I will be splitting my time with the Attorney General, the member for Etobicoke–Lakeshore, the member from Sarnia–Lambton and the member from Simcoe–Grey.

It’s my pleasure to rise in the House today to open debate on Bill 102, the proposed Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023. Our government knows that a safe Ontario is a strong Ontario. With this legislation our government is taking action to keep Ontario safe today, tomorrow and for future generations. We’re providing those on the forefront of community safety with the legislative and administrative support they need to deliver the highest-quality services across the province.

I’ve said this before: Some things have to matter. The rule of law must matter and public safety must matter. That’s exactly what this bill is about. In my generation there has never been a government that has cared more about our public safety than our government, under the leadership of our Premier. Public safety will always be a top priority for this government. This week we’ve demonstrated that again. I want to thank the Premier for his leadership.

Just yesterday we joined leaders at the Toronto Police College to announce our government’s latest investment in our public safety. Our government is providing free tuition to new recruits completing basic constable training at the Ontario Police College. At the same time, we’re expanding future cohorts to train even more cadets and strengthen our police services across the province.

The future of public safety is bright. But that being said, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Ontarians and all Canadians are concerned by the violent crimes and the illegal use of firearms. Mr. Speaker, we’ll continue to partner with the federal government on these concerns and urge them to act within their areas of jurisdiction to secure our borders and safeguard our communities.

I’ve said this before in the House, as I’ve travelled—I’ve travelled with the member from Sarnia–Lambton right to the shores of the St. Clair River. I’ve travelled up in Thunder Bay. I’ve travelled to Sault Ste. Marie. I’ve travelled towards the Ottawa and eastern Ontario areas. I’ve seen the borders for myself. We need the federal government to act, and we will do so with co-operation.

Mr. Speaker, public safety will always be a top priority for Ontario and for this government, and we won’t wait and we won’t sit by. We are being proactive, purposeful and precise, taking clear action so we can target crime and keep our communities safe. This is why we’re taking firm action to improve safety by introducing this legislation that, if passed, would transform policing and community safety by:

—introducing amendments to the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, and bringing it into force;

—updating other critical pieces of public safety legislation like the PAWS Act and the Coroners Act; and

—supporting the modernization of the justice system.

I’ll spend a few minutes as I go forward and talk a little more in depth about it. There are many pieces to the proposed bill involving both the Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ministry of the Attorney General. The Attorney General will outline elements of this proposed legislation to modernize the justice system, such as freeing up court resources to deal with serious criminal and backlogged cases. I will focus my remarks—along with our amazing parliamentary assistants, the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore and the member from Sarnia–Lambton—on the law enforcement and community safety components of this bill. I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, they are not only amazing representatives to this House, but absolutely committed to keeping Ontarians safe.

Mr. Speaker, I’ve said in this House before that our most fundamental responsibility as elected representatives is to uphold the safety of our communities. With this debate on the legislation, all members of this House have the opportunity to honour the commitment that we made to the people of Ontario—and it’s so simple: keeping Ontario safe. I’ve said this in reply to questions in this House: We have an inherent right to live safely in our communities. And I’ll tell you why: because when we have a safe community, we have absolutely everything. We have a place to raise our children. We have a place to play at the park. We have a place to shop. We have a place to pray. Our communities are absolutely everything, and the safety of those communities is something that we can’t take for granted.

In order to keep Ontario safe, we count on the courageous people in our communities who choose to cross the line, who choose a career in public safety, who choose to put service over self. These are our police officers, our firefighters, our 911 call operators—they’re amazing—correctional officers, probation and parole officers, animal welfare inspectors and so many more. They are incredible people who keep us safe every day, and our government is proud of them.

Monsieur le Président, ce sont des gens formidables qui nous protègent au quotidien. Nous sommes fiers de soutenir tous ceux qui assurent la sécurité de l’Ontario, tous les jours.

Ontario owes so much to the front-line heroes who have dedicated their lives to keeping our communities safe. Let’s reflect on their work. I’m thinking of the police officers who are responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention, the firefighters who combat smoke and flame and respond to medical emergencies, animal welfare inspectors who investigate animals that are neglected or in distress and alleviate their suffering, and the coroners, unsung heroes of community safety, whose investigations into the unexpected, non-natural or unexplained deaths may prevent further deaths. This is just to name a few. Here in this House, we can make a difference, and in fact, our community heroes choose to have our backs.

For the people who have our backs each day, we must continue to have their backs as well. That’s what this legislation is all about, and that’s what this debate is about in the House today. To all who serve, our message is clear and simple: Your government, under Premier Ford, supports you now and always, 100%.

This legislation presents all of us, on all sides of the House, an opportunity to uphold our community safety, our most fundamental duty. We’re responsible for the legislative framework that enables our heroes to perform their jobs to the greatest ability. Sometimes these frameworks need updating, and to meet the changing expectations of the public, we close legislative gaps that have opened with the passage of time and we make operational improvements and drive modernization.

The goal of the proposed Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023, is to build safer communities by transforming policing and other community safety and justice legislation. First and foremost, Madam Speaker, we will introduce legislative amendments that, if passed, will support bringing the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, into force and deliver on our government’s promise for modernized policing legislation that enables efficient and accountable policing services to the public.

The Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019: Members know and will recall that this act that was passed in 2019 followed an extensive engagement with policing, community and Indigenous partners. Our government has led this modernization from the start, and it listened carefully to our public safety and community partners in the development and the implementation. The CSPA will be the main legislative platform for policing modernization in the province. It will replace the current Police Services Act—which, by the way, came into enactment in the early 1990s—and will make significant changes to Ontario’s legislative framework for policing. This will be accomplished through stronger governance and oversight of policing. Madam Speaker, it’s time.

The CSPA will also support culturally responsive and equitable policing in First Nations, and enable First Nations to opt in to the provincial legislative framework for policing for the very first time.

Since 2019, the Ministry of the Solicitor General has engaged in further stakeholder consultation and administrative, police and legal reviews of the statute, and identified the need for policy and technical refinements to the CSPA to support regulation development required to bring it into force. Key stakeholders and First Nations communities who have been heavily engaged in the development of the CSPA since 2019 are eager to bring this into force. They are also expecting an adequate window between the time we announce when the act will come into force and the date it actually comes into force. This will allow for a smoother transition.

We are entering the home stretch. As I’ve said, all around the province, we are entering the home stretch. We’re at the bottom of the ninth inning, and we want to see everything wrapped up, enacted, proclaimed as soon as possible. The amendments in the proposed Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act, 2023, are critical and operationally important to bring the CSPA into force and to create a policing framework that respects front-line officers, strengthens public confidence in police services and delivers quality and efficient policing and police oversight. The proposed statute amendments are essential to bringing the CSPA into force.

I want to talk a bit about the oversight and governance, because it is, again, not a complicated thing:

—adding one or more vice-chairs to the future Ontario police arbitration and adjudication commission, to improve the governance of that agency;

—adjusting the Ontario Provincial Police detachment board provisions to allow flexibility by enabling the minister to make certain regulations related to detachment boards;

—removing statutory requirements regarding the OPP governance advisory council to enable greater flexibility to better reflect the Solicitor General’s advisory needs in relation to the OPP policies; and

—requiring municipalities and the province to actively promote vacancies on police service boards to ensure police service boards are representative of the communities they serve, and this is very important.

I want to also talk about labour arbitration. We want to remove police services as a party to the arbitration regarding a police association’s duty to fairly represent its members, and we want to clarify the responsibilities for costs associated with municipal police service board disputes to align with the current arbitration practice.

I want to talk about police recognition and education. By expanding the issuing of a King’s Commission to municipal and First Nations officers—it’s about time—under the existing Police Services Act, the Lieutenant Governor in Council can be the only one to commission officers from the Ontario Provincial Police.

I want to clarify about the CSPA—this would include removing the CSPA provisions relating to the handling of personal information that are inconsistent with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and adding a regulation-making authority in the statute that requires rules relating to data integration to be set out in the regulation. Madam Speaker, while the primary driver of this proposed bill is to introduce legislative amendments that are important before we bring the CSPA into force, there are other amendments to the CSPA that, if passed, would modernize and improve the effectiveness of those statutes.

I want to talk briefly about the Provincial Animal Welfare Services—PAWS—Act. The PAWS Act came into force in 2020, and I recognize and acknowledge the member from Etobicoke–Lakeshore for her passion on this particular piece of legislation. I’m proud, we’re proud, our government is proud that we’ve implemented the most comprehensive animal welfare legislation anywhere cross Canada. Here, again, Ontario has led in some of the toughest penalties and fines for those who mistreat our animals.

As honourable members know animal welfare services operates within the Ministry of the Solicitor General and is responsible for enforcing the PAWS Act. The animal welfare services has its own chief animal welfare inspector and a clear governance and oversight framework. Government enforcement of the PAWS Act is working successfully, Madam Speaker. The proposed amendments are intended to address operational challenges which would strengthen compliance and improve operational efficiency.

I want to talk again briefly about the Coroners Act. The Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service have the authority to retain and store tissue samples and body fluids obtained during a post-mortem examination. The act identifies the type of specimens that can be stored and retained.

The discovery of the structure and function of DNA—which turned 70 this month—can tell us a lot. Madam Speaker, I know a little bit about this. This is about our future and what can be uncovered as science continuously unfolds. The Coroners Act never contemplated the retention of materials for purposes beyond the needs of a coroner’s investigation, and it did not anticipate the advancement in medical science. That’s why the proposed amendments will help us align with the future of medical science.

The Fire Protection and Prevention Act establishes the legislative framework for delivery of fire protection services across Ontario which includes the rights of entry in emergencies and in fire investigations. Amendments to this act would close gaps in the current legislation as it relates to cost recovery and would promote operational efficiencies for the Fire Safety Commission. The proposed amendments would allow for more than one deputy fire marshal and would support more efficient operations by ensuring someone is always available to execute the duties of the fire marshal. This is really a common-sense thing.

The proposed Strengthening Safety and Modernizing Justice Act clears a path to enforce the Community Policing and Safety Act. It creates an opportunity to modernize several elements of other community safety and justice legislation across the Ministry of the Solicitor General and the Ministry of the Attorney General, and it proposes legislation to keep generations of Ontarians safe today, tomorrow and well into the future.

As I conclude, I want to conclude on a message of hope. As Solicitor General, nothing has been more impactful for me in this honour of a lifetime—an honour that I have said many times is just beyond something I could have ever imagined—to sit in this Legislature as the 1,947th member since Confederation, but I’ve had the honour of going to the Ontario Police College three times since I’ve been Solicitor General and, each time, to see the look in the eyes of the cadets graduating—and many members in this House can speak to graduates they knew from their community, from their own families. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see for yourself, to see the optimism in their eyes, to see the hope and promise that they bring to our public safety.

Madam Speaker, we’re in great hands with the people graduating. They believe in our province and in our future. Ils croient en notre province et en notre avenir.

Today’s announcement is about optimism. It’s about recognizing that our best days lie ahead, and inspired by our front-line heroes, let us share in that belief. Let us look boldly towards the future of Ontario—a safe future for Ontario for all.

I’ve said this before, but it’s a line that hits home for me, Madam Speaker—and I’ve said it here; absolutely I’ve said it here—our province is so big; it’s bigger than all of us; it’s more important than any one of us individually. Ontario was here long before us and those who may have settled here from our own families a long time ago, and it will be here long after us.

I encourage all members here in this House to support the legislation. Madam Speaker, let’s keep Ontario safe.