One thing that hasn’t been discussed so far today, and I actually didn’t hear it even yesterday when I was in the House: Do we realize that 25% of children now use food banks in the province of Ontario? I wanted to make sure we get that out because it’s unacceptable.

Do you believe we need to take proactive steps in the form of increased mental health resources for children and youth?

And, further to that, should inspectors do site visits at night when the kids that are in care are at home?

I’d like to thank the member from Ottawa South for the question. There is no question: I strongly, strongly believe, that we need independent officers of this Legislature, first and foremost, but especially as it pertains to the welfare of young people. We require a child and youth advocate.

I think the removal, the firing, of Irwin Elman was a mistake. I think children who are encountering what are sometimes insurmountable difficulties and tremendous barriers and obstacles need that one person, that one trusted adult they can reach, and that would be realized through the re-establishment of the child advocate. I can’t understand why that was ever removed in the first place. I think that was a mistake. I think there’s an opportunity to re-establish it and the government should and must take it.

We absolutely need more investments in mental health and support services such as this to make sure that young people are able to live their best lives.

We also do need more inspections. I know that from the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex. They are running out of spaces for kids. Many of these unlicensed places will take kids into hotels, where the child is staying in a hotel room and the care worker is staying in another room. These kids are vulnerable. These kids could potentially be trafficked. There are so many different issues with this. We need to crack down on unlicensed care placements. We need to make sure that we’re buttressing the system by providing supports for care and for mental health.

I’m happy to join my colleagues to speak on behalf of Bill 188, the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024, currently under consideration by this House for second reading.

Madam Speaker, today, I stand before you to address a matter of utmost importance: the welfare of our children and youth in Ontario’s child welfare system. It is a subject that touches the very core of our society, as it pertains to the safety, well-being and future prospects of our most vulnerable citizens.

This bill, if passed, will improve the safety, security and well-being of children and youth in care.

Madam Speaker, we are here because our government will never leave anyone behind. 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 and their families and caregivers.

So, as you can see, Madam Speaker, this bill is an important element to the government’s ongoing redesign of the child welfare system.

The child welfare sector in Ontario is tasked with providing crucial services to children and youth who may find themselves in precarious situations, whether due to abuse, neglect, conflict with the law or complex special needs. Under the mandate of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, these services are administered by children’s aid societies, with a primary focus on protection and support.

Out-of-home care, a vital component of the child welfare system, involves providing care to young individuals in settings away from their parental homes. This can range from basic accommodation to specialized programs tailored to meet specific needs. Foster homes, children’s residences and staff-model homes serve as environments where children and youth receive the care and support they require.

In Ontario, over 7,000 children and youth are currently in care, overseen by 424 licence holders. Among those, approximately 4,038 foster homes and 301 group homes play a pivotal role in providing a stable environment for these young individuals to thrive.

Recognizing the significance of this issue, our government has embarked on a comprehensive redesign of the child welfare system. Madam Speaker, every child and youth deserves a safe and nurturing environment regardless of their circumstances. Through comprehensive redesign, our government is introducing a new initiative to improve the quality of care in out-of-home care. Some of these changes include:

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

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

—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; and

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

Through initiatives like the Ready, Set, Go Program, many of the reforms proposed in this bill are designed to better support youth and provide skills and knowledge. They will help youth transition into adulthood.

Moreover, our efforts extend to strengthening oversight and accountability within the sector. The Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024, represents a milestone in this journey. If passed, this legislation will introduce measures to enhance safety, service quality, oversight, accountability and privacy for children and youth in care.

One key aspect of the proposed bill is the reinforcement of the oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance with established standards. Stringent application processes, increased accountability for operators and new enforcement tools are among the provisions aimed at safeguarding the well-being of children and youth.

Furthermore, the bill addresses the crucial issue of privacy rights for former children and youth in care. By restricting access to their records and enabling—

Thank you, Speaker. Please continue.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.

I just want to say, furthermore, the bill addresses the crucial issue of privacy rights for former children and youth in care. By restricting access to their records and enabling individuals to publicly share their experiences, we are empowering them to reclaim their narrative while respecting their privacy.

Additionally, the bill seeks to establish clear and consistent practices within the Child, Youth and Family Services Act. Measures such as enabling information-sharing among relevant professional bodies and clarifying children’s rights to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman serve to streamline processes and ensure uniformity across the sector.

Alongside legislative reforms, our commitment to improving the child welfare system resulted in recent regulatory changes. Mandating increased information-sharing, enhancing visitation protocols and enforcing stricter disciplinary guidelines are just a few examples of our ongoing efforts to prioritize the safety and well-being of children and youth in care.

The Ready, Set, Go Program stands as a testament to our dedication to supporting the youth in their transition to independence. By providing financial support, life skills training and extended care options, we are laying the foundation for a brighter future for our youth.

As we reflect on the progress we’ve made and the path ahead, it’s essential to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the stakeholders, advocates and front-line workers in the child welfare sector. Their dedication, expertise and unwavering commitment to the well-being of our children and youth are the driving force behind our collective efforts. Moreover, the voices of former youth in care serve as powerful reminders of the challenges and opportunities within the system. Their lived experiences inform and inspire our actions, guiding us toward more effective policies and practices that uphold their rights and dignity.

Looking ahead, our focus remains steadfast on building a child welfare system that is responsive, inclusive and compassionate. Through continued collaboration, innovation and investment, we can create a future where every child and youth in Ontario has the opportunity to reach their full potential, regardless of their circumstances.

Madam Speaker, Bill 188 also proposes changes that will enable the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers to share information with governing bodies and others in particular circumstances. This includes instances to confirm when a member of a college is under investigation or when a member poses public safety concerns.

The changes 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.

Madam Speaker, I would like to share a quote from a public member that our partners have shared since Bill 188 was introduced:

“As a former youth in care and a lawyer who practises family law and child protection law, I support the proposed amendments set out in Bill 188, which will help ensure greater oversight and accountability for the out-of-home care placements and help protect the safety and privacy of those who have been involved in the child welfare system. I have seen first-hand how childhood histories and records can be used as ammunition when former youth in care become parents themselves or seek employment in the child welfare sector, even though they were in care due to circumstances entirely outside of their control. Individuals who were involved with the child welfare system as children deserve to have their personal information kept confidential so they can have a fresh start as they transition to adulthood. Carina Chan.”

Madam Speaker, we have received significant support from our partners since last week. I would like to share a few more quotes:

“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 the personal histories of this vulnerable community must be high social priority. Ingrid Palmer, Child Welfare Political Action Committee.”

Another one here: “I am writing to express my support of Bill 188, supporting the futures of children and youth act that is currently before the Ontario government. Speaking from my life experience, I believe with all my heart that these improvements to the safety, well-being and privacy of children and youth in care are of vital importance. Many important changes have been made to the system since I was adopted, given up again at age 13 and placed with another family as a ward of the province. However, more issues need to be updated and amended as our social structure changes and social media poses new risks to our privacy and safety. Diana Frances, former foster child.”

Another quote here: “Every child/youth deserves to feel safe and loved in their home environments—whether they are with their family or are in care. That is a fundamental right. It is our government’s responsibility to do everything possible to protect our children, especially the most vulnerable ones. I applaud our Ontario government. Today, they introduced legislation that shows they do care by enhancing protections and accountability for children/youth in care and helping to strengthen the systems that are designed to help them. Leena Augimeri, PhD.”

Madam Speaker, as you can evidently see, these proposed changes are a result of extensive and continuous consultation with our valued partners in the sector.

I am personally very thankful that this bill was introduced because every child is important to us. Every individual should have the right—and especially, we are allowing them the right to speak, if they would like to have that right—to recall some of the things that happened to them. They may be good examples, like what I have just quoted, or they may be something that they can share so that this will improve their lives or the children’s aid services down the road.

The other thing that I’m so happy about is that we are making sure that all these services that they receive are of top quality. We are adding more inspectors—20 more people going around just to go and see and make sure that all the services provided are the best for the children or the youth they are taking care of. That is why I urge members on all sides of this House to grant Bill 188 unanimous passage.

In conclusion, the welfare of our children and youth is a collective responsibility that demands unwavering commitment and action. As legislators, advocates and members of society, it is incumbent upon us to prioritize their needs and ensure that every child and youth in Ontario has the opportunity to thrive.

This is why, once again, I urge the House to support Bill 188, Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024.

I apologize to the member for Richmond Hill. However, pursuant to standing order 50(c), I’m now required to interrupt the proceedings and announce that there have been six and a half hours of debate on the motion for second reading of this bill. This debate will therefore be deemed adjourned unless the government House leader directs the debate to continue.

I recognize the deputy government House leader.

My question is, how does the government plan to ensure consistent inspection enforcement for largely for-profit, public homes—in the sector of child welfare residences? We know that there are increased concerns—we saw that in long-term care, in particular—when profit is the primary motive for providing a public service.

Thank you to the member from Richmond Hill for her comments today on this important bill. It’s been a good debate. I was here yesterday afternoon as well—I think it was yesterday afternoon—listening to this debate. I think it is an important bill. We’ve heard from the opposition that there are many things in the bill that they support, and they think it is “a good start” and that after years of neglect, we are seeing some improvements. So can the member just tell us where she thinks the major improvements are in this bill and how we think it’s going to help those who are most vulnerable in our society to get a better start and to make Ontario better?

I appreciate the speech and the comments made by the member. I would ask the member, because my colleagues have spoken to this I think quite strongly: the restoration of the position of the child advocate. Will your government be supporting amendments to restore the position of child advocate in this province?

To the member: Bill 188 contains a number of great initiatives to ensure the quality of care and the quality of services provided for children and youth in care. The creation of new offences and the introduction of administrative monetary penalties are all important tools to increase and enhance oversight of out-of-home care. Similarly, updating who has a duty to report to include early childhood educators and increasing information-sharing with professional colleges will keep children safer. The privacy provision contained in the bill could help level the playing field for youth formerly in care.

So my question to the member: What are the steps this government has to support children, youth and families?

Questions?

Thank you to the member for that question. We understand that every family is different and every family needs support in its special way, which is why we have this care for the children and youth and their families, even if they have an addiction problem.

We can see some youth face more challenges than others. We get it. We want to ensure that when they get the support they need, they thrive and build to their bright future. When they are in a family that has challenges of drug abuse, we know that these youth or children are facing a complex condition and we are tracking them, supporting them and tackling them at different angles.

We invested $3.8 billion in the Roadmap to Wellness to increase the focus on children’s mental health, as well as supporting families. And in increasing our—

Further questions?

It’s now time for further debate.

I would like to ask a question of the member about some of the challenges that children’s aid societies in this province are facing, and I’m speaking specifically about the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex. Fully half of the families that they support are not actually families who are in need of care. They are families who are struggling with the lack of mental health and addiction services in the community. One third of the families have caregivers with a problem. They are dealing with mental illness or drug or substance issues. More have family caregiver-child conflicts.

What is the government doing to ensure that there are services in the community so that these families don’t end up in the care of the CAS?

We would like to see more action from this government to respond to some of the other priorities that we have identified. Returning the child and youth advocate: That office played a vital role for children in this province, but this government decided to eliminate that position, which has resulted in many children not feeling like they have anywhere to turn if they are experiencing abuse in a placement.

We’ve also been calling for a total end to all for-profit group homes that take advantage of children. I know that some of those horrendous media reports about the abuse of children in residential group homes and foster care was a big impetus to bringing this bill forward, but that abuse happened in for-profit group homes that were using those vulnerable children as—and they called them this themselves—cash cows or paycheques, which is unconscionable. It is unconscionable that we have a system that enables children to be used in such a way.

But this bill does have some positive measures to strengthen protections for kids, and I congratulate the government on bringing this legislation forward.

I do, however, want to focus on some of the stresses that children’s aid societies in this province are facing in their efforts to provide child protection. I want to speak specifically about the London and Middlesex children’s aid society. In the catchment area for the London-Middlesex CAS, there are close to 6,000 referrals received annually. More than 2,000 assessments are completed. The last year that there was data, there were 590 children in care, so that’s 17% of the caseload. There were 151 new admissions to care. But the majority of the families that the CAS supports do not have children in care. They are not children who are in need of formal child protection. They are children and families who are struggling with the lack of services in the community.

The executive director of the London-Middlesex CAS made a presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs when it was touring the province in advance of the 2024 provincial budget. They held a meeting in London in January, and Chris Tremeer from the London-Middlesex CAS spoke to the committee and talked about the budgetary pressures that this creates on the CAS when they are supporting families who actually should be supported in other areas of the system, who turn to the CAS because they don’t have any other options, because the services that would be more appropriate for them to access simply don’t exist.

About one third of the families the CAS works with are related to caregivers who are struggling with mental health or addiction issues. Another 17% of the families that the CAS works with are those who are experiencing difficulty managing the behaviour of a child, or, in some cases, a child who is over 12 whose behaviour is such that there is a risk of physical harm to the rest of the family. These are families, these are kids who should be able to access the services that they need in the community.

You can imagine, from the perspective of a child protection worker, how frustrating it must be to see these families in such distress that they come to the CAS to hopefully be able to try to access services, but the CAS doesn’t deliver those kinds of services. The CAS is not a front-line mental health service agency; the CAS is a child protection agency.

One of the questions I asked Chris Tremeer when he appeared before the budget committee is, what would be the financial implications for the CAS, what would it mean in terms of resources for the CAS to do that vital child protection work that it is mandated to do, if appropriate services were available elsewhere in system? He told me that, in London, the amount that is represented by the non-child protection services that the CAS is providing is about $3.5 million. He said they were projecting up to $5 million by the end of the year in terms of the child welfare budget that is used to house and provide interim treatment support to youth who need a different style of placement. He said across the province, it amounts to more than $50 million worth of pressure on the children’s aid budget envelope because of the absence of community services, leaving the CAS struggling to support these vulnerable families.

And one of the heartbreaking things that we hear as MPPs, and I’m sure that every member in this House has had constituent families who are desperate and they share their stories of the challenges that they’ve had, trying to get appropriate treatment for their children and they are advised—we hear this often—to relinquish their child to the CAS in the hope that this might fast-track access to treatment for their child, but in fact, it doesn’t. The CAS does not have a back door to children’s mental health services to enable that child to get the appropriate support they need.

What happens when children are relinquished to the CAS is that the other children in the home are kept safe—or the caregivers. If the behaviours of the child are so violent, then the parents, the caregivers, are also kept safe.

But what are we talking about here? If we were able to provide the supports that that child needed, that that family needed, we could support the child at home. We could prevent that child from being relinquished to the CAS. And, Speaker, I would strongly urge this government to look at the dire gap in acute children’s mental health services that we are seeing in our communities.

I did want to highlight the experiences of three London families who approached my office to talk about what it means when there are no intensive mental health services for children and youth in crisis. Over a short period of time, Speaker, I had three separate families approaching my office whose stories were quite similar, related to the lack of acute mental health support services for their children.

One family had been searching for intensive mental health treatment for their daughter since that child was at least 12 years of age. They contacted me when their daughter was about to turn 18 because they were frantic with worry that their daughter would never be able to access the children and youth mental health treatment that she needed and would become ineligible for the services that she was on a wait-list for. That child ended up at London Health Sciences Centre for months in a hospital room, which was not an appropriate placement for her, when she should have been able to access a community-based treatment.

Another family was told that their child would have to go on an indefinite wait-list and was told by ministry services, “There is no provision in the existing model that facilitates a crisis response if/when one is indicated. We are reliant on community-based ministry-funded services to address the needs of community youth to the extent that they are able.” So, if there are no ministry-funded services to address the community needs of youth, then those youth are out of luck and they’re told, “Well, one option is to relinquish your child to the CAS,” but the CAS doesn’t have the—as I said, they’re not a front-line mental health—

Today, I want to highlight the importance of volunteers. I recently attended a couple of fundraisers in my riding to raise money for important causes.

I attended the second annual Dairy Cares event, where local dairy farmers, stakeholders and agribusinesses across Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry come together to celebrate and thank our three local hospitals: Cornwall Community Hospital, Winchester District Memorial Hospital and Glengarry Memorial Hospital. This year, the event raised over $234,000 for these three hospitals.

I participated in a fashion show for the House of Lazarus, in co-operation with St. James Anglican Church, that raised over $10,000 for the organization. They operate a warming hub where the community can access a shower, laundry services, a bed, breakfast and lunch once a week, and can get legal advice, and get advice from a nurse practitioner at no cost.

I also visited the St. Vincent de Paul food bank, followed by a volunteer appreciation luncheon at the Royal Canadian Legion across the street.

Speaker, volunteers are essential to the functioning of many organizations and communities. Volunteers contribute their time, skills, passion and love, and they are driven by a desire to make a positive impact, without expecting monetary compensation. They bring billions of dollars to the economy by volunteering their time at local events and charities. Their unpaid contributions have a significant economic impact through cost savings and enhanced community well-being. Volunteers play a crucial role and are the heart of strong, tight-knit communities.

I apologize to the member from London West, but it is now time for members’ statements.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

After a lengthy battle with the federal government over environmental assessments, we’re finally one step closer to getting it done and building the much-needed Highway 413.

Speaker, Halton, Peel and York regions are all set to grow at incredible speed. Our government is saying yes to building the roads and highways that will keep our communities thriving and moving.

We see first-hand the frustrations of individuals struggling to make it home to see their family or missing important moments while stuck in congestion. With gridlock costing our economy over $11 billion every year, it has never been more important to build this new highway.

Highway 413 will save drivers up to 30 minutes each way on their commute, and that’s one hour per day and five hours per week in people’s schedules. The relief will be the difference between sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic and spending quality time with your family and your loved ones at home.

In addition to reducing time on the road for drivers, Highway 413 will link growing regions, enhance accessibility to housing and employment opportunities and attract the future of the automotive industry here in Ontario.

Our government, under Premier Ford’s leadership, is committed to getting it done. In the coming months, we’ll continue to move ahead and get shovels in the ground as part of our plan to build Ontario by expanding highways and public transit to fight congestion, create jobs and prepare for the massive population growth that’s coming in the next 30 years.

We’re getting it done. We’re building Highway 413.

On Saturday, I was at the Earth Day cleanup in Liberty Village, and I was talking to a couple who had a little three-year-old girl. I said to the three-year-old girl, “Hey, you’ve got a firefighter’s hat on, and there’s a fire truck over there. Is that your fire truck?” She looked at me, and she looked at the fire truck, and then she said, “Yeah.”

I want to thank the Liberty Village Residents Association, TPS division 14 and the firefighters for coming out and cleaning up Liberty Village.

I also want to thank the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association and Friends of Berczy Park, the Garment District Neighbourhood Association, the Waterfront BIA, the Toronto Island Shoreline Cleanup and A Greener Future for organizing Earth Day cleanups across Spadina–Fort York. You’ve made our riding a little bit greener and a little bit cleaner over the weekend.

I also want to note that on Earth Day, Ontario Place for All released a study that showed that the mega spa on the waterfront is estimated to emit 100,000 tonnes of carbon, and a similar Therme spa in Manchester is estimated to consume the same amount of gas per hour as 3,000 homes in a year, the same amount of electricity per hour as 7,000 homes in a year, the same amount of water per day as 5,000 homes in a year.

As we enter this climate emergency, building a tax-subsidized, giant glass-dome mega spa on a bird migration route without an environmental assessment is an environmental disaster. So we are asking the government, in the spirit of Earth Day, cancel the mega spa on the waterfront.

Private, for-profit agency staff in health care cost our province nearly $1 billion last year. That’s the reality of how broken our health care system has become under this Conservative government. As we watch the government take front-line health care workers to court to suppress their wages, it’s not hard to imagine why this province is struggling to find and retain staff.

In Niagara, we’ve learned that these costs have exploded. After attempts to get the information directly from Niagara Health, we learned the details of nursing agency costs through our legislative library research team. In 2019-20, Niagara Health spent approximately $1,400 on nursing agency staff. In 2023, Niagara Health spent approximately $2 million on agency nurses. That’s a drastic change in only a few years. Niagara Health reported a $12-million deficit last year.

The government must invest in stabilizing staffing, recruit full-time staff, and we must all fight the privatization of our health care system. Private, for-profit health care services will further reduce staffing resources and cost Ontarians more—and maybe even their lives.

Let’s invest in front-line staff, respect our health care workers and support publicly funded, publicly delivered, not-for-profit health care in the province of Ontario.