It is now time for further debate.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

I rise to celebrate the Niagara Folk Arts Festival, Canada’s longest continuous heritage festival, now marking its 56th year. My community is so proud of the Niagara Folk Arts Festival. Each year, I look forward to the open houses, to the cultural attire, to the conversations.

Last year, I met a family who shared their journey as refugees, reminding me of my own history we share. There is nothing more Canadian than that.

Speaker, my grandmother was a quilter. Each year, she would begin a new quilt—it didn’t matter the size or the colour of the cloth, because when woven together, when brought together, it made one complete, harmonious whole. I treasure these quilts. They remind me of the folk arts festival. It’s a vivid reminder of the uniqueness, the inclusivity of every culture in Niagara.

No matter the debate or the division in this chamber, we should be aspiring to reflect the inclusive spirit that thrives in our own communities. It is our duty to stand for inclusion, for diversity and for making sure there are spaces for both.

I encourage all members to come to Niagara and celebrate the many vibrant communities with us. We welcome you to visit one of the many open houses that will be—for the next 15 days. Come travel the world with the Niagara Folk Arts Festival.

Speaker, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to wear purple ribbons in recognition of May 10 being Lupus Awareness Day.

Today is the 30th anniversary of the creation of International Thalassemia Day on May 8, 1994. Three years ago, I was proud to co-sponsor a private member’s bill with my friend from Barrie–Innisfil to proclaim May 8 as Thalassemia Awareness Day each year here in Ontario, on behalf of people like Mary Alfano, a mother of twins living with thalassemia in my community of Mississauga–Lakeshore. This is a day to help raise awareness of one of the most common blood disorders in the world, the genes for which are carried by up to 2% of the world’s population.

Much like sickle-cell anemia, patients with thalassemia can’t produce normal red blood cells, so they need regular blood transfusions to supply enough oxygen to the heart, brain, lungs and other organs. This is sometimes called Mediterranean anemia because it most often affects people from the Middle East, North Africa, Greece and Italy—especially the regions of Sardinia, Sicily and Calabria.

Just like patients with sickle-cell disease, thalassemia patients have had to deal with stigma and discrimination. I want to thank the Thalassemia Foundation of Canada for everything they do to advocate for thalassemia patients and to support scientific research into new treatments. I ask all members here to join us to raise awareness for thalassemia and to support the foundation’s work to ensure that all patients can live a long and healthy life.

I’m going to be brief because I know we’ll be going to members’ statements soon.

I want to talk about one of the themes, and I’ll expand on more of this when we get into the debate later on. But one of the themes of this bill is about changing things to electronic documents, and I have concerns with this. I understand the ease of use and how effective it is. I understand in some workplaces how helpful that will be. But the concern I have with electronic documents is that a lot of workplaces don’t have access. And I know people will say everyone has a phone or everyone has a computer, but the reality is, not everyone has a phone and not everyone has a computer. A lot of workplaces don’t have connectivity. I come from mining and the underground, and a lot of mining organizations don’t have connectivity underground.

There’s a requirement to have paper documents because it’s the easiest way to communicate with people, especially older workers. I don’t want to be ageist, because I’m old, but there are older people. We’ve all been in a situation helping our parents hook up the VCR in the old days or helping our parents get on the Internet. There are just some people who are not comfortable with electronic documents, and when it comes to health and safety, if we’re not sharing information as easily as we can, there’s an expression when it comes to health and safety that you learn because something tragic happened to you or someone told you about something happening to you.

So if you’re making it difficult for workers to have access to information—for example, of who their joint health and safety committee is and who the members are and where they are in the workplace—a lot of workplaces are small and everybody would know, but at my workplace, when I was a worker safety rep, I represented the filter plant and the furnaces, I represented the converters and casting and cooling and crushing and I represented the copper end. It was the size of about two or maybe two and a half football fields: more than 400 workers, plus contractors, plus management. There were a lot of people there who might not know who I was or where to find my office, let alone the other people on my committee from management and the workers’ side. And we had a really good committee; we worked really well together to solve these issues, but not every workplace is like that. And so, Speaker, when I talk about information being posted online, it may make sense to a lot of people, but for some people, that’s going to be a detriment.

A few weeks ago, we just talked about intimate partner violence, and we know it’s a concern. The Conservatives, as well—I know, often, as critics, we end up pointing the finger and yelling, but the Conservatives as well embraced the idea of intimate partner violence and declaring an epidemic. If you don’t have a harassment policy posted in the workplace, some people may not see that. And although it’s common sense to us in this room that you shouldn’t behave in that manner, there are some people who don’t realize that or what to do or how to make a complaint.

All that information is on your harassment document, your policy, and the policy points to the procedures which should be easily accessible to people so they can find out how it’s followed up on. What do you do when there’s harassment in the workplace? Who do you contact? How do you move it forward? How do you have it addressed? And I’m not talking about how you have it addressed in the most extreme examples, it’s how you have it addressed in terms of correcting behaviour, to explain to people that certain things are unwanted? Because I know sometimes people are doing things that are considered harassment or offensive and not realizing that their language is outdated and inadequate. These are things that really concern me in this bill.

The minister is here and, often, when we debate, we’re not able to speak at the same time, and so I want to say, there’s some really great parts to this bill, like the occupational disease section for wildland firefighters. I was just at FONOM yesterday speaking with the wildland firefighters. They knew, Minister. Already when I came up to them, they were very excited about it; they knew that the bill was coming forward. And I know that this is something we’ve all, as—

Vision is vital, offering direction, purpose and motivation, driving action toward fulfillment and growth. In contrast, recent data shows a staggering 2.1 million Canadians are grappling with blindness or partial sight, while over 5.6 million contest with vision-threatening conditions.

In Ontario, only 65% of children receive an eye examination before their seventh birthday, and only 2% adhere to the recommendation for age-appropriate eye assessments, including many residents from Mississauga–Malton. This could lead to undetected vision problems, hindering children’s academic performance, social interactions and overall quality of life.

Thanks to former senator Dr. Asha Seth, due to her efforts, May is national Vision Health Month and aims to increase the awareness of the importance of eye health and methods to prevent vision impairment.

My sincere gratitude to the CNIB for their continued work on supporting the education and awareness on vision-related needs in Canada. They’re here today, so I urge all MPPs to join them in room 228 between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to delve deeper and explore actionable solutions to support our Ontarians.

Speaker, together let’s strive towards a prosperous Ontario. This is a non-partisan issue. We have the same goal: to serve the people of Ontario, where everyone receives the necessary support and service to flourish.

Earlier this week, Jews in Ontario and throughout the world observed Yom ha-Shoah, the day of commemoration for the six million Jews who were murdered by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during the Holocaust.

Known in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom ha-Shoah also commemorates the members of the Jewish resistance who fought against the Nazis during the Holocaust. Yom ha-Shoah reminds us that the Holocaust is both a lesson from the past and a warning for the future. It shows us the perils of indifference and the horrific consequences when hatred is allowed to flourish unchecked.

On October 7, to quote Rex Murphy, “a cowardly, medieval murder cult (campus heroes), Hamas took the lives of over 1,200 Jews” and others in Israel. Since then, we’re facing an anti-Semitic increase in events beyond acceptable levels here even in Canada, because really the only acceptable level is zero.

Anti-Semitic incidents take many forms—hate speech, vandalism and intimidation—but they are all manifestations of a broader attack on the fundamental idea that all Ontarians should be treated equally with respect and feel safe to live their lives freely in Ontario.

The mass murder of the Holocaust lasted from 1941 to 1945, but it is important to remember that it started long before then, almost a decade before, in 1932. The best way to stop anti-Semitism is to ensure it never starts. As human beings, we all share a duty to all other human beings to treat them with dignity and respect, because they are human beings. We cannot forget the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust and the lessons learned. We must always stand up against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate. Never again is now.

A recent Hamilton Spectator article broke down the homelessness death data published by research group Hamilton Homeless Morality, data that tells a daunting story driven by lived experiences of those living rough in our streets.

Ninety-one deaths in two and a half years is horrific. Half of those deaths were caused by drug overdoses and half suffered from mental illness. If those numbers are not disturbing enough, the story continues: 90% of homeless people who died were men and nearly 50% of these deaths, they had lived on the streets for more than a year. Homelessness is killing Hamiltonians. In fact, the average age of death among homeless Hamiltonians is 46, what some would call mid-life. The numbers do not lie.

This story could have a different ending; an outcome that meets at the intersection of love, hope and support; a story that our communities want to tell and share. Housing impacts people’s lives. It can lengthen their lives and it can save their lives. Many community members, partners and organizations are doing just that. They are tirelessly doing the heavy lifting to provide shelter, stability and health care. Together, we must meet people where they are at. Everyone deserves a place to call home.

My statement today is about Honorary Colonel Dan MacKay. Dan, of course, is a decorated reservist, having served 44 years in uniform and having commanded the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa twice. He served as the deputy director of history and heritage at the national defence department and he served as the aide de camp to our Lieutenant Governor for over 30 years. He is a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John Ambulance and he is one of the most humble men that I have ever met.

He is dedicated and he is committed to all things Ottawa, but he’s also—and this will surprise you when I say it—an unlikely feminist. Dan has been a girl dad. He has been the biggest defender and champion of his wife, Fran, who is now, in her own right, the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Governor General’s Foot Guards.

He is a big champion of the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Cameron Highlanders, Barbara Farber, and he is a steadfast reminder to all of us of how important our history is by recognizing Lillian Freiman, the “poppy lady,” who first brought the poppy to Canada, who founded the Royal Canadian Legion, and whose home is now the army officers’ mess in the city of Ottawa.

Dan has been a champion and a reminder that women are important in Canada, and as much as he has accolades in the military and throughout the city of Ottawa, he has always quietly stood behind every woman he has supported.

I rise to commemorate a friend of mine, a community leader and wise spirit, Pauline Rose Shirt (Nimikiiquay), who died this week. Pauline was beloved in our Toronto–Danforth community. I cannot do full justice to her story or her impact in this statement, but I want to note a few things.

Pauline was a Plains Cree Elder from Saddle Lake, Alberta, Red Tailed Hawk Clan, and member of the Three Fires society and Buffalo Dance society.

In 1974, Pauline and her then husband, Vern Harper, led the Native People’s Caravan. The caravan travelled from Vancouver to Ottawa to deliver a manifesto to the government on the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Pauline was the Elder at George Brown College in Toronto, and in 2023, she was appointed to the Order of Ontario. Pauline served on the Elders Council of the Urban Indigenous Education Centre, starting in 2008.

In our community, she was best known for being the founder of Kapapamahchakwew, Wandering Spirit School. In 1976, after unsuccessfully trying to find a public school that was culturally appropriate for her son’s education, Pauline started the Wandering Spirit Survival School. In 1983, it was officially recognized as a cultural survival/native way school. In 2019, there was a remaining ceremony to return it to its origins: Wandering Spirit School.

She was a warm presence at powwows and First Nations celebrations throughout our community.

I want to convey my condolences to her remaining family and thank her now for all she did to build our community.

We’re incredibly lucky to have the CNIB in our St. Paul’s community, and they’re here today. I want to welcome representatives from CNIB here: Dr. Asha Seth, Arun Seth, Suzanne Decary-van den Broek, Alice Clark and Larissa Proctor. Welcome to Queen’s Park. Thank you for recognizing Vision Health Month.

We invite everyone to join at 12 p.m. for the CNIB’s reception, where they’re advocating for every kid in Ontario to have access to full, comprehensive eye tests before school.

I’d like to welcome my two summer interns, Khalil Jamal and Jaydan Khosid, to the Legislature.

It’s always a pleasure to welcome the residents of Mississauga–Malton: Raju Devis, Sheeba Raju, Annlynn Maria Raju, Aarktwain Raju Devis—the proud parents of page captain Aaldrian Raju Devis.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I would like to thank and welcome some folks from Community Living who I had the pleasure to meet with this morning—Brad Saunders, CEO of Community Living Ontario, and Valérie Picher, board chair for Community Living Ontario—and welcome them to our reception this evening in rooms 228 and 230.

Also, I’d like to welcome—and I look forward to meeting with them this afternoon—Thomas Simpson, a vice-president of the CNIB, and Larissa Proctor, director of community relations and engagement with the CNIB.

Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to also welcome Community Living and thank them for all the great work they do in Ontario to make it a better place to be—and especially jazzy Jonathan Bradshaw, a beautiful Beaches–East York resident and no stranger to this House.

I’d like to welcome Vicky Pearson, who is here from Community Living London, along with a group of amazing advocates from New Vision Advocates. Welcome to Queen’s Park. I’m looking forward to our meeting this afternoon.

I’d like to welcome Karen Bolger and other representatives of Community Living Essex to the House. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to welcome to the House my friends Jennie Chanda and Trish Morris from my riding of Haldimand–Norfolk, representing Community Living Access.

I’d like to welcome William Hulme from my riding of Newmarket–Aurora, who’s here today with Community Living Ontario for their advocacy day. Welcome, William.