It’s an honour today to rise in support of accountability, transparency and fairness—principles that this government seems to have forgotten since they formed government. Rather than holding virtues and values that they loudly claimed prior to 2018, they have lost their way.

Today, the official opposition is giving the government the chance to stand up for their values again, to remember who they were. It’s not too late.

It’s clear that the government has gone astray, twisting themselves in knots trying to pat themselves on the back. But today, Conservatives can get back on track by supporting their own legislation. It’s never too late to do the right thing.

The official opposition will always fight for more for people, while the Conservatives want Ontarians to settle for less, to settle for a bait-and-switch, where they’re pretending to spend money on things that people care about when, in actual point of fact, they’re not doing the right thing.

The media has had some really interesting lines about what this government has done. David Moscrop said that it has been “inept and dodgy....

“In essence, the Ford government devoted millions of dollars promoting itself while emergency rooms closed, homeless residents froze in the streets,” ODSP “recipients struggled to make rent and feed themselves, and the province’s infrastructure crumbled.”

He also stated that the campaign pushed “the boundaries of the human capacity for cynicism.”

Robert Benzie from the Toronto Star said, when he mentioned—the Toronto Star headline on the print edition: “Our Money, More Lies,” also blasting the ads as “spectacularly misleading.”

“Doug Ford’s Feel-Bad Movie of the Summer....

“It’s misdirection worthy of a Las Vegas illusionist....

“An unapologetic partisan ad” that “erases the line between party and government,” was the Globe editorial’s line.

Now is the government’s chance to stand up for itself, to support its own legislation.

Prove that you have not lost your way. Prove that these values mean something to you. Make good on your promise. It’s never too late to do the right thing.

This government is spending money hand over fist to brand itself as a good government instead of being a good government. Spending money to convince people of the good work that they should be doing does not fool people into believing these nonsense ads.

The government has spent nearly $25 million on partisan ads, including $20.8 million to promote the Ministry of Health, desperately trying to paint a positive impression of this government, but it isn’t working, because it isn’t real. These partisan ads are not political reality, and people sitting for hours in hospital waiting rooms, or who are desperately trying to get medical care, are not fooled and they’re not fools. They don’t appreciate the wildly out-of-touch, rosy health care picture being painted by these government commercials.

The Premier stood in this Legislature and talked about how good his government is at marketing and branding. Well, imagine if this Premier thought governing was even a fraction as important as branding. And, Speaker, between buck-a-beer stickers that don’t stick and disappearing licence plates, I don’t know how much this government should brag about branding.

Regardless, our motion is to support the official opposition Bill 176, to end the public funding of partisan government advertising. Interestingly, it is a bill we’ve introduced, identical to a bill tabled by the now-Minister of Health, who was a voice then against the behaviour that she is responsible for now.

As the critic for infrastructure, transportation and highways, I was shocked at the terrible ads that Metrolinx ran to admonish and condescend to transit users in the GTA. Folks who have been waiting for 13 years for transit had to endure these “see beyond” ads that gaslighted and diminished real concerns of the public. People thought that they were snarky, sanctimonious and shocking, and these Metrolinx ads were rude and disrespectful to real people who rely on dependable transit to get to work, school and medical appointments.

Worse, Speaker, it was recently reported by the CBC that Metrolinx spent $2.25 million of the public’s dollars to be rude to them—$2.25 million of our own money to condescend to us—rude and inappropriate, but encouraged, because this government loves advertising, even if what they’re selling is stuff and nonsense.

So stop spending public money on partisan advertising. This government needs to be a good government, not just play one on TV.

Further debate?

I want to rise this afternoon and speak to a particular concern I have with this bill. My colleagues have talked about it. When we spend $20 million-plus on advertising that is not persuasive, that does not reflect the government’s record, what are we missing an investment on? Well, Speaker, I spoke this morning in question period. I asked a question that was not answered about the fact that Metrolinx, a public agency of this government, is following their example. They spent $2.5 million on an ad that insulted transit riders as Metrolinx continues to fail in its record to build transit. I think that’s because the government set the example.

But what could we have done with $2.5 million? Well, Speaker, back home, primary care clinic founders in the market for folks with mental health and addictions and their families, they proposed a clinic that would cover 10,000 people, that would help some of our most struggling neighbours in need. They got $2.5 million. That’s the amount of money we’re talking about.

But if I were to say in this moment we’re living in right now—because I think there’s a role for government advertising—what kind of government ads do we need right now? I am hearing consistently from neighbours back home about their heartbreak and the heart-rending situation they are seeing in Gaza right now. They would like this government to affirm, like the federal government did last week, that the Geneva Conventions are being broken right now, that a million and a half Gazans are starving in Rafah as they are awaiting a military invasion. I would like to see billboards, I would like to see ads from this government, saying they see those people suffering, they support the fact that we need an immediate ceasefire, we need to help those people in the region. That is the billboard Canadians are waiting for, not some self-congratulatory message.

Human rights is core to the province of Ontario. It should be something we all care about. That’s the ad that we want: a ceasefire right now.

I want to talk about what’s happening in my riding of Ottawa West–Nepean right now. At the Queensway Carleton Hospital, which is one of the busiest emergency departments in the province, we have people who are sitting and waiting 14 to 16 hours just to see an emergency room physician. Unfortunately, the government has cut funding for the ER at the Queensway Carleton, so starting next week, there’s going to be 10 fewer hours of ER physician funding every single day, which means these people are going to be waiting even longer.

We are seeing day surgeries being cancelled so that they can expand the number of people who are sitting in the ER waiting for care.

While this is happening, rather than investing in the services, in the health care that people desperately need, this government is investing in partisan ads to tell people “Everything’s fine. We’ve got a great health care system. I don’t know what you’re seeing around you, but everything is just perfect here.” These are ads that the government has spent millions on and that the Auditor General has said were partisan and intended to foster a positive impression of the government. That’s what they’re doing instead of fixing the health care system.

And then these people’s kids in school don’t have EAs. They don’t have teachers. They don’t have social workers and counsellors, and that’s if they can get to school at all, if the school bus is actually running. This government has been running taxpayer-funded partisan ads saying everything is great in schools, and the Auditor General has said these are partisan and that there is no evidence to back up these ads.

This is deeply insulting to people in Ontario, who are struggling with many challenges right now, who want to see their government actually take these challenges seriously and fix the concerns that they are facing. That is why I’m asking the government today to support the NDP’s bill to end the public funding of partisan government advertising. Stop wasting taxpayer dollars on patting yourselves on the back and actually do something to help the people of Ontario.

I want to rise in the Legislature today to speak to our bill to ban the government from spending millions of dollars of our money on advertising that is just designed to make the Conservative government look good.

Let’s just give the Minister of Health a round of applause; she was the one who wrote the bill in the first place.

Interjections.

We’re not talking about ads that are designed to help Ontarians learn about important programs like driving safely in winter or vaccination programs. That is not what we are talking about today. What we’re talking about are ads that provide no useful information but instead just provide a general positive impression, using tag lines like “it’s happening here,” or “building a better health care system,” or the crazy Metrolinx ads that criticize transit riders for saying, “Hey, why is it taking so long to build a transit line and why are you millions of dollars over budget?” Those are ridiculous ads. No, we are talking about ads that are essentially propaganda and are puff pieces. Ontarians do not want their money spent on unnecessary partisan ads. What they do want is for that money to be reinvested in services that they all depend upon.

We are talking about investing funding in our hospitals so that we have the staff that we need to provide the surgeries, the testing and the care that people are desperately waiting for. We’re talking about investing in our schools, so we have the educational assistants and the vice-principals and the teachers who can provide high-quality care to our kids. We are talking about investing in affordable housing, so we can solve one of the biggest issues of our generation, which is the affordable housing crisis.

We are not seeing any of that here with this government. What we are seeing is partisan ads. It’s time for it to stop. Ontarians want it to stop. Stop telling us that everything is fine and start investing our money in services and programs that people are asking you to invest that money in.

Further debate?

The member from Sudbury is reminded about the rule of using—

Interjections.

Point of order.

Speaker, in 2017, the Liberals changed the rules, and the Auditor General found that they spent $17.4 million on partisan ads. In 2018, the Conservatives brought forward a bill by the now Minister of Health and Deputy Premier. They brought forward a bill called the End Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act. That’s the opposition day bill that we’re debating today, word for word. It’s their Conservative bill.

However, in 2023, the Auditor General found the Conservatives had spent $24.89 million using the same Liberal loopholes—Liberal, Tory, same old story. We hear it all the time, and it’s proven again today. So today, our opposition day debate really is about stopping this loophole. Freedom of information showed that there was $24.89 million. The CBC’s latest report has $38 million, plus $7.9 million for the “It’s Happening Here” ads, plus $2.5 million for the Metrolinx ads. We’re just shy of $50 million set to trick people, to confuse people, to tell them things. This isn’t right.

I’ve got to tell you, the Conservative brand, Doug Ford’s brand, is that the party with the taxpayers’ money is over, and it continues with this member—

I want to just finish that the ethics of using taxpayer dollars on partisan advertising is questionable, but what about the ethics of using taxpayer dollars to attack the livelihoods of some of Ontario’s most precarious workers, by using ad agencies that use underpaid, non-union performers who have no standards for health and safety, decent work conditions and fair pay? The CBC reported on the debacle of the $2.5-million Metrolinx campaign that was used to gaslight the very taxpayers who are funding the work. Those ads were produced by Leo Burnett—

Prior to 2015, there were clear rules forbidding governments from using taxpayer dollars for self-promotion; however, in 2015, the Liberals changed the law so that the definition of “partisan advertising” was so watered down as to be useless, and in 2017 the Liberals got away with spending $17.4 million to promote themselves on the taxpayers’ dime—shameful.

In 2018, while in opposition, the current Minister of Health introduced a bill entitled End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act, which is what we are reintroducing today.

Here we are now in 2024, and I’m getting furious phone calls from people watching the Super Bowl, asking me why they are being subjected to partisan political ads promoting the Ford Conservative government. That was just the beginning. When my constituents found out that $25 million of our taxpayer dollars were paying for these partisan ads, their fury changed to rage. What we are seeing is partisan and self-congratulatory government advertising.

What these ads tell me is that the Conservatives are so worried about the damage their government has done to public education and public health care; the fact that food banks can’t keep up with the demand; the fact that low-wage, precarious workers make up the majority of people teaching at universities and colleges; that arts institutions are crumbling; that the wages of forest firefighters, highway inspectors and conservation officers are so low they can’t attract and retain staff; that private, for-profit health care is popping up everywhere; and that schools are so underfunded, special needs kids are left by the wayside—what this tells me is that the only way the Conservatives can overcome their dreadful record is to use our money to convince us of the opposite.

You have a chance to rediscover integrity as a concept and a reality. Support our bill to end partisanship in taxpayer-funded advertising.

We must end the public funding of partisan government ads, and the government can do this today by saying yes to our Bill 176.

In 2017, the Auditor General found that the Liberal government spent $17.4 million on partisan advertising; essentially, advertising to make the Liberals look good all while thousands of Ontarians were experiencing the heights of Liberal hallway medicine and just a couple of years, actually, after the Liberals decided to screw teachers over, at the time, out of their rights to collective bargaining, fair wages and the right to strike by ordering them back to work. The Liberal government created its own loopholes. They watered down advertising rules and also weakened the Auditor General’s oversight of government spending.

Today, in 2024, we’re still paying the price with this worse Conservative government that has used the same loopholes they criticized the Liberals for creating to spend over $30 million on partisan ad campaigns, including over $20 million to promote the Ministry of Health—all this while over 2.3 million Ontarians don’t have access to a family doctor; surgical wait-lists are booming; PSWs are being run off their feet in long-term care; our food banks, like those in St. Paul’s—Hillcrest Community Food Bank can’t keep up with the demand and is always running out of food; our local Toronto District School Board is struggling with a $20.8-million deficit, facing possible program cuts that will directly impact Learn4Life adult general interest courses, programs for seniors, daytime programs for seniors, people who are struggling with isolation and loneliness, outdoor education, international languages and African heritage program delivery.

Metrolinx, this Conservative government’s government agency, has been wasting millions of dollars as well making fun of my community members in St. Paul’s and others through cheap-shot ads insulting and mocking our constituents who have expressed frustration with the billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule Eglinton LRT construction and other projects—all while ACTRA members have been locked out for almost two years while this government props up union-busting ad agencies that take on underpaid workers without worker protection.

The Conservative government must support our Bill 176. We must end the public funding of partisan government advertising and ensure taxpayers aren’t paying for government ads that rewrite history and, frankly, are allergic to the truth. Thank you.

Pardon?

It’s always an honour to stand in the House and today to speak on our opposition day motion, which is basically trying to encourage the government to vote for opposition Bill 176, End the Public Funding of Partisan Government Advertising Act, 2024. I was very proud to co-sponsor that bill with our leader, Marit Stiles. But what makes this bill unique—and I didn’t think that we would ever do this, or admit to doing it, but we’re going to admit we copied this bill word for word from a Conservative member—word for word. When that Conservative member from Dufferin–Caledon was on the opposition benches, we debated that bill, and we voted for that bill because it was a good bill.

I’m going to go out on a limb a bit here, Speaker. Obviously, at the time, that bill was trying to stop the Liberals, who were in government, from wasting taxpayers’ dollars on self-promotion instead of investing in where they should be investing taxpayers’ dollars. At the time, it was actually something we agreed with the Conservatives on. Because although the NDP and the Conservatives are far apart in our philosophy, old-time political people will tell you that both the NDP and the Conservatives had principles. We believe in totally different things. We believe in publicly delivered, publicly funded services; they believe much differently. But we had principles. My question is—once they got to the government benches, the principles seem to have disappeared.

I’d like to read a quote, Speaker. I don’t read quotes very often, but today I’m going to do it. This is a quote from the original author of this bill, the MPP from Dufferin–Caledon, when she was talking about this bill to her local media:

“The PC Party has committed to restoring Auditor General oversight of government advertising, but last time the Liberals voted down this legislation. Reintroducing this important legislation is a second chance for the Liberals to do the right thing and ensure that taxpayer dollars are respected and ensure oversight is to the Auditor General.

“Despite the Liberal government proroguing the Legislature for political reasons, I will continue to use every opportunity to fight for the legislation I believe will make a difference to the people of Dufferin–Caledon.”

I couldn’t agree more. So once again, now we’re giving—this isn’t actually about Liberal/Conservative; it’s about doing the right thing, having the Auditor General look at advertising before they put it out.

We’re not opposed to government advertising. There’s a purpose for certain government advertising. Actually informing people of government programs or how they can get help, that makes sense. But when you start an ad with, “Imagine if you lived in a place,” and you end the ad with, “But you do live in this place,” there is no relevant information coming from that ad. We all know it. That is a self-promoting ad.

I’ll give you another example of how this government is doing this. When you drive down the highway, and you come, it says, “Here is the site of the 413, part of our government’s $28-billion road-building plan.” It doesn’t say, “Ontario’s.” It says “our,” with a big blue sign. It’s that kind of stuff. But when you spend millions and millions doing it, guess what, folks? When you’re playing this at the Super Bowl and saying, “Well, we’re going to bring business because of this,” do you know what? I know a lot of business people, and they do a lot of in-depth work to see where they’re going to locate. And I give credit where credit is due; I’m sure the Minister of Economic Development helps with that. But I don’t think that the captains of industry are watching the Super Bowl, going, “Oh yeah, let’s go to Ontario. They have a great Super Bowl ad.” No, no. You’re self-promoting, and that money, the taxpayers’ money—you claim to be so worried about taxpayers’ money. Those funds could be so much better invested in actually providing the services, because do you know what? News flash: If you actually provide the services, you don’t need to advertise that someday you might, and that’s what you’re doing.

In my riding, an emergency room was closed, and there’s ads on the radio saying, “Oh, things are going to be great in the future.” That is the problem.

What is so disappointing is, we thought—I thought—as many disagreements as I have with Conservatives on philosophy, I thought and a lot of people across Ontario thought, “Well, at least they have principles. We don’t trust the Liberals, but at least this government will have principles,” and the fact that you’re doing exactly—exactly, carbon copy—what the Liberal government did before shows that whoever is running your ship doesn’t have principles. I hope some of you do. I think many of you do, but you’re not showing it by (a) spending the money on these ads, and (b) for the Deputy Premier to potentially not even support her own legislation, her own, word for word. There’s no poison pill. This was done by the Conservative—whatever you call your think tank, this was written by that.

But do you know what? Once you crossed the aisle, you basically became Liberals. You’re willing to say and do anything to protect yourselves, and that’s why many people are so disappointed in this government—so disappointed. Specifically people in rural Ontario thought they were electing their neighbours with principles, and it’s not the case at all. Just like the Liberal government before you, you’re treating their money like your own money. That is what sunk the Liberals, and in the end, if you’re not careful, that is what will sink you.

Please show us you’re not like that. Vote for this motion.

Well, today, we are debating and we tabled a motion asking the government to fast-track a bill that their own Deputy Premier actually wrote, and it’s simply to ensure that Ontario’s public dollars don’t get spent on partisan advertising, but go to actually helping Ontarians.

Being elected is not a free pass to waste the taxpayers’ money, Speaker. It’s just not. Ontarians need a government that’s going to put every single dollar to use on things that matter. They don’t need propaganda. They don’t need that kind of puff piece. They don’t need vanity ads that serve the purposes of this Premier. They need a helping hand. That’s what the people of this province need.

And I want to say, I listened to the debate and the members opposite, the Conservative government members, talking, and I’ve got to tell them, they’re not fooling anyone here. If their advertising and these campaigns that we’ve been talking about this afternoon weren’t partisan, if they didn’t have to worry about any of that, if they were to pass the smell test, they would pass this motion. Why wouldn’t they? But no, they won’t, because they know exactly what’s going on. They know that those ads do not pass the smell test for Ontarians. Ontarians don’t need an advertisement trying to sell them a vision of a province that they don’t have, that’s unreachable for them. My colleague the member from London North Centre said it’s like they’re showing us nice things that we just can’t have. It’s kind of cruel.

We in the NDP really do believe in responsible government, in transparency, in integrity. The government can be done differently, and it can be done well. That’s why I’m hoping that the members opposite will actually join us in supporting this motion, a motion their own Deputy Premier drafted. Support us in ending this wasteful spending on propaganda and puff pieces, and actually help us get some things done that are really good for the people of this province. Ontarians deserve that, and I can assure you that if this government won’t support this motion, an NDP government will bring that transparency, will bring that integrity and will bring back responsible government in the province of Ontario.

The ayes are 33; the nays are 60.

I ask the member to withdraw the final statement.

Further debate?

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? I heard a no.

All those in favour of the motion will please say “aye.”

All those opposed will please say “nay.”

In my opinion, the nays have it.

Call in the members. There will be a 10-minute bell.

The division bells rang from 1521 to 1531.

All those in favour of the motion will please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Motion negatived.

Mr. Dave Smith moved third reading of the following bill:

Bill 31, An Act to provide for an award for exceptional cadets / Projet de loi 31, Loi prévoyant la remise d’un prix aux cadets exceptionnels.

I thought a fair bit about what I was going to talk about today, and I did some research with the legislative library. I think I’m going to start with this: Today, we have an opportunity to actually have a watershed moment here in Queen’s Park.

I asked the legislative library to do some research on this, and it appears that there has not been a piece of legislation passed in Ontario’s history that recognizes an Indigenous individual. They did find a motion, they did find another private member’s bill that was introduced back in 2008. Tom Longboat Day was introduced at first reading but never made it to second reading, and then in 2010, a motion was put forward to declare April 18 Tom Longboat Day. That motion passed but was never enacted. So if this passes third reading today and we get royal assent, it would be the first time in Ontario’s history that we would have a piece of legislation named after an Indigenous individual, to honour an Indigenous individual. I point that out because Ontario has a long history, and we’ve never done something like this.

What the purpose of this bill is—it’s twofold: It’s to promote the idea of volunteering, it’s to promote the idea of citizenship and the act of giving back. And secondly, it gives us an opportunity to talk about an injustice that we’ve had in Canada for a number of years. During the First and Second World Wars, more than 7,000 Indigenous individuals and an unknown number of Métis and Inuit individuals voluntarily joined the armed forces.

What was interesting about it when we were doing the research on this is that First Nation individuals were not eligible to be conscripted. The reason for it, and this seems so very foreign in 2024: If you were born a First Nation person, you were not considered a Canadian citizen—not until the mid-1960s. Think about that for a moment: Canada existed, Canada was formed in 1867. From 1867 until the 1960s, if you were one of the First Peoples of this country, you were not considered Canadian, and you were exempt from conscription. That probably wasn’t a bad thing—that you were exempt from conscription—but the reality is, more than 7,000 voluntarily joined the Armed Forces, voluntarily went overseas to fight for what we believe was the freedoms that we enjoyed here in Canada, and yet those freedoms were not extended to those very same individuals who were volunteering.

We checked with the federal government on this. We couldn’t get an exact number, but it was known that some of those soldiers who went overseas, some of those individuals who voluntarily joined the Armed Forces to fight for us were stripped of their status as Indians because they had been off-reserve for more than four years. When you think about that—they stepped up and voluntarily joined the Armed Forces to fight for Canada overseas, and what did Canada do? They stripped them of their status as an Indian, and in some cases, they didn’t have citizenship afterward. So they were no longer a First Nation individual, they were no longer Indigenous—no longer considered an Indian, and they weren’t considered a Canadian. Yet they had stepped up and gone overseas to fight.

I think that’s one of those injustices that we need to remind people of; I talked about it in second reading. This bill has come forward a couple of times now, and in both of the second readings that we’ve done on it, I talked about the fact that I grew up near Deseronto and I had a number of friends who were from the Tyendinaga First Nations reserve, and I didn’t know this story. And I think that someone like myself, who grew up that close to a reserve, who had that many friends who were Indigenous and never heard these stories—how would someone who wasn’t close to a First Nation, how would someone who didn’t have friends who were Indigenous know anything about it? The reality is, they wouldn’t. Yes, it was a dark time in Canadian history, but it is worth reminding people so that we don’t repeat that history.

Part of the reason that we’ve named this bill after Murray Whetung is, Murray is somebody who volunteered to join the Armed Forces. Murray was born in 1921. He joined the Canadian army on August 8, 1942, just before his 21st birthday, so as a 20-year-old, he stepped up. What was interesting about that was, as a Curve Lake First Nation member—100% of the eligible males from Curve Lake volunteered to join the Armed Forces to fight the Second World War; the entire male population stepped forward and went overseas.

Murray is not someone who lost his status when he came back—he actually came back to Canada twice during service. There’s an interesting story—if there’s time, I’ll tell it—about one of his trips back.

When the war was over and Murray came back, he wasn’t allowed to wear his medals. He had been awarded the 1939-45 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, the War Medal for 1939-45, as well as the general service award. He wasn’t allowed to wear the medals when he first came back. He wasn’t allowed to wear his uniform when he first came back. He wasn’t allowed to go into the Canadian Legion when he first came back. Yet he voluntarily went overseas to fight.

He was on a ship that was supposed to be part of the D-Day invasion, and the night before the invasion occurred, that ship was torpedoed by an airplane and it damaged the rudder. So he didn’t get over to Juno Beach until day three of D-Day, although he was scheduled to be part of the D-Day invasion. We’ve all seen historical footage of that and the carnage that occurred on that day, so he was probably spared because his ship was torpedoed.

He was a signalman. His job was to make sure that the communication lines from the front line to the command stayed intact. Murray talked about how most of the time they were doing their work under the cover of darkness. They’d set up a tent over the lines so that you wouldn’t see the light—because there were German snipers out there whose sole purpose was to shoot the signalmen so that they couldn’t have the signal, they couldn’t have information flowing from the front lines back to the command on it. He did put his life on the line pretty much every day when he was out there doing it.

When he came back to Curve Lake, Murray continued to volunteer; he continued to give back to his community. It was well known that if you were doing any kind of a community event and you needed people there to help set up, you needed people to volunteer to have it run, Murray was one of those guys who was always there for it. Yet, as a veteran coming back, he couldn’t go to the Legion. He couldn’t wear his medals. He couldn’t wear his uniform. He was mistreated that way. But he was just a happy-go-lucky guy who felt it was important to give back, who felt it was important to do the right thing because it was the right thing to do, and he instilled that in his family.

He was one of 13 brothers and sisters. All of his brothers joined the Armed Forces because they felt that that was something they should do. They all gave back. Many of his kids served on Curve Lake—Grand Council. His granddaughter was former chief—or was the chief in Curve Lake. He instilled in his family that desire, that need, to give back.

What this award will do for us, if it passes, is give us the opportunity to inspire young cadets to give back to their community, to volunteer for the sake of volunteering. It will give us an opportunity to tell that story of that injustice, but to tell it in a way that turns it into something positive. Although so many of those First Nation veterans were mistreated, they continued to give back. They continued to see that service, above all, was very important and to make sure that their community was a better place for it. If we can instill that in those youth, in those cadets, we can have a generation of young people growing up with the idea that part of their job of being a resident of this province, of being a resident of this country, is to try to make the place better for others. I think that’s a very positive message. I think that’s a great message to give.

In today’s world, there are so many times when our heroes let us down. We idealize different people for different reasons. We hold up sports athletes as something that they should or shouldn’t be, that we should aspire to. We hold actors to that. And we find with all of them—it doesn’t matter who—that they have flaws.

What we don’t do enough of, in my opinion, is celebrate the everyday hero, who doesn’t look for the accolades, who doesn’t look for the praise, who doesn’t do it for the money; who does it because it’s the right thing to do, who stands up and says, “I will make a difference in my community,” because that’s what we should do.

That’s what this bill will do, as it will celebrate one of those everyday heroes. And it will be the first time in Ontario’s history that we will have passed a piece of legislation to honour an Indigenous veteran. It’s long overdue.

I recognize the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery.

I am very pleased to address the House this afternoon with respect to Bill 31, the Murray Whetung Community Service Award Act, 2024.

First and foremost, I want to express my pride in supporting my caucus colleague the member for Peterborough–Kawartha, as he has placed this bill before the House.

Speaker, Murray Whetung stands as a shining example of a great Canadian—a member of the Curve Lake First Nation and a veteran who served his country with pride and honour, both on and off the battlefield.

It is of the utmost importance that we honour the legacy of First Nations veterans, and this is exactly what this proposed legislation would do.

Bill 31, if passed, would establish an award to a cadet in each local Royal Canadian Air Cadet corps, Royal Canadian Army Cadet corps and Royal Canadian Sea Cadet corps, as well as Junior Canadian Rangers, who have displayed excellence in volunteerism and in citizenship over the previous year.

Allow me to paint a picture of the man this bill is rightfully named after.

During his service in World War II, Signalman Murray Whetung played a crucial role in setting up communication lines that were vital to wartime operations. On August 8, 1944, Murray Whetung received his first good conduct badge award for his exemplary service to his unit. And throughout World War II, he demonstrated bravery and faced many life-threatening situations. As a signalman, Murray was instrumental in running lines from Juno Beach to Brussels, Belgium, and to many other parts of war-torn Europe.

Upon the conclusion of the war, Murray continued his service in Germany, setting up lines and communication systems for the Canadian Army there. Signalman Whetung was honourably discharged from service on December 4, 1945, and received several medals as a result of his outstanding service.

Upon returning home, Murray remained a devoted member of the Curve Lake First Nation and continued giving back to his community, and he served as one of its pillars until his passing in 2021, just three years ago.

Speaker, Murray Whetung is but one of many of the brave and exceptional Indigenous Canadians who risked their lives in both world wars. Thousands of Indigenous individuals voluntarily enlisted, as referenced by the member for Peterborough–Kawartha. And despite facing discrimination and injustices before and during the wars, those individuals protected the rights and freedoms of all Canadians on the home front with unwavering dedication—a dedication that ultimately came at a heavy cost.

Hundreds of Indigenous Canadians paid the ultimate price and gave their lives in battle for the freedom of Canada. Furthermore, those who returned home after the war faced a multitude of challenges. At that time, under Canadian law, many of those who returned from war were stripped of their First Nations status. The law was such that if one was not on one’s reserve for a certain period, one was then deemed to have forfeited First Nations status.

This period was also a time when people of First Nations status had been disenfranchised. A little bit of history here: The Electoral Franchise Act of 1885 was introduced in the federal House of Commons by the Conservative government of Sir John A. Macdonald. For the first time, the right to vote was extended to Indigenous Canadians. This is confirmed by Richard Gwyn in the second volume of his biography of Sir John A. Macdonald, at pages 419 and 420. This is also in the legislative library, for those who wish to read it. That act extending the franchise to Indigenous Canadians was repealed by the Laurier Liberal government in 1898. And it was not until 1960, when Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and the federal Progressive Conservative Party introduced legislation that was passed, restoring the right to vote for Indigenous Canadians.

So at that time that this hero, this signalman, Murray Whetung, returned from war, not only was he stripped of his status as an Indigenous Canadian, but he also would not have been allowed to vote.

This treatment of Indigenous people was beyond unjust and is a disgraceful chapter in Canadian history.

Despite the injustices that Indigenous Canadians and Indigenous Canadian veterans faced upon return, many continued to provide immense support to their communities across this province and across this country. Many returned to their local communities and continued to serve on councils as chiefs and as volunteers in many different initiatives that helped improve the daily lives of their families, friends, and neighbours.

This is the true spirit and strength of heroes. Heroes are people who tirelessly help others, demonstrating by example the potential in each and every one of us for good and for love.

Speaker, this bill would help create and maintain a focus on the stories of the contributions of Indigenous veterans to both wartime and peacetime efforts, through the memory of Murray Whetung.

Our Ontario government supports advancing real and meaningful reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada through the continued implementation of various initiatives, as part of our response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s call to action. If passed, this bill will continue to help us to do so and serve as an important step on this journey toward reconciliation. We will continue to provide support and pay our respects to Indigenous heroes and ensure that we understand, that we educate, that we inspire future generations with their history and their stories.

Signalman Murray Whetung was a courageous individual. He fought for his country, and he supported the community of Curve Lake—a true hero in both war and peace. The lessons that he embodied and the inspiration of his legacy will be everlasting for his community, for Ontario and for Canada. This bill, if passed, will ensure that his memory will never be forgotten.

So I urge every member of this House to support Bill 31 and to honour not only Murray Whetung, but all of those who have served and continue to serve our province and our country with high distinction.