Bear with me. I have a number of introductions to make.

I’d like to begin by welcoming Dave Paxton, acting fire chief from Thunder Bay Fire Rescue, and Kent Readman, fire chief of Loyalist fire and emergency services. Welcome to Queen’s Park. I look forward to meeting with you.

I’d also like to welcome USW members Sean Staddon, Roopchand Doon and Kim Hume.

Finally, I would like to welcome the family members who came here this morning to speak on behalf of their relatives who are being—

A report came out this morning noting that more and more seniors are winding up homeless and living in shelters. Is this the government’s answer to the families who are here today whose parents are currently being renovicted out of Heritage Glen as we speak? The minister knows there is no other safe housing available that these seniors can afford. The offer of three months’ rent means nothing if you are being ripped out of your home, and it means nothing if you can’t afford month four.

You are the government, you have the tools available. What are you going to do to keep seniors from losing their homes, their communities and their security?

This petition is entitled “A Future for Child Care in Ontario.” This petition was put together because there is so much risk of child care spaces shutting down in Thunder Bay. The request of the petition is to create an early-years and child care workers advisory commission to develop recommendations on how to support the early-years and child care workforce by addressing staffing shortages, including through a salary scale, increased compensation and improved working conditions.

I fully support this petition. It’s extremely important that these issues be addressed. I will give it to Jasnoor and sign it.

I’m interested in whether there is space in the bill—any indication of a return of the Child and Youth Advocate. The reason I’m asking about this was because I had the privilege of attending an event sponsored by the Child and Youth Advocate. At this event were all kinds of leaders, community leaders, who were sitting around the table, and a group of young people who had been working together on a program called Feathers of Hope came and shared poetry, skits, talks, talked about their lives. The purpose was, really, to inform the leadership of their experiences. It was an opportunity to give them voice and it was very powerful.

So my question is, do you recognize the importance of the child and youth advocate and are you optimistic that that position can return?

I want to note that I’m really happy about the extension of the age—up to the age of 23—of support for children. I know people who aged out at 18, and it didn’t go well for them.

But my question is really about the child and youth advocate. There’s very much a difference between an Ombudsman and a child and youth advocate, because the child and youth advocate is proactive, whereas the Ombudsman is reactive. I wonder if you are supportive of bringing that role back.