I’m pleased to rise today in support of government notice of motion 13.

As a member of the Standing Committee on Justice Policy, I had the opportunity to listen in on many testimonials from stakeholders on both sides of this issue. I have to say, I could not help but be offended and hurt on behalf of families who have lost loved ones as a result of our lax bail system when some presenters called these deaths “exceptions” or “singular occurrences” and suggested that the bail status quo is already too onerous and suggested that the 13 Premiers of this country got it all wrong and, in fact, we should be reforming the bail system in the other direction. Speaker, I could not help but be shocked by those testimonies, and thankfully they were in the minority. The vast majority of stakeholders and presenters agreed that when it comes to our bail system, the status quo is not working.

I want to take a moment now to honour the life of a young man lost in the line of duty whose death was felt deeply by my community—the Polish Canadian community. I’m referring, of course, to the senseless murder of 28-year-old OPP Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala.

“Witold Dzielski, Poland’s ambassador to Canada, said Pierzchala was a part of a long history of Polish Canadians serving their country and community.”

His sister “Justyna said Greg loved art, dancing, gardening and spending time at Algonquin Park, in nature.”

She said, “He had his priorities straight.... His health, his faith, his education, his work, and above all, his family.”

She also said that her brother was “so much more than just a police officer.

“He was always curious and wanted to learn as much as he possibly could.... He loved art. It was a pain to go to museums with him because he could stare at a single painting all day. He would tell me about his plans to dedicate a whole room in his future house where he could go and stare at artwork after a long day....”

He was an accomplished athlete. When he was hired, it was noted he had a second-degree black belt in Okinawan karate. In high school in Barrie, he participated in soccer, swimming, wrestling, rowing and track and field. He also competed in varsity wrestling and was an Academic All-Canadian. He was also fluent in Polish.

Speaker, this was a young, bright light, a man of faith, a man of honour stolen from his family and from all of us—his community, his province and his country—way too soon. His death was not a singular occurrence or an exception. The devastation of his murder will be felt for a long time.

So let’s talk about the accused in this case. The accused had a conviction and prison sentence for armed robbery, a life ban on possessing a firearm and an outstanding assault and weapons charge. Should this individual have been granted bail and released from prison? All these crimes, transgressions and extreme violations of our laws, yet the individual was let out on bail and, while out on bail, committed a deadly crime. This accused went on to shoot and kill Constable Pierzchala, who was responding to what appeared to be a routine roadside check near Hagersville, Ontario, on his very first day after passing his 10-month probationary period.

Can you imagine, Speaker, what this young man must have been feeling, responding to his very first call? Adrenaline rush? Excitement? Stress? Fear? I guess we will never know.

Constable Pierzchala was the fourth Ontario officer to be killed in the line of duty during the closing months of 2022. We are now up to eight officers senselessly murdered since September 2022: Sergeant Maureen Breau, Sûreté du Québec; Constable Travis Jordan, Edmonton police; Constable Brett Ryan, Edmonton police; Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala, Ontario Provincial Police; Constable Shaelyn Yang, RCMP; Constable Devon Northrup, South Simcoe police; Constable Morgan Russell, South Simcoe police; and Constable Andrew Hong, Toronto police—not exceptions, not singular occurrences.

We must not only honour their memory, we must do everything in our power to prevent future murders of our men and women in uniform. As the Premier said, these officers were ambushed and targeted just for wearing a uniform.

Constable Andrew Hong went to get a coffee at a Tim Hortons and was murdered in cold blood.

In March of 2007, the suspect in this particular case was placed in the national flagging system as a high risk to reoffend. He was previously convicted of possessing weapons, property crime and drug trafficking.

On September 12, 2022, at 4:25 p.m., Peel police issued an emergency alert, saying they were searching for an active shooter, armed and dangerous and driving a stolen black Jeep Cherokee. I remember receiving this alert and being horrified. I first called my mom to ensure she was home and safe. Then I called my staff to tell them to lock the office doors and not to go outside. My beloved city of Mississauga, an active shooter situation—what is going on? What is happening?

As I was making these calls, Constable Andrew Hong was ambushed and murdered just because he was wearing a uniform. Two others were shot dead and three others were wounded.

Speaker, the realization that it could have been anyone—my mom, one of my team members, my friends, any of my constituents or even me—who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, buying a coffee at Tim Hortons, is not only a chilling one, it is a devastating one.

The Premier promised the widows and loved ones of these officers, with whom he met, that he will not rest until the federal government does the right thing and fixes Canada’s broken bail system. We will continue this fight until the problem is fixed.

Crimes committed by individuals who are out on bail indicate how badly bail reform is needed in our province.

Le commissaire de la Police provinciale de l’Ontario, Thomas Carrique, a décrit le meurtre de l’agent Pierzchala comme un crime évitable et s’est déclaré scandalisé par le fait qu’une personne ayant un tel passé criminel ait pu bénéficier d’une mise en liberté sous caution. Le commissaire Carrique sait que quelque chose doit changer, la famille de l’agent Pierzchala sait que quelque chose doit changer, et les innombrables victimes d’actes criminels qui ont souffert du système de mise en liberté sous caution savent que quelque chose doit changer, et notre gouvernement est à leur écoute.

Ontario Provincial Police have highlighted how tragic incidents, like Constable Pierzchala’s death, have an immense impact on both officer morale and the ability of the police service to recruit new officers. According to the OPP commissioner, these incidents are taking a devastating toll on the psychological well-being of officers. “The current situation has created the most challenging time in my 33-year history with recruiting police officers,” said the OPP commissioner.

The president of the Police Association of Ontario also addressed the issue of police morale by saying our front-line officers are being ambushed as a result of the inadequate bail system. They’re “tired” and “frustrated.... The four officers who were killed in Ontario in the last four months were all ambushed. They were killed because they were wearing a uniform, and they were specifically targeted.”

We must do everything in our power to reform our bail system, to protect our men and women in uniform and the public at large. May their deaths not be in vain. May they rest in peace.

It’s an honour for me to rise in this House today to support this important motion calling on the federal government to immediately implement bail reform.

Every morning, we wake up to headlines telling us about violent crimes that are being committed in our cities and towns across our province. These crimes are devastating for families and communities, and we must act to stop them now.

The region of Waterloo, which includes my riding of Cambridge, is not immune to this violence. Last week, it was reported that a 17-year-old youth from Cambridge was charged, having a loaded machine gun with two clips and a silencer, and drugs were discovered in a bag that was left on a Grand River Transit bus. The youth was charged with six counts of possession for purpose of trafficking, careless use of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, carrying a concealed weapon, unauthorized possession of a firearm, failing to comply with a sentence order and possession of a weapon contrary to an order. The list of charges against this youth go on and on, and the fact that a loaded machine gun was being carried on a public transit bus is unsettling and a danger to the public at large. Women with young children, students and seniors use public transport every day and deserve to be safe as they go about their lives.

Just yesterday, minutes from my home, three male suspects carrying a firearm robbed a jewellery store in the middle of the afternoon. The store employee sustained minor physical injuries, but the trauma of being robbed at gunpoint will be long-lasting. This robbery occurred in a busy plaza where many of my constit people were shopping for Easter gifts.

These violent acts of crime that put so many people at risk of harm are unacceptable. We must act to ensure we’re all safe when we leave our homes.

On March 27 and again on April 1, police were called to reports of armed robberies at convenience stores in my riding. Again, the suspects in these crimes were armed with knives and were a threat to store employees, customers and other citizens in the area.

As we all know too well, first responders are not immune to the dangers posed by violent criminals. Last winter, two Waterloo regional police officers were stabbed, and two others were injured in what the media describes as a “dramatic takedown” in downtown Galt. In this case, police officers were responding to a single-vehicle collision, which is a typical call in the day for a police officer, but this would not be a typical accident investigation. The officers were stabbed during the attempt to arrest the suspect. Both officers suffered serious injuries and were hospitalized. These officers demonstrated courage and bravery, and they apprehended the individual, who posed a great threat not only to the officers but also to the community.

As I mentioned, these officers were injured in downtown Galt. This area is a tourist attraction for us, a place I frequent for coffee, haircuts and an area where I chose to locate my constit office. It boasts the Grand River, wonderful architecture and is a popular destination for TV and movie industries.

Last summer, mere steps from my office, a 27-year-old man was stabbed outside of a business. His injuries were so severe he required treatment in an out-of-region hospital. I want this to stop. When I grew up in Cambridge, we had none of this, and it’s just gone absolutely insane. It’s disturbing to me and many people who live in my riding when violent crime is happening right on their doorstep.

According to a recent news report, Stats Canada data shows that people in Waterloo region are reporting more crimes and worse crimes to police. Reports of robberies, assault, harassment, threats have more than doubled in the region since 2014. Behind each of these reports to the police are victims, people whose lives might never be the same.

Another news outlet reported that in 2020, for the third consecutive year, the violent crimes severity index in Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge made a dramatic leap over the previous year.

Madam Speaker, the status quo is failing us and our families. Current bail rules in our country are allowing repeat and violent offenders to recommit serious crimes. It is unacceptable that more and more innocent people are being put in harm’s way. How many families need to suffer needlessly when we can take back our neighbourhoods and our communities?

It never used to be like this. It was safe for a teen to walk downtown or go to school. It was safe for a senior to walk his dog in a park and it was safe for a new mom to take her baby to the mall. It was also safe for the police officer to wish his or her family a good day as they headed out the door to go to work in the morning, confident they’ll return at the end of the day of their shift.

Today, we remember the officers in recent months who have lost their lives while protecting their communities. My person across the bench here mentioned the names of these constables. It just breaks my heart that this is what is happening in our province. These brave officers have been committing to serve and protect the people of communities. They paid the ultimate price and we must always honour and remember them. They are heroes for life.

We also remember Ontarians with names like Vanessa and Gabriel who were murdered while using the TTC. Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones.

Madam Speaker, our government has to take action to do everything we can to protect innocent people from becoming victims of repeat violent offenders. Bail reform is needed, and we need it now.