I’m happy to rise today and join my colleague the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services to speak on behalf of Bill 188, Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024.

I would like to greatly thank the minister for his passion, dedication and hard work—as well as the dedicated work of my fellow parliamentary assistant, the member from Thornhill, and my colleague the member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry.

Madam Speaker, this bill is about children and youth in the great province of Ontario. Under the leadership of the Premier, our government is ensuring no children will slip through the cracks in the system. We are here today because our government will never leave anyone behind. And it is especially important that no child or youth is left behind, and that they have every chance to thrive and succeed regardless of their circumstances.

Our government wants the best for every child and young person approaching adulthood. And we are working together to deliver better outcomes for young people, their families and their caregivers who are receiving support from the child and youth services sector.

This bill is an important element of the government’s ongoing redesign of the child welfare system.

I would like to speak to the connection with the proposed work and the child welfare redesign for a moment. It is key to understanding the context in which Bill 188’s reforms are being proposed.

Every child and youth deserves a safe, loving and stable home regardless of their circumstances. That is why members of the House will know that in July 2020, the ministry announced the Child Welfare Redesign Strategy, because our government wants youth in care to feel supported and to be set up for success in their life. Through that comprehensive redesign, our government is introducing new initiatives to improve the quality of care in out-of-home care.

To echo the minister, we commend the many services providers who are devoting their lives to support vulnerable children and youth. However, sometimes there are gaps, and our proposed changes seek to close these gaps. Some of these changes have included:

—developing a new framework for what out-of-home care looks like;

—increasing and enhancing oversight and accountability for out-of-home care services; and

—supporting that oversight by adding 20 new positions across the province to support the management, inspection and oversight of out-of-home care for children and youth.

—launching the Ready, Set, Go program, which provides youth in the care of children’s aid societies with the life skills they need starting at 13 and financial support when they leave care up to the age of 23 so that they can focus on post-secondary, including the skilled trades, or pursuing employment.

Every child and youth deserves a fair starting position in life, and our government is delivering that. We hit the ground running by:

—consulting widely in the community and with service providers to better serve children and youth;

—increasing the number of responsive inspections;

—bolstering customary care arrangements to focus on family-based options, like kinship and foster care, to ensure children, youth and families have a strong voice in decisions about their care;

—improving the quality of the child welfare data to establish a baseline of common measures across children’s aid societies that can be reported publicly, as well as developing an outcomes-based performance measurement framework;

—releasing the children and young persons’ rights resource to help children and youth understand their rights and use their voices; and

—connecting youth leaving care with more supports to succeed.

Speaker, we have backed this important work with significant investments of over $1.5 billion in the child welfare system to support Ontario’s 50 independent children’s aid societies and 13 Indigenous children’s aid societies. This is a historic amount.

Here are some of the initiatives we support:

We have invested $800,000 annually in funding to support One Vision One Voice, a community-led project focusing on anti-Black racism that supports the delivery of culturally appropriate services and addresses systemic racism.

We have also invested an additional $1.5 million annually in the Education Liaison Program to help children and youth in care across the province get the support they need to focus on their studies.

We have invested more than $2.9 million to help support kinship service and customary caregivers, adoptive parents and caregivers who have obtained legal custody of a child who was in extended society care. This is new funding that never existed under the previous government. This is in addition to the $3.5 million in existing funding that ensures children’s aid societies can improve educational outcomes for youth in care.

We also announced over $5 million in annualized funding to enhance access to prevention-focused customary care for Indigenous children and youth. This investment will help more children and youth to thrive, closer to their homes, families and communities.

Speaker, our government wants all children and youth to have the supports they need to be safe and to succeed and thrive. Transforming child and family services is a significant undertaking and takes time. We are committed to doing the work that is needed to promote safety and stability, and to ensure that children, youth and families have access to the supports they need to succeed and thrive in their communities.

Many of the reforms proposed in this bill are designed to better support youth and provide skills and knowledge that will help youth transition to adulthood. The changes also build on the Ready, Set, Go Program we launched on April 1, 2023. This program represents another significant step coming out of the Child Welfare Redesign Strategy.

The Ready, Set, Go program connects youth in the child welfare system with additional services and supports earlier to better prepare them for life after leaving care. This includes life skills development like financial management, incentives for participation in post-secondary education, and support with pathways to employment. This program has a three-year, $170-million funding commitment from the ministry. In addition, this year, the Ready, Set, Go program is expected to support more than 4,000 youth as they prepare for adulthood.

The ministry has been hosting regular engagement sessions to gather feedback from key stakeholders and working collaboratively across ministries to implement the Ready, Set, Go Program, in an effort to ensure youth have the information they need to build a bright future after leaving care. As members of this House know, soliciting regular consultation and feedback is essential for a government that works with so many key partners in the child and youth services sector. So I just want to recognize the time and effort that goes into this cycle of consultation and feedback on the part of our community partners and service providers. It is very much appreciated by our government. We are grateful to work with passionate and committed partners on initiatives that will ultimately benefit people all across Ontario who are looking to us for support.

Speaker, we have recently achieved further progress in reforming the child welfare system, which provides an important foundation for the new proposals that the minister outlined. On July 1, 2023, our government implemented key components of a comprehensive quality standards framework into regulations to help licensees, placing agencies and other service providers improve the quality of care in licensed, out-of-home care settings. The framework is based on feedback from a panel of 12 youth with lived experience in out-of-home care. And these youth told the ministry very clearly what quality of care means to them. The framework provides guidance on how to better meet the needs of children and youth in licensed out-of-home care and to support them to thrive and achieve better outcomes. The framework also encourages care that is safe, strength-based, trauma-informed and culturally relevant.

The ministry will continue to work with service providers on the implementation of these important changes. In cases where it is necessary, our goal is to improve the quality of care and better hold licensees and placing agencies—including children’s aid societies—accountable for the quality of care they provide to children and youth.

I would also like to discuss the important work the ministry is undertaking in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people to help reduce the over-representation of Indigenous children in care. Working with representatives of First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous peoples, we are committed to finding and furthering approaches that meet the specific needs of their communities.

We have heard for many years that the approach to supporting Indigenous children and families needed to evolve to reflect the central role that First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities have in the well-being of their children and families. That is why supporting access to services that integrate Indigenous cultures, heritages and traditions is a key part of our work to achieve better opportunities and outcomes for families.

To support these goals, in March 2022, the Legislature passed amendments to the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, that will, once in force: increase access to customary care, which helps Indigenous children and youth to remain connected to their culture and traditions; establish circles of supportive persons; improve access to updated complementary services; and strengthen the role of prevention-focused Indigenous service providers. We completed engagements on the draft regulatory proposals for the prevention-focused regulations in early 2024. And we continue to engage with Indigenous partners to further this process—this includes representatives of First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous peoples and Indigenous service providers, the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario, as well as the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.

Speaker, another part of this work involves important discussions and negotiations with Indigenous partners pursuing models of child welfare under Indigenous laws. For example, in March 2022, Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, Ontario and Canada signed a trilateral coordination agreement in respect of child and family services. This was the first coordination agreement signed in the province and the second in Canada since the federal legislation—An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families—came into force in 2020. This coordination agreement supports the implementation of the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations’ Customary Care Code, which acquired the force of federal law in January 2021.

On March 31, 2023, a coordination agreement between Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug—or KI for short—Ontario and Canada was executed to support the implementation of KI’s child and family services law, which came into force the following day. This is the second such agreement in Ontario and the first in Treaty 9 territory.

And just last Friday, April 19, the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation made history by becoming the third Indigenous governing body in Ontario, and 11th in Canada, to have its own child and family services law take effect with the force of federal law, in accordance with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

Speaker, these changes will bring us closer to achieving our government’s vision of an Ontario where all children, youth and families—including those getting support through Ontario’s children and youth services sector—have access to the resources and services they need to succeed and thrive.

I would like to turn things over to my colleague the member for Thornhill.

I am pleased to join my colleagues the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services and fellow parliamentary assistant, the MPP for Markham–Thornhill, to speak on behalf of Bill 188, the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024, currently under consideration by this House for second reading.

We want the best for every child and young person approaching adulthood, and we want to ensure that nobody is left behind in our province. The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services has done incredible work to deliver better outcomes for children, youth and their families and caregivers who are receiving support from the children and youth services sector.

Speaker, I am proud of our government’s record in this area. The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services is there for the people throughout their lives. It’s there for the young people who, at age 18, may need to transition from receiving children’s special needs services to receiving ministry-funded adult developmental services, including Passport funding and disability supports, also known as ODSP. The ministry is there for survivors of gender-based violence, who may also be receiving child support enforced by the Family Responsibility Office, also known as FRO. It’s there to help survivors of human trafficking rebuild their lives with dignity and compassion. It’s there for youth who were involved with the youth justice system by providing them with the right supports and interventions that respond to their unique risks so they can contribute fully to their communities. And the ministry is there for children and youth who, in care, have experienced abuse or neglect, who now need supports in finding a job, pursuing training or furthering their education.

These investments in our youth are so important. They demonstrate our government’s solid commitment to help ensure that they have a positive outcome. The future is essentially in the hands of the next generation, and supporting youth and providing them with the tools to better equip them and help them navigate through these challenging times—it’s not only better for the young people, but it’s better for the community as a whole. Every child deserves to have a fair start.

And it’s not just the children and the youth that are our focus. Through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, the government delivers, funds and licenses programs and services that support people at key moments in their lives and helps them be the best they can be.

Bill 188 is only the latest example of how this ministry has stood by the people across Ontario who rely on these many programs and services for support. With the rising cost of living across the province, it is this government that is standing up for Ontarians. We increased minimum wage to $16.55 per hour just last fall, and we will continue raising the minimum wage with annual increases to reflect the cost of living.

We’re also working across government to make life more affordable. We introduced the CARE tax credit, which will provide about 300,000 families with up to 75% of their eligible child-care expenses, and the low-income individuals and families tax [Failure of sound system] 1.7 million people. Similarly, in order to continue to bring children out of poverty, our government invested roughly $1.2 billion last year in the Ontario Child Benefit.

Speaker, under the minister’s leadership, our government is working with a number of community partners and organizations to improve outcomes for children, youth, families and individuals who need support. We’re committing to putting people at the centre of what we do.

This past year, the ministry partnered with the Ministry of Health to invest an additional $330 million each year in pediatric health services, including $45 million for children’s rehabilitation services. To support children and youth with special needs, the ministry invested in the children’s treatment centres. This includes moving forward on a brand new facility for the Lansdowne Children’s Centre in Brantford.

The ministry also continued its work to redesign the child welfare system so that children, youth and families [Failure of sound system] youth with additional support earlier in their journey, and that’s so important. It helps to prepare them for adulthood by guiding them toward work and school opportunities so they can thrive after leaving care. It was our government that invested $170 million on this innovative program to support youth after care.

As part of our efforts, we continue to work with Indigenous partners who are pursuing Indigenous-led models of child and family services. Last year, we celebrated another coordination agreement that supports the implementation of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s child and family services law, the second agreement of its kind in Ontario.

Just last Friday, on April 19, the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation made history by becoming the third Indigenous governing body in Ontario, and 11th in Canada, to have its own child and family services law take effect with the force of federal law, in accordance with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The law, Nigig Nibi Ki-win, provides a foundation for a service delivery system that has been specially designed to meet the needs of children, youth and families of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation and Canada to support the implementation of the Nigig Nibi Ki-win.

Moreover, to ensure students across this province get the nutrition they need, we invested an additional $5 million in the Student Nutrition Program and the First Nations Student Nutrition Program. To build on this investment, we partnered with community organizations to launch the Healthy Students Brighter Ontario campaign. This is part of the first province-wide fundraising partnership of its kind, helping school-aged children and youth have healthy meals and snacks throughout the school year so they are well-nourished and ready to learn. All of this progress was only possible with the support and efforts of our government’s many partners and front-line workers.

As you can see, Speaker, Bill 188 is part of our continued commitment to people across Ontario who depend upon our services.

In my previous life, I worked under the child protection act. I want to take a moment to recognize so many of the important people who worked within that sector: the caseworkers, the social workers, the administrators, the court workers and all the different professionals within Ontario’s social services sector. Your dedication and compassion make all the difference for those you serve. You truly work as a team to help our most vulnerable. I was proud to work in that field.

The Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024, would, if passed, modernize and standardize important safeguards throughout the child and youth services sector. The bill proposes new and enhanced enforcement tools to support compliance with licensing requirements that are designed to protect the safety and security of children and youth in licensed, out-of-home care, including foster care and group homes, and hold service providers more accountable for the care that they deliver.

We’re proposing changes to better protect the personal histories of children and youth who experience the child welfare system. These changes would further restrict access to child welfare records, once regulations are developed. The proposed changes would also further enhance control over personal information for children and youth who experienced child protection, to enable them to share their stories freely, if they chose to do so.

In addition to legislative changes, complementary regulatory changes will enhance children’s aid societies’ oversight by requiring them to conduct more frequent visits to children in care; broaden the list of unacceptable methods of discipline in licensed, out-of-care settings; and establish new offences for failing to comply with certain requirements.

Our government is working to ensure that individuals involved with the child and youth services sector receive high-quality care from service providers that support their health, safety, and ability to reach their full potential. All children and youth have access to the resources and supports they need to succeed and thrive.

I would also like to note that Bill 188 proposes amendments to clarify when children’s aid societies and licensed, out-of-home care providers are to inform children in care about the Ombudsman office and their many functions. This proposal complements an important piece of work that our government launched a few years ago called the Children and Young Persons’ Rights Resource. We developed this resource to help children and youth understand their rights, set out in the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017. They have to know where to go or who to talk to if they have questions about their rights and know what to do if they feel like a service provider is not respecting their rights.

The Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, and its regulations require service providers to explain rights under the act to children and youth when they first receive any services under the act, explain rights under the act to children and youth in words that they understand, be available to help children and youth understand their rights under the act and answer any questions they might have about those rights, and continue to check in with children and youth about their rights under the act.

We want all children and youth receiving services to understand their rights under the act because the paramount purpose of it is to promote their best interests and the protection of their well-being. The proposed changes would also clarify that early childhood educators can be subject to the offence of failing to report a child protection concern to a children’s aid society, in line with other professionals.

In addition, we are proposing to provide the Lieutenant Governor in Council the authority to make regulations that would allow information, other than a formal police record check, such as an offence declaration, to be required in the child and youth services sector.

In the future, we intend to consult on bringing forward future regulations to standardize police record check requirements for the youth and child services sector.

Bill 188 also proposes changes that would enable the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers to share information with governing bodies and others, in particular circumstances. This includes to confirm when a member of a college is under investigation or when a member poses public safety concerns. The changes would also seek to expand the list of professional colleges with which children’s aid societies and other service providers can share personal information. These measures are all to ensure that every child is safe and protected.

I would like to share some of the public feedback that our partners have shared since Bill 188 was introduced last week. From Carly Kalish, the executive director of Victim Services Toronto: “We commend Minister Parsa and the government for their commitment to improving the safety, well-being and privacy of children through the introduction of the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024. Every child deserves a safe and supportive environment to thrive, and these changes mark a significant step towards achieving that goal. By strengthening oversight, protecting privacy, and increasing support for children and youth in care, the government is demonstrating its dedication to ensuring all children have the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of these measures on the lives of Ontario’s children and families.”

Mohamed Firin, Ontario’s advocate for community opportunities, also known as ACO, said, “I want to applaud the government for introducing the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024. This legislation will complement the mission of the ACO to empower young Ontarians by ensuring that all young people, in particular those in foster and group homes, receive the safest and highest quality of care so they can succeed and unlock their full potential.”

From the Child Welfare Political Action Committee, Ingrid Palmer said, “The Supporting Children’s Futures Act is a significant move in the direction of enhancing the well-being of children and youth with child welfare experience. One’s time in care should never be a source of harm or discrimination years afterward. The protecting” of “the personal histories of this vulnerable community must be” a “high social priority.”

Lastly, Nadia George, another volunteer with the Child Welfare Political Action Committee: “A new era is marked. One that could give those who have lived experience in the child welfare system the much-needed privacy and protection rights we deserve. This is something myself and others at the Child Welfare PAC have been advocating for since 2016. Thank you, Minister Michael Parsa and team, for letting current and former foster kids know we matter.”

Speaker, as you can evidently see, these proposed changes are a result of extensive and continuous consultation with our valued partners in this sector. This is why I urge members on all sides of this House to grant Bill 188 unanimous passage. Passage would bring us closer to achieving our government’s vision of an Ontario where all children, youth and families, especially those getting support through Ontario’s children and youth services sector, are empowered with the resources they need to succeed and thrive.

We will continue the work to reform the services and supports that help so many people across Ontario, and we will continue to work with our fantastic network of community partners and organizations to deliver quality supports and services as we partner together on improving outcomes for vulnerable youth and children in our province.

Speaker, children and youth are our future. As I said earlier, these investments demonstrate our government’s commitment to help ensure that they have a positive outcome. The future is in the hands of the next generation, and supporting our youth and providing them with the tools that will better equip them and help them navigate a challenging time is not only better for those young people, but it’s also better for our community as a whole.

As I said earlier, every child deserves to have a fair start. We have to help guide them safely to their adult years and set them up for successes so that they may realize their full potential and contribute to the province. We’re getting closer to that goal, and, as somebody who worked in that sector, I am beyond proud to stand here, an advocate for such a monumental change that will affect so many children in a positive fashion.

I want to thank the minister for doing—

Interjections.