Thank you. This will be the second time that I rise and speak to support Bill 99, Garrett’s Legacy Act. This legislation is aimed at ensuring the safety of our children as they play on or play around soccer fields across this fine province of Ontario. More than any of that, however, it is legislation that is built on the foundations and principles of learning from a tragedy.

Enduring the pain and loss of the kind that was endured by the Mills family is heartbreaking, and while this bill will never make whole their loss, it does make sure that we endeavour to do what is right—ensuring that we do everything in our power to make sure it will not happen again.

My condolences again go out to the Mills family, out to their community—and a reminder that making amateur sport safe, and the fields and arenas that they play on, must be a primary concern for this province.

This bill is named in honour of Garrett Mills, a young man whose life was tragically cut short due to the lack of safety measures for movable soccer goals. His story is a poignant remainder of the responsibilities we bear as legislators to protect the youth of our communities. During the second reading of this bill, I highlighted the profound impact of Garrett’s story on the community and the necessities for robust safety measures. Many members of this House shared their heartfelt support for the bill and recognized the importance of preventing future tragedies. We also heard from representatives of all parties who stood together in support, sharing a commitment to enhancing safety in sports.

I’ve always been a firm believer that only together are we able to accomplish the public good. As myself and others have walked across the aisle to accomplish positives for our communities, I am glad to see we are doing something here for sports safety. Today, I recognize it is a small step. For some, it will feel large—the largest mountains.

While I risk sounding too proverbial or using a platitude that will not sound genuine, if passing this bill makes certain that we save even one life, then it’s well worth all of our efforts in this House.

When I saw the news break originally about Garrett Mills, a young teenager from Napanee, what stood out to me was his energy. In 2017, that life of promise was heartbreakingly cut short when an unsecured soccer goalpost fell on him. He was doing chin-ups on the soccer goalpost—the type of activity that my own children have done countless times at our own soccer fields throughout the city of St. Catharines.

My thoughts and prayers go out to any family who experiences this tragedy—and in this case, especially his father, Dave Mills, known to many as Buzz Collins—are beyond words.

This bill, Garrett’s Legacy Act, is born out of a father’s loss of a son, but also the commitment to prevent any other family from facing such a loss. Garrett’s Legacy Act is more than just a bill; it is a father fulfilling his son’s request to leave a legacy, and it is about a family ensuring that the loss of their loved one was not in vain.

Speaker, as we engage in this debate, let us not lose sight of the family and their motivation behind this legislation. It is a tribute. It is a tribute to a young boy who should have been playing, laughing and continuing to grow up. Let Garrett’s memory inspire us to pass this bill, ensuring that his legacy is one of protection, care and enduring love for all of our children.

The journey to pass this bill has not been without setbacks. I know this is not the first time it has been tabled, and its timeline is longer than I think has been intended, but, together, collectively, we can move it through the process to having it be fully passed today within this House.

Garrett’s Legacy Act has specific requirements for organizations and entities that provide movable soccer goals for public use. These include ensuring that goals are located on level surfaces, securing goals in accordance with prescribed regulations, and meeting any additional prescribed safety requirements. The bill also empowers the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport to appoint inspectors to ensure compliance and to establish a mechanism for the public to report non-compliance.

The bill’s main provision, which is to establish safety standards for movable soccer goals, is a reasonable step towards the goal of child safety. This is not an overly restrictive measure, nor does it impose burdensome regulations on sporting organizations. Rather, it asks us to take responsible and reasonable precautions to prevent avoidable accidents in the province of Ontario.

There are those who may argue that the measures proposed in this bill could present challenges to small sporting organizations. It is a fair concern, but cost does not always have to lead to a stalled process—that is well needed. While responsibility and accountability are the cornerstones of good governance, this bill encourages responsibility, not just at the governmental level, but also within our community organizations. It asks everyone to play their part in safeguarding our children.

Speaker, the cost of action of keeping sport safe is an important one. What we are proposing here cannot be simply symbolic, nor can it be a responsibility shifted onto local recreation groups without any resources to follow through. The former measure does not do this bill justice, and the latter one is just passing the buck. That is why this is vital. It is vital—I cannot overstate this piece—to make sure that the government will be required to do their proper due diligence with amateur and sport non-profits across the province that maintain these facilities, to ensure there’s no undue cost.

While I recognize that the member opposite who’s proposing this legislation cannot include funding to this type of legislation, I will publicly muse that it might be reasonable for the ministry to commit to community consultation and consider a type of reserve or additional measures or funding to offset any costs so that organizations can meet any new protocols.

While there is no space for amendments at this point, I will continue to work with and advocate to the ministry in my role as critic for sports in Ontario, to ensure that there are solutions for safe sport. In this case, it could mean an additional pot of money granted to all municipalities across Ontario, ensuring that soccer fields and goalposts across Ontario will be modernized in the way we are talking about right here. Without steps like these, then we are providing obligations without the seriousness of ensuring the goals of this legislation can be completed.

This cannot be political. It must be practical. In this case, not only does the province hold the decision-making on regulations, but we also hold the purse strings to ensure it’s done right the first time. So it is my hope that it is done right.

Rules are only as strong as they are used and enforced. If this chamber and, ultimately, the House moves forward to codify this bill into law, then we should be mindful of ensuring that, down the road, the ministry evaluates resources to ensure compliance. The ministry must check in with our sports stakeholders across the province, the actors who are doing the work—and they’re often volunteers—of youth sports.

The experience of children and youth sport in Ontario is a core part of being Canadian. The benefits of sport are well-documented, from providing a baseline for a habit for a lifelong healthy lifestyle, to promoting physical development, to teaching life skills such as teamwork, discipline and resilience. Sports serve as a platform for our children and youth to learn about co-operation, leadership and the importance of setting and achieving goals.

I myself have been a youth coach. I have coached softball, soccer and hockey in the Merritton Athletic Association. I know that beyond the personal growth opportunities, youth sports play a critical role in our community-building. They create bonds among children, families and community members, fostering a sense of unity and belonging. Youth sport is where my family grew our friendships—some of our best friends, actually; ones that last to this day. They provide a safe, constructive environment for children to engage with their peers, thereby promoting social inclusion and diversity.

Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, I was a former coach of youth sports. This brings me to St. Catharines, a community that is passionate about its youth sports, and home to countless soccer fields, where thousands of children play, grow and foster a love for the beautiful game, the beautiful sport of soccer. Sports are to be enjoyed.

We have great sporting leagues in my riding: the St. Catharines Jets soccer club; the Garden City United soccer club; the St. Catharines Minor Baseball Association; the Kiwanis aquatic club; St. Catharines rowing, where we’re going to be hosting the world championships; St. Catharines Falcons hockey—and I basically need to stop there, or I’ll take up all the remaining time. These are great local organizations in my backyard of St. Catharines.

All of us here in the Legislature represent great communities with similar leagues. We owe it to them to make sure we do all we can do to keep the children safe and make sure that their playing fields are as safe as we need them to be.

It is my hope that the ministry will follow up with consultation with the community and the volunteer and amateur sporting organizations to ensure that any measures enacted today will be met with the equally weighted support of Ontario, to ensure costs are offset and goals can be reached.

I will be supporting this bill, my colleagues will be supporting this bill, with the understanding that it’s not just about movable soccer goalposts, but about the legacy we leave behind for our children, about the safe and vibrant sporting culture we want for them.

I would like to again say my condolences to the Garrett family.

I think that we need to leave behind, for our children, safe playing fields and the vibrant sporting culture we want for them.

Also, let us remember Garrett; let us remember any other child who has been injured and given their life on an unsafe playing field. Let us honour his family’s advocacy today, and let his legacy be one of safety, care and love for the sport that all of Ontario should be able to play.

Today, I have the honour to speak to Bill 99, Garrett’s Legacy Act, An Act to provide for safety measures respecting movable soccer goals.

Legacies are powerful. They are passed on and have a long-lasting impact, imparting wisdom and action.

Today, we call for action. We call for the sort of action that would prevent injury for children and for people of all ages.

It’s common in the warmer months for people to spend time outdoors in local parks. Sometimes it’s just to relax and enjoy the weather; other times it’s to work out, spend time with friends or play a sport like football, baseball or soccer.

One thing we don’t really think about is the safety of the soccer goals found in a lot of our local parks, schools and sports fields. Many people don’t realize that not all soccer goals are anchored to the ground, and they don’t recognize the danger when they hang off the crossbar to do a pull-up, a chin-up, or even just a stretch. Improperly secured soccer goals present a serious threat to athletes, to children and to anyone using them or around them.

Sadly, we’ve all heard of incidents across the country of goalposts collapsing and falling on unsuspecting children, youths, adults, that have resulted in fatal injuries. These accidents are preventable and wouldn’t have happened if the goalposts were secured down. One life lost to a preventable accident is one too many, but the fact is, there have been over 50 lives lost since the 1950s to these kinds of incidents. That number is far too high for us to ignore.

There are solutions we can action. Similar to the Movable Soccer Goal Safety Act implemented in the Yukon, we too can ensure that goalposts are anchored down, and have inspections to make sure the equipment is safely secured.

In the Yukon, owners of movable nets for public use are now required to inspect their goals twice annually: once at the beginning of each soccer season and at another time during the year. They’re also required to keep records of the goals’ condition.

The Yukon and many states in the USA recognized that there needed to be laws surrounding the use of movable goalposts.

For example, in the state of Illinois, Zach’s Law requires all movable soccer goals manufactured and sold in the state of Illinois to be tip-resistant. It also requires organizations that own and control a movable soccer goal to create a safety plan and an education policy that outlines how the organization will specifically address the safety issues associated with movable soccer goals.

These changes in how equipment is installed will prevent injuries and fatalities, and enhance safety.

Garrett’s Legacy Act aims to protect the lives of people around movable soccer goals. The bill states that organizations or entities that make a movable soccer goal available for use by a member of the public shall ensure that the goal is located on a level surface, securely anchored in accordance with the regulations, and meet any educational training or other requirements that may be prescribed. The bill aims to allow for regulations and mandates for safe usage of movable goalposts and allows the minister to establish an avenue to report non-compliance with the act. Non-compliance would also result in fines for first-time and repeat offenders.

This bill is a step in the right direction in safeguarding children and the public while playing soccer, sports, or even spending time in the vicinity of goalposts.

Sport is an excellent way for children and youth to learn to play together and to work as a team to achieve a common goal.

Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, and the unfortunate incidences that have caused tragedies in communities are preventable and can be avoided.

Garrett’s Legacy Act, if passed, will require organizations to ensure that any movable goalposts are secured safely so that tragic accidents like Garrett’s never happen again. Tragedies like this are preventable, and we hope to implement solutions that will save lives.

Speaker, the safety of children and everyone in Ontario is a priority for our government.

Thank you to my colleague the MPP for Hastings–Lennox and Addington for bringing Garrett’s Legacy Act forward and for the opportunity to speak to the bill. And thank you to Garrett’s parents and family for your continued advocacy. Together, we can prevent these types of tragedies from happening.

I’d like to welcome a constituent, Robert Palm, who is here. He saw the unanimous passing, third reading, of Garrett’s Legacy Act, which is also a tribute to his daughter, Jaime Palm.