of you to bring up Percy. Certainly we miss him, but we of course welcome you here in the chamber.

I was also really pleased to hear that you come from an engineering background. I have studied the sciences, and I’d love for you to share with us maybe what unique perspective having a background in engineering and science brings to politics.

I want to thank the member from Windsor–Tecumseh and congratulate him on his inaugural speech. What you’ve brought into this House is exactly what the previous member brought to this House: class.

That was a very classy move of you to recognize the contributions that Percy did bring to this House. He brought a decorum in this House. He was very successful in bringing the poet laureate private member’s bill that he had. He had a constant smile, and we are all—all—going to miss his poems that he brought into this House. You have some big shoes to fill, and I hope to hear a poem or two coming out of you.

C’est tellement un plaisir d’avoir un autre francophone ici dans la maison aussi. Je regarde vers toi pour apporter le même comportement que le membre, Percy, apportait dans cette maison. Je te pose la question : qu’est-ce que les gens de ta circonscription puissent s’attendre de toi? Percy a apporté plusieurs histoires ici au plancher de l’Assemblée, et une touche personnelle—n’oublie jamais qui t’as fait parvenir ici en maison. Mais qu’est-ce que tu apportes de la part de ta circonscription et des gens que tu représentes au plancher de l’Assemblée ici?

Questions and answers?

Merci au membre d’Algoma–Manitoulin pour sa question. Effectivement, j’aimerais bien être au service de ma communauté. J’aimerais bien faire tout ce que M. Hatfield a apporté à ce rôle, au sein du gouvernement. Ce que, moi, je peux offrir? Comment est-ce que je peux dire ça en peu de mots?

I would like to make sure the well-being of my community is taken care of, and that means working with everybody in my community, even those who really don’t like me or don’t support me. But the reality is, my community is better off by having achieved some good. And if I’m here for four years, if I’m here for longer, at the end of the day, I have to look back and say, “Did I represent our community with dignity and with pride?” And that’s what I will bring to this role. I will give a dignified representation of service every single day that I’m serving in this seat.

It’s a pleasure for me to put a question to my good friend and neighbour from the riding of Windsor–Tecumseh, who, by coincidence, is from a hometown whose nomenclature hails back to the history of our area, just as the name of my hometown hails back to the history of our area. So I would like to ask the kind member if he would touch a little bit on the history of his hometown and give the members of this House the benefit of the knowledge of what we’re all about.

Questions?

Further debate?

First of all, I would like to congratulate the member from Windsor–Tecumseh for his election. What an accomplishment. You were a councillor. You were actually recognized as one of the 40 leaders under 40 in Windsor–Tecumseh. It’s a pleasure to see you here.

My question would be if there’s anything that you want to accomplish in the next four years for your riding. If you could share that as well.

I wish to use my limited time today for my inaugural speech to tell you why I’m here and what I hope to accomplish as the new MPP for Don Valley West.

Before I do that, I want to acknowledge that we are on the land of many First Nations peoples and recognize their enduring presence here and the work still needed to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.

Je tiens à vous féliciter, monsieur le Président, pour votre réélection à la présidence. Je voudrais également féliciter tous les députés ici pour leurs campagnes réussies, ainsi que les candidats de tous les partis qui ont eu le courage de participer à l’élection.

Thank you to the residents of Don Valley West for talking to me at the doors, on the phone, at community events and at three debates during the campaign. I’m humbled by and grateful for their support. I will work hard and to the best of my ability to represent their needs here at Queen’s Park, and will strive to exceed their expectations.

I’m also humbled to sit with my fellow Liberal MPPs, both because of the small number of us elected here but also because of their mighty and varied talents.

Thank you to my family, extended family, friends, neighbours, campaign team, volunteers and donors who supported me throughout my first election campaign and for bringing such enthusiasm and delicious food to the office:

—my loving husband, Dave, and wonderful children, Maddi and Luke Farwell, who are here today, who campaigned almost as often as I did and who gave advice and help with things I couldn’t do myself;

—my parents, Keith and Barb Bowman, also here, who as always gave me their unwavering support and love even when they asked if I knew what I was getting myself into—and I’m sure I didn’t;

—my supportive in-laws, Peter and Barbara;

—my campaign team, many of whom are also here: Michael Fontein, Fatma Said, Abeir Liton, Caroline Leclerc, Jenna Ghassabeh, Ethan Ullmann and Shafiq Qaadri.

I would like to name all my dedicated volunteers but in the interests of time I will name a few to represent the many: Maralynn Beach, Ali Baig, Masood Alam, and members of the Don Valley West PLA.

To the rest of my team, ranging in age from 12 to 87 and from all parts of the riding, thank you. You all made our campaign so much fun.

I want to also give a special thanks to Kathleen Wynne, the past MPP and former Premier, for both her support and for giving me space as the new candidate to chart my own path.

Don Valley West has been my home for 28 years, and it is where my husband and I have raised our two children. It is a wonderfully diverse community. As candidates, we meet many interesting people during our campaign. Some who stood out for me were two Afghani refugees, two sisters, who had just landed in Toronto, and Canada’s own Gordon Lightfoot—especially since I’m fan.

Don Valley West was also home to John Bosley, who served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1984 to 1986 and who, sadly, passed away in April of this year, and Agnes Macphail, one of the first two women elected to the Ontario Legislature, in 1943.

Many Ontarians and indeed Canadians benefit from the great work of organizations in our community, like Sunnybrook Veterans Centre, Holland Bloorview kids rehab hospital, York U’s Glendon college, Sunnybrook Hospital, the Canadian Film Institute and the CNIB. It is also home to Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy in Thorncliffe Park, one of Canada’s largest all-kindergarten schools, with 500 students, most of whom have a first language other than English.

Madam Speaker, I so appreciated listening to the inaugural speeches during the first two weeks of this 43rd Parliament. Hearing the personal stories of my colleagues in the House, including from Windsor–Tecumseh today, demonstrates that we have much more in common than the political differences we tend to focus on here. You will hear some of that similarity as I share my story.

I am descended from settler ancestors who came to Canada in the 1800s from Londonderry, Northern Ireland; Argyllshire, Scotland; and Cornwall, England, all of whom were farmers in southern Ontario.

I am fortunate to be born on this land. I was born in London, Ontario, eldest daughter of Keith and Barb Bowman and big sister to Mike, Dan and Dennis.

My parents both grew up on farms near Stratford. They learned about hard work by necessity, and my brothers and I learned it from them.

My father was one of eight children, my mom one of seven, and my paternal grandmother one of 14. Family is everywhere, and it’s a big part of who I am.

My paternal grandmother, Florence Bowman, had 23 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren. She died in her 100th year, on March 4, 2020, just as the COVID pandemic loomed. I have longevity in my genes, and I want to leave Ontario a better place for my great-grandchildren.

My maternal grandmother, Isobel, lived to be about 90 years old and made us laugh all the time. My grandfather abandoned her and their seven children all under the age of 11. I come from a line of strong women.

I followed in my father’s footsteps as a CPA chartered accountant, but in my mother’s in being a mom to my kids. I worked hard as a woman and working mom to have a fulfilling career and to make our house a loving home. I hope I have succeeded at both most of the time and that my kids forgive me for the times I didn’t.

My mother led the charge to save our local London public school from being shut down, and it’s still open today. My father served on numerous volunteer boards throughout his long career. He retired at age 75, after which I promptly enlisted him to be my campaign CFO.

My grandparents and parents were all great role models, and are still today, for living a life of service, for lifelong learning, working hard and using one’s talents to make a difference and reach your full potential. I want to support our public institutions so that all Ontarians can do that too.

As a young kid of 10 or 11, I delivered the Globe and Mail in the early mornings and have loved reading it ever since. I built on that interest and became a CPA and later a banker, which gave me a wide range of opportunity, from conducting an audit at Darlington nuclear station to working in finance in Canada, the US, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia. During my professional life, I worked hard to accomplish my career goals while living out my personal values by volunteering with great organizations like the Kidney Foundation and co-founding a women’s network more than 20 years ago. I continue to be involved in supporting women today.

In 2017, life dealt my family and me a very severe blow: My youngest brother, Dr. Dennis Bowman, died suddenly at the age of 39. Dennis was a physician, an anesthetist, an outdoorsman and a minimalist. One of the things we had in common was the pursuit of efficiency, in time, money and resources. Dennis loved his work but would also share stories about the opportunities he observed in the health care system, and we would talk about how things could be better.

In the months that followed Dennis’s death, I thought about family, my career and what was next. I wanted to use my skills of leadership, financial expertise and implementing major change to make a more meaningful impact and contribution of service in advancing women, education, economic prosperity and diversity and inclusion. I was fortunate to be appointed to the board of the Bank of Canada. It was a wonderful opportunity for someone like me, who has a keen interest in our economy. Policy really matters, and policy-makers have an enormous impact on our lives.

Being at the bank, I got to see first-hand how interesting the work of policy-makers is, and I began to think about how I could contribute to that work in a more meaningful way. Strong policy, community service, working together for a common cause—that is what we are all here to do.

I want to focus on what I can give back to my community of Don Valley West and this great province. I bring to this experience the things I’ve learned when helping lead businesses and organizations, and that includes the belief that we can provide better opportunities for more people when we work together, when we are inclusive.

The residents of Don Valley West work together to support those in need and to shape the future of their neighborhoods. They have spoken about the need for more home care for seniors, affordable housing, and about the surprise announcement of the Metrolinx maintenance and storage facility in Thorncliffe Park, one of the most densely populated parts of Toronto.

Many of my constituents were disappointed with the government’s cancellation of the Midtown in Focus plan, which was created with input from municipal and community stakeholders and approved by a democratically elected city council. This plan would have balanced the needs of a growing population with the services that that growth demands. Instead, residents feel that they are losing their voice, and it’s up to us to make sure that they are engaged in how their communities grow.

There are smart, capable people in every party, and therefore there are innovative ideas in every party. Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney brought Canada NAFTA. The CCF brought universal health care. These were both good for Canada.

I am a Liberal because progressive policies help Ontarians thrive, and when people thrive, businesses thrive and the economy thrives. I ran in Don Valley West as a fiscally minded Liberal who believes that we can invest money wisely to lift our public institutions so they lift people up. Progressive policies do just that.

Policies like subsidized child care not only lower costs for families, they bring more women into the workforce, alleviating the worker shortage, promoting economic growth and helping address inequality. More diverse boards result in better business outcomes. Policy that would drive more diversity on boards would improve equality and grow our economy. According to McKinsey, taking steps to decrease gender inequality in the workplace may benefit Canada’s economy by as much as $150 billion. That’s like adding a whole new financial services sector to our economy. Progressive liberal policy, progressive policy, is fiscally responsible.

I want to acknowledge, having just mentioned several policies that would advance women, that, along with the other 46 women MPPs in this 43rd Parliament, there have only been 162 women elected here in Ontario, of 1,968 parliamentarians in total. Mr. Speaker, there is more work to do to ensure women’s voices, diverse voices, are heard here at Queen’s Park and outside these walls.

I will conclude with a story of my first time at Queen’s Park. It was June 18, 1990. Thousands of people, including me, left their offices to see Nelson Mandela, just four short months after he was released from prison. To hear his words and see his spirit of hope after what he had endured was so inspiring. With a majority of seats, this government does not need the support from those of us with other political stripes to pass their bills, but I urge the Premier and his ministers to think not only in terms of seats but in terms of people—all people of this province, who are represented also by those of us in opposition. I urge him to consider the words of Mandela, to ensure that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before.

I appreciate the question from the member from Humber River–Black Creek. This is actually something I’ve been able to apply throughout my career. I haven’t always practised as an engineer. Within the city of Windsor, I’ve worked in the mayor’s office or in the CO’s office. I’ve done traffic. I’ve done land development.

So at the end of the day, what’s of value is the problem-solving skills. You are given a set of constraints and you figure out a solution that fits within those constraints. You don’t use ideology; you look at, on balance, what is best. There’s never really a perfect solution, but you evaluate the options, and ultimately when we debate policy, that is entirely what we’re doing in this House. We consider the options, we consider the consequences and we cast a vote based on our feeling of what’s the best balance. That is the approach that I’ve always engaged in, and I’m looking forward to applying it.

This government’s commitment to redeveloping and developing the new regional acute care hospital on County Road 42 was a game-changer, and it’s why I’m here today. I have to see that come to fruition for the betterment of our community. I’m delighted that the government supports that direction.

Question?

Thank you, member for Don Valley West, for your fascinating story.

I’m going to ask you a lighter question than that. You met Gordon Lightfoot, an iconic Canadian legend. I’m sure we all can start with, I don’t know, Sundown, the railway trilogy, Edmund Fitzgerald—so fantastic and such a fascinating Canadian. Can you tell us about that experience, meeting him?