This is the first time, actually, I’ve risen to speak in this Parliament. I want to thank the people of Peterborough–Kawartha for giving me the honour, again, to be their voice, as I have been for the last four years.

One of the challenges that Ontario faces is a growing population over the next 10 years. We’re expected to add more than 2.5 million people, and we have seen over the last two decades really, a lack of housing that has been built and challenges in doing it. There have been a number of changes that have been made by different governments throughout the years to try to address this. And every time a change is made, it seems that someone finds a way to weaponize one of those changes to make it possible to delay.

I’m going to talk specifically about some of the challenges in Peterborough. I’m very close to what happens in Peterborough, coming from the riding there. I don’t necessarily experience the challenges that you see in Toronto or that you see in Ottawa, and the strong-mayors legislation is specifically for these two cities to make some adjustments. But I think that if you take a look at, historically, what my community has been, my community has always been seen as a microcosm of everything that’s happening in Canada.

For more than 40 years, we were a test market for everything. When a company wanted a new product, when they were going to introduce something new, they would introduce it in Peterborough as one of the test markets, because we had that mix of individuals. We had blue-collar workers. We had manufacturing. We had knowledge base. We have a college, a university. We have a great, diverse population. We have a strong arts community—

We’re also the centre of the lacrosse universe in Peterborough as well. And, as everyone knows, I refer to it as God’s country, so how could it be bad? But I digress.

Whenever something was being introduced, it was being introduced in Peterborough, and they took a look at what our market would do and how successful something would be. I think if you take a look at what has happened in Peterborough over the last number of years, it represents what has happened all across Ontario.

In June 2018, when I was first elected, the average home price was $314,000. Last month, it was $760,000. We have a shortage of housing. In 2019, in the city of Peterborough, only five single-family home building permits were issued. The population in Peterborough proper, the city itself, has grown by almost 4,500 people in four years, yet we’ve had just a shade over 1,200 new residences added, whether that be a house, condo, apartment—only 1,200. Our vacancy rate is 1%. Rental rates have increased significantly because we don’t have the inventory. Housing prices have increased significantly because we don’t have the inventory.

Kate Kidd, the former president of the Peterborough–Kawartha area realtors—her term just ended in July—said to me about a year ago that we need an inventory of 1,400 to 1,500 houses for sale at any given time to make sure that we have enough inventory. We had less than 100 this past January. In February, we were averaging about 127 listings. Right now if you go to realtor.ca, there’s a little over 400. We’re still significantly lower than what we should have to have the proper inventory.

There are lot of pressures that have been put on my community, in particular. Yes, I am talking about Peterborough, but Peterborough is that microcosm of everything else that’s going on in Ontario. When the 407 opened all the way to Highway 115, a great addition to the transportation network, what it meant was—those individuals who were being priced out in the GTA, who could not find a home in the GTA—it was easy for them to commute from Peterborough, and we’ve had a number of people come in. There was a time when it made perfect sense to do that.

My colleague from Oakville, who was my seatmate early on in the last session, had talked about home prices in Oakville. Actually, prior to being elected, the house beside me sold to somebody from Oakville. At the time, they had sold a two-bedroom home with a 30-foot lot in Oakville for $1.2 million. They moved to Peterborough. At the time—this is prior to 2018—they bought a five-bedroom home with two bathrooms on a 65-by-130-foot lot that backed on to environmentally protected green space. I’m painting a beautiful picture of it. Who wouldn’t want to live with wildlife right behind your home in the city? They paid $418,000 for it.

So we saw an influx, when the 407 opened, of individuals who were able to sell their property in the GTA for a very large sum—and it’s gone up in the GTA—and move to Peterborough for a significantly lower price and have more home, a better lot and a higher quality of life. That raised the price in Peterborough to what it is today, $760,000 for the average home in Peterborough, whereas just over four years ago it was just a shade over $300,000—$314,000. That’s a massive jump.

Why am I focusing on that? Peterborough city council has made a number of what I would say are poor decisions around housing. I’ll go back to 2019: five single-family residential home permits issued—five, that’s it. More than 4,000 people moved into the community, 1,200 homes, apartments or condos is all that we’ve added, and the previous council used some of the tools to delay, to not make decisions.

In my old neighbourhood, just around the corner from where my house was, a developer had a piece of property. Originally he wanted to have a single level of commercial and two storeys above that of residential. He was not able to find someone to move into the commercial property because there weren’t enough people in that general vicinity to make it worthwhile for commercial activity to happen. There weren’t enough people. It wasn’t convenient enough for a professional office like a dentist, a lawyer. There weren’t enough people in the area to put in a retail outlet, a convenience store or a small grocery store, just because of the nature of where it was. But it’s not far from Trent University. It’s a walkable distance to Trent University, and there’s actually a walking trail that goes right to Trent.

That was blocked by council because the developer wanted to change it to a six-storey apartment building, and council said no because of some pushback—not because it didn’t meet the requirements of the community, not because the transportation study wasn’t effective, not because there wasn’t the demand—they were afraid they were going to offend someone and they were going to lose votes. And when you have councils that are doing those types of things, then you’re not serving the needs of your community. That developer took the city to LPAT and won, because the city chose not to send someone to the LPAT hearing to oppose it.

On Sherbrooke Street, another development: 164 homes, 164 apartments to be put in. A few city councillors lobbied to say no to it because they had some pushback from some other individuals in the area. On Lansdowne Street, two developments: The developer originally wanted 14 storeys, came down to 10, and the city came back and said, “No, six is all you could do.” They couldn’t build them then and actually make it work. The city was taken to LPAT by the developer on all of those, and the developers have won. And in each case, the city chose not to have a delegation come because they knew they were going to lose. They were doing it for political reasons, not for the right reasons.

And that’s happening in a community like Peterborough. As I said earlier on in my speech, Peterborough is the microcosm for everything that happens across Ontario. If you want to see what’s going to happen in this province, look at Peterborough, because it will be emulated or replicated in other areas. The cost of housing has gone sky high and councils have continually made decisions to block development—not because it’s the right thing to do, but because they’re concerned about gaining votes or losing votes.

What we have to do is take a look at what is in the best interest of the entire community, what’s in the best interest of the city. We have 2.5 million people coming into Ontario over the next 10 years. We set a record last year in housing starts of just over 100,000—100,000 units built last year, the most that we’ve had in more than 30 years. That will not get us to 2.5 million over 10 years. It will not get us enough bedrooms for the people who are going to be coming into this province. It won’t. And it was a record year.

The problem is we have councils who are saying no to development. “No, we don’t want a house over there.” “No, we don’t want this.” “No, we don’t want that.” And what I find interesting about it and almost hypocritical—

The Petes.

Good morning. Let us pray.

Prayers.

Resuming the debate adjourned on August 11, 2022, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 3, An Act to amend various statutes with respect to special powers and duties of heads of council / Projet de loi 3, Loi modifiant diverses lois en ce qui concerne les pouvoirs et fonctions spéciaux des présidents du conseil.

I withdraw.

What I find most interesting about it is, every single person who is standing up and saying, “We should not be building more houses, we should not be building more apartments, we should not be building more condos,” lives in a house, apartment or condo. Why do they not want others to have that?

We’ve got OREA who has come forward, and they’ve talked for a few years now about the dream of home ownership. I firmly believe that the vast majority of people who live in this province aspire to own their own home. I firmly believe that. And why would we not be doing things, then, that make it easier for those individuals to purchase their first home, to move from that two-bedroom home, when they have three, four or five children, to a home that suits them? Why are we not doing things so that those individuals, those seniors, who raised their family and they’re now ready to downsize, and they want to sell that four-bedroom or five-bedroom home and go to a two-bedroom condo some place, or move into a nice apartment building someplace, or move out of the city to some place like Peterborough—or God’s country—where you have an opportunity to have a beautiful one- or two-bedroom home by the lake, by the river or out in the county—why are we obstructing that?

The reality is we have a number of councils across all of Ontario that are saying things like, “It’s just this one. There’s a sentiment in the community, there’s a loud group right around this area, who don’t want it. I’m going to have to go with them because they vote for this ward.”

The entire city votes for the mayor, though. Giving the mayor in cities like Ottawa and Toronto, where we know more than a third of those 2.5 million people are going to be moving in in the next 10 years, the ability to advance homes, to advance home ownership, to make more affordable units to live in—giving them that ability is something that is good.

You want to make sure that there are checks and balances in place, though, so the mayor cannot just unilaterally do something, the mayor cannot just unilaterally declare that this is going to happen. There is that check and balance in place where council, with a two-thirds vote, would have the opportunity to veto the mayor’s veto on that. That check and balance is in place.

You can still advocate, as a councillor, for the community that you represent, that small group in the large city that you represent, but the rest of council and the mayor have the opportunity then to look at, what are the needs of the entire city?

There was an expression that was used when I was on the election trail the first time, in 2018. We’ve all heard of NIMBYism: “Not in my backyard.” There was another expression that was given to me and I absolutely love it because I think it’s so very true. It’s called the BANANA group: “Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.” It seems to be that that’s what’s been happening.

What this legislation does is it gives a tool, then, for those large municipalities of Ottawa and Toronto to advance housing, to advance the provincial priority of making sure that people have an opportunity to buy a home, to rent a home, to rent an apartment, to move into a condo, to get appropriately sized living space.

When I go back to Peterborough again, and using that as the example—$314,000 to $760,000 over the course of four years because there wasn’t enough inventory. The council in Peterborough, many of them were elected on building upward, not building outward. They didn’t want to have urban sprawl. But when those projects came forward to build up, they said no to it because there was pushback on it. We see that in larger cities as well. We see that in Ottawa; we see that in Toronto.

If you don’t have the full suite, if you don’t build everything in each of the different categories that are needed, you put pressures on so many other things. Why would a developer who is going to take 12 years to develop a piece of property—why would they build something that they’re not going to get their money back on? We have to change those timelines.

Again, coming back to Peterborough, there’s a prime example. We had a subdivision that was being built. It took eight years to get the approvals to build that subdivision. They wanted to put in some townhouses in one section of the subdivision. It took an additional five years to get the approvals for that. And by the time they got those approvals, the added costs that were put on by carrying it for five more years before they could actually develop and sell increased the price. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out if you can get to market in a shorter period of time, your carrying costs are lower. If we’re talking 12 years to get something shovel-ready, there are added costs that are put onto it.

The task force that Minister Clark commissioned to find out about affordable housing, one of the things that they had said was that those additional costs add 22% to the cost of housing. If your base price is $760,000, that’s $165,000 in wasted costs. You gained nothing for it, the builder gains nothing for it, the municipality gains nothing for it and the consumer gains nothing for it. Finding a way to eliminate those additional costs, those unnecessary costs, to stop the weaponization so that the BANANA group has the ability to delay, delay, delay, means it’s going to be better for the people of Ontario.

And I cannot emphasize this enough: 2.5 million people coming into Ontario over the next 10 years. We built 100,000. We had 100,000 new starts last year during COVID, which is fantastic. That will not get us to what we need over the next 10 years—and it was a banner year. It had been more than 30 years since we had done that.

We have to find ways to speed up development where people want to move. We want to make sure that it’s still safe. We want to make sure that every check and balance is put in place, but we have to find ways to accelerate it so that those who dream of home ownership have the opportunity for home ownership.

That word is not appropriate. I’m going to ask the member to withdraw.

I will say that I’m proud to be a Conservative here in the Ontario Legislature, because we’re actually getting things done for the people of Ontario. We’re building more homes. We’re building more purpose-built rentals. Maybe we’ll give the member for Peterborough–Kawartha an opportunity to talk a little about the purpose-built rentals that are being built here in the province of Ontario. It’s been over 1,000 over the last year that have been built in Toronto alone. It’s more than we’ve seen, I think, over the last 20 years, the last two decades. So I’ll give the member an opportunity to speak a little bit more about that.

Wayne Gretzky.

When you want to have a subdivision put in, you go through all of the appropriate processes on it. One of the things that happens, though, is there’s opportunities for individuals, for different groups, to object in different ways. We’re streamlining all of that. Instead of it being a waterfall approach where it was, you can object on this; and then once something comes in from that, you object under this; and then once that comes in, you can object under a third—if you think of it from a project management standpoint, it’s more of a scrum or an agile approach. So we’re looking at the critical path instead.

This is a way that we can make things better for people in Ontario. This is a way that we can streamline this. By empowering the mayors in the two cities that we have, they can look at what’s in the best interests of the entire community instead of just that small group.

If you don’t like the price of rent, the problem is that we don’t have enough rentals. If you don’t like the price of a home, the problem is that we don’t have enough homes. This is something that is going to speed that process up, which lowers the cost and makes it easier for people to have home ownership.

If we speed up development, if we make it easier to build a purpose-built apartment building, it lowers the cost of the build. It lowers the cost of the rent, which means that that individual who is looking for a place to rent can move into a place that is going to be at their price point and more suitable for them.

If we obstruct—which is what has happened over the last two decades—prices rise and people get priced out of a home. We want to reverse that trend.

Thank you to the member, the Conservative member, for talking about the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act. The member spent all of their time talking about building homes, yet the bill does not include anything on housing. In a riding like mine, Toronto–St. Paul’s, where we have 60% or so renters, the government can talk about owning a $750,000 home, but many in St. Paul’s can’t afford that. Many can’t even afford their rent. So I’m wondering, if this bill is really about housing, why is there no mention of ending exclusionary zoning, why is there no mention of real rent control, why is there no mention of banning above-guideline rent increases? Furthermore, why don’t you talk about what the bill is really about, and that is creating strong mayors that this province and this Premier can control?

Questions to the member from Peterborough–Kawartha?

Thank you to the member. I have to say, there’s probably not a lot we have in common. Peterborough Petes—we could spend some time saying whether it was Bob Gainey, whether it was Chris Pronger. The best Peterborough Pete: That’s something we can talk about.

But, anyway, what I want to say is you’re talking about this bill, but let’s be perfectly clear: This bill does not talk about housing, which is what you talked about. You neglected to talk about the special powers and the significant changes that will be happening to democratically elected city councils without your government doing any consultation. You also shed quite a few tears when it came to concern for the developers’ bottom line, but you didn’t talk at all about the infrastructure costs that are borne by your taxpayers.

Right now, you have an infrastructure deficit in the city of Peterborough. You can tell us how much that is. It will cause residential taxpayers’ rates to go up. In the city of Hamilton, we’re pushing $3 billion in infrastructure deficit costs that are not borne by the cost of development. So could you share some of your empathy for hard-working residential taxpayers in the province of Ontario and in your city of Peterborough?

I want to thank my colleague for his passionate speech and for sharing some of the examples and ideas, obviously, from his community and his riding. I think we can all relate to some of the challenges that he shared facing his community. I can tell you that my riding of Milton, Mr. Speaker, which is also one of the fastest-growing communities across our province, especially faces some of the similar challenges. On average, we have about 5,000 people moving into my riding each and every year: a lot of young families, lots of new Canadians and so forth. Supply of new housing or housing in general is a big concern, probably the number one concern in my community. So, I’m wondering if the member can share some of the provisions in this piece of legislation, how they might be able to help address some of the concerns, not just in his or my riding but right across our great province.

I think, if we take a look back at the last 20 years of what’s been happening in Ontario—actually, we just have to look at the last four years in the city of Peterborough: $314,000 to $760,000 for the average home price. What has been done has not been working. It is incumbent on us as legislators to make sure that we’re looking at the best interests of the people of this great province and put forward legislation like this that’s going to make a positive difference and allow for that development to happen so that all of those individuals who want an apartment, who want a home, who want a condo, have the opportunity to acquire that.

Thank you very much. Aanii. Boozhoo. Sekoh.

It is an honour to rise today to give my inaugural speech as the new member of provincial Parliament for Toronto Centre.

I want to begin by honouring the long and ongoing Indigenous histories of this land. We owe our gratitude to the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, the Huron-Wendat, the Métis and, most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River for the work they have done and continue to do in taking care of the land and all the water around us.

Congratulations to the Speaker on his re-election to the esteemed post and to all members for their election win. I look forward to getting to know each and every single member and to finding ways to work together for the people of Toronto Centre, your communities and Ontario.

I especially want to honour my predecessor, Suze Morrison, who made history as the first woman of Indigenous ancestry elected to Queen’s Park in Toronto Centre, a bold and diverse community with an appetite for making history—a record this riding lived up to this June when I was elected as the first member of provincial Parliament who uses they/them pronouns.

Speaking of that election, I want to thank my family, friends, the campaign team, volunteers and the Toronto Centre NDP riding association. I did not arrive at Queen’s Park without their tireless help. I will never ever squander their trust and will work hard every single day to re-earn their support.

I also want to thank the best campaign team any candidate could ask for. My gratitude goes out to my campaign managers, Duncan Salvain and Lisa Brody Hoffman, and my core team who filled the campaign office with great spirits, high fives, fist bumps and big hugs. A shout-out to them, because without their hard work I would not be standing on the floor here today. I want to say thank you to Jeff Slater, Emma Beattie, Tyler Johnson, Keaton Kwok, Jed Sears, Vienna O’Shea, Dani Michie, Jocelyn Courneya, Julianna Notten, Ibna Chowdhury, Ben Donato-Woodger and Sasha Kane. I also want to say thank you to Brian Chang, who is a former NDP federal candidate in the riding. Thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart.

Every member knows that we cannot serve in this House unless our own house is in order. To that effect, I am grateful and blessed to have the remarkable support of my family. My mother takes care of my son every single day. It is her seventh grandchild. Without grandma Mee Ling Wong, I couldn’t do this work. The same goes for grandma Maggie Byckalo, grandpa William Byckalo and grandpa Tak Kwan Wong, who hold us safely in their thoughts and hearts every single day.

To my energetic preschooler and my beloved son: I have already missed too many dinners, weekends and weeknights with you, especially after mama’s municipal ward doubled in size. One day, I hope you will forgive me and understand that I am doing this work for you, your friends, your peers and future generations. Every moment that I am not serving in this House and serving the public, I am committed to you. I pledge to be the best parent I can possibly be.

To my extraordinary wife and best friend, Farrah Khan: I love you. I owe you everything. When I co-founded Asian Canadians for Equal Marriage to promote racial justice, social inclusion and same-sex marriage, I did not think I would personally get married. I wasn’t the marrying type. That all changed with Farrah. Getting married to Farrah in front of our families and community at The 519 community centre was the greatest joy of my life. It is also a very proud moment.

Queer love and queer families are special. Many of us fought for—we fight for the right to be our authentic selves. We overcome homophobia and transphobia every single day. Nothing about queer love is ordinary. We cannot take that for granted. I will rise up again and again in the streets, in the courtrooms, in the boardrooms and in the house and halls of government to defend queer rights, trans rights, women’s rights and all that falls under the umbrella of human rights.

My public service is enabled because of Farrah. Without her tremendous sacrifices, I would not be standing here today. To all the spouses, to all the life partners, to all the co-parents and caregivers out there, we all owe you our debt of thanks.

The past June’s election victory was my fourth. I want to be able to share with you why I am here at Queen’s Park today and why I want to continue to serve our people of Toronto Centre. Like many international downtowns, Toronto Centre is a coin with two sides. The city’s postcard skyline will tell a story of Fortune 500 companies with their North American and international headquarters based here, residential skyscrapers with panoramic views; incubators, accelerators and leading green, tech and innovation companies all on the course to redefine every day as we know it.

Turn that coin, and the other side of Toronto Centre, you see something different. Against the backdrop of luxury condominiums, multi-million dollar heritage homes, five-star hotels and the financial district, there is another story. This is the story of Toronto’s downtown east. The country’s largest social housing project in Regent Park, covering 69 acres, is undergoing transformational revitalization. Its success will be tied to the partnership of three orders of government coming together to champion it.

The other side of the story also reveals a story that is not exclusive to Toronto Centre: poverty, runaway inflation, stalled construction sites, racism, gender discrimination, violence, failing infrastructure, negligent and predatory landlords—not to mention exploitive bosses. Compound that with the housing, health care, mental health and opioid crises, and the social safety net becomes nearly unrepairable if immediate and effective government action is not taken. This is why I am here today. I want to bring meaningful change.

My story in Canada began like so many others. My mother and father uprooted their family when they left their crowded and unsafe social housing apartment in Hong Kong with a couple of hundred dollars in their pocket, a pair of suitcases and their children in tow. Mom and Dad had very little access to education and grew up in extreme poverty watching their parents, my popo and gung gung, struggle to rebuild their lives after nearly four years of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, during which time all trade and economic activities were strictly regulated by the Japanese authorities who took over factories and banks, and outlawed the Hong Kong dollar.

The Japanese established a military government and puppet councils. They stripped residents of their civil liberties and freedom of movement. Internment camps and prisoner-of-war camps were set up while famine, malnutrition and illness set in. Families, including my own, watched their loved ones starve to death; a tragedy that befell my grandfather’s first wife and two daughters. Hong Kong elders recall many painful stories of torture and rape.

My parents came to Canada like so many other immigrants, hoping to seek out a better life and to plant roots so that the next generation can reach what they could not. This included a safe and affordable home that they can call their own. We moved into Regent Park. In so many ways, it was familiar. We moved into an already crowded apartment with another immigrant family. We lived there with seven people, and we shared one bathroom. My parents still told me we had nothing to complain about; it was still better than what they had in Hong Kong.

My parents were not just working class; they were poor, and every Canadian penny that they earned they earned with sweat and occasional tears. Loneliness and isolation set in, and the joy that can only come from being a part of a large extended family had gone.

Life in our adopted home was a different type of struggle, especially because English was our second language. I learned to speak English at Sprucecourt Public School by taking out as many books as my little hands could carry. I was a very shy child and was not confident in speaking in my new language.

My father was a chef. He worked in two of the biggest hotels in Toronto. My mother became a factory worker who worked 12 hours a day making garments for some of Canada’s largest fashion retailers for very little money. They both worked many hours, and as soon as they came home, they continued to work. They worked by creating additional garment pieces in the basement. As children, we learned to fall asleep to the rumbling sounds of old sewing machines and a cranky furnace.

Immigrant families are tight-knit. We cling to each other out of love and necessity. In so many ways, it’s family that actually protects us and gives us a sense of belonging. And what happened next was scary. All of this made things harder when I came out of the closet, when I told my parents I was gay. I was 16 years old, and I felt like a fish out of water. Not being my authentic self was literally killing me. Being gay or transgendered or non-binary are not lifestyle choices; it’s just who some of us are. Like so many teenagers and young adults coming out for the first time, I was unprepared for what was to happen next. There were no television shows, celebrity role models or influencers to guide the pathway. I was all alone and struggling to find a way out of an unbearable closet.

My parents are the most kind-hearted people I know. They were extremely disappointed that their hard work and personal sacrifices to bring their young family to Canada all seemed in vain when their eldest child came out of the closet. Their dreams for me obtaining a better life over the one that they fled evaporated as soon as I came out. My parents reacted with fear. They were scared for my personal safety and emotional well-being. They feared the judgment of the community and, worse, the religious zealots. They were further outraged that I would bring shame to the family when my dirty little secret became a secret no more.

Despite all my parents’ fears about strangers and community members hurting me because of my sexual orientation or gender identity, they ended up inflicting the most harm on me by rejecting me when I was most vulnerable. My parents kicked me out after I came out to them. They were consumed with confusion, anger and fear that they let their first born go. As one would imagine, a 16-year-old without the protection of a family and a safe home would not be prepared for the life of a big city. I had no money of my own. I had no place to go that was safe. My high school guidance counsellor eventually got me access to student welfare. It enabled me to rent a room, sharing a small bathroom and an equally small kitchen with other kids going through their own family troubles. It wasn’t easy for me as I desperately tried to make sense of what I needed to do next in order for me to survive and finish high school.

Again, my story is not unique, as millions of kids coming out of the closet around the world can attest. The hardship that I experienced scarred me for life. It’s also the reason why I work so hard so that others may not feel lost as a newcomer to Canada.

The great thing about being a human being is that we can evolve. Our hearts and minds can change. We can do better, and this is exactly what my parents and I did. We put in the emotional labour to rebuild our relationship that was torn apart because of ignorance and bigotry. We moved towards each other in a deep embrace of love, acceptance and forgiveness. We listened to each other actively with our ears and our hearts. Today, my parents are my closest advisers, and they love me unconditionally. Today, they are the best grandparents to my son and amazing parents-in-law to my wife. They are truly proud of me, and they have become true 2SLGBTQI allies. My parents supported my efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Canada. Both my parents walked me down the aisle when I married Farrah. They show up to Pride every single year in Toronto to cheer me on annually under the sweltering June sun.

I’ve learned so much from my parents and still do. They are proud Canadians of Chinese heritage, and that is who I am. They taught me to never turn my back on my heritage and my ancestors. My parents remind me to speak up for who cannot. I’m told to use my voice, my intelligence, my heart and my courage to serve the community and my country.

Even before I became an elected official, I first learned that words were important and what we say as lawmakers even more so. Seventeen years ago, I had the privilege of sitting in the House of Commons with then-Senator Nancy Ruth to listen to Prime Minister Stephen Harper deliver what would be an all-party apology for the racist legislation directed exclusively at people of Chinese background, known as the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act. It was an emotional day as I sat with weeping descendants and survivors who paid the punishing head tax that amounted to two years of wages and endured family separation.

At that point in time, I was a president of the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, and activists from across the country had been working for years to obtain the parliamentary apology and the redress that was to come. It was a bittersweet moment when we heard Prime Minister Stephen Harper speak.

It was also an ironic moment for me, in Parliament’s historic railroad room afterwards, knowing that in that room hung a portrait—and as the Prime Minister was delivering and gifting the last spike to the descendants, it was in that room that I was thinking that it was the flow of Chinese immigrants and migrant workers that built the Canadian Pacific railroad that made Confederation possible. And there we were, having to demand our dignity so that we can feel a sense of belonging in this country.

Anti-Asian and anti-Chinese racism continues today. It exists, and it still exists with so many forms of hate. We can draw on the lessons of the past to ensure that we don’t repeat the mistakes made then. This is our collective responsibility.

Before my time as a public office-holder, I was also an entrepreneur, a small business owner. I worked hard planting deep roots in Toronto Centre. In 1999, I became a small business owner on Church Street. I co-founded the Church Wellesley business improvement area. While owning the Church Street business, I continued my love of the arts by creating a contemporary Canadian art gallery in the West Queen West area, also known as the art and design district. Art and literature document our human existence and give us a cultural footprint in time.

I have always blended my activism with my professional work. I am happiest when I’m creating. I want to stand for something that is important and bigger than myself. I wish to be judged not by my success but the success of those around me.

I want my son to know that I did everything I could serving in this House to build a better future for him and his generation. I want him to inherit a country that is more equitable, more prosperous, more green and more just than the one that I came into as a young child. I want my son to be proud of his parents who are queer and out, and that his non-binary mama is courageous enough to use they/them pronouns at Queen’s Park.

I will do everything in my power that I humanly can to ensure that every child has a place of belonging in Ontario. I want children who have cognitive, physical and learning disabilities to be affirmed wherever they are. I want them to feel no shame about their skin colour, their hand-me-down clothing or perhaps coming from a single-parent-led household. I want every little girl to have the same opportunity that her little brother has.

I will be vocal and relentless in supporting vulnerable tenants and residents, and holding bad landlords responsible for failing them. I will do everything in my power, as we all should, to end chronic homelessness in Ontario.

As I conclude my inaugural remarks, I want us to think about how we can roll up our sleeves to work together to address the unrecognized and often ignored mental health and addictions crisis—a crisis wrought with stigma and misunderstanding, a crisis overshadowed by the health care crisis, but just as important and deadly when left unattended and allowed to run rampant.

Citizens of Ontario expect us to work collaboratively to solve the pressing issues of the day, whether it be the health care, cost of living or housing crises. Simple solutions may have worked to resolve simple problems. Those days are over. In the age of pandemics, climate crisis and growing disparity, we must do everything we can to turn the tide.

Speaker, it’s been an honour to address the House, and with my deepest gratitude, I look forward to getting to know all the members and working with you to uplift our communities, every community, every Ontarian.

Merci, meegwetch, Xie Xie, do jeh, Mh goi and thank you.

Question?

I listened intently to the member from Peterborough, who spoke completely about housing and the housing crisis that we’re all seeing. But the bill itself, the strong-mayors bill, talks nothing about housing. It’s in the title, but as we’ve seen in previous Conservative bills, titles don’t necessarily mean what is actually the purpose. What the bill actually does is empower the mayor with a whole bunch of powers that will probably create more chaos than we’re seeing currently.

The member talked about his community. He talked about the land tribunal, how it went through the process and actually fixed the community’s needs in favour of the developers that he was talking about. Why does he not believe in the process that’s already in front of them, instead of giving mayors powers that are unnecessary?

Questions to the member for Toronto Centre?

Congratulations to the member on their election. That inaugural speech was truly amazing, so thank you. My question to you is, what prompted the member to stay and live in Toronto Centre? What is it that you love so much about Toronto Centre that you remain in this area?

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, for the opportunity to reply and ask a question to the member for Toronto Centre.

To the member: I want to, first off, congratulate you on your election into this House. I remember my first day so very, very fondly. It’s quite exciting to be able to stand in this House and be able to have your first speech and speak about what motivated you to come here.

I was listening, as you spoke, and I really appreciate all that has motivated you to come to this House. I think that for each one of us, we all have some type of motivation—myself as a child of an immigrant family as well, coming from Italy and having challenges in our community.

When I look around the room and I see each one of us here, we all have challenges and we all have things that have motivated us to be able to come here and serve.

It was very good to hear your story. I enjoyed seeing you in the hallway this morning, actually, as we were coming in and saying hello, and I look forward to being able to work together with you.

I know that as we enter into this House, sometimes when we put on our jerseys, things get a little bit more difficult. But I hope you’ll join me in wearing a jersey that we can speak to the member for Peterborough–Kawartha and remind him that the Soo Greyhounds are really the only place for Wayne Gretzky to be recognized as the best player for that organization. So I hope you’ll join me in that regard.

It is my deepest honour to be able to congratulate my friend and colleague Kristyn Wong-Tam, on their successful campaign, their successful campaign team and their beautiful family. I think what I want to say in this moment to Kristyn—sorry; to the member for Toronto Centre—is a big thank you. I know that they have single-handedly encouraged and motivated and inspired several of us—myself, NDP federal candidate Brian Chang and many of us across the GTA—to get into politics. I also sit here in this chair because of the member’s support and encouragement.

I’d like you to express how important representation is in this House. We walk through these halls, we look on the walls and we don’t see ourselves. How important is it that you are here, and what will that do for future generations to be here too?

As with many members who rise for their first opportunity to address this House for their inaugural speeches, I enjoy being here. I enjoy the fact that they take that opportunity to talk about themselves, to talk about their riding, where they came from and what got them here.

I really enjoyed you expressing and showing your vulnerability because that takes courage. It shows a human aspect of things that we want to see changed in here.

I remember in 2011, when I was first elected, there were many of us members who were in here who said, “Holy jeez, we’ve got to change decorum in here.” That will change decorum in here—putting that vulnerability and making yourself relatable to constituents. You carry yourself with a lot of weight, and you show presence in this House, and I think that will work well for you, and I look forward to being in this House with you many, many times when you’re going to be putting questions to this government and holding them accountable.

My question to you is, what more can your constituents expect from you? I know why I’m here. I’m here because the people of Algoma–Manitoulin want me here and elect me here, and I respond to them. What do you offer, and what can your constituents expect from you going forward?