Yesterday, there was an incredible announcement with the Minister of Transportation, and I was there. One thing we’re doing, in sending a message for people who think it’s okay to steal cars, is, we’re going to keep your licence suspended—you do it once, it’s 10 years; you do it twice, it’s 25 years; you do it three times, you’re gone, there’s no way of getting it back.

When it comes to fighting auto theft and understanding how serious it is, when it comes to understanding that there has never been a government that has taken public safety more seriously—to work with stakeholders, to work with the auto manufacturers, to work with police services—it is this government that’s standing up for public safety every day.

I want to thank my friend from Thornhill for that question.

I want to thank Chief Jim MacSween and the amazing people at the York Regional Police service who keep York region safe every day.

It’s undeniable; as much as this government is doing everything we can to graduate more people at the Ontario Police College to fight auto theft—because we’re in a crisis with people stealing our cars—to get those violent and repeat offenders off our streets, we have a carbon tax that’s affecting public safety.

Chief Jim MacSween will say that to fill up every car at YRP costs a lot of money. That money could put more boots on the ground—and Bonnie Crombie knows this, the Liberal Party knows this. It’s time they do the right thing, call their friends in Ottawa and say, “It’s affecting the public safety of Ontario. Scrap the tax.”

It’s one thing that the proxies for the Liberals and the NDP try to sink the police service budget in Toronto, in Ottawa, in Hamilton and in London—it’s unbelievable. They knew that in addition to trying to sink the budget, they were affecting public safety.

What makes matters worse is that Bonnie Crombie served on the board of the Peel police service. She knew the budget. She knew it’s undeniable that the carbon tax is affecting every fill-up of a vehicle to keep Peel safe. Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? In spite of that, she will not come clean with Ontarians and say, “I know this. It’s affecting public safety. I will do something about it, and I’ll tell the people I’m against it.” She’s in favour of it, and everyone knows it.

We will do everything we can to fight auto theft, Mr. Speaker, and I’ll tell you why: because we have a right to live safe in our own homes and communities and not be subject to people who think they can knock down our doors and demand our keys. It’s completely unacceptable, and we’re not going to stand for it.

Deferred vote on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 184, An Act to amend the Metrolinx Act, 2006, the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act and the Shortline Railways Act, 1995 with respect to transportation / Projet de loi 184, Loi visant à modifier la Loi de 2006 sur Metrolinx, la Loi sur l’aménagement des voies publiques et des transports en commun et la Loi de 1995 sur les chemins de fer d’intérêt local en ce qui concerne les transports.

I want to thank my friend for that serious question.

I’ve said this before. The unnecessary carbon tax has an impact on public safety. When police services, when animal welfare departments, when other departments within governments and across Ontario have to spend money for the carbon tax, it means that they are diverting resources that they could use to keep our communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, let me be specific about our great firefighters. These are amazing people. All we ask of them is that they come home safe at the end of the day to their families. The 21 cents a litre for diesel is affecting every fill-up. It means that $60 of a fill-up on a fire truck, on average, is just for the carbon tax—on average, $8,000 a year. Do the math all across Ontario.

Bonnie Crombie was the mayor of Mississauga. She knew the fire department budget in Mississauga. She should do the right thing and be honest with Ontarians.

I said this last week: Bonnie Crombie sat on the Peel Police Service Board. She knew the numbers. It’s a fact that Peel police have to pay the carbon tax on their vehicles, just like everywhere in Ontario. Let her come clean and say she knows this, and that she’ll call her friends Justin and Jagmeet and say, “This is punitive to public safety. Cancel that tax.”

I want to again thank the member opposite. The carbon tax, which most people don’t understand, affects public safety. Ontarians have demanded that they have a right to feel safe in their communities, and this government, under Premier Ford, has made it a priority. But when we have, as an example, the OPP spending over $4 million a year, unnecessarily, to pay the federal carbon tax, do the math on how many extra officers, boots on the ground, they could have.

Just this morning, I was in Peel, together with our great member for Mississauga—Malton. We were at the Auto Theft Summit. The chiefs told us that every cent is precious to fighting crime, to getting those violent and repeat offenders off our streets.

The carbon tax doesn’t help at all; it hurts. The Liberals can do something right away: They can call their leader, who can call the Prime Minister and say—

Madam Speaker, so many communities, so many students are watching us here today, and they’re going to watch for the passing of this bill. They’re going to watch to see where parties stand, and I want to go back and ask the member opposite, how important is it that all parties in this Legislature stand up against hate on campus, vote for this bill and send a message of reassurance to the students studying in Ontario that you have a safe place to study?

When people are being confronted by having their doors kicked in and their cars stolen, when people are being confronted by violent and repeat offenders on our streets, we need more boots on the ground as soon as possible.

When we look at what the carbon tax is doing for police service budgets—the OPP alone has spent almost $4 million on carbon tax; $4 million could have put 40 new boots on the ground, and that’s just the OPP. When I look around this chamber and I think of the First Nations police services and the other municipal police services across the province, how many more boots on the ground could we have?

The carbon tax is regressive. It hits us everywhere. It’s hitting us on public safety. The Liberals across the way can do the right thing. Pick up the phone, tell them, “Pause the tax. It is affecting our public safety.”

I want to thank the member opposite. Let me be clear: There is no excuse for violent crimes. There is no excuse for intimate partner violence. We take this matter very, very seriously. As I said prior, we are engaging all partners to act, and we’re doing so with a very broad lens. That’s why we have invested over $55 million in various grants, including supporting 45 victim services grants to help communities throughout Ontario. We will also hold offenders accountable. And we are taking further action at the Ontario Police College by having mandatory training for our cadets there to learn about intimate partner violence.

At the end of the day, intimate partner violence is completely unacceptable.

Our thoughts are with the families in Sault Ste. Marie for this heinous crime that was committed on them. It is undeniably tragic.

Mr. Speaker, $55 million is being invested in programs that will have tangible benefits. Training at the Ontario Police College will have tangible benefits. Supporting 45 projects through victim services grants will have tangible benefits. Holding the people to account will.

Tous ont le droit de se sentir en sécurité chez eux et dans leurs collectivités. Et, monsieur le Président, rien pour moi n’est plus important que la sécurité de notre province.

Madam Speaker, we can’t start at the end of the story; we have to start at the beginning.

Let me tell you what finds me here, privileged to be one of less than 2,000 people ever elected since Confederation to serve in the Ontario Legislature.

I believe we can all make an impactful change to our province for the better by bringing the best of ourselves, by seeing beyond the impediments and the biases and the intolerances and bringing hopes and dreams to life.

Better begins when everyone feels like they belong and they have a chance to thrive. And yet, at the same time, I am mindful of who I am and where I stand and how I stand in my Ontario—but also a proud member of our Jewish community. I’m reminded of how my family on both sides—my mother’s and my father’s side—came to Ontario, and a little bit later I’ll tell you why that is relevant today. I’ll tell you why hate has no place here, and I’ll tell you why hate is toxic to our democracy.

Today, I speak about a serious matter: of understanding how our words and actions have impact and, from that impact, consequences on those around us. I’ll speak to the values that are inherently ours. I’ll speak to the fears of a grieving community here in Canada, around the world and especially in Israel, and why I support the motion we’re debating today. I’ll talk about why this place is so important—and if these halls of democracy could talk, what would they say now?

To begin, I want to take people on a journey with you, Madam Speaker, and I want to speak about my definition of the sign of a leader. Leaders are those who dedicate the whole of their spirit for a cause greater than themselves—and we do not know when that time will come and under what circumstance will trigger the time for someone to become a leader. The sign of a hero is those who fight for others when they see and when they know it’s right, and when they understand good over evil, no matter the cost and no matter the odds. A leader stands by your side always.

One person stands out for me today, and that’s my Premier, Premier Doug Ford. He reminds me of what Prime Minister Harper spoke of to the Israeli Parliament about 10 years ago, finding himself, at that time, becoming one of Canada’s greatest statesmen. Let’s remember what a leader is: a person with undisputable character and courage, who’s never afraid to say things others don’t want to hear. Now I understand Prime Minister Harper as he said:

“Now ... in the world of diplomacy, with one ... Jewish state and scores of others” who are against it, “it is all too easy ‘to go along to get along’ and single out Israel.

“But such ‘going along to get along,’ is not a ‘balanced’ approach, nor a ‘sophisticated’ one; it is, quite simply, weak and wrong.”

He went on to say, “Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, we live in a world where that kind of moral relativism runs rampant.

“And in the garden of such moral relativism, the seeds of much more sinister notions can be easily planted.

“And so we have witnessed, in recent years, the mutation of the old disease of anti-Semitism and” recently “the emergence of a new strain.

“We all know about the old anti-Semitism.”

That’s why, this past Tuesday, just two days ago, I quoted the words of the late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, and I’ll say it again: “The hate that begins with Jews never ends with Jews.” And we make a great mistake if we think anti-Semitism is only about Jews, because it’s not. It’s about anti-Semites; it’s about people who cannot accept responsibility for their own failures and instead have to blame someone else. That’s why I say, Madam Speaker, we have serious problems here to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. For those who do not want to solve problems, I’ll tell you what: They will make you afraid of it, and they will tell you who to blame for it.

As I’ve said many times, things matter. The founding principles of our democracy, of the best who we are, matter. The rule of law matters. The right to live safely in our communities matters. And the right to live free of hate matters. It matters a lot. Decency matters. Tolerance matters. Respect matters, and caring for every one of us, regardless of our faith and our culture, our religion, our individualities and exceptionalities, matters as well.

Many members who have served here for far many more years than I have have understood the spirit on both sides and the expectations of our behaviour both here and outside the Legislature, and that our conduct outside is as important as our conduct inside. For so many of us, together in this place, we’ve had moments of friendliness, and that’s a fact, but we’ve also had our disagreements. We could be affable and we could be stubborn, and there were times that I’ve witnessed that we were prepared to compromise, but we could also dig in our heels. And some of us, even from the other side, could offer fair counsel to each other, and other times we offered it to you. There were times when we exchanged strong words and we tried not to make it personal. I believe, Madam Speaker, that is the expectation that we have of each other in this place, and there is a line that we can’t cross. There is a line that is sacrosanct in the history and the tradition of this place that binds us one to another. Words matter, actions matter, and we must be accountable for what we say and do.

The record of the member in question speaks for itself. I wish it wasn’t true, but the facts are the facts. You can’t stand up at a BDS rally, which, by its own definition, is anti-Israel—there are no other words to describe it—to stand with movements like that on campuses—and it’s been well-documented. It’s etched into history. I wish it wasn’t the case.

It goes further. We can’t have people disrespecting our police and those who keep us safe. That hurts me to the core. And I know many of us, almost all of us, will always have the backs of everyone who keeps us safe.

Madame la Présidente, je voudrais remercier chaque personne et tous les premiers intervenants qui travaillent fort pour assurer la sécurité de notre province. And I said this, again, on Tuesday: La raison de leur service est pour faire une différence dans la vie des gens lorsqu’ils ne s’y attendent pas.

Well, why? Why do we have an obligation to make a difference in a person’s life every day? Because those are the expectations of civil behaviour.

This past summer, Madam Speaker, I was overwhelmed when I attended the 90th anniversary of the Christie Pits riots, steps from this Legislature. The Christie Pits riots were a dark period, a gross and repulsive example of the worst of anti-Semitism here in Toronto 90 years ago. I was there with our Minister of Education, the member from Eglinton–Lawrence and others, and for those who were there, they remember the meaningful words that were spoken.

I said that we have come a long way from what was once acceptable in the last number of hundred years. Slavery was once legal; it’s hard to believe. Discrimination against people for just how they worship was once acceptable. It was okay not to treat people the same if the colour of their skin was different, and that isn’t right.

For my family, this was a personal journey, because my grandfather Murray Penwick was born steps from this Legislature on a street that doesn’t exist today, called Agnes Street, at the turn of the last century. He was a Jew from a family, of course, that came from Eastern Europe. He worked hard and he wanted to go to university, but people knew around 1930, if not before, there were quotas. You couldn’t get into medical school. So he took the drastic step of changing his name to Penwick, which is a completely made-up name, something to this day I don’t understand, and he still couldn’t get into medical school, but he became, like many others, a pharmacist. Unfortunately, he did not live a long life, but he had a drugstore for many years; I still drive past the location at Vaughan Road and Cherrywood Avenue.

There were examples of anti-Semitism all through our lives. The Christie Pits riots were only one example, but there were others. Right after the Christie Pits riots, some of us remember that none was too many. When somebody asked a federal bureaucrat or minister at the time how many Jews from Eastern Europe, from wherever, can come here to seek refuge, they replied, “None is too many,” which was zero. We’ve come a long way.

I wanted to also acknowledge that out of the Christie Pits riots, we had a wonderful friendship that formed with the Italian community, and it is special to this day. That’s why it’s an honour to sit right behind my colleague Minister Stephen Lecce.

I want to acknowledge something else that has been amazingly special for me, and they’re here with us today: the leaders of the Philippine community of Toronto, who have expressed nothing but concern for the Jewish community, who have stood with us, who will always stand with us in good times and bad, and we will return the favour.

I have to tell you, Madam Speaker, that it’s not only our fundamental right we believe in to live safe in our own homes and communities, and the optimism we should always share, and the fact that we should live free of racism and discrimination. I observed the incredible rally just across the street at the campus of the University of Toronto just a couple of days ago. I observed it, because I couldn’t even get close, because the speech that was emanating from some people there was vile. You can’t hold a placard that says “From the River to the Sea” and not understand what that means. That means the destruction of the democratic State of Israel. It’s completely unacceptable.

I want to go back to say that I wish it wasn’t so. I wish the attack did not happen at the end of a wonderful occasion in the Jewish calendar, where we finish the reading of the Old Testament and then we start again. As we began to think about reading the first words of Genesis—its powerful words, the story of creation—Israel, and there were no other words to describe it, was the victim of a heinous terrorist attack. It was sadistic in every way. People were hunted down in their homes just because they were Jews—at bus stops, at music festivals—and in real time, the terrible rampage was broadcast live through the world. There were no words that anybody could come up with that would explain something that one could find acceptable to the acts of Hamas.

It was absolutely a tragedy—the largest since the Holocaust—and at the same time, the Jewish community has acknowledged the pain of so many that were innocent bystanders on the other side. As I said on Tuesday, it’s a documented fact that many people in Gaza are held hostage by Hamas, and that’s wrong; they deserve, also, to live safely as well.

When we see, even in the days—two days ago, Hamas had provided this misconceived notion that the hospital in Gaza City, which was subsequently confirmed by the Western world and by Israel that this was a missile gone rogue by a jihad or Hamas group—they immediately blamed Israel, and that’s completely unacceptable, and nobody will fall for that.

Let them open up the border with Egypt, so Canadians can leave safely and that emergency supplies can enter.

I have to say that the democratic State of Israel cannot be expected to be an angel when they are dealing with a devil. It is just not realistic. They need to have a way of getting the hostages back. They need to have safe borders. They need to have peace amongst those in the region.

As I said, just a couple of days ago, when the Premier spoke of this to over 15,000 people at Mel Lastman Square, he spoke of moral clarity. It’s about seeing the terrorist group Hamas for what they really are: unabashed, unapologetic, sick, megalomaniac terrorists. That’s what they are.

And that’s why any member of this House must be sensitive to each other and our feelings. We have to realize, as was said by other speakers, that when you walk in that door, you leave any biases that you have outside, so that you treat everybody exactly the way you yourself want to be treated. The best way, the only way we can show respect is by telling the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts, and maybe this is a lesson that we learn.

The leader across from Ottawa is right: We need to turn down the temperature here. That is a very fine statement. But we also need to call someone out if they’ve done something wrong, so that that person can learn.

Learning is okay, and I think this is an example of many communities, as I said on Tuesday, being part of a quilt, a microcosm of something amazing that represents Ontario. Everyone—the Muslim community, the Jewish community, the Filipino community, the Vietnamese community, the Chinese community, the Caribbean community and everyone who has walked through these halls—is part of a quilt. The responsibility is to each other that that quilt does not tear. This is something that we need to do.

And we will, as it was written, always choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. And that’s hard; I understand that. It’s hard for visible minorities to serve in this chamber on both sides of the House, to reaffirm their faith, and that is something that is hard. But we do it because this is a welcoming place for everyone. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m wearing my kippah, and I’m proud of that. That’s why people express their faith as to who they are. We must always be the conscience of this place of democracy and preserve the values we hold dear now and always. That’s why, Madam Speaker, I support this motion.

I’m delighted to welcome leaders in our Filipino community in York Centre: Teresa Torralba and her husband Ramon Torralba; retired Toronto police sergeant Philip Mendoza and his wife Maritonne; and a special welcome to Nathan Cortes, son of the Philippine undersecretary of foreign affairs Paul Cortes, who is a student right here at Toronto Metropolitan University. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.

I want to thank my colleague and wish her a very happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely correct; public safety must be the centre point of our attention, as urgent change is needed.

Two weeks ago, as members will remember, this House came together in voting for a motion to call on the federal government to implement meaningful bail reform. I can assure this House that our government is looking forward to working with our federal counterparts, including Minister Mendicino, and we are ready to assist in any way we can to see critical change and reform as soon as possible. This matter cannot wait, and this House sent a strong message that signalled with our unanimous vote.

Maintaining law and order is impossible without our police services. The men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line need our support, and we will always have their backs.

We know that the majority of those firearms were smuggled into Canada from the US and sold illegally—and this is not new. That’s why we’re calling for greater border protection.

As a result of Operation Moneypenny, some offenders were charged with failure to comply in the courts, and that’s why we need bail reform, as the member said.

Our message to the people of Ontario is simple: The safety of Ontarians is always our highest priority.

Thank you, Minister Fullerton.

Today is a day for Ontarians to stand up to deliver a powerful message that trafficking in all of its forms is a vicious and violent crime that must be brought to an end. Human trafficking can prey on anyone, and especially society’s most vulnerable. Tragically, this largely includes young girls, those trapped in poverty and Indigenous women.

It is our duty to act decisively and effectively to protect everyone from exploitation. As a government, as a provincial Parliament, we have a shared duty to protect our communities. We must continue to do what is hard to keep Ontario safe.

Monsieur le Président, nous devons continuer à faire ce qui est difficile : assurer la sécurité de l’Ontario.

Today is a day of reflection. Moreover, it’s a day of action.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General, the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services worked together to develop Ontario’s Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy. We are investing $307 million in this comprehensive strategy. It brings together community advocates, social services, health care providers, law enforcement, and justice partners. This is all with the shared goal of raising awareness, protecting victims, supporting survivors, and holding offenders accountable—a comprehensive strategy made stronger with the passing of the government’s Combating Human Trafficking Act, 2021. I want to recognize my predecessor, the Deputy Premier, for shepherding this important legislation through the House.

Speaking as the Solicitor General on behalf of law enforcement and the justice sector, Ontario has the range of tools needed to improve our ability to identify perpetrators, intercept human trafficking networks, and bring criminals to justice. We are making good use of these tools. This is particularly evident when you consider advancements in training, intelligence gathering, and community grants.

Well-trained police officers are critical to our government’s anti-trafficking strategy. Police officers must be trained in early-detection techniques, effective anti-trafficking investigations, prevention, and how to approach and support the victims.

The Ontario Police College, for example, has greatly enhanced its human trafficking investigation course. Participants there learn about various types of human trafficking, vulnerable groups, trafficker profiles, indicators and how the sex trade is intricately linked to sex trafficking.

I want to give a special mention to a wonderful advocate I’ve met: Timea Nagy. A survivor of human trafficking herself and founder of Timea’s Cause, she and a dedicated team of volunteers and professionals have worked hand in hand with Peel Regional Police to develop tailored, anti-human trafficking training for over 2,200 officers.

Mr. Speaker, traffickers may operate in the shadows, but they can’t operate without leaving footprints. Transportation, advertising, accommodations and other costs of doing business all leave a trail.

Intelligence gathering and the free flow of information between jurisdictions is critical to the success of closing down human trafficking rings and bringing criminals to justice. We have increased intelligence gathering and investigative capacity to identify, monitor and target human traffickers and support the victims. To this end, I want to recognize the dedicated agents of the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario, who I’ve had the chance to meet working with law enforcement across Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve talked about law enforcement response to end human trafficking. But our communities, schools and especially social media platforms are recruiting grounds for human traffickers. Cybercrime presents an additional threat that we must continue to combat—and to address this, our ministry is investing over $21 million over three years for this initiative. As a noteworthy example, this fall I joined the Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, the Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, and my own parliamentary assistant, the MPP for Etobicoke–Lakeshore—at that time, I announced our government’s latest investment, through the Safer and Vital Communities Grant. We’re funding partnerships between community organizations and local police services to develop resources, enhance outreach, and boost education, with the objective of preventing local residents from becoming victims.

Mr. Speaker, on this National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, I want to recognize all first responders, social workers, health and mental care professionals, and everyday citizens who help us take a stand against human trafficking and deliver support for its victims. These are incredible people who support their communities every day.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s a serious question.

As I’ve said many times in this House, everyone has a right to feel safe in their own homes and their own communities. The violence is completely unacceptable. Gender-based violence is a crime.

But we are moving forward. I want to speak for just a second about the Ontario Police College, where we are introducing new training for recruits. This is something our government takes seriously. Everyone has a right to be safe in their own homes and their own communities.