We’re going to move to questions.

Sorry. Of course.

It reads:

“Dear members of provincial Parliament for Hamilton-based ridings:

“At its meeting on August 18, 2023, Hamilton city council passed a motion respecting the ‘Declaration of Gender-Based Violence and Intimate-Partner Violence as an epidemic in the city of Hamilton.’ By way of this email, I would like to forward the contents of that motion for your awareness.

“The motion is as follows”—I might have to actually read a couple and then get to the whereases because it’s quite long, and I only have six minutes on the clock left. Time goes fast around here.

“Whereas gender-based violence is defined as violence or abuse perpetrated against a woman, girl or gender-diverse individual because of their gender, gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender;

“Whereas according to the official 2023 UN Women statistics, globally, an estimated one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner, non-partner violence or both at least once in their life (30% of women aged 15 and older);

“Whereas, globally, according to the same report, there is a woman or girl being killed every 11 minutes in their home;

“Whereas femicide is a result of gender-based violence and 22 countries specifically reference it in their criminal legislation;

“Whereas Canada does not currently include the term femicide in their criminal legislation;

“Whereas Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQIA+ people experience higher rates of gender-based violence;

“Whereas Indigenous women are more likely than non-Indigenous women to experience sexual assault at a younger age;

“Whereas transgender and gender-diverse people are significantly more likely to have experienced physical or sexual assault at least once since 15 years of age;

“Whereas the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability ... found that in Canada between 2018 and 2022 one woman was killed every 48 hours”—come on, Speaker, to not have this included in legislation that’s called the Enhancing Access to Justice Act is an absolute crime on its own. That would just add to the criminal investigations happening on the other side. It’s actually quite interesting that they’re bringing a bill forward such as this when the RCMP are investigating the government at the exact same time. It’s kind of like smoke and mirrors in the Ontario Legislature once again.

I’m going to jump quickly to the “Therefore, be it resolved” part because I’m sure everybody has the picture here of how awful of an epidemic this truly is—“(a) That council declare gender-based violence and intimate partner violence an epidemic in Hamilton;

“(b) That staff meet with the Women Abuse Working Group ... to develop recommendations that will further address gender-based violence and intimate partner violence in Hamilton;

“(c) That staff be authorized to provide one-time funding in the amount of $30,129.00 from the City Enrichment Fund ... to support the Women Abuse Working Group”—because the city has to pay for it, because the provincial government refuses. It’s not in here; that was my adding—“to further identify and help address service gaps;

“(d) That staff continue to actively engage with the Hamilton just recovery coalition and their recommendations to identify further actions;

“(e) That staff continue to work closely with the community safety and well-being system leadership table to increase awareness of gender-based violence and intimate partner violence and explore opportunities for further action;

“(f) That council, by way of a letter from the mayor, and staff continue to actively engage with the province of Ontario to advocate for sustainable investments that meaningfully address gender-based violence and intimate partner”—that was the part that really does affect us here.

I’m going to leave the rest because I am running out of time and there are other things that I really want to be able to say—and that is: We can do better as a province. When we are turning a blind eye to our most vulnerable citizens—when a woman is in an abusive situation, it is so hard for her to be able to leave that situation. She has children. She has bills. How is she going to pay the rent? How is she going to be able to afford to do this? Many men can be very manipulating, so she has no credit. How is she possibly going to do this? Who’s going to pay for everything? It compounds. To have the guts to actually stand up and say, “I’m out,” and then leave with her kids, drive to the nearest shelter and realize that the doors are locked because there are no beds—what is she supposed to do then?

Visiting one of our shelters—they tell us they makeshift beds on the floor in some of the rooms just to make space. I see members shaking their heads over there. If you’re shaking your head, tell your Premier to do the right thing: Fund our women’s shelters. Ensure that they have safety, that there is somewhere for them to go—somewhere. Funding from the 1990s is the funding base level that they’re at—imagine, the 1990s. You talk about inflation, you talk about the cost of everything, but you don’t fund our services to ensure that they can take care of our communities and that we can have healthy communities. Start with the basics. Make sure we’re proactive, that we’re actively looking into ways to help our community instead of trying to figure out a way to stack the deck against them.

We can do better as a province. This bill could have done so much better to ensure that we had a real, truly safe ability to enhance access to justice in the province of Ontario, and not just more smoke and mirrors and great titles. No great title is going to save one person. Real action is going save people. It’s your turn to do that.

Yes, we should all be passionate when we talk in this House—and sex trafficking is no different.

I’ve seen recent articles about big cases being brought down and the work of specialized teams in our police forces who are really doing that hard work. I need to say thank you to them for doing that work. It’s not easy to go home to your own family and children at the end of the day after seeing some of the most horrific things that people with minds that we can’t explain do to our children, and how they can exploit women. We need better legislation to ensure that we’re protecting them and that there are more tools to be able to conquer this and to challenge it so that no one—male, female—is put up for sale in the province of Ontario.

I want to congratulate the member. I thought that was a wonderful speech, coming from her heart and very passionate.

Obviously, women in shelters is a passion of mine. I had the opportunity to be the minister responsible for women’s issues and community and social services, and one of the first things that I did was make some investments into that area.

I’ve really heard a lot about violence against women and the resettlement, and I agree with her 100% that if a woman is prepared to leave, we need to make sure that there are supports.

I didn’t hear a lot about sex trafficking, and that’s one area that I’ve been very concerned about. There is a very specialized group of people who have to support them outside of the existing shelter system. I think that’s an area where I want to continue to focus. Again, I wouldn’t mind hearing a little bit more from her about human trafficking, or as I call it, “sex trafficking: Ontario’s dirty little secret.”

I again congratulate her for passion. We need more of that on the floor of this assembly.

Stack the courts.

I’m going to ask you: There are 19 schedules here in this bill that’s purporting to enhance justice, and we proposed 11 amendments. The government turned them all down. Two of the amendments were very specifically speaking to what you’ve been talking about.

One is that the legal aid funding should be increased so that people have access to legal aid, particularly when it comes to the women that you’ve talked about, that when they do get to court, they’re already struggling. And the second thing is, the government members voted down an amendment that would have improved funding to rape crisis and sexual assault support centres.

Do you want to speak a little more about how this bill is a failure when it comes to actually enhancing justice for women in this province?

Next question?

We’re going to move to further debate. I recognize the member for Carleton.

As you mentioned, during committee for Bill 157, the government members voted down an amendment that we had brought forward for helping with the hiring and the retention of courtroom staff.

You’ve mentioned and made it clear that our courts are in crisis. Serious criminal cases are being dismissed because they just take too long. We’re talking about firearms possession. We’re talking about impaired driving. We’re talking about sexual assault. Does the member think that the government has done everything they could to reduce courtroom delays with this bill?

Thank you to the member opposite for her passionate speech. I know a lot of what she was touching upon was a lack of funding or a perceived lack of funding. I just wanted to touch base on our $1.4 billion that we put towards gender-based violence and just allow her to comment on it, as well as the $18 million more that we just signed on with our federal counterpart, the Ontario-STANDS against gender-based violence that was just announced recently. As well, the minister was up in Kenora opening a third anti-human trafficking CARE unit, part of our $307-million plan towards anti-human trafficking.

I’d just like for you to be able to touch upon that, because I know you were speaking about what you perceive as underfunding. Could you touch upon those numbers, please?

Madam Speaker, I’m pleased to rise in the House today to continue debate on the Enhancing Access to Justice Act, 2024. If passed, Bill 157, the Enhancing Access to Justice Act, would improve access to justice, enhance community safety and modernize the justice system for Ontarians.

The Enhancing Access to Justice Act represents a necessary step forward for Ontario’s justice system. Our government is bringing forward important changes that would allow us to take bold and immediate action to strengthen and modernize the justice system by simplifying court and government operations and increasing community safety. We are also proposing comprehensive legislative updates that address the evolving challenges faced by victims, children and families across our great province of Ontario.

I’d like to share an article that was written by QP Briefing. This article was written on November 30 of 2023. The headline says, “Omnibus Crime Bill Makes It Easier for Victims to Sue Offenders, Eliminates Mandatory Coroners’ Inquests into Construction Deaths.”

“As part of a sweeping omnibus bill to be tabled today, the Ontario government wants to make it easier for victims of certain crimes to sue offenders for emotional distress without reliving the experience in the courts.

“The Enhancing Access to Justice Act, announced ... by Solicitor General Michael Kerzner and Attorney General Doug Downey, would also ban cannabis cultivation in homes offering child care services....

“As the cornerstone of the bill, amendments to the Victims’ Bill of Rights will make it easier for victims to sue offenders in civil court for emotional distress and bodily harm, including human trafficking offences, terrorism and hate crimes targeting places of worship.

“According to Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey, under the proposed changes, victims of these crimes will no longer have to prove they experienced emotional distress in civil court, instead the distress will be assumed by the courts.

“‘When you go to prove your civil suit, you have to show there was a negative effect emotionally or otherwise,’ said Downey. ‘There are classes of incidents that it’s quite clear there would be an effect.

“‘We don’t want them going back through that process to explain to a judge how they were emotionally traumatized and in the process retraumatize them.’”

This legislation will also ban home-based daycares from growing cannabis. It will “ban the cultivation of cannabis in homes that offer child care services, whether they are licensed or unlicensed child care providers.

“‘As it stands, cannabis can be grown in home-based child care facilities,’ said Doug Downey. ‘Quite frankly I never imagined we would even have to legislate this.’ ...

“Other changes include giving firefighters the power to issue fines—or administrative monetary penalties—for certain violations, new rules to allow courts to better handle vexatious litigants, strengthening bail rules for high-risk offenders and limiting delays at child protection trials.”

Madam Speaker, the reason that I shared this article with you from QP Briefing is that I want to send a clear message to the members in this Legislature and to Ontarians that this is not coming from us. This is coming from an independent media outlet, QP Briefing, that is talking about the positive impact and the positive changes that Bill 157 is going to have in this province, if passed.

The province is increasing access to justice for victims by making changes to the Victims’ Bill of Rights, 1995, and its regulation to allow victims to sue for emotional distress and related bodily harm for more crimes, including terrorism, motor vehicle theft, human trafficking-related offences and hate-related crimes targeting places of worship.

And before I continue, Madam Speaker, because I do only have five minutes left, I’d like to mention that I will be sharing my time with the wonderful member for Oakville North–Burlington.

Our government is also proposing the following consultations: with the federal government to discuss removing limitation periods on civil lawsuits under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act that are commenced in Ontario, and with law enforcement across governments and stakeholders to further protect Ontarians from auto theft, including examining VIN-related fraud and catalytic converter theft.

This bill will also strengthen Ontario’s cannabis framework. We’re proposing legislative changes that, if passed, would further Ontario’s priorities to combat the illegal cannabis market, keep communities safe and protect children and youth.

Now, I do have to mention, Madam Speaker, it is so important that our government made sure that we have a robust system when it comes to how the cannabis market works in Ontario, because if we want to detract and combat the black market and the illegal cannabis market and keep our communities safe, we have to ensure that we have a proper framework for people to buy cannabis legally. And that’s exactly what we have done, and I’m proud to be part of a government that has made sure that we have a robust system and framework in place.

Now, having said that, I personally have not done it. If I did, my father would probably ground me, even though I’m a 39-year-old MPP. But—

I want to thank the member for their statement. She talked about going back to the basics. My background is under the child protection act, and that was just a short year and a half ago, two years ago. One of the things that was prevalent for me was the victims and not giving them the amount of rights that they required. And this actually proposes the Victims’ Bill of Rights, which makes changes that empower victims to go after the offender for bodily harm, for distress, for harm, for hate crimes. Do you not think that that is a positive step, where they can go after the bad actors?

Good afternoon. I rise today to speak on third reading of Bill 157, the Enhancing Access to Justice Act, 2023, and share some of the reasons why I am supporting it. I’m pleased to be sharing my time with the hard-working member from Carleton.

As has been said by the Attorney General and others, this bill, if passed, will improve access to justice for more victims of crime, improve community safety and modernize and simplify the court and its operations. As someone who is a strong advocate for victims of crime, I am pleased to support this bill, as it represents a positive step forward to assist people to better access justice.

First, let me say a few words about public safety and access to justice for victims of crime. Keeping our communities safe and increasing access to justice for victims of crime is a key priority for me and for this government. Ontario’s justice system needs to be accessible and responsible to all Ontarians, especially those who need it most. That’s why we are proposing changes to the Victims’ Bill of Rights that would make it easier and less traumatizing for certain victims to sue convicted offenders for emotional distress and related bodily harm.

Currently, three types of crimes are identified in the Victims’ Bill of Rights where a victim can sue the convicted offender for emotional distress. These crimes include assault by a spouse, sexual assault, and attempted sexual assault. Our government is proposing to expand this list to include victims of human trafficking, victims of sexual offences against a minor or a person with a disability, and the publication or distribution of a voyeuristic recording or an intimate image without that person’s consent.

Speaker, as my colleagues here today will know, in November 2022 I introduced a private member’s motion titled Keira’s Law in the Ontario Legislature. This motion was named after four-year-old Keira, who tragically lost her life as a result of an apparent murder-suicide. It was unanimously passed in this House, and it called for the education and training in intimate partner violence and coercive control for provincial court judges and other professionals in the Family Court system.

Since then, our government has taken further action. We’ve passed the Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, which now mandates that all newly appointed and existing provincial court judges and justices of the peace must undertake education and training in gender-based intimate partner violence and coercive control.

These amendments were largely thanks to the tireless advocacy of Jennifer Kagan, Keira’s mother, and the hundreds of women who shared their stories and provided their support for Keira’s Law.

But we haven’t stopped there. Our government has zero tolerance for violence against women and children in all its forms. We’ve invested nearly $247 million to support victims of violence and almost $29 million in violence prevention initiatives. We’ve invested $5.9 million over two years through the Victim Support Grant Program to enhance capacity to support survivors of intimate partner violence and human trafficking. And late last year, the Attorney General announced a one-time $2.13-million investment to the Partner Assault Response Program, to supplement the annual $10.6-million allocation.

People in my community of Oakville North–Burlington are already seeing this funding in action. From 2022 to 2023, Halton Women’s Place received about $2.5 million in funding to deliver emergency shelter services under the violence against women program, the Transitional and Housing Support Program, and the Family Court Support Worker Program. Additionally, at the end of 2023, SAVIS, Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention Services of Halton, received $98,600 to implement an overnight crisis line to offer immediate support for volunteers and service users. And $100,000 was given directly to the Halton Regional Police Service’s human trafficking unit.

There is well-documented evidence that victims of these crimes can experience long-term effects, like post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and other mental health challenges. We continue to listen to victims like those in Keira’s family, and through Bill 157 we are making the key changes that will increase their access to justice. These proposed amendments will make it easier for victims to sue their offenders for emotional distress in civil court.

Speaker, our government recognizes the serious nature of these crimes, and we are taking action.

Let me focus for a moment on the steps we are taking and, through this bill, proposing to ensure that Ontario’s justice system and laws meet the demands of the 21st century.

Together with the judiciary and all partners across the justice system, we continue to harness new and existing technologies to improve and expand access to many different services.

Our goal has always been clear: to facilitate a modern and accessible justice system that works for everyone. Ontarians deserves nothing less.

About a year ago, we officially opened the new Ontario Court of Justice building in Toronto. This new courthouse brings most of our criminal court services from six different Ontario Court of Justice locations into one accessible, state-of-the-art courthouse. It accommodates virtual and hybrid hearings, and it has conference settlement rooms and enhanced security features. It can accommodate the unique needs of drug treatment, Gladue services, youth and mental health court users, and provides supports for victims.

Our government is also in the midst of rolling out expanded digital justice solutions to deliver more justice services online. Digital transformation in the justice sector is long overdue, and we are succeeding in our efforts to make 21st-century technology a permanent fixture in the administration of justice in Ontario. The Courts Digital Transformation Initiative is an important and significant milestone in this new era for justice in Ontario and will be the most significant single step forward in the digital evolution of justice in Canada.

In 2021, our government launched the Justice Accelerated strategy to break down long-standing barriers in the system and move more services online and closer to Ontarians regardless of where they lived. This includes rural, northern and First Nations communities. Since then, we have:

—expanded electronic filing to more than 700 types of civil, family, bankruptcy, divisional court and small claims court documents through Justice Services Online;

—committed $65 million to virtual and hybrid hearings;

—expanded our online court case search tool to ensure the public can search basic court information in select civil and active criminal cases without having to line up at or call a courthouse; and

—substantially increased funding for Community Legal Education Ontario.

As the Attorney General says, this is the way of the future, and it’s what the people of this province deserve. As a lawyer myself, I welcome this change.

Yet despite all of our advances, some of Ontario’s court processes remain outdated, leading to inefficiencies and challenges for court users. That’s why we are putting forward proposals in this bill to change the Courts of Justice Act and other statutes, creating flexibility and filling current gaps in procedures. We are also proposing changes to make the procedures for judges in the Court of Appeal and Superior Court of Justice to deal with vexatious litigants more flexible to help reduce the use of court resources and delays. These vexatious litigants rob our courts of time and resources which are better used for legitimate attempts to resolve disputes.

As the minister said when this bill was introduced, if passed, the Enhancing Access to Justice Act will ensure that Ontario’s justice system remains fair, remains responsive and remains accessible for those who need it the most, while continuing to keep people safe. I encourage all of my colleagues in the House to support this bill.

You’re not that old.

I’m turning 39 next month—or this month, actually. At the end of March, I’m turning 39. But I can tell you now that I still have not and probably never will walk into a cannabis store with my father, because if I did, he would probably ground me. I might be the member for Carleton, but my dad is the father of the member for Carleton. I might be MPP Ghamari; he’s Mr. Ghamari.

But having said that, Madam Speaker, it’s so important that we are able to have these conversations and that we give people a safe place to talk about this. The fact that people are able to buy recreational cannabis in a safe place and have it be regulated is so important. I in fact toured Tweed when Tweed was still operating in Smiths Falls and I saw the stringent measures imposed in how they controlled it, how they regulated it in Health Canada. As a government, one of the most responsible things we can do is to ensure that the cannabis market is properly regulated in such a way that we’re combatting the illegal market. That’s why this bill is so important, and I hope that everyone supports this piece of legislation.

We’re also expanding options for fire safety enforcement. We’re proposing changes to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act to enhance enforcement and compliance by enabling the future development of an administrative monetary penalty framework.

We’re also strengthening the bail system. We need to strengthen our bail system to ensure that high-risk and repeat violent offenders comply with their bail conditions. In September, in fact, we launched the intensive serious violent crime bail teams. These teams provide dedicated crown attorneys and business professionals with expertise to work with police province-wide on bail matters involving serious and violent crimes, including firearm offences and serious repeat offenders.

I’ve spoken about terrorism a few times and how this piece of legislation is going to make it easier to combat terrorism. I’ve spoken several times in the Legislature and outside of this Legislature about the terrorist Islamic regime in Iran and how they influence Canadian society. I’m very proud to be part of a government that takes the threats of terrorism seriously, because my parents came to Canada in 1986 to escape a terrorist, Islamofascist regime. They came here because they wanted to live in a free and democratic society.

We respect our democratic institutions. We respect our democratic values, and as legislators, it is our responsibility and duty to make sure that we protect our democracy. That is why it is so important to support this piece of legislation. It is so important to support Bill 157, because the measures that we are putting in place are making sure that we are keeping Ontario not just free, but safe and secure.

That is why I am proud of this government. I am proud to work with Premier Ford under his leadership and support this piece of important legislation. I will be voting for Bill 157, and I hope everyone in this House will as well.

Now I will give the rest of my time to my colleague, the member from Oakville North–Burlington.

I recognize the member from Oakville North–Burlington.

Thank you to the two members who talked about this bill—in particular, in referencing to violence against women.

We used to have a program in Ontario called the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Under that program, victims, survivors of these violent acts would get up to $30,000 in compensation, including $5,000 for pain and suffering. But the Ford government removed that program and replaced it with the Victim Quick Response Program+, which means victims don’t get as much. There’s also a timeline of filing an application within 45 days of the crime for emergency expenses, and only up to six months to file for counselling. A lot of these victims under this new program would only receive—the majority of them—$1,000 funding. In committee, the NDP asked this government to increase those amounts, because I hear the concerns.

I certainly don’t question their motives around this bill, but why would the government vote down increasing that compensation for their new Victim Quick Response Program+? It isn’t a replacement to sue someone civilly—

We’re going to move to questions.

I want to thank the member from Oakville North–Burlington for providing that compelling information.

We are seeing a rise in hate-motivated crimes, and you touched on those. In my area of Thornhill, which is in York region, the police have listed a 200% increase in hate crimes this year. Toronto Police Service has listed similar numbers, with 40% of all hate crimes being reported as cases of anti-Semitism, which is, sadly, something that my neighbourhood faces.

That’s why this bill is so necessary to promote safer communities.

Can the member from Oakville North–Burlington please advise how this proposed legislation would bring those who commit hate-motivated crimes to justice?

Thank you very much to the member opposite. I know that you also feel very strongly about issues as they impact women and children and domestic violence.

There has never been a government in Ontario that has done more to support women and children, particularly in this particular vulnerable area.

As you know, the Ontario government is investing an additional $18.7 million this year to prevent and address violence against women and girls. This is in addition to the amount of $247 million that I mentioned in my remarks.

Thank you to the member for Thornhill.

I think that many of us in this House share the concern of this rise in hate. Hate has absolutely no place here in the province or in Canada. This is something that both the Attorney General and the Solicitor General have said many times, as well as the Premier, and we all support initiatives to be able to mitigate acts of hate.

What we’ve been doing is, through the Victims’ Bill of Rights, allowing victims to sue their convicted offender for emotional distress caused by certain crimes. We are proposing to add the following new crimes for which a victim can sue for emotional stress. They include:

—terrorism;

—faith-based related crimes that we already had included in this section—will now also be able to apply to clergy and/or religious worship;

—motor vehicle theft;

—sexual offences against minors and other offences not already included;

—human-trafficking-related offences not already included; and

—violent crimes and other offences causing a threat to personal safety—

One of the things I would like to say, particularly as a lawyer who used to actually practise using legal aid certificates, is that this is the only government in the last 25 years that has made significant changes to support legal aid. The hourly fee structure for roster lawyers had not been changed in 25 years. The hourly rates and block fee rates had not been increased since 2015. This is the very first investment in nearly a decade. It’s the first increase since October 2023. A second increase will come into effect on April 1, 2024, and the third increase will come into effect on April 1, 2025, to be able to support those individuals who are working in the legal aid field, because obviously it’s important that all individuals be represented when they have issues before the courts.

I think that’s what is important here—to recognize that the victim is usually traumatized as it is when acts of violence occur, and it’s so important for us to be able to actually listen to victims and be able to address their emotional and physical trauma.

Introducing this legislation will actually make it easier for victims of crime, whether it’s terrorism, whether it’s human trafficking, whether it is individuals who themselves have experienced sexual violence—to give them an opportunity to seek a civil remedy through the courts and not have to go back and relitigate the trauma they faced. For us, these proposed changes really go at the heart of remaining fair and responsive, and listening to victims who’ve experienced this kind of traumatized violence.

I do think that you’re crying wolf a little too much, and let me explain to you why. Committees provide to the Attorney General advice on applicants for possible judicial appointments, and the practice for decades has been that the Attorney General makes appointment decisions at their own discretion and recommends to cabinet.

Two members in question here are two of several on this committee, including three judges.

Under previous governments, members of committees donated thousands of dollars to political parties, including the Liberal Party.

We will continue to appoint judges through public and in-depth recruitment processes. I emphasize that this process is separate from the independence of judges, once appointed to their positions. And I am very happy with the process, as a lawyer.

Thank you.

Next question.