I want to say how wonderful it has been to collaborate with my colleague the Attorney General, and I thank him for his leadership on Bill 157, and I’m happy to speak about it as well.

Madam Speaker, a vital job of a government is not just to pass good laws but to revisit past acts and ensure the laws continue to meet the needs of the people of Ontario. Under Premier Ford’s leadership, I’m proud to share that we have a government that takes the responsibility extremely seriously. We have consistently strived to ensure legislation is up to date, clear in its objectives and effectiveness.

It’s my pleasure to rise and to follow my colleague and friend and speak about Bill 157 and to open the debate on the Ministry of the Solicitor General’s section of Bill 157.

Madame la Présidente, certaines choses doivent compter. La primauté du droit doit compter et notre sécurité publique doit compter.

Je suis fier de soutenir nos policiers et nos pompiers et nos premiers intervenants et tous ceux qui assurent la sécurité de l’Ontario tous les jours. Ce sont des gens formidables qui nous protègent au quotidien.

Nous écoutons, madame la Présidente, et nous apprenons pour pouvoir diriger. Et, madame la Présidente, comme je l’ai déjà dit, rien pour moi, en tant que solliciteur général, n’est plus important que la sécurité de notre province. Tous ont le droit de se sentir en sécurité chez eux et dans leur collectivité. Chaque personne mérite d’être traitée avec dignité et respect.

Nous vivons une époque sans précédent mais nous avons des opportunités toutes aussi uniques. Qui dit Ontario sécuritaire dit Ontario fort.

A safe Ontario is a strong Ontario.

Passed laws are crucial because they provide a framework for maintaining order, justice and stability in our Ontario communities. To be effective, a law must be as relevant and responsive to the public’s needs on any given day as it was on the day it received royal assent.

As Ontarians, we have—and I just said it—an inherent right to feel safe within our province. We thank everyone who keeps Ontario safe every day. We thank our police officers and our firefighters and all those that keep Ontario safe. I’ll add the special constables; the auxiliary officers, civilian and sworn; those amazing 911 call operators and telecommunicators that always need to be acknowledged; the animal welfare inspectors—everyone that plays a role in keeping Ontario safe needs to be thanked and acknowledged. As I’ve said before, Madam Speaker, through our government’s continued concern about public safety we will always have their backs.

Public safety is the most fundamental responsibility and, I might add, one of the highest priorities of our government, because it matters to people where they live and how they live. They want to be able to wake up their children in the morning and say goodbye to their loved ones. They want to be able to go to work. They want to be able to shop and see their kids home at the end of the day and have dinner with them around the dinner table. They want to be able to pray and they want to be able to do that safely.

Every day across government we work hard to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. The laws that hold the framework of public safety together must include tools to help the institutions that are the first line of defence when someone is experiencing or has experienced an emergency. My ministry’s addition to this bill does just that. The changes you will see in my ministry’s portion of the bill effect real change and will have direct impact within the institutions of policing and fire, and our death investigation system.

The proposed Enhancing Access to Justice Act introduces impactful amendments and additions across our justice system to clarify and make existing public safety regulations even more effective.

The first order of business for the proposed legislation on behalf of the Ministry of the Solicitor General will be to modernize pieces of existing public safety legislation. This includes proposed amendments to the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, that will be important before it officially comes into force next year.

As I have found out first-hand as I have travelled through the province, by speaking to chiefs and officers and cadets—and I want to especially acknowledge the First Nations police chiefs all over Ontario—the nature of policing and community safety has drastically changed in the past 30 years. The Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, replaces a piece of legislation that was introduced almost 33 years ago. We’ve come a long way since then and it’s our responsibility as legislators to make sure that the justice system has the tools it needs to save lives and to ensure public order.

This bill is just one example of how our government is prioritizing public safety. The Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, is about modernizing the province’s policing and community safety framework to address these important changes. We are stepping up to keep people of this province safe, no matter the obstacles.

Regulations under the CSPA as of right now are being finalized, based on consultative input from our stakeholders and the public. I want to acknowledge many of the stakeholders. Some were here last week, as an example, in the Legislature. We had members representing the Police Association of Ontario. I speak regularly, in addition to that association, to the Toronto Police Association, to the Ontario Provincial Police Association, to the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs, to the Ontario association of professional firefighters—the OPFFA—and many others, and their input and collaborative conversation with us has been very, very important.

We’re listening to those who serve Ontario and keep Ontario safe. The Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, will also increase the trust between communities and their police by ensuring that police work with communities, including those most vulnerable, and strengthening the minimum standards of policing to ensure that police services are well resourced and funded by municipal partners; by promoting effective, independent and effective governance of policing personnel; by promoting public confidence in policing through a robust and independent police discipline and oversight system; ensuring that the police have the competence, skills and training and continuous education necessary to perform their duties.

Section 207 of the CSPA sets out the timelines for hearings related to the expungement of disciplinary records. There is some ambiguity about the timelines in the English version of the act which must be clarified. The French version indicates that the expungement hearings must be completed within 30 days when an application for a hearing is made. Completing a hearing within 30 days of an application presents an operational and logistical challenge to all parties involved, including the officers at the centre of such a hearing. That’s why language in the act must be amended to reflect the timelines for expungement hearings.

The proposed Enhancing Access to Justice Act, 2023, also includes an amendment to the CSPA that states the adjudicator must be appointed within 30 days. If passed, the proposed amendment will support the development of appropriate and responsive rules and procedure for expungement hearings.

Another proposed amendment to the Community Safety and Policing Act, or CSPA, involves a change in the French translation of “special constable” from “agent spécial” to “constable spécial.” “Agent spécial” has been used in Ontario for a long time, but its presence on the uniform of special constables can be confusing given that it may be mistranslated as “special agent” and not “special constable.” The change is also in alignment with the language used in French-speaking provinces like New Brunswick and Quebec. Inaccurate translations can lead to misunderstandings, confusion and even unintended offence. Precise translation helps prevent misinterpretation that could result in conflicts or misinformation. The amendment, if passed, would change the term in all Ontario statutes upon the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, coming into force in 2024 to ensure consistency and also respect the francophone community, something that is very important to me personally.

In addition to the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, the proposed Enhancing Access to Justice Act seeks amendments to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997. This will develop a new mechanism to strengthen enforcement and compliance of the act—and to the Coroners Act to improve construction-related accidental death investigations.

Administrative monetary penalties, or AMPs, will allow for monetary penalties to be imposed by authorized persons for a contravention of requirement in an act, regulation or bylaw. An authorized person may issue an AMP upon discovering that the contravention has occurred. These fines are important because they promote compliance without requiring the issue of a ticket in violation of requirements in an act, regulation or bylaw. AMPs are used by municipal law enforcement officers and police officers for parking violation and other bylaw infractions. For Ontario’s first responders, there is currently no authority for an AMP remedy under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, and I’ve listened, and we are being responsive, as I’ve said, to the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs and other stakeholders that have been advocating for such a compliance tool for years.

Bill 157 proposes an amendment to the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, to ensure the future development of AMPs as an additional enforcement tool. AMPs could potentially, depending on the regulation, be imposed upon anyone, including owners, tenants and corporations who are found to be in contravention of requirements in the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997, and its regulations, such as the Ontario fire code.

Madam Speaker, to be clear, passing this amendment does not mean that AMPs will be introduced overnight. The amendments enable the Ministry of the Solicitor General to consult with stakeholders such as municipalities on a future framework, including identifying the contravention; determining the amount or range that the penalties could be set at; enforcement and collection details, including how AMPs could be administered in unincorporated areas of Ontario; and establishing a framework to review associated impacts during the regulatory process.

Existing requirements under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act would not be affected by the proposed amendment. Unlike previous governments, we are aiming to build on this relationship, not rewrite what has already been fought for.

Madam Speaker, I want to bring attention to those who have lost their lives on the job. This is serious, and this is imperative, when we understand these tragedies, to keeping Ontario safe. I’ve said it before; I said it in my remarks: There’s nothing more important than keeping Ontario safe. Every single death is a tragedy, and the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development thoroughly investigates all workplace fatalities to try to determine the cause of an incident.

The coroner’s office currently conducts an inquest for each incident causing one or multiple deaths. This process is time-consuming, resulting in repetitive recommendations. Construction-related inquests typically deal with individual deaths and therefore are not capable of identifying trends—and this is important, identifying trends—which a broader review may accomplish. Inquests are not designed to analyze deaths in aggregated fashion, thus trends and repeat factors are not identified, for example age, training, language, health status, workplace culture and safety.

Individual-death-based, construction-related inquests often deal with similar and repeated issues, leading to repetitive recommendations that are not found in a timely manner or that advance public safety. For example, it can take up to three years for an inquest to be scheduled, and that can only happen once all regulatory investigation and prosecutions under the Occupational Health and Safety Act have been completed.

The proposed Enhancing Access to Justice Act includes amendments to the Coroners Act that, if passed, would require an accidental construction-related death to be subject to a coroner-led, mandatory, annual review, rather than a mandatory inquest for an incident where one or multiple deaths have occurred. The motive for this change is to prevent further deaths by underlying trends by examining them cohesively.

But, Madam Speaker, it is important to note that while this change would remove mandatory inquests, families of those lost to construction-based accidents can still request a review through the coroner’s office, and one will be completed at their discretion. Their request will be reasonably considered. I want to repeat it again, because I think it is important: Families of those lost to construction-based accidents can still request a review.

The review process will include industry representatives, families and experts, and it is important to note that the proposed amendment would not apply to deaths in mining plants or mines. Families would be involved in the mandatory review process and could require that an inquest be held in addition to the review, which I’ve just said. Unlike an inquest for every incident where a death or multiple deaths occur, the proposed amendments would lead to a broader, systemic examination of safety issues in construction and would produce more realistic and sector-relevant recommendations to prevent further deaths. The expectation would be that this would happen in a timely manner. Our government continues to build a modern and responsive justice sector for the 21st century.

Madam Speaker, I’ve said this before: Our province is big. I’ve travelled the province; although I have not got to the furthest northern part of Ontario. On the north side, I’ve been up as far as Cochrane. I’ve been west to Sioux Lookout and to Lac Seul First Nation, and I look forward to going to Kenora and Fort Frances in the new year. I’ve been down to Windsor and Essex. I’ve been out to Hawkesbury and Ottawa. All you have to do is travel Ontario and you’ll see how big it is. But together, we can make it a place that delivers safety for every single person within our borders.

Ontario was here before any of us. It will be here long after us, so it’s our duty to be prepared not only for today but also for tomorrow. The proposed Enhancing Access to Justice Act supports this critical work, with amendments to existing public safety legislation.

I want to again say that the piece of legislation that the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, is replacing goes back to an act that was enacted in 1990. We are updating laws that are over 30 years old, and we’re developing new legislative and regulatory tools to ensure that we address emerging trends in criminal activity and enhance our ability to keep the people of Ontario safe.

There is nothing more important than the safety of Ontario. This is a priority of this government, led by Premier Ford, who reminds us each and every day that we have an absolute right to live safely in our own homes and communities. This is fundamental. When we work hard, when our government works hard, when our message resonates all over Ontario—I will be, this Wednesday, marching past the largest class of cadets at the Ontario Police College, who will take their steps in a time-honoured tradition of keeping Ontario safe.

There is nothing more important fundamentally than our rights to live safely, and it is an honour to do my part along the way.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Merci beaucoup. Meegwetch.

I want to thank the member for the question. Part of her comment is not entirely accurate, because some of the autopsies are being done in Thunder Bay. The coroner’s office is sending a pathologist on a regular basis to Thunder Bay where appropriate, and when difficult cases are identified, then those bodies are being shipped to Toronto and they’re being expedited.

To answer the question: Yes, Madam Speaker, we are looking into all alternatives and hopefully, one day, having an office in the northwest region. This is something that is being investigated right now.

I’m delighted to welcome Drew Woodley, the director of government relations for Ontario SPCA and Humane Society. Welcome to the Ontario Legislature.