Good morning, colleagues. It’s a pleasure and an honour to rise on behalf of Bill 188, the Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024, now under consideration by this House for third reading.

Thank you and congratulations to my colleagues and to the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services for his comments today. This minister has really just been such a voice for so many children who felt like they were forgotten, making sure that we are not leaving any child behind. And also, thank you to all of the people who worked on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I used to work in the sector for a long time and have worked with many children who have been really hard struck by some of the things experienced in their lives. Knowing that we are making the changes and making it possible for them not to feel like they are condemned to details written in a file; that their lives are not going to be hindered by the things they experienced when they were growing up in such a challenging time, where their parents have had to make difficult decisions to release them to the care of children’s aid, where they felt lost, where they felt like everyone has abandoned them—this is such a great change, and I’m just very thankful to see that we are making these changes. Thank to all of you who have been able to do this.

Speaker, we are here today because of our government’s vision to ensure that no child is left behind and that they have every chance to thrive, to succeed, regardless of their circumstances. At its heart, that’s really what Bill 188 is about, and I must say that it resonates with me deeply, not only in my role as Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, but because of the experience I’ve had working in children’s mental health for almost 20 years as a behavioural consultant, multisystemic therapist and counsellor. Working with families, especially when I was working with families who were being supported by children’s aid to manage and understand the aggressive behaviour in the homes, knowing that they are going to try to do everything they can to keep the families together but understanding that sometimes that decision or that possibility can’t happen. And when a child would be in care, especially now with the licensing requirements and also making sure that we are holding bad actors accountable, it’s going to make such an impact to those families who have to relinquish their child in care. To know that their child is still going to be taken care of is so important.

Bill 188 is just one of the ways we’re working to ensure that all children, youth and families, including those getting support through the youth services sector, get the resources and supports they need. The children and youth services sector supports a wide range of individuals with diverse needs, as well as their families and caregivers, in every corner of our province.

For example, the sector supports children and youth in need of protection who may have experienced trauma or have been or are at risk of being abused or neglect. The sector supports children with complex needs, as well as children who may be medically fragile. And I’m also talking about youth who are involved in the youth justice system, including those admitted to custody or detention, who also need support to walk a better path in life and to make sure their future, again, is not condemned to their past.

Ensuring timely support, care and intervention can also mean supporting the family or protecting a child from an abusive caregiver. It can mean encouraging a child to break through barriers to their future goals. And it can mean helping a youth involved in the justice system find their way so that they can engage with their families, friends and community in a positive way.

Bill 188 includes reforms to the child welfare system that aim to deliver better outcomes for young people and their families and caregivers who are receiving support from the children and youth services sector. A critical part of this work is collaboration, which is a theme I’d like to pick up. I listened to the minister’s remarks with great interest and noted his comments on noted his comments on collaboration and valued input of those with lived experience with the children’s aid sector. This work builds on collaboration with children’s aid societies and other service providers, as well as First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities from across the province.

I too pass on my sincere thanks and appreciation to the many individuals, stakeholders and partners who have taken time to share their feedback and their experiences. If I may, I’d like to share some of the public feedback we’ve received since Bill 188 was introduced.

From Mohamed Firin, Ontario’s advocate for community opportunities, ACO: “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 Ingrid Palmer of the Child Welfare Political Action Committee: “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 afterwards. Protecting the personal histories of this vulnerable community must be a high ... priority.”

Now, of course, feedback like this is great for us to hear, not just because it makes us feel good, but because it confirms that our proposed legislation is hitting the mark. And in that same spirit of continuing collaboration, our ministry is working with First Nations, Inuit Métis and urban Indigenous communities to help reduce the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care. We recognize that the approach to supporting Indigenous children and families must reflect the primacy of First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities in the well-being of their children and families. That’s why supporting services that integrate Indigenous cultures, heritage and traditions is central to our work to achieve better opportunities and outcomes for children, youth and their families.

To support these goals, in March 2022, the Legislature passed amendments to the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017. The amendments, once in force, are intended to:

—increase access to customary care, helping 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 carried out engagements on the draft regulatory proposals for the prevention-focused regulations in early 2024, and we continue to engage with Indigenous representatives to further this process.

Madam Speaker, another part of this work involves important discussions and negotiations with Indigenous communities pursuing models of child and family services under Indigenous laws.

For example, Wabaseemoong Independent Nations, Ontario and Canada signed a trilateral coordination agreement regarding child and family services. That 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. The 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 KI, Ontario and Canada was executed to support the implementation of KI’s child and family services law, which came into force the following day—the second such agreement in Ontario and the first in Treaty 9 territory.

And just last month, the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation became the third Indigenous governing body in Ontario to have its own child and family services law take effect. Their new child and family well-being law provides a foundation for a system specifically designed to meet the needs of the children, youth and families of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation. We’re incredibly excited to keep continuing to work with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation and Canada to support the implementation of the new child and family well-being law.

These are important accomplishments, and it’s reflective of our government’s approach and our commitment to ensuring we’re communicating with and making sure that we are having their voices in every step of the decision-making process—something that I feel very strongly about.

It was just last term that our government created the Indigenous Women’s Advisory Council, and it has been an honour to work with the many women of our First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities around the table to discuss the challenges and to discuss and come up with solutions with Indigenous women. This has been important—being able to say, “I’m not going to speak. I’m going to let you speak because you can communicate the needs that you have better than I can.” Having IWAC represented at the federal-provincial-territories meeting and—it’s Ontario. We advocated to make sure the women who are around that table are the ones communicating the needs, and we’re here to support and implement the strategies that they’re putting in place.

Bill 188 is another important step towards achieving our government’s vision where no child or youth will be left behind in Ontario. We’re building a province where all children, youth and families have the resources and supports they need to succeed and thrive. These new proposals build on the work the government has undertaken over the past several years, but there’s no way we’re going to stop there. We can never rest. We have to keep moving forward, and we have to keep making sure that we’re making improvements and committing to our ongoing collaboration with individuals, advocates, stakeholders and partners. Healthy parents raise healthy children who become healthy adults, and again, those healthy adults become healthy parents who raise children to become healthy adults. That’s cycle that we are working to establish here in Ontario, and that should not be any different for children who are being raised in the system of care through children’s aid.

I’m really honoured to be working with this government to make these changes. It’s one of the reasons why I made the shift from working in children’s mental health to becoming a parliamentarian and getting involved in this electoral system, because I’ve worked very intimately with families who’ve been stuck in a system that wasn’t working for them, and knowing that there are changes we can be making to make lives better, and again, making sure that children are not being condemned to the things written in a file—that shouldn’t be the determination of their future. That’s why we’re making these changes.

I encourage many to read and look at what our government is doing because we are making things better for a system that needed support and changes for many years.

I want to again thank everyone who took the time to share their insights and their experiences with us. As we continue to take steps forward together, we will strengthen families and communities across the province, and I will continue in my role to work with women and the girls who have been impacted by a life that has been filled with trauma, making sure that they have opportunities and pathways to their success.

With that, I would now like to turn things to over to my colleague the member for Markham–Thornhill to continue on the remarks.

I recognize the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity.

It is a pleasure to rise today and speak again on Bill 188, Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024. First, I’d to thank my colleague the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services for his hard work, dedication and passion in getting the legislation through. I would also like to thank the staff at the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for their important work. They are a wonderful team up there. Thank you. I would also like to thank the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity for her support and comments.

Speaker, if passed, this bill would improve the safety, security and well-being of children and youth in the child and youth services sector in our wonderful province.

We are proposing changes that would include new and enhanced enforcement tools. These changes would support better compliance with licensing requirements designed to protect the safety and security of children and youth in licensed out-of-home care.

We are proposing changes that aim to better protect the privacy of individuals with a history in the child welfare system, that would further restrict access by others to their child welfare records once regulations are developed.

We are also proposing changes that would enable these individuals to speak freely about their lived experiences. This would give them more control over what they want to share publicly about their involvement in the child welfare system, in circumstances to be prescribed following consultations.

Speaker, the proposed changes within Bill 188 are another way we are working to better support children, youth and their families across Ontario. Transforming services for children, youth and their families is a significant undertaking and takes time. That’s why many of the reforms proposed in this bill further strengthen measures that are already in place.

The minister spoke about stronger enforcement tools—I want to touch on that—such as those intended to hold licensed out-of-home care operators accountable for the safeguards in place to keep children and youth safe and healthy.

To help members further their understanding of our proposed reforms, I would like to provide some insight into the oversight mechanisms that are currently in place to allow the ministry to hold licensed out-of-home care providers more accountable.

The ministry licenses out-of-home care service providers, which include foster care agencies and operators of group and staff model homes. Licensed out-of-home care providers for children and youth, such as group homes, must comply with the requirements set out in the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, its regulations, licence conditions and ministry policies.

Ministry oversight and regulation of licensed out-of-home care settings currently includes:

—scheduled and unannounced inspections, which is very, very important;

—licence renewal inspections conducted, at minimum, on an annual basis, and monitoring visits may also be conducted throughout the licensing term;

—mandatory serious occurrence reporting; and

—monthly reporting of the use of mechanical restraints and complaints.

A progressive enforcement model is in place to hold licensed operators accountable. Depending on the circumstances, and under the current rules, the ministry may impose conditions on a licence; impose a maximum capacity on a licence or change that maximum capacity; suspend the licence where there are immediate safety concerns regarding the children and youth in care; and propose to revoke or refuse to issue or renew the licence.

These are the vital factors of this bill.

If this bill is passed, the ministry will be able to publish more details online, providing greater transparency and more information that placing agencies and persons can use.

Speaker, as is evident, there are many existing oversight mechanisms in place for the ministry to hold licensed out-of-home care providers accountable. However, when it comes to keeping children and youth safe and healthy, our government will never rest. We are always looking for ways to improve and strengthen measures to safeguard children and youth. An important part of this has been listening to feedback from stakeholders. The proposals in this bill stem from a broad range of feedback. For this, I would like to take this opportunity to thank individuals with lived experience, advocates, service providers, children’s aid societies, as well as First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities. Their input has been vital in supporting the government’s vision of leaving no child or youth behind in this wonderful province, and we tried to reflect their voices throughout this bill.

In developing these proposed changes, various recommendations were considered, including the lived experience of youth; investigations, inquests and recommendations from the Ombudsman of Ontario; and feedback from stakeholders, including from engagements with Indigenous communities, organizations providing services to Indigenous children and youth, service providers and children’s aid societies.

The ministry also held more than 30 virtual engagements with various stakeholder groups, including youth with lived experience.

As this clearly shows, the changes we are proposing in Bill 188 are a result of extensive consultation with many individuals and stakeholders. Our work has been and will continue to be responsive to their interests and feedback.

I would like to take this opportunity to share a couple of recent comments that we received.

From Nicole Bonnie, the principal consultant with Firma Strategy Group and the former CEO of the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies: “The primary objective of any system serving children, youth, and families is to ensure sustainable outcomes that nurture every aspect of a child and youth’s identity. Drawing from 15 years in the child welfare system, I’ve witnessed ongoing endeavours to align various arms within the system for the betterment of children, youth and families. The recent policies and legislation bring us closer to this objective by prioritizing the needs of children and youth in alternative care placements.”

As you can see, Speaker, Bill 188 is part of our continued commitment to people across Ontario who depend on the child and youth services sector.

As I outlined for the House at second reading, the changes we are proposing in Bill 188 also build on the Ready, Set, Go Program we launched on April 1, 2023. This program represents another significant step in the Child Welfare Redesign Strategy. Ready, Set, Go connects youth in the child welfare system with additional services and supports earlier to better prepare them for life after leaving care. This includes the development of life skills such as financial management, incentives for pursuing post-secondary education and support finding pathways to employment. This program has a three-year, $170-million funding commitment from the ministry. This year, Ready, Set, Go is expected to support more than 4,000 youth as they prepare for adulthood.

To continue our work, the ministry has been hosting regular engagement sessions to gather feedback from key stakeholders. We also have been working collaboratively across ministries to implement Ready, Set, Go to better support youth and provide them with information and supports that will help them build a brighter future after leaving care.

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. 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 responsive and relevant. It also considers the unique needs and identities of children and youth.

The new requirements, embedded in regulation and policy directives to support the implementation of the framework, include front-line staff and supervisor qualifications, training requirements for foster parents and enhanced safety and service planning obligations. The ministry will continue to work with service providers on the implementation of these important changes. Our goal is to improve the quality of care and better hold licensees and placing agencies, including children’s aid societies, accountable for the care they provide.

All children and youth in Ontario deserve safety, stability and access to resources and supports to help them succeed and thrive. As the minister noted earlier, sector partners and communities have clearly articulated the need to implement measures that better protect children and youth rights, enhance the quality of services and improve the accountability of service providers.

Our government’s proposals in Bill 188 build on the work that we have undertaken over the past several years and are widely informed by partners in the children and youth services sector.

Our government is committed to continuing to collaborate with our stakeholders and sector partners on future regulation, policy and legislative proposals.

As I said at the top of my remarks, Speaker, we need to provide better support for our children and youth as they transition into adulthood. That includes giving these individuals more control over their past and more control over how they voice and reflect on their time in Ontario’s child welfare system.

Proceeding with these legislative proposals, in conjunction with other regulatory and policy changes, is our next step toward meeting these needs. These changes will help us achieve our government’s vision of an Ontario where all children, youth and families, including those getting support through the Ontario children and youth service sector, have access to resources and services they need to succeed and thrive.

Speaker, we are all in this together.

Now I would like to pass it to the hard-working PA, my colleague the member for Thornhill.

Further debate?

Further debate?

I am pleased to join my colleagues the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services; the Associate Minister of Women’ Social and Economic Opportunity; and fellow parliamentary assistant the MPP for Markham–Thornhill and rise on behalf of Bill 188, the Strengthening Children’s Futures Act, 2024, now under consideration by this House for third reading.

It has been truly a pleasure to work with the minister on this bill. We believe that all children and youth deserve safety, stability and access to resources and supports to help them succeed and thrive, and as the minister said before, children and youth may only be a portion of our population today, but they are 100% of our future. This is why our government is working to ensure that no child or young person is left behind in Ontario and that everyone has the best chance of success as they approach adulthood.

Speaker, I think we all want to see successful transitions for individuals as they leave Ontario’s child welfare system. I think we all want to see and we all need to see these children and youth becoming confident adults who can contribute to the success of our province, and this is the essence of Bill 188.

Speaker, as I outlined for the House at second reading, our government has worked diligently to introduce other reforms into the child welfare system that will deliver better outcomes for children and youth and their families and caregivers who are receiving support from the child and youth services sector.

But components of Bill 188 are an important part of the government’s ongoing redesign of the child welfare system, and I’d like to take this opportunity to speak to the connection between the proposed changes in child welfare design as it provides important context for the proposals in this bill.

Members of the House will recall that the ministry announced the Child Welfare Redesign Strategy in July of 2020. Through this strategy, our government has introduced new initiatives to improve the quality of services that children and youth receive in out-of-home care. Some of these initiatives have included developing a new framework for what quality of care looks like and feels like; increasing and enhancing oversight and accountability for out-of-home care; and adding 20 new positions across this province to support the management, inspection and oversight of out-of-home care for children and youth.

Speaker, every child and youth deserves a fair start and position in life, and our government is delivering on that. We hit the ground running by:

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

—increasing the numbers of inspections;

—increasing access to customary care, which helps children and youth remain connected to their culture and traditions—and this is very important. As somebody who worked within the child protection act, having that child touchstone with their community and their culture gives them the essence of the child and helps them really be a positive person for the future;

—bolstering family-based options like kinship and foster care to ensure children and youth and families have a voice and decisions about their care;

—improving the quality of child welfare data, as well as developing an outcomes-based performance measurement framework; and

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

Speaker, we have backed this important work with significant investments of more than $1.5 billion in the child welfare system. This investment supports Ontario’s 50 independent children’s aid societies, including 13 Indigenous children’s aid societies.

Since announcing the child welfare redesign in 2020, we’ve made several changes and investments to better support children, youth and families receiving child welfare services.

We have invested almost $3 million to help support kinship service and customary caregivers, adoptive parents, and caregivers who have obtained legal custody of a child in extended society care. I can’t stress the importance of kinship—I worked in that area, and I know the value of that work and putting the child in the right place.

We have annualized $800,000 in funding to One Vision One Voice, which supports culturally appropriate service delivery for Black and African Canadian children, youth and families in the child welfare system.

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

We are providing $5 million in annualized funding to enhance access to prevention-focused customary care for Indigenous children and youth, helping them remain closer to their homes, families and communities.

And we launched and invested $170 million in the Ready, Set, Go program which provides youth in the care of children’s aid societies and other eligible youth with the life skills they need, starting at age 13. This includes financial and other supports to those aged 18 to 23 so that they can focus on post-secondary education, skilled trades, or pursuing employment.

I’m so proud to add that youth and child welfare first-voice advocates were important contributors to the design of Ready, Set, Go and the new youth-leaving-care policy.

Aside from these investments, we’ve directed children’s aid societies to end the practice of using birth alerts, which we heard disproportionately affected Indigenous and racialized expectant parents and families.

As Associate Minister Williams outlined, we continue to work with Indigenous communities that are pursuing Indigenous-led models of child and family services.

Speaker, I believe all of this is a strong record of achievement, and the passage of Bill 188 would continue our efforts to improve the child and youth services sector.

Thank you to all the children and youth with lived experience—so important—families, children’s aid societies, service providers, as well as First Nations, Inuit, Métis and urban Indigenous communities, who have taken the time to share their insights with us through various engagements. Your input is vital to the success of our government’s work.

The Supporting Children’s Futures Act, 2024, would, if passed, modernize and standardize important safeguards throughout the child and youth services sector. We are proposing changes that would provide new and enhanced enforcement tools. These changes would support better 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. In addition, these changes would hold service providers more accountable for the care they deliver. The proposed changes include amending the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, to strengthen ministry oversight, enforcement and licensing; mandating children’s aid societies to provide information about health and safety risks to the ministry’s licensing and enforcement staff; and enhancing information-sharing between stakeholders and the ministry’s licensing and enforcement staff.

These changes would help children and youth in three important ways.

First, they would supplement current ministry compliance and enforcement tools by enhancing the ministry’s progressive oversight model. This would better enable the ministry to choose and use the right tools to respond to instances of non-compliance. The proposed new tools include compliance orders, restraining orders, orders requiring management, orders for the return of funds, and notices of administrative penalties. In addition, we’re proposing enhancements to existing powers, including powers to refuse issuing, renewing or revoking a licence.

Second, these changes would enhance program administration and delivery by enhancing criteria to obtain a first licence, strengthening ministry staff’s oversight and enforcement powers, clarifying regulatory and administrative processes, and improving transparency and information-sharing.

And third, these changes supported by recent complementary regulatory amendments would enhance oversight of children in care by children’s aid societies by requiring societies to visit each child placed in out-of-home care more frequently and enhancing information-sharing and service coordination between societies.

We are proposing changes under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act that would restrict access to the records of individuals involved with the child welfare system, in certain circumstances, once regulations are developed. These changes aim to better protect the privacy of individuals who were formerly children or youth involved with the child welfare system. They would also enable individuals to speak freely—which is so important—about their lived experiences which would give them more say and control over what they want to share publicly about their time in the child welfare system in circumstances that would be prescribed at a later date.

Speaker, our government is working so very hard to ensure that individuals involved with the child and youth services sector receive high-quality care from service providers—care that supports their health, their safety and their ability to reach their full potential. We’re working to help ensure that all children and youth have access to the resources and supports they need to succeed and thrive.

I would like to just briefly provide a little bit of context for all of the wins that we’ve had in this, because this has been a positive time for the ministry. I’d like to share some important feedback that we’ve received.

From Valerie McMurtry, president and CEO of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada:

“We commend the Ontario government for their work to increase clarity regarding the care of young people placed in out-of-home-settings through the Supporting Children’s Futures Act.... Our collective priority should be to ensure that young people remain in the care of their families and communities. However, when this isn’t feasible, it’s critical that young people have access to the high-quality supports they need, including understanding their rights and assistance available to them through” the “Ombudsman. We value the government’s commitment to making sure young people receive this information and ensuring their voices stay central in shaping this act and next steps with respect to child welfare redesign.”

Madam Speaker, it is so clearly apparent to me, as somebody who worked within the child protection act, that these proposed changes are a result of extensive and continuous consultation with so many valued stakeholders. Now that we’ve arrived at third reading, I owe it to our stakeholders and people across our great province, and in particular to the children and youths’ families, who will ultimately benefit from the proposals in this bill, to take the next steps and pass this bill.

I want to thank everyone in the House for listening to my statement, and I truly appreciate all of my colleagues within the ministry for their support on this bill.

I want to thank the minister for this initiative. I know that our plan to redesign child welfare began in 2020 and has taken action through many initiatives since then. Particularly we are looking at Ready, Set, Go, which has ensured for the first time that Ontario has a plan to support children and youth in care as they near adulthood and set them up for success.

Speaker, we’ve all heard many times that society has no greater responsibility than to those who are vulnerable and to our youth when they are not ready to look after themselves. So I do want to ask: Could the minister speak to how Bill 188 complements and builds on the work done by the child welfare redesign? Please and thank you.

It is now time for questions.

It is always a pleasure to be able to stand in my place as the official opposition critic for children, community and social services and to be able to lay out a few questions to the minister regarding the bill, as we’re now in third reading.

Through the committee process, we had several people who provided written submissions, who came and testified, who spoke to us, ensuring that their voices were heard and that their comments were heard. We heard from the Ombudsman, who had several requests and even provided the language of what the amendments could be for making Bill 188 better. Some of it was making sure that there was contact info provided in and out; digital; appropriate language; speaking to young people in their own terms—the government refused those amendments.

Could the minister please tell us why—

Signing a consent form is nothing new. That could have been put into place, but again, the government turned that down. Why did the government continue to once again turn down an independent officer of the Legislature?

I wanted to ask a question: In the debate on Bill 188, we heard how the staff at the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services has consulted widely to develop the proposals found in the Supporting Children’s Future Act. That consultation, I understand, was broad and included over 30 virtual engagements with various stakeholder groups, including youth with experience in the sector, and that included engaging stakeholders through the Ontario Regulatory Registry as well. And the ministry, I understand, received something like 35 written submissions to proposed changes.

I just wanted to ask the minister, because he is here: Why is that engagement so important? And will the minister continue to engage toward the goals of this bill and our child welfare redesign?

Further questions?

Third reading debate deemed adjourned.

Unfortunately, our Premier’s obsession with booze continues. We now have the billion-dollar booze boondoggle. We learned that the Premier is using tax dollars, up to a billion dollars, to break a contract early so that folks can get easy access to beer at convenience stores.

While parents struggle to cover child care costs and seniors search in vain for a family doctor, why does it make any sense for this government to hand out hundreds of millions to big breweries and discounts to mega-rich grocery store billionaires? They should be funding our public services instead. Lining the pockets of massive corporations should be at the very bottom of this government’s priority list. How does getting access to easy beer help a parent who can’t afford daycare for their kid? What’s the point of grabbing a six-pack easily if you’re stuck waiting for years to get a family doctor?

A government is supposed to focus on ensuring quality public education, child care, health care and ensuring citizens live with dignity. Why is this Premier prioritizing beer sales over any of our other crises? The health care crisis, the housing crisis, affordability crisis—people can’t afford baby formula in this province.

Really, Ontario deserves better than politicians who throw away our tax dollars on handouts to mega-corps when families’ basic needs remain unmet. It’s long past time that this government got their priorities straight, and I say no more corporate giveaways until the basic needs of all Ontarians are met.

It’s a privilege to rise today and recognize our government’s recent investment of more than $2.7 million over three years to launch the Superior North Specialized Treatment and Alternative Responders program in Thunder Bay. This innovative new mobile crisis response pilot program is a behavioural health-first response approach to specialized mental health and addictions care in our community, diverting visits to the emergency department and reducing unnecessary police involvement.

With the three-year pilot funding model, our government has once again recognized the value of resilient funding structures. It has been an honour to work closely with chief Shane Muir and superintendent of community paramedicine Andrew Cuglietta of Superior North EMS throughout the proposal process. Because of the work that the EMS leadership, their team and community partners have committed to day after day, chief Shane and superintendent Andrew were well-positioned to submit a purposeful, credible proposal in a very short time frame.

On behalf of our community, we would like to thank Associate Minister Tibollo, his team and Minister Sylvia Jones for their invaluable support in making this crucial service a reality. Speaker, I take this opportunity to also recognize the tremendous work that has already been advanced locally and regionally through existing partnerships and networks that embrace a whole-of-community approach to our collective safety and well-being. We are working together for all our people.

June 7 will mark the end of an era in nursing. The Mack school of nursing alumni association is closing with a 150-year history of advancing their profession in Niagara and beyond. Originally inspired by the techniques of Florence Nightingale, Mack nurses pioneered nursing standards that transcended the St. Catharines-based school itself.

During the school’s operation from 1874 to 1974, the Mack name was well known. When the school itself closed, Canada’s oldest alumni association decided to give back to their profession in a meaningful way. In partnership with Brock University and Niagara College, the nursing alumni started a scholarship fund to help aspiring nurses pay their tuitions. The money came from the alumni’s own membership fees and donations that they collected personally.

With the closure of the alumni association this year, Brock and Niagara College have agreed to enshrine the Mack name and offer their scholarship under the original title on an ongoing basis. As a former Niagara hospital worker, it fills my heart to see Mack nursing’s legacy carried on. At a time when we need nurses more than ever, they have helped the next generation to get their start. My sincere thanks to the Mack Alumni Association for 150 years of dedication to nursing. It is advocates like you who bring the term “health care heroes” to life.

Last week, I had the privilege of joining several of my colleagues in representing our Ontario provincial government at the Ontario-Quebec Parliamentary Association 28th general assembly in Quebec. The theme of this year’s meeting was artificial intelligence.

Les objectifs de l’association sont de favoriser le développement de la coopération interparlementaire; de promouvoir la compréhension entre les deux Assemblées, en particulier dans les domaines de la législation, de la culture, de l’économie, de la science et de la technologie; et de renforcer notre amitié, la bonne volonté et la compréhension entre les peuples de l’Ontario et du Québec.

The topic of AI was timely, given the cross-partisan agreement moving my private member’s motion on the use of AI in government forward. Additionally, this week we had the second reading of Bill 194, Strengthening Cyber Security and Building Trust in the Public Sector Act, 2024. Artificial intelligence is already being used in many sectors. It was an interesting visit to the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec to see how AI has been incorporated into the art-piece-viewing experience. It was a wonderful experience in Quebec; look forward to next year.

There are more than 1.5 million Canadians who trace their origins to Italy, with most living here in Ontario. In fact, their contributions here and across the world stage are so numerous, we have dedicated June as Italian Heritage Month in Ontario.

Speaker, the Italian Canadian community is known and respected for their values and traditions of hard work, ingenuity and dedication to family life in their community. And, of course, Italians have a deep and proud history to draw upon, filling the shelves of libraries around the world. Their ancestors had an empire that spanned Europe and beyond, and their legacy has had a profound impact on all of humanity. Countless great Italian figures have shaped Western philosophy, law, culture, faith, science and so much more. To this very day, Italians continue to be a name on the world stage in science, engineering, sports, cuisine, fashion and much more.

Today in Ontario, there are almost one million Ontarians of Italian descent—Italian immigrants and their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren who literally built so much of the province with their own hands, minds and hearts. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Italian Ontarians, and it is a real honour to recognize their great culture and identity today with all of you.

Happy Italian Heritage Month.

You know what are facts, Madam Speaker? Let me actually talk about facts, okay? The facts are, Madam Speaker, that we have increased funding—I just mentioned that: $170 million over three years to support children and youth. Maybe that’s not important to the opposition; it is to us.

We want to make sure every child, every youth is set up for success, which is why we backed that up by investment. We wanted that support to start as early as 13 all the way up to their 23rd birthday with incentive and support so they can get post-secondary education, they can be connected to the trades, whatever it is they want to explore, because we want to make sure every child and youth in this province is set up for success.

Whether you’re in care or not, your circumstances matter. We’ll keep fighting for you to make sure you have a chance to succeed in your community.

The children’s aid societies ran a $15.9-million deficit last year; this year, they’re forecasting a $50-million deficit. That, to me, is not protecting our most vulnerable children. How could you possibly expect the children’s aid societies to really be able to care for kids, keep kids home with their families where they want to be, if you are underfunding them and providing them one-time funding instead of consistent funding to ensure that they have a forecast and that they are able to properly take care of our most vulnerable children?

A $15.9-million deficit, Minister; a $50-million projected. It kind of counts. It’s facts.

Recently, I was proud to announce that five organizations in Mississauga–Lakeshore have received $310,000 in funding through the Experience Ontario program. That includes $55,000 for monstrARTity for the Bollywood Monster Mashup in July, the largest South Asian festival in Canada; and another $55,000 for the Canadian Community Arts Initiative for their 19th annual Mosaic Festival in August, the largest free South Asian art festival in North America. It includes $125,000 to XL Lifestyle for the Taco Fest in August, the best Mexican festival in the GTA; $55,000 for CreativeHub 1352, formerly known as the Small Arms Society, for the Mississauga Festival of Trees, an annual winter arts and cultural festival in the Small Arms Inspection Building in December; and lastly, $20,000 for Mississauga Italfest.

I also want to invite all members to join us at my own annual Italian Heritage Month event at the Small Arms Inspection Building on June 13 at 6 p.m.

Speaker, I want to thank the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport for these grants, and I want to thank these organizations for all the important work they’re doing to enrich the lives of the people of Mississauga and to build stronger communities and a better Ontario. On behalf of all the members, we appreciate everything you do. Thank you.