Today is September 26, 2023. It has been 315 days since Bill 21, the Till Death Do Us Part Act, passed second reading in this chamber. For nearly a year, seniors across Ontario have continued to be separated from their spouses while this government sits on a solution that could reunite older adult couples during their last years.

The new minister will be visiting Fairview Mennonite this Friday; there are five couples separated in this one home.

Over the summer break, I organized meetings with senior Jim McLeod to hear directly from seniors who are separated from their spouses, as well as their families and academics. They told me of the heartbreak they’re experiencing, the severe impacts to everyone’s mental health and the negative health impacts caused by isolation.

This week, I’m sending a letter to every mayor in Ontario asking them to bring motions forward to their res-pective municipal councils in support of the Till Death Do Us Part Act. Their support will help us keep attention on Bill 21, so that it will finally be called to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, one step closer to royal assent.

There is no good reason why the Ford government is stalling Bill 21 at committee. Nova Scotia passed similar legislation, the Life Partners in Long-term Care Act, in just 11 days. Let’s work together and get it done for all of Ontario’s seniors and the generations of older adults to come. It is time.