SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
October 17, 2023 09:00AM
  • Oct/17/23 10:00:00 a.m.

Speaker, I want to talk a little bit about what has happened as well in our communities over the past few days since this attack. I think it’s very important for us to make sure that we act on this. The Toronto police have investigated two recent acts of vandalism at a local mosque, both believed to be hate-driven, one of which occurred on October 12 at a mosque at Danforth Avenue and Donlands Avenue, which was targeted with hate symbols and hateful writings. At the same time, we have heard about the school closure and the horrific anti-Semitic attacks across the city, where police had been called to make sure that people across Toronto can feel safe.

Speaker, the impact that all of this has had—the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate has increased immensely. There are people who are Palestinian Canadians, who are Israeli Canadians, who are Jewish Canadians, who are Muslim Canadians. And I think sometimes it’s forgotten or missed by many of us that there are Palestinian Christians, there are Palestinian Jews, and there are Palestinians of other religions as well who have been impacted by this—including the 1,100 Christians who are stuck in a church looking for safety.

It is extremely incumbent on us to make sure—and I know that the motion did not go through, and I hope that the House will listen—that we do everything to push the government of Canada to advocate for an immediate release of all hostages, the protection of all civilians in accordance with international law, an end to the siege of bombardment of Gaza, and humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians urgently.

The reason I say this is because we need to also look at the root cause of all of this. I got to learn a lot from some of the experts—and I say this from lessons that I have learned from people who are family members, are Holocaust survivors who have shared their side of the story. Recently, one of them is David Hearst, a journalist who talked about the impact and looking at the root cause of this.

Right now, when we look at this, we know that we have a responsibility to listen and understand the issue. I know this may be the first time many people across the province are tuning in to the issue of Palestine and Israel. As sad as that sounds, there are a lot of people who have called me with anger and rage, and after we had a conversation, they said, “I will go and find out what the issue is on both sides.” And I know that there are a lot of people who have their own personal stories, who know and learn about what took place. So, today, when we talk about this, we have to make sure that we tell the full story. We have to make sure that we allow for our communities to be heard in a fair way that is important.

The difference between those who have been returned from Israel and those who have returned from Palestine is very simple, and I’ll tell you why. While 1,300 Canadians from Tel Aviv were safely returned, there was a stark difference in the way Palestinians were treated when they tried to get back to their homeland, to Canada—so for that, we need to step back and understand what took place. When Palestinian Canadians tried to go back, they had to take a bus to Jordan and book their own flight and return to Canada. They did not have our local MP, Minister Bill Blair, putting out the flight that went and carried them back. They didn’t have that. So I ask this House: Do Palestinian Canadians not have the same right? Do their lives not have value in the same way—to make sure that they also return home safely to their loved ones? When Hala talks about her 16 family members who were killed and one family member who is still waiting to return—does that family member not have the right, just like anyone else, just like any other human being?

When we have people who are Palestinian Canadians telling us their side of the story, we need to make sure that we hear that as well. And today, I hope that our government will listen. As a provincial government, we don’t have the power to move policies, but we do have power in our voices, in our words, to make sure that we influence the federal government to make that change.

We also need to make sure that we look at the root cause of this. We know that the violence did not start last week—

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  • Oct/17/23 11:20:00 a.m.

What we will continue to do is to provide MZOs when it helps move the province of Ontario forward—MZOs for long-term care, MZOs to build hospitals, MZOs to build supportive housing in the city of Toronto.

Will I stop issuing MZOs when it supports the priorities of the province of Ontario, when it helps people in the province of Ontario, when it helps job creation, when it gives people their first home? No. I won’t stop doing that. Will I continue to issue MZOs when it means an old long-term-care home can be torn down and replaced by a brand new one? No. I’ll continue to do that.

They want to stand in the way of all of that; I won’t.

In fact, some of their own members have asked me for MZOs in their own ridings, so that we can get long-term-care homes, so that we can get socialized housing in their homes.

So I say to the member very clearly, for the caucus members around you: I will continue to issue it when it is in the best interests of the people of the province of Ontario.

What you’re hearing from the opposition is continued frustration that what we are doing is using the tools that we have to help build a stronger economy, to help restore confidence in industries that had lost it. This is a party that worked with the Liberals to drive out manufacturing. We lost 300,000 manufacturing jobs. The Liberals and the NDP said that we should transition our economy to a service economy.

What we’re doing is building a better, stronger Ontario—$27 billion in investment; over 700,000 people have the dignity of a job. And I will do whatever I can, along with this caucus, to support that.

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  • Oct/17/23 11:30:00 a.m.

My question is for the Minister of Transportation. Toronto’s population is growing rapidly. As our city grows, transportation infrastructure also needs to expand. People need more convenient ways to connect to their jobs and family and other communities in the GTA.

Unfortunately, the previous Liberal government, supported by the NDP, failed to plan ahead for the transit needs of our communities. They left people on crowded subways and buses and stuck in traffic.

That is why our government must continue to implement solutions that will improve transportation options for the people of the GTA and beyond.

Can the minister please provide us with an update on how our government is addressing the need for more public transit?

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