I rise today to acknowledge Scarborough Health Network and its foundation for their efforts in serving one of Canada’s most diverse communities, right here in my riding of Scarborough Centre, for the early detection, prevention and treatment of breast cancer through breast screening programs. Our government, through the Ministry of Health, worked very hard to support these programs, and I thank them.

As we celebrate October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’d like to thank David Graham, president and CEO of Scarborough Health Network, and Alicia Vandermeer, president and CEO of Scarborough Health Network Foundation, for their efforts to encourage women from all walks of life to put their health and well-being first by booking mammograms, which have the potential to save lives.

All three hospitals under the network are equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging programs that are fully integrated with the hospital’s comprehensive cancer care services to provide care every step of the way, from access to breast cancer screening for its early detection, to prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment for all breast abnormalities.

Again, I’d like to thank Scarborough Health Network for their services to the people of all of Scarborough and beyond.

The people of my riding of Cambridge are blessed to be served by countless non-profit organizations that provide life-changing support on a daily basis. Among them is YWCA Cambridge, which, this month, is celebrating its 75th year of serving women and girls in the Cambridge riding.

The YWCA is a trusted community leader that lends a voice to the needs of women and girls through innovative and responsive programs, services and advocacy.

Like all non-profit groups, the YWCA relies on the generosity of donors. Recently, on a cold, rainy Saturday morning, many supporters of the YWCA gathered outside city hall to participate in an annual event called Walk a Mile in Their Shoes. The walk raised just shy of $10,000, and donations can still be made by contacting the Y.

Walk a Mile in Their Shoes supports the YWCA’s free, community-based violence protection programming for youth across Waterloo region. It’s important to note that this event is much more than a walk through the streets of downtown Galt. Rather, it’s a strong show of unity against gender-based violence.

Speaker, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations and gratitude to the YWCA staff and volunteers as they mark 75 years of providing support and services to our community.

On that note, I would just like to add, to the women in this chamber: How you walk around in high heels all the time—I find it amazing, because I can’t do it.

That concludes our members’ statements for this morning.

Welcome back to Queen’s Park, Alex. It’s good to see you.

Welcome to Queen’s Park. I’m so delighted that you’re here.

Durham College in my riding is helping small businesses and start-ups take the next steps to bring their products and services to market as a result of a $300,000 grant from Intellectual Property Ontario, expanding Durham College’s capacity to foster innovation and entrepreneurial growth in Ontario. This new funding will further expand the intellectual property advisory services from Durham College’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The dean of that office says that with the support of Intellectual Property Ontario, we “will continue to serve as a hub for innovation, fostering economic growth and creating opportunities for our clients, students and faculty to succeed.”

Intellectual Property Ontario’s $2-million pilot project is part of the Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework, an initiative aimed at helping post-secondary institutions like Durham College advance their research and innovation efforts for the benefit of Ontario. More than 50 business clients are expected to take advantage of the tailored resources and mentorship to help them navigate the complexities of intellectual property and commercialization.

I also want to quickly recognize our friends from Ottawa. Alex Cullen, Councillor Kavanagh, it’s nice to see you.

A quick thanks as well to the midwives for that delicious breakfast.

Also, I want to acknowledge François Desmarais, who has been in the building—public affairs for Alstom.

Thank you for being here.

I do. I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 40(e), five minutes be allotted to the independent members as a group to respond during statements by the ministry and responses today.

People in Sault Ste. Marie and across this province are mourning the tragic, horrific loss of five people, three of them children, as a result of intimate partner violence.

Tragically, gender-based violence and femicide is on the rise in our province, and it’s long past time for change. A report from July of this year found that Ontario had 30 femicides in as many weeks—30 women killed in 30 weeks.

My question is to the Premier: What actions will the Premier take to prevent further tragedies like we saw in Sault Ste. Marie?

I’d like to recognize a family that is here today that has changed the world. Yes, that’s right; the Padulo family has done just that. They created the Treat Accessibly campaign so that children with disabilities not only here in Ontario but around the world can have a safe, happy and accessible Halloween.

To Rich and his wife, Natasha, congratulations. But the idea for Treat Accessibly came from Siena, their amazing daughter, who wanted to help children enjoy Halloween as she does.

To Rich, Natasha and Siena: You are an inspiration to us all. You are the reason Treat Accessibly exists. On behalf of this Legislature and the people of Ontario, I want to thank you for answering the call to make society better for all of us.

It’s my pleasure this morning to introduce some constituents and friends: Alex Cullen, the member for Ottawa West in the 36th Parliament, and Theresa Kavanagh, Ottawa city councillor for Bay ward. Welcome.

Good morning, Speaker. Meegwetch. I’d like to acknowledge and welcome, from my riding, Chief Russell Wesley of Cat Lake First Nation; Caroline Lidstone-Jones, chief executive officer at the Indigenous Primary Health Care Council; Dr. Lloyd Douglas, public health physician for Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority; Reece Van Breda, council member for Sioux Lookout; Marie Drummond, Alliance for Healthier Communities; and finally, Allie Kinnaird from IPHCC. Meegwetch for coming.

I seek unanimous consent for members to wear their purple scarves in recognition of Dress Purple Day, to show our support for children in care and the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.

It’s my pleasure to introduce a friend of mine, my campaign manager, and a former staff member here in the House who many of you may recognize: Mr. Jeremy Wittet, who is also a school board trustee in the city of Ottawa.

Thank you for being here.

I’d like to warmly welcome the ward 4 councillor from the city of Windsor, Mark McKenzie, who is in the east lobby today.

I’d like to welcome the Association of Ontario Midwives, including Rebecca Farnum; Anna Ianovskaia; Leila Monib; Diane Simon, a Mi’kmaq midwife; Ashley Lickers, a midwife for the Six Nations; Manavi Handa, who is a dear friend of mine and a member of the second cohort of midwives when they were being re-established in Ontario; Thenusha Ratnasapapapathy; Ifra Zahid; and Althea Jones, president-elect of the Association of Ontario Midwives. Welcome to your House.

He’s making his way to Queen’s Park this morning, obviously running a little late, but I’d like to welcome my son, Jonathan Lindal, to his House. He’s a first-class petty officer for the Royal Canadian Navy.

The Leader of the Opposition will know that we had brought the motion forward for unanimous consent and it was turned down by the opposition at that time. In subsequent conversations with members on all sides, I think there has been some agreement that the former minister has accepted responsibility, and that is why he has resigned, so I have no intention of moving forward beyond that.

At the same time, there have been ample opportunities for the opposition to continue to debate on this—not only through the forum of question period, but through opposition day motions as well.

We are very committed to continuing to move forward, and not in any way, shape or form looking to avoid accountability; just the opposite. That is why the Premier asked me to ensure that we restore public trust in some of the decisions that we had made. That is why I moved to put the greenbelt back under protection and codify the boundaries under legislation, and that is why we made some reversals on 12 official plans.

We have accepted accountability for the mistakes that we made and for those decisions that did not meet the public’s faith in them.

At the same time, I was unhappy and the Premier was unhappy with the process that saw some of the changes in 12 official plans. That is why I reversed those plans.

It is about working better with our municipal partners, but it’s also about ensuring that we move forward on building 1.5 million homes across the province of Ontario. We’re not going to be distracted by that mission. We’ll continue to get the job done on behalf of the people of the province of Ontario.

To reply, the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

The Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity.

The final supplementary.

Minister of Children, Community and Social Services.

Government House leader.

Thank you very much for the question.

Our thoughts go out to the victims, the loved ones and all those who were impacted by this unspeakable tragedy. No woman should ever be subjected to violence.

Through legislation and investments, our priority will always be to provide the supports to those impacted by violence, while also ensuring that perpetrators responsible for the horrible crime of intimate partner violence are held accountable through the justice system when possible.

When it comes to violence against women and children, we’re focused on actions that deliver concrete and tangible results. That’s why we have passed laws, some of which were the first of their kind in Canada, to make it harder to victimize women. That’s why we’ve invested significantly both in violence prevention and supports for violence. When it comes to violence against women—our government will do whatever it takes to make sure that we prevent violence in all of its forms.

This is a serious issue, and a serious issue needs action and for to all work together to make sure we prevent violence against women in all its forms across the province, in every single community, which is why the associate minister referenced some of the supports that have been made available.

We have said from the beginning that we’re working with the federal government. We welcome the support of our municipal partners. I welcome the support of the opposition. Every single person has a part to play when it comes to eliminating violence against women in this province. That’s why we have made the investments. We will not back down. We will not stop until we stop violence against women in all of it forms across the province.

Every act of intimate partner violence is heinous. It has an insidious impact that tears through multiple generations of family and can hurt communities deeply. We know that when you hurt a woman, you’re not just hurting her; you’re hurting her, her children, her family and communities.

That’s why we have invested significantly in community supports and organizations so that women can access them to get the support and help they need. And we’ll continue to fund these organizations, like the Investing in Women’s Futures Program that provides wraparound supports and housing, employment, counselling and safety planning for vulnerable women, and the Assaulted Women’s Helpline, for example.

What happened in the Soo is devastating and triggering.

If you are vulnerable or experiencing violence, please call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866-863-0511. You do not need to suffer in silence.

Interjections.