We’re going to move to questions.

We’re going to move to the next question.

Next question?

Next question?

Next question?

Absolutely. I’ve done a lot of work with victims of gun violence. One of the things that this government did is that they took out—for victims of violence, there was up to a $25,000 allotment that was given to them. This government took that away. And the disruption in somebody’s life, in a family’s life when somebody has become a victim of gun violence, whether they’ve been able to survive or not, is incredible. A lot of these people are in low-income families. They do not have the financial resources to actually weather that crisis. So one of the things that the government should do is restore the victim allotment so victims of violent crime can get some funding to help them get through that period and that trauma.

That’s time. We’re going to move to further debate.

The member for Guelph for a quick response.

I’m just wondering, in the time we have left, member for Spadina–Fort York, if you couldn’t impress upon this government that in fact you brought a very important message today, that if they want to actually preserve access to justice, you have to fund the court systems that we have, and in particular, as you mentioned, the victim support groups that can be there for families in their time of need.

We talk about faith-based hate crimes, and they are on the rise. We hear about that everyday on the news. I was actually knocking on doors on Friday in my riding and was disappointed to hear somebody who said some things I thought were awfully cruel—not about me, but about others who I care about.

The Victims’ Bill of Rights already allows victims of hate-based crimes to seek civil damages for emotional distress and related bodily harm. One thing in this bill is changes to the regulations. They’ve added terrorism offences, which are often hate-motivated; hate crimes which are targeting clergy; and disruption of worship. As we hear about that more and more, I believe those changes are important, and now these victims can charge or sue for emotional distress.

Does the member support that, which is in this bill, and will you be supporting this bill—

I’ve noticed this government cuts first, instead of “measure twice and cut once.” Here, we’re seeing a layer of transparency in terms of changes in policing that affect already marginalized and racialized communities. Can you guess at how this might impact marginalized communities when we see proposed changes that aren’t made public and there is no stakeholder and community feedback?

I listened with interest to the brief remarks from the member for Guelph. He didn’t have much time.

Certainly we hear from constituents and Ontarians across this province that there are huge concerns about what the Premier is saying about the politicization of the judicial process. I wondered if the member would like to take a little bit more time to elaborate on why this is so dangerous to democracy and why the Premier should reverse his decision to appoint those partisan members to the judicial committee.

Further debate?

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

On Sunday, I attended a celebration of life for Mr. Craig Connell. Craig made an incredible difference in my life and, judging by how full that room was, on many others.

I first met Craig as a fellow board member on the board of Dairy Farmers of Ontario. I can honestly say I have never disagreed with anyone as often and as vehemently as Craig Connell, and I have never enjoyed someone’s company so much.

Craig was the first person I told that I was going to run for MPP. We were standing at a bar at an event. He asked me if I was going to run for the board; I said, “No, I’m going to run for MPP.” He said, “Oh, you’d be great,” and as I was walking away, I heard him mumble, “My God, he might run for the NDP.” He came over to my table, and he stopped and he said, “I have an announcement to make.” He put his hand on my shoulder and he said, “John here is going to run for MPP, and if he was in my riding, I’d even vote for him, even if he’s running for the Communists.”

He leaves behind Moira; his daughter, Alison, and his son, Lloyd, and their families; and an incredible business legacy with Wicketthorn Farms. And he leaves behind an incredible legacy to all of us for all the things that he fought for. He emigrated from Scotland and brought his skills to this country, and made all our lives better, whether we know it or not. On all our behalf, thank you very much.

I appreciate the question from the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore. If the member will recall my debate remarks, I opened by saying that some schedules in this bill, particularly schedule 18, which is what this question refers to, are good parts of this bill. Absolutely, we should make it easier for victims of crime to sue an offender for emotional distress.

I also think we should make it easier for the public to comment on changes to police regulations, which is why I’m raising concerns in schedule 4 of this bill along with the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

It’s my privilege to rise today and inform the House that this past Sunday, in front of a capacity crowd of thousands of raucous fans in Sarnia, the Lambton College women’s basketball program won their first-ever Ontario Colleges Athletic Association championship with a convincing 78-56 win over the previously undefeated and number-two-ranked team in Canada, the Algonquin College Wolves.

With the historic victory in the provincial championship game, the mighty Lambton Lions secured the school’s first-ever invitation to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championship tournament, being held next week at Lakeland College in Lloydminster, Alberta.

Led by coaching prodigy Janine Day, and conference player of the year and first team All-Canadian Breanna Pretty, the 2023-24 Lambton Lions utilized a smothering full-court defence and relentless, fast-paced offence to dominate on the hardwood this season, compiling a 19-2 record so far. The average margin of victory for the Lions this season is nearly 29 points per game.

As the Lambton Lions prepare to make the trip west to the national championship tournament, I want to say to all the coaches and the players at Lambton College, on behalf of the Ontario government and all the members of the Legislature, congratulations, and good luck. We will be cheering for you. Go, Lions!

Last week, I was pleased to welcome the Associate Minister of Housing to the city of Brantford to announce a $3-million housing investment from our government as part of the Building Faster Fund.

This funding was awarded to Brantford because they were able to exceed their housing target by 8% last year. Brantford broke ground on a total of 788 new housing units, unlocking an additional $400,000. Brantford should be proud of the work that they have done to get shovels in the ground faster. I am honoured to represent a city that is dedicated to ensuring that residents have a place to call home, and I am appreciative that our government provides the necessary tools to help the city of Brantford to achieve their goals.

Brantford continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, and I am grateful to all those in the Brantford–Brant com-munity, including Mayor Kevin Davis, for working with our government to meet the development and investment needs of our community. I am thankful every single day for the incredible working relationship that I have with the city of Brantford. With the support of these provincial funds, our community will sustain its expansion, while creating new job opportunities and business growth. Brantford will continue to be the best place to live, work, play and raise a family in Ontario.

It looks like I have about five minutes to be able to start debate on Bill 157, Enhancing Access to Justice Act. It is a lengthy bill, with many provisions affecting many parts of our court system: our Law Society Act, our Coroners Act, our Architects Act. It’s a hefty bill. But New Democrats have definitely taken the time and the position to focus on true access to justice and what that means to us, what it means to people of Ontario, and the things that we had hoped that we would have seen in a bill titled “access to justice.”

Speaker, you’ve been here for quite a few years also. We have definitely seen many bills put in front of this Legislature that have really great titles that intrigue the public into thinking that there could actually be something good in that bill for them. And then we see that it typically does quite the opposite and leaves the people of Ontario out. That is what we see time and time again with this government. It’s unfortunate. But so it is, the Enhancing Access to Justice Act.

I want to take the opportunity to talk about intimate partner violence in the province of Ontario and how people across this province are calling for funding, they’re calling for the word “femicide” to be used, to actually state that it’s an epidemic, and this government is refusing to do that. I know that New Democrats, during the committee portion, had put amendments on the table that the government voted against. They voted against ensuring that—what was it? Government committee members voted against an NDP amendment that would have required the Attorney General to make a plan to increase the amount of funding to Ontario’s rape crisis centres, sexual assault support centres and domestic violence support centres.

The Ford government stopped renewing a $1-million funding boost to rape crisis centres in 2020. And they have been ringing the bells, saying they need support. They are not able to keep up with the growing amount of women who need access to supports, to safety. When we have a Premier who gets on his feet and continuously talks about the crime rates that happen in the communities and yet fails to support the women who need access to a safe place to get away from those perpetrators, it’s really, really, really unfortunate. And it’s clear. The underfunding, the lack of supports that these centres have seen for years have women in danger on a regular basis.

This letter is an open letter calling for a provincial declaration of intimate partner violence as an epidemic. This was on December 6—

February 22 was Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day, and at Turtle Creek Manor in Mississauga–Lakeshore I hosted a free stethoscope check event for local seniors with Ellen Ross and her team from Heart Valve Voice Canada. I want to thank cardiologist Dr. Gurpreet Parmar and nurse practitioner Cheryl Low from the heart team at Trillium Health Partners for all their help with this event and for everything they do to care for patients living with heart valve disease.

Again, I want to thank all members for supporting my private member’s bill, Bill 66, the Heart Valve Disease Awareness Act, which is now at the committee on social policy.

In 2021, I was proud to co-sponsor another bill to raise awareness for sickle cell disease with the Minister of the Environment. Lanre and the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario were the driving force behind Bill 255, and they’re back at Queen’s Park today. I’m proud to sponsor their reception and invite all members to join us tonight at 5 p.m. in rooms 228 and 230 to learn more about sickle cell disease.

Lastly, Speaker, Kidney Patient and Donor Alliance Canada will be here tomorrow, and I’m proud to sponsor their reception as well. I invite all members to join us for lunch tomorrow in room 228 after question period to learn more about kidney care from patients and donors from across the province of Ontario.

I want to thank the 600 Guelphites who walked in the Coldest Night of the Year on February 24, to raise funds for Hope House. Together we raised $193,592.

I was proud to walk on Team Orpha, led by Orpha Thrasher, who is 102 years young. Orpha is the mom of my constituency staff member, Shelley, and wife of the late Ivan Thrasher, MPP for Windsor–Sandwich from 1964 to 1967.

Hope House alleviates poverty by building community. Hope House feeds 2,400 people, supplies fully-stocked backpacks to 2,300 school children and provides services to meet the basic needs of over 1,500 people. Organizations like Hope House are trying to help people find a safe, affordable place to live.

I’m proud to say that my community in Guelph has mobilized to build a 32-unit permanent supportive housing project. I want to thank the government for contributing $3 million in capital funding for the project. Now, I urge the government to fund the health care supports needed to open up the permanent supportive housing project so we can ensure that we can move people from the streets and tents into a home.

I rise today to commemorate International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”

There are many women here who have done that, and I wanted to acknowledge a few in my life who have been able to do that, like Louise Mercier, who has been a leader with the Navy League of Canada, who works with the Conference of Defence Associations Institute and has been on the executive of the foundation of the Rideau Perley long-term care facility; or Barbara Farber, who is a leader in our Jewish community, is involved in commercial real estate and is not only a philanthropist but an honorary lieutenant colonel of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa;

Sonya Shorey, as members in Ottawa would all know, has been leading Invest Ottawa, as the interim CEO, and just like any strong woman, she can hustle better in high heels and stilettos than any man ever could.

I’d like to congratulate Lynne Hamilton for her work at Equal Voice in prompting the voices of women—and of course, my own mother and my late aunt Ena, who despite the fact that it was my father who was elected six times, it was my mother leading my Aunt Ena’s campaign for election to school board that really got me involved in politics.

Of course, Speaker, I’d like to say thank you to all women in this chamber for showing their strength of leadership and character, as well as the women who support us, both inside this chamber and out, as staff of either yours or ours.

Finally, I would just like to wish one of our colleagues in particular well this International Women’s Day: Caroline Mulroney, our President of the Treasury Board. She was a former seatmate of mine, a friend and a valued colleague. I know this week has been very difficult for her with the passing of her father, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney. But before he was the Prime Minister of Canada, he was Caroline Mulroney’s father. He dedicated his life to his family, her and her three brothers, and I know her grace, her kindness, her intelligence are all characteristics and traits that he passed on to her—as well as her mother, Mila Mulroney.

I want to say on this International Women’s Day that we will continue to invest in women across the province, and we will continue to accelerate their progress. To all women in this chamber, Happy International Women’s Day.

I rise today to recognize a good friend and colleague, O’Connor township councillor Bishop Garfield Racicot, who sadly passed away on December 30.

Bishop’s journey began in Sudbury, but through the twists and turns of life, he made his home in the township of O’Connor in 1993. Shortly after moving to O’Connor, Bishop embarked on a new chapter in his life, dedicating himself to the betterment of his community by running as councillor, a role he fulfilled with unwavering commitment and integrity for the next 24 years.

Bishop’s passion for the township of O’Connor was evident in everything he did. He worked tirelessly to advocate for the welfare and prosperity of its residents, fuelled by a deep-seated belief in the potential of his community. Bishop was a friend to many, a beacon of kindness, compassion and generosity. His love of people drove him to open his food vending operation where he served up his own brand of hometown advice and conversations, along with hamburgers, hotdogs and poutine.

His warm smile and genuine concern for others endeared him to all who had the privilege of knowing him. Whether offering a helping hand or a listening ear, Bishop was always there, ready to uplift and support those in need, even during very difficult times in his own life.

I extend deepest sympathy to Bishop’s wife, Linda; son, Mitchell; grandson, Bishop; and the rest of the family. Bishop’s legacy of service and compassion will endure for generations to come, and we shall honour his memory by continuing the work he began.

Rest well, my friend.

À Sudbury, on a plusieurs organisations en français. Cette fin de semaine passée, j’ai eu le plaisir de joindre un group formidable pour fêter la 50^e année de l’Association des étudiantes et étudiants francophones, l’AEF.

L’AEF est une organisation située dans l’Université Laurentienne qui offre plusieurs services et un soutien incroyable à la communauté d’étudiants.

Cette occasion était très spéciale parce que l’AEF est l’une des premières associations étudiantes franco-ontariennes à rejoindre 50 ans d’existence. Pendant la fête, j’ai présenté à l’AEF un certificat de reconnaissance pour leur 50^e anniversaire.

Depuis ces débuts, l’Association des étudiantes et étudiants francophones a joué un rôle important à l’Université Laurentienne. Pour 50 ans, ils offrent de nombreux services pour aider à soutenir la communauté étudiante et promouvoir la langue française. Ils et elles devraient être fiers de leurs réalisations passées et présentes.

J’aimerais souhaiter le meilleur pour les années à venir à Nawfal Sbaa, le président, à tous les membres du conseil, et à tous les étudiants et étudiantes qui sont impliqués avec l’AEF. Félicitations à l’AEF pour cette étape impressionnante.

It was beautiful weather yesterday—for May, not March. Toronto’s winter was the warmest on record. It is an extreme weather event, just like the Texas Smokehouse Creek fires, just like the fires across Canada that darkened our eastern seaboard for weeks last year, just like the warmest ocean temperatures that have ever been recorded that were recorded this January. These are terrifying signs about the health of our planet.

The Conservatives have set a completely irresponsible target of reducing emissions by 30% by 2030. This government is ideologically opposed to wind and solar and energy efficiency. They’re spending billions of dollars on a highway that we don’t need, and they’re doubling down on paving over farmland to build homes that people simply cannot afford. This is not the kind of leadership that an advanced industrial state like Ontario should be demonstrating; it is an example of failure.

Ontario needs to reduce its emissions by 50% by 2030. It needs to put in place the investments, policies and programs to deliver on that call, from retrofitting homes and buildings to investing in energy efficiency and to investing in public transit. We have the know-how, the technology and the workforce to act on climate. What we need from this government is the political will. To ready us for the future, it is time to rise to the challenge and act in a manner that meets the crisis we face.