It was a great day on May 1 in the city of Pembroke in Riverside Park on the shores of the majestic Ottawa River, such that the services of the Reverend Dave Henderson, the local town crier, kicked off the ceremony with his customary, “Oyez, oyez.” It was there that the former Fred Blackstein Boulevard was renamed First Responders Way.

May 1 was of course chosen to correspond with First Responders Day here in the province of Ontario. Fred Blackstein, a member of the Order of Canada, had approached the city earlier this year and suggested his name be removed from the street and the street be renamed in honour of first responders. I could go on for hours about the contributions of Mr. Blackstein, but this just serves as another example of his selflessness.

The ceremony was well attended by members of the public and representatives of each group of first responders that we depend on so greatly each and every day. Whether it is police, fire, paramedics, ER doctors or nurses and, of course, our military, it is the dedication and commitment of our first responders that allow us to feel safe during the day and sleep better at night knowing they have our back. For most of us, what they do every single day goes largely unnoticed until we need them, but it is tremendously comforting to know that if the situation calls for it, they will be there.

I want to thank the city of Pembroke for making this happen and, of course, Mr. Blackstein for his kind gesture. But above everything else, I want to thank each and every one of our first responders for their unwavering commitment to making our lives safer and better. This renaming in Pembroke recognizes that in a tangible way.

This past weekend, on May 12, we celebrated Mother’s Day. On Mother’s Day, we recognize the immeasurable contributions that mothers make to our lives and society as a whole. Mothers play a vital role in shaping our world, not only through their nurturing and guidance within families, but also their influence as leaders, educators and contributors in all aspects of society. Mother’s Day provides us with an opportunity to express our gratitude for the love, sacrifice and unwavering support that mothers offer every day. It is a day to honour their resilience, strength, courage and boundless love.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, let us also recognize the progress we have made in supporting mothers and families, while acknowledging the ongoing challenges they face. It’s essential that we continue working towards creating a society where every mother is empowered to fulfill her potential and thrive.

Speaker, on this special day, let us come together to celebrate the invaluable contributions made by mothers to make this world a better place to live, and let’s cherish their invaluable role in our lives. Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible mothers out there.

I have students from St. Demetrius and staff and volunteers here today to tour Queen’s Park whom I’ll get a chance to speak with and meet, so, of course, I would like to welcome them to Queen’s Park.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker and good morning, colleagues. It’s my pleasure to welcome the mayor of West Grey, Kevin Eccles, to the Legislature as well as many, many residents of that beautiful town in Durham in my riding. Welcome to the Legislature. It’s a pleasure to have you here today.

I also want to welcome some good people from Durham, Dawn McNab and Kris Kennedy, who are the co-chairs of the Save the Durham Hospital committee, as well as everybody else who came to join us. Thank you for being here.

I want to introduce members from Beef Farmers of Ontario: Joe Dickenson, Jim Whitley, Thomas Brandstetter, Evan Chaffe and thank Craig McLaughlin, president, for the meeting earlier this morning. Thank you for all you do to grow Ontario’s beef industry. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I’d like to congratulate page captain Antonio Geremia from Niagara Centre for a job well done and welcome his parents, Kerri-Ann and Mario Geremia, to the Legislature. I look forward to having lunch with them this afternoon.

I’m very pleased to welcome Mike Shoreman to Queen’s Park. Mike was the first person with disabilities to cross the five Great Lakes by stand-up paddleboard—folks know him for that—but he’s also an excellent advocate for mental health and a great public speaker. We’re glad to welcome him back to Queen’s Park. Welcome back.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the members of Delhi Chandigarh Elite Indian Community. Please bear with me, Mr. Speaker, it’s a long list: Gaurav Shrivastava founder and CEO, Munish Wadhwa, Lalit Keram, Devyansh Kaura, Sanjeev Sharma, Neeraj Tripathi, Rajan Sethi, Vikram Dhawan, Sherwin Trindade, Sumati Makhija, Ekta Wadhwa, Heena Siddiqi, Harsimranjit Walia, Malika Narang, Nisha Sawhney and Kanika Grover. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

I had a great meeting this morning with MPP Burch. As well, in attendance were CAO Ron Tripp from the Niagara region, regional chair Jim Bradley, Daryl Barnhart, Adrienne Jugley, Mark Rupcic and Rachael Ball-Condron. Thank you for the meeting; we had a great time. Welcome to your House.

Today, in the members’ gallery, we are joined by Chief Sherri-Lyn Hill, an amazing leader for Six Nations of the Grand River. They’re holding a reception today as part of their lobby day. We welcome them to this magnificent place. Colleagues, I ask you to drop by rooms 228 and 230 at lunch time to say hello and join us.

This morning, I’d like to welcome Kevin Eccles, the mayor of the municipality of West Grey; Dawn McNab; Kris Kennedy; Dennis Graham; Lucretia Schafer; and the over 60 people who are here and belong to the coalition to save Durham hospital.

I would like to welcome, from my riding of Waterloo, Sara Casselman, who’s the executive director of the sexual assault support centre. Welcome to your House, Sara, and thank you for participating in the press conference.

If there are no objections, I’d like to continue with introduction of visitors. I heard a no.

I recognize the Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.

Government House leader.

I see my buddy Jonny Stathakos in the visitors’ gallery, but I’ve got a special guest here in the Speaker’s gallery. I think he’s here to apologize to the opposition for the son he’s unleashed on the Legislature. But please join me in welcoming my father, Duncan McGregor.

I seek unanimous consent that, notwithstanding standing order 100(e), the member for Waterloo be permitted to designate private members’ notice of motion number 110 as ballot item number 13 to be debated today.

Hundreds of survivors and advocates and crisis support workers were expecting a chance to get answers on why this government has allowed so many sexual assault cases to be dismissed before trial. More than 1,300 cases of sexual assault in 2022 alone never saw a trial because the court system is so deeply underfunded and overwhelmed. Those are not just numbers, Speaker, these are survivors—survivors who are not going to get a shot at justice.

So to the Premier: Why are you silencing survivors of sexual assault who deserve justice from our legal system?

Interjections.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. As the Leader of the Opposition would know, what we voted on yesterday was, in principle, sending the bill directly to a committee of the Legislature. In fact, all Progressive Conservatives, and I would suggest that probably all members of this House, wanted to see that bill sent directly to committee so that it could be part of the study that the justice committee is doing on intimate partner violence.

I remind the Legislature that this Legislature agreed that we should study that and come back with comprehensive recommendations on how we can provide better services to victims of intimate partner violence. As you know, a former crown prosecutor is leading those efforts on behalf of the government side at committee. It is certainly my expectation that that committee will continue to do really good work and bring back recommendations here, and that we can provide real solutions for those—

I’ll tell you, Speaker, no one is buying that. No one is buying what they’re selling, I’ll tell you. I cannot tell you how disappointing this is for everybody here.

Let’s talk about another disappointing issue. While the Minister of Health dismisses and minimizes the doctor shortage in this province, the CEO and president of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, CHEO, says that their hospital has lost dozens of pediatric physicians since this government took office. CHEO is struggling to provide the early intervention that our kids need, and we know that it makes a world of difference for our children.

Does the Premier agree with his minister who thinks vacancies at children’s hospitals are not a major concern?

Interjections.

Wait times for MRIs and ultrasounds at CHEO are now the longest in Ontario. We have sick little kids transported out of the region, even out of the province, to get care; parents taking time off work; brothers and sisters taking time off school; little kids separated from their families and their friends while they’re getting treatment. Why? Because of the doctor shortage that this government and that minister refuse to even acknowledge, let alone fix.

So back to the Premier: Is this a major enough concern for his minister yet?

Interjections.

All you need to do is look at their own numbers: 3,000 physician vacancies right now across the province; a growing population; more physicians leaving the province every single day.

Here’s the problem: A child is sick. They can’t get treated because there aren’t enough doctors. Listen to the CEO and president of CHEO, for goodness’ sake.

What I and parents across the entire province are hearing from this Minister of Health is that this is not a major concern—not a major concern. If the people of Ontario cannot trust this minister to acknowledge the extent of the crisis in our primary care system, how can the Premier trust her to solve it?

The House leader knows full well that if the government was going to vote for that bill, it would have ended up in justice committee anyway.

Months ago, a young woman named Lydia and her mother came to me and they shared their experience of navigating Ontario’s broken justice system. It took Lydia two years to get justice. She told me that she did not want any other survivor to go through what she went through and asked what I could do to help. I learned through stakeholder consultations just how broken and underfunded and retraumatizing the justice system is for survivors.

Lydia’s story represents the story of so many survivors in Ontario. Speaker, sexual violence disproportionately impacts women, girls and gender-diverse people.

To the Attorney General: You have silenced survivors in the court system, and now you are silencing female voices in the Legislature. What are you hiding from?

Interjections.

Speaker, if this government won’t listen to me, maybe they’ll listen to Lydia’s mother. She said:

“The most difficult thing a parent can ever experience is watching your child suffer. Throughout the over two-year court process for this trial, my daughter’s mental health suffered immensely ... due to court backlogs.

“With every delay, every setback in court, my daughter’s mental health deteriorated. She was revictimized and traumatized over the course of two years, in which during this period of time the accused (who was found guilty of all charges) was free to live his life”—but not Lydia.

To the Attorney General: Why are you attempting to silence voices like these and trying to prevent them from getting the justice that they deserve in this Legislature, in this province?

Interjections.