Thank you to the member from Mushkegowuk–James Bay for his presentation. I know that the environmental policy change in schedule 5, which will be permitted on crown lands, has not been subject to free, prior and informed consent with First Nations. Let me remind this government: Crown lands are stolen lands.

I know you spoke about the ATR process—addition to reserves—regarding Attawapiskat. They have been at it for 30 years. And I think—I see this mace. It came from Attawapiskat. There’s a diamond in there. They still have a boil-water advisory.

And I think it’s important that when we talk about stolen lands, when we talk about crown lands, the province has a responsibility to be able to expand the reserve of Attawapiskat to be able to prosper.

I have a question for the member: Do you believe that this government is red tape to access clean drinking water? Do you believe this government is red tape to the ATR process?

Thank you, Madam Speaker, and so I don’t forget later in my comments, I will be sharing my time today with the Solicitor General, MPP Kerzner.

It’s a pleasure to rise today to speak about our government’s efforts to increase Ontario’s competitiveness, strengthen provincial supply chains and create easier access for all Ontarians. Bill 46, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, if passed, will modernize outdated practices and boost efficiency across various areas of government and multiple sectors of Ontario’s economy. I think we can all agree that red tape hinders Ontario’s economic competitiveness, productivity, development as well as innovation. Our government has heard from countless businesses, non-profit organizations, individuals and the broader public sector about the frustration, expenses, delays and complications red tape causes in everyday life.

Speaker, we’ve listened to our residents, and under this government, we are acting. Since 2018, one of our government’s top priorities has been to remove unnecessary, redundant and outdated regulations that are holding people and businesses back throughout our province. Through common-sense solutions, saving both time and money, we’ve passed eight high-impact pieces of red tape reduction legislation since 2018, and nine packages that acted on more than 400 burden-reducing actions, all with-out compromising health, safety or the environment.

Briefly reviewing that history, in the fall of 2018, our government passed the first Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, which was part of a broader package of more than 80 actions to cut red tape and modernize regulations to include more supports to various business sectors, including agriculture, trucking, construction, forestry and mining, and that is a theme that has continued into Bill 46.

In July 2020, the Legislature passed the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act, which was our government’s first step in our plan for growth, renewal and recovery. The act was designed to reduce infrastructure backlogs for businesses and communities and get infrastructure projects built faster.

In November 2020, the Legislature passed the Main Street Recovery Act to support small businesses and modernize rules that would help to innovate, grow and continue to bring life into our communities. We have seen the return of over 300,000 jobs to our province, and we continue to grow those numbers, as we’ve heard from our Minister of Economic Development, and we will continue to do that through our efforts in Bill 46.

At the end of 2020, the Legislature passed the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act to include multiple changes such as requiring gas and electric utilities to adopt Green Button technology, digitize the way property developers obtain environmental information, cutting red tape for intercommunity bus carriers to improve transportation options in rural and northern Ontario and many other measures. That continued into June 2021, when the Legislature passed the Supporting Recovery and Competitiveness Act to help businesses and government deliver clear, modern and effective rules that promoted public health, safeguarded the environment and created jobs.

In December 2021, we continued that work, cutting costly red tape and reducing unnecessary burden by passing the Supporting People and Businesses Act, which was followed shortly by the Fewer Fees, Better Services Act, 2022, which was the eighth piece of red tape legislation. Introduced in February 2022, this act contained legislative changes and policy announcements designed to support post-COVID-19 economic recovery for businesses and individuals across the province.

Of course, Speaker, there is still much work to be done and we continue to face big challenges in our province. On top of the day-to-day difficulties individuals and businesses face, supply chain disruptions continue to worsen for two thirds of Ontario’s businesses, and one third of those businesses say that labour-related obstacles will limit their growth, like the ongoing labour force shortages.

There is good news on the horizon because we have a plan. We know that there are more things our government can do to cut red tape and support our businesses to develop well-functioning supply chains and solve the challenges like we are seeing today.

After extensive consultation with stakeholders and the hard work of the Minister of Red Tape Reduction, we have before us Bill 46, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act. The purpose of this legislation is to cut more red tape by:

(1) strengthening Ontario’s supply chain;

(2) supporting farmers and agri-businesses and agri-tourism;

(3) grow our labour force;

(4) make life easier for people and businesses by making it easier to interact with government; and

(5) ensure that Ontario remains competitive in the growing global market.

Speaker, this proposed legislation is about leading Ontario to more economic certainty, confidence and stability to ensure our province continues to be competitive on the world stage.

This government has taken a Team Ontario approach when it comes to legislation like this. We are working across ministries to identify opportunities to cut red tape while prioritizing fundamental protections that Ontarians value most.

There are five guiding principles throughout this piece of legislation. The first is protect public health and safety and the environment. Our government has worked on relaxing regulatory burdens in a smart and responsible way to ensure that health, safety and environmental protections are maintained or enhanced.

The second principle is prioritizing the important issues. Our government has assessed which regulations cost the most time and money, while looking for innovative ways to ensure rules stay effective and efficient.

Principle three is coordinating rules with the federal government and other jurisdictions where possible so we can target repetitive red tape and position ourselves with other jurisdictions where possible to eliminate steps that cost and create time and money for our businesses and citizens.

The fourth principle is listening to the people and the businesses of Ontario. Our government has committed to hearing from people and businesses on an ongoing basis, and we continue to do so to learn what we can do to remove obstacles standing in their way.

And the final principle is taking a whole-of-government approach. We are working on a coordinated approach across all ministries in government to reduce red tape—a broad, informed perspective that would deliver smarter government for people and higher economic growth to match.

This legislation contains 28 initiatives which cross all ministries, and based on the five principles, we’re looking to reduce the red tape across the province to make our businesses more competitive and more aligned with other jurisdictions in Ontario and Canada.

The first impact I’d like to talk about is in the ministry of food and agriculture, and that is the grow strategy, which is our government’s comprehensive plan to build consumer confidence and support farmers and Ontario’s food supply, which is our number one economic engine in this province. It focuses on three key priorities. The first is to strengthen agri-food supply chain stability by increasing both the consumption and production of food grown and prepared in Ontario by 30%. The second is to increase agri-food technology and adoption by boosting research infrastructure, advancing the uptake of new technologies and growing the market for Ontario’s innovative technologies both domestically and globally, and growing the use of data to support efficiencies in the agri-food sector and value chain. And the third is to attract and grow Ontario’s agri-food talent by increasing the province’s total agri-food sector employment by 10% by 2032 and increase awareness of modern, high-tech agri-food careers, opportunities for mentorship and hands-on job training, and supporting efforts to increase veterinary capacity in underserviced areas across this province.

I’d like to also speak about the impacts for the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. While continuing to protect human health and our environment, our government is also proposing changes to streamline the gas volatility regulation. If adopted, these amendments would align Ontario’s regulations to national standards and reduce unnecessary regulatory and administrative burdens and costs on the petroleum sector.

We are also proposing changes to the Ministry of the Attorney General that would modernize and reduce red tape burdens in the justice sector in three areas. First, we are proposing to amend the Provincial Offences Act to help reduce the backlog at provincial offences courts exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, we’re proposing to create more judicial capacity and alleviate backlogs in criminal cases in Ontario by temporarily raising the limit on the number of days that retired judges can work. And third, the proposed amendments will help reduce administrative costs and expedite prospective jurors to participate in the court system through updates to the Juries Act.

Speaker, I am proud to support this bill on behalf of the constituents of Simcoe–Grey. I know that the many measures I’ve discussed to cut red tape will help to build a stronger, more competitive Ontario, where people and businesses can continue to thrive and prosper now and into the future.

I’ll now share my time with the Solicitor General.

Merci pour la réponse. Next question?

I’m delighted to be here and to say why I’m here and why I’m speaking on this: because I believe that when we reduce red tape, our government is fulfilling our mandate to lower costs, to create more jobs and build a stronger Ontario. I’ll make the case that when we unleash the enterprise and enable opportunity, we empower Ontario. I’ll share some personal experiences and will demonstrate how reducing red tape makes Ontario stronger on all fronts—that we’re working for workers; that we’re putting people over paperwork; and we’re building Ontario. And I’ll encourage everyone to support this legislation.

I really want to thank my great colleague and friend from Simcoe–Grey.

It’s an honour to speak here to Bill 46, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, 2022. When we think about red tape, it’s personal to all of us. We’ve all encountered, at one time or another, red tape. As MPPs we have a responsibility to consider how to reduce the unnecessary burdens on small businesses, workers and members of the public and at the same time continue to strengthen health, safety and environmental standards.

As MPP for York Centre, I often connect, I regularly connect, I weekly connect to small business owners in my riding, including those who are part of our business improvement areas at Wilson Village and Duke Heights. I hear time and time again positive feedback in terms of our government’s approach to creating initiatives to reduce red tape and to boost our local economies. They want us to continue to get it done. As we build the future of Ontario, we have to recall the significant strides that our government has made so far, and it’s because we believe in our province and in our future. Madame la Présidente, c’est parce que nous croyons en notre province et en notre avenir.

Since coming to office, we’ve taken over 400 individual actions to reduce red tape, to reduce the total regulatory burden by almost 7%, and our efforts are saving businesses and organizations almost $600 million a year in compliance costs. There’s a lot of stories we can all tell, and we can tell it in a personal capacity. As an entrepreneur and before the June election of 2022, I saw first-hand when I tried to start a business what it was like to encounter red tape, especially six and seven years ago.

I want to talk about and highlight how it’s working for workers. This bill proposes changes to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to continue putting workers first. These are changes that, if adopted, would improve the WSIB’s operational efficiency and reduce undue administrative burdens to allow the WSIB to focus on its mandate of supporting injured workers and businesses. As we all know, the WSIB is one of the largest insurance organizations in North America. The updates that we are proposing will keep it world-class. One of the proposals I am most proud of is ensuring that injured or ill apprentices receive loss-of-earnings benefits at the same amount journeypersons employed in the same trade would receive. Madam Speaker, this is about fairness. This is about improving health and safety for everyone who is on the job. This is an initiative that I hope all members in the House will support.

Ongoing improvements to WSIB are essential for the well-being of our workers and their families, including first responders. In fact, I recently joined our great Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development to announce that our government is expanding cancer coverage for firefighters. This means that pancreatic and thyroid cancers will be added to the list of presumptive cancers so firefighters and their families can receive the support they deserve from WSIB more quickly and with less red tape.

Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank all our front-line firefighters across Ontario, full-time and part-time, career and volunteer. And to the member sitting right beside me—I toured in her own riding, in Lindsay, and we met Fire Chief Terry Jones. It was an example of how a community comes together under great leadership of people that take their responsibilities seriously. I want to give a shout-out to Chief Terry Jones.

We recognize their courage and we honour their service. That’s why this recently announced change applies to all firefighters in Ontario. They’re incredible people who keep us safe every day, and we’re proud to support our firefighters. Ce sont des gens formidables qui nous protègent au quotidien. Nous sommes fiers de soutenir nos pompiers et tous ceux qui assurent la sécurité de l’Ontario tous les jours. Nous travaillons fort pour soutenir ces héros.

Next, I’d like to highlight some examples of how our government is working for the people of Ontario. I want to thank my great colleague sitting to the right, the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, for your leadership, because we’re enhancing service delivery, reducing wait times and, as we say, Minister, putting people over paperwork. We’re doing this by streamlining administrative, and I want to thank you for your leadership as it relates to the work that you’re doing on the IT systems and creating a single system, the Transfer Payment Ontario system, or TPON for short.

This change will reduce paperwork and red tape, and improve the digitization of government services. It will allow service providers like municipalities and non-profits to focus on providing valuable public service, rather than being bogged down with paperwork. This is another common-sense solution, and again, I hope the members will support it.

I want to thank our great Minister of Transportation as she works tirelessly to build Ontario and to keep Ontario moving. Continuing to build a modern and robust transportation network is critical to the vitality of communities all across Ontario, and supports our government’s historic steps to build new housing. When you have roads, you have places where people can build housing. The Highway Corridor Management System has already significantly reduced the burden on Ontario businesses and individuals by streamlining the permit application, review and approvals process.

In closing, we’re focusing on reducing red tape to improve service and make life easier for everyone in Ontario. Everyone in our province deserves the chance to succeed, and reducing red tape helps us unleash Ontario’s full potential. Whether it’s working for workers, putting people over paperwork or building Ontario, reducing red tape helps make Ontario stronger on all fronts.

On behalf of the people of York Centre, who elected me to serve here as the 1,947th member since Confederation to serve in this Legislature—and I’m grateful every day—I support this bill, and I encourage everyone to do this. Let’s remember one thing, why we’re here, as I said at the beginning of my remarks: The province is bigger than all of us. It is more important than any of us. Ontario was here before us and will be here long after us.

Madame la Présidente, la province de l’Ontario est plus grande que nous tous. Elle est plus importante que n’importe lequel d’entre nous. L’Ontario était là avant nous et le sera longtemps après nous.

The Solicitor General.

We’ll move to the questions.

Thank you, Speaker. It’s good to see you in the chair.

I really appreciate the conversation today, and I really appreciate the suggestions made by the opposition also in what could be in a red tape bill. I was just wondering if I could ask one of the members who spoke from the government side what it means to be a part of a government that has committed to having two red tape bills come out every year, because change is incremental. If there’s one thing I think we can all admit is when a government chooses to do massive changes very quickly, it often leads to unforeseen consequences that can have to be fixed later.

By making small, continuous, ongoing changes to reduce red tape in the province of Ontario in so many different areas, I just have to ask, because I find it very, very gratifying that we just keep making changes—nothing huge, nothing massive, but keep moving the ball forward so that we can continue to follow up and see what’s going on. I was just wondering if I could ask the member from Simcoe–Grey what it means to be part of a government that’s willing to do that.

A question for my colleague from York Centre who mentioned firefighters and presumptive timelines when he spoke—I don’t believe this bill actually addresses that. I do have a firefighter in my riding who has been a firefighter for 23 years, has esophageal cancer and cannot get WSIB because the cut-off is 25 years. Those are the kinds of red tape that we would like to see improved, the things that actually improve the lives of injured workers. Deeming is another thing that this government could improve on. Tinkering around the edges doesn’t help people like Captain Craig from Welland, who has been a firefighter for 23 years, has cancer and can’t get WSIB because the cut-off is 25 years. Why would we not take the opportunity to fix those kinds of issues?

I want to thank the member for Simcoe–Grey and the Solicitor General for their comments during debate this morning. I have a specific question for the member for Simcoe–Grey: Would this bill, if passed, impact Aboriginal treaty rights under section 35 of the charter, and specifically the duty to consult Indigenous communities? And how, if passed, would this bill help Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses?

I want to thank you for the question. Firefighters are true heroes in Ontario. One of the things I have learned through my travels is the amazing work that they do, but also the volunteer firefighters. What I spoke of in my remarks is taking acknowledgement of the pancreatic cancer as an example of a presumptive illness. We’re going to continue to look at that, but you’re absolutely correct. The firefighters are amazing heroes in Ontario and we have to treat them with respect. The announcement that the Minister of Labour made with me not that long ago is starting to look at this in a practical way, and it’s part of reducing the burdensome red tape.

Thank you to the member opposite for that question. The WSIB has an important role to play in our workplace system. It protects employers and it protects their workers. If the workers are injured, they can get compensation.

The proposed changes that are contained in Bill 46 would exclude WSIB lease transactions from the requirement for the Lieutenant Governor in Council’s approval of acquisitions and dispositions of real property, to help streamline that process. It would ensure injured or ill apprentices receive loss-of-earning benefits in the same amount as journeypersons of their trade would receive, as pointed out by my colleague. It would provide flexibility as to when the WSIB board of directors must meet; ensure that requirements for governance documents are consistent with, and not duplicative of, government directives; and, finally, it would ensure the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, does not reference repealed statutes. That would clean it up. It would help with the efficiency and it would remove duplication.

Certainly, the intent of Bill 46 would be to remove barriers that are faced by Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs in assessing business support programs and procurement opportunities. It would be heard directly from Indigenous businesses and economic advisors that information about these supports and processes is not widely known and difficult to obtain as sources of information are disparate and complex. The intent here is to streamline the process so that we will work with our Indigenous stakeholders to streamline the consultation process.

In that way, we are working very hard to support all Indigenous stakeholders and businesses to make sure we’re competitive across the province.

We’ve seen our economy come back in terms of jobs and job demand, despite the pandemic. We continue to hear almost weekly from our Minister of Economic Development about the new projects that are coming to Ontario. We have big plans for the Ring of Fire.

We are working across the province, across the ministries, on a whole-of-government approach to increase the efficiency of our government, to remove barriers for our residents and for our businesses, and to make us competitive as the largest provincial economy in Canada and probably one of the five biggest economies in North America, and we continue to do that.

Thank you to the member opposite for her question. The WSIB, as I indicated previously, is a very important part of our workforce compensation and insurance that benefits both our businesses and our workers. We are working to make sure that we streamline that process and, as you indicated in the first part of your question, we are looking at how we can streamline efficiencies through our leases. Instead of leasing space in downtown Toronto, we’re looking to move to a smaller area where we can do it more efficiently and less expensively. That’s another aspect of our efficiencies.

We are working hard to make sure that the end workers, the insured, are going to be compensated properly in the event of injury, and we’re making sure that we remove any duplication that would get in the way or hinder that process as we work towards making sure that we are focused on making Ontario competitive, protecting our workers and giving apprentices the same amount of coverage as a journeyman would receive.

My question is to the member for Simcoe–Grey. As a representative of the city of London, I note that Bill 46 includes provisions to allow the government to move the WSIB headquarters to our city, to London, which is certainly a welcome opportunity. Hopefully we’ll see those jobs materialize.

However, I am troubled at the same time by the other provisions in this bill related to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act that removes the requirement for WSIB to table a strategic plan to the minister. Injured worker groups have taken that opportunity to provide input. Why is the government removing that accountability?

Meegwetch, Speaker. It’s always a privilege to be able to stand up and speak on behalf of Kiiwetinoong. This morning, I’m going to speak your language, English. English is my second language. As you know, my language, Anishininiimowin, is not allowed to be spoken in this place. I have to remind you that this place as well—as a First Nations person, as First Peoples of these lands, this system, this building was never built for me. It was never built for First Nations people to be able to speak in this place.

One of the things I want to say about this Bill 46, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act—I want to thank the government for this bill. I want to thank you because—over the last four and a half years, I’ve been bringing up issues with boil-water advisories. I have one First Nation in Ontario that has 28 years of boil-water advisories, since February 1, 1995, and the government does nothing, just looks away and says, “That’s not our responsibility.” They use jurisdictions as an excuse not to do anything. That’s what colonizers do.

I want to thank you for this bill, because it’s a reminder. It’s a reminder that this oppression still exists in this place. It is a reminder that colonialism is alive and well. Thank you for reminding me of that, of how you treat First Nations, the First Peoples of these lands, as if we do not exist, as if we do not matter. Yes, you care about business, but you do not care about the basic human rights of the people in Kiiwetinoong. So I wanted to share that.

I know it is also important to note where these suggestions, these changes come from and who the government actually listens to, but I know one thing: They do not listen to First Nations. They say they do, but not to everyone; just select people. They do listen to select First Nations. It might be two, it might be three, but not everyone. “Divide and conquer” is a colonial approach. Divide and conquer First Nations is from the colonial playbook that has been played for hundreds of years. It continues to happen because we live it on a daily basis.

I’m using that as an example within schedule 5, and it’s based on the government seeking feedback from the oil and gas industries. It talks about carbon sequestration changes that are legislated, subject to consultation that ended in January.

I know that within this change, the environmental policy change, which will be permitted on crown lands, has not been subject to free, prior and informed consent with First Nations—zero. To me, “crown lands,” as you call them, are stolen lands. Everyone who’s here are settlers. We’ve been here for thousands of years. We welcomed everyone. We welcomed settlers, and the first thing they did when the settlers arrived is they took our lands. The next thing they did was, they took our children. They took our children to send them to Indian residential schools. We are still trying to locate our children in those former Indian residential school sites even today.

I heard a comment from this morning from the government side when questions were going back and forth. They called First Nations “stakeholders.” We are not stakeholders. Up where I come from, there were treaties that were signed. We were supposed to share the benefits of that treaty. We are not stakeholders.

There was a lot of discussion too, about the environmental policy changes on crown lands. What is crown land? Crown land in Ontario represents 87% of the province, and this government describes it as opportunities for economic development, tourism and reconciliation.

Crown land also includes surface and subsurface rights to the minerals, energy and water resources that may be leased to private enterprise, a very important source of government income. Indigenous, First Nation, Anishinaabe understanding of crown land is not this.

What is the balance we need to be able to strike between economic consumption versus economy as people?

In Treaty 9—we’re supposed to share the benefits of those treaties, and we do not. From the numbered treaties 1 to 11, Treaty 9 is the only numbered treaty out of those, 1 to 11, that has Ontario’s signature on it. You are our treaty partners, but you do not treat us as partners; you treat us as stakeholders. We are not stakeholders.

We have to understand, when we talk about Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario—it depends where you live. I live in a different Ontario. I come from a different Ontario, because you will not invest in water sewer systems to get clean drinking water for the residents of Kiiwetinoong. That’s a different Ontario. That’s a different Canada. That’s how colonialism, that’s how oppression, that’s how racism, that’s how discrimination works. And the system right here, where we sit, the 124 of us who sit here—that’s how it treats people, especially First Nations. I have 31 First Nations in my riding, and I have four municipalities. There’s nothing “stronger” about this bill—there’s nothing “stronger Ontario” on these reserves, in this bill. But it removes the free, prior, informed consent of the people.

We were put on reserves. I remember my reserve in Kingfisher Lake. They moved there in 1966. Do you know where everybody lived? It was on the lands. Do you know why they removed us, to move into a reserve? It was to get us off those lands, because we knew, you knew, the settlers knew that they wanted our resources. And you see it happening today.

The changes in the Mining Act, the changes that are happening to remove the red tape—you are the red tape for a better life for First Nations people on-reserve, because you use jurisdiction as—not to do anything. You are the red tape. This government is the red tape to access to clean drinking water.

Just imagine, every day of your life, for 28 years, that you use, you buy—you bathe using bottled water. That’s the reality of the other Ontario, where I come from.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever experienced living—

Next question.

We’ll have to move to further debate. The member for Kiiwetinoong.

On behalf of the residents of Barrie–Innisfil, I would like to extend our warmest wishes to everyone celebrating Nowruz. May this new year bring you and your loved ones happiness, health and prosperity.

As we welcome the spring season and the start of the Persian new year, I want to take a moment to remember all those who lost their lives fighting for freedom in Iran. I stand in solidarity with those who continue to fight for basic human rights for all Iranians.

As the Persian community celebrates Nowruz around the world, they continue to remember Mahsa Amini. As life and the new year go on, so does the struggle of the Iranian people to bring freedom and justice to Iran.

I look forward to gathering with the Barrie Persian Association—not only with the Barrie Persian Association, but we also gather at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library this weekend with our Minister of Transportation to celebrate Nowruz and, of course, Persian Heritage Month.

I also want to thank our Associate Minister of Housing, who is one of the first elected Conservative Persian MPPs in this Legislature, and, of course, the member from Carleton, also the first Persian elected member of this Legislature, for everything they stand for to bring freedom to this province.

Later today, I will have the honour of welcoming the Minister of Health of the Republic of Poland to our wonderful city of Mississauga alongside my colleagues the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and his parliamentary assistant the member for Mississauga–Erin Mills. We have the distinct honour of hosting the minister, Dr. Adam Niedzielski, accompanied by Witold Dzielski, Poland’s ambassador to Canada, at our state-of-the-art Trillium Health Partners Credit Valley Hospital.

With our government making historic investments into health care infrastructure, operations and human resources, it is important we continue to build our system by working with and sharing best practices with other jurisdictions. We will continue to collaborate and build bilateral relations, with the common goal of enhancing the level of health care received by our constituents.

We are actively doing this, as our government released the Your Health plan last month, which focuses on providing people with a better health care experience by connecting them to more convenient care closer to home while shortening wait times for key services across the province and growing the health care workforce.

As a registered nurse and a proud Polish Canadian, I am very excited to be welcoming Minister Niedzielski to Mississauga, and it brings me great pride to be a part of a government that understands the challenges in our health care system and is taking bold and innovative steps to address them.

Folks around the world are seeing that hate is not only on the rise but getting closer to home. There are hate groups and people who are spreading hate and fear, that are targeting our neighbours and friends in the trans community and the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

Just last week, there was an awful demonstration of intolerance and hate that was planned in Oshawa, but thankfully, the church where they were scheduled chose not to host it. Instead, folks from across our community came out in force and allyship with the 2SLGBTQIA+ and trans communities and gathered at Brew Wizards Board Game Cafe for a brilliant and bright evening of love and art and community. We came together to show love and support for our trans family, friends and neighbours. They created a space of love and support and raised donations for PFLAG Durham while giving people a way to stand up against the ugly hate that is crawling across our province.

Last night at the DDSB board meeting, groups who have been attacking the 2SLGBTQIA+ and, in particular, the trans community for months now descended on our Durham community. These hate groups set up their ugly protests but were met with a loud rally of support and love for students and community members, who have the right to live authentically and free from harassment and harm. There was an awesome show of unity, Pride flags, symbols and strength at the board office that sent a clear message that there is no room for hate and transphobia in our community or anywhere. We are here, and we support each other.

I am proud to stand in solidarity with the trans and the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and with allies and friends who won’t back down or go away. Discrimination and hate will not be tolerated in our community.

I do apologize to the member. I need to interrupt you, as we need to move to members’ statements.

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.