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 recognize the member from Simcoe–Grey.

Good morning. I want to thank the Attorney General and the Solicitor General for their remarks this morning and for giving me the opportunity to speak to the Enhancing Access to Justice Act as the parliamentary assistant to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Speaker, our government believes in putting victims of crime first, protecting our children and ensuring that our neighbourhoods remain safe havens for all. Our Solicitor General spoke about the need to keep our communities safe and the rights of our individual citizens to expect that, and the hard work that the Solicitor General’s office is doing in enforcement and the Attorney General’s office is doing in making sure that we have the legislative tools for our courts to enforce those.

In order to do this, we are proposing comprehensive legislative updates that address the evolving challenges faced by victims, children and families across our great province. Our initiatives aim to strengthen the legal framework, ensuring justice, supports and protection for those who need it most.

First and foremost, we’re proposing significant updates to the Victims’ Bill of Rights, 1995, and its regulations. It is imperative that our legal system evolves to meet the changing landscapes of crime, methods of crime and the scope of crime. We seek to expand the list of crimes for which victims can seek redress for emotional distress and related bodily harm. This expansion will include such heinous and personal crimes as terrorism, vehicle theft and human trafficking. The expansion will also include hate-related crimes that are targeting our places of worship.

Speaker, Simcoe–Grey is a rapidly changing riding, with many new demographics moving into the beautiful towns of Collingwood, Alliston, Angus, Thornton, Thornbury and many more points in between. We are seeing the arrivals of different faiths and different belief systems.

I was down this past spring in Alliston, at an opening for a local mosque for our Muslim population, and this coming weekend, I will be attending a lighting of the menorah in the town of the Blue Mountains, which will be hosting its first synagogue in the coming months.

With geopolitical changes, recently, in the world, and particularly the Middle East, we’ve seen how tensions amongst some of our faiths have been exacerbated. We need methods to control that and to prevent those types of crime from proliferating.

We see many different faiths, cultures and religions are now being immersed in our communities, and we need to ensure the safety of places of worship and to prevent hate-related crimes. By doing so, we send a clear message that those who perpetuate such acts will be held accountable for the immeasurable pain they inflict on their victims.

We have talked before in this House about the importance of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and how section 1 provides for the balancing of individual rights. We have freedom of expression. We have freedom of religion. We need to protect those rights, and we need to protect them from the other end of the spectrum, which is hate-related crimes, distortion and misinformation.

Madam Speaker, our commitment to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society is unwavering. To that end, we are proposing a ban on the growth of recreational cannabis in homes that offer child care services. As the Attorney General mentioned, it is surprising that we need to legislate this. This is following the lead of the government in BC, which has successfully combatted this by providing similar prohibitions. This measure is essential to ensure that our children and youth in my riding and across the province of Ontario are shielded from the potential risks associated with the cultivation of cannabis in environments where their well-being is entrusted to others.

We have also seen, during this session of Parliament, the proliferation of human trafficking. And as part of the justice standing committee, I can say that we heard on an all-members’ bill that was brought before the House looking at expunging debts related to human trafficking—we heard, over the course of two days, very concerning and disturbing testimony from our stakeholders indicating that the age of recruitment for young girls into the sex trade has gone from 15 to 14 and is still trending downwards.

We need to make sure that we are protecting the most vulnerable in our communities from such heinous crimes as human trafficking. I can speak from experience, because in the riding of Simcoe–Grey, just prior to the pandemic, a human trafficking ring was broken up. The members of that ring were being housed in a resort in the town of the Blue Mountains, unbeknownst to the resort owner. Larry Law, the owner of Living Waters, turned around and took those victims—he hired them, and he housed them. I can say, with great pride, that those victims are now living as residents of Simcoe–Grey, working at Living Waters and other jobs that have been successfully integrated into our population. It is another reminder of the proximity and the closeness of this type of crime right under our nose. We need to make sure that we’re giving the victims of those crimes the ability to seek redress against their offenders, those oppressors, regardless of whether they’re convicted under the Criminal Code.

Madam Speaker, by taking these steps to increase avenues of redress for victims of crime, we aim to create a safer and healthier environment for our future generations and make sure that they have the full scope of remedies available to them.

Additionally, we recognize the sacrifices that are made by the hard-working individuals in our construction industry, and the Solicitor General spoke of this in his comments. These individuals go to work each day to build our economy, to build our infrastructure, and to build the much-needed housing that we need, as we move forward with our commitment to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031. We need to make sure that those individuals are protected and that any injury or death is properly investigated, to make sure that we are making provisions to prevent that type of needless accident moving forward. Nobody should go to work not knowing whether they’ll return home safely from their shift.

Through these amendments to the Coroners Act, we are determined to bring justice and closure to the families of construction workers who have tragically lost their lives on the job. This initiative is a testament to the ongoing commitment of this government to stand by those who build the foundations of our communities, ensuring they receive the recognition and support that they deserve.

Madam Speaker, one other way that we are expanding the redress for victims of crime is in the auto theft sector. We know that this is a crime that is growing in scope and magnitude across our province. Just last week at the Port of Montreal, through random screening, they found a shipping container bound for overseas that contained 20 automobiles stolen from Ontario. We know from our discussions with the insurance industry that these crimes are increasing in frequency. We know after the pandemic with the restriction on computer chip production that replacing stolen automobiles is becoming more difficult and they are becoming more in demand. So we are expanding that through the Victims’ Bill of Rights, 1995, to ensure that those who have had their automobile stolen can bring action against those who stole their cars for redress for that crime.

The current legislation represents a significant stride towards building safer communities, supporting victims of crime, holding offenders accountable and protecting the most vulnerable among us, our youth and our children.

This piece of legislation builds on our government’s advocacy and commitment to bail reform. We have seen—and the Attorney General mentioned it in his comments today—that through this government and over the past year, with the loss of life we’ve had of front-line officers in our law enforcement, that important steps are necessary to combat that small segment of our criminal population that will re-offend regardless of the circumstances.

We have broadened the scope for reverse onus provisions under the Criminal Code for those seeking bail to prove that they do not pose a threat, and we are moving forward through the creation of special bail teams to make sure that those that should remain behind bars pending trial will remain behind bars. This government is making significant investments in law enforcement, auto theft prevention and the digitization of court processes, and this is another important step along the way.

In conclusion, as members of the provincial Parliament, we have a duty to prioritize the safety and well-being of our constituents, and through these legislative proposals, we aim to create a society where justice is served, victims are empowered and our communities thrive. This legislation, if passed, will do just that, and it is part of this government’s commitment to putting in place the levers for our justice system, for our law enforcement officers to make sure that we build a future where everyone feels secure, protected and confident in the strength of our legal system.

Questions?

Thank you to the government for their presentation on the new justice bill. I was actually very excited to see a bill that was entitled “accelerating access to justice,” the short title of the bill, be tabled, because we’ve all heard about the extraordinary delays that we’ve seen in the courts, about certain charges being dropped. Whether it’s criminal charges affecting sexual assaults of minors, rapists walking out the door, we’ve heard them all, oftentimes because it took too long.

What I’m very interested in knowing from the government is, why are we not seeing the investments come in through the bill specifically to address the shortage that we are seeing in the courts? We do not have enough law clerks. We do not have enough court reporters. We do not have enough trial coordinators, as well as judicial assistants. So why are the solutions for funding the courts not there?

I do have questions for the Attorney General. This is quite a substantive bill with a lot of good things in it, but one of the issues that was brought to my attention right after it was introduced was about schedule 1 and the new concept of limited licences that seems to be duplicating a licence process that already exists for the Association of Architectural Technologists of Ontario to license these architectural technologists.

Could you explain why we have this duplication that now seems to create more red tape and create confusion for the profession?

I’ll just go back to where the investments have been made. We’ve put a lot of resources into hiring full-time and full-time-equivalent individuals, making court clerks permanent and full-time employees, not just part-time, making sure that they have the tools that they need—about 340 full-time staff, whether it be crowns, reporters, clerks within the system. So we have made investments to scale up. We’ve reclassified staff so that they are in a better position and will stay in the job and keep the experience on the job, so we’ve made a lot of those investments.

But this bill, Madam Speaker, is really about fixing process, because things like vexatious litigants are eating up a lot of resources and we have to make sure that we’re making capacity in the system for those employees that we did hire to help bring those cases forward.

I’m happy to give more information. It’s really hard to give it in one minute, but I’ll give more information to you. We’re trying to get these people back on the job, quite frankly.

With something like human trafficking, if somebody has been human trafficked and the perpetrator is convicted criminally, I think everybody would agree that the victim shouldn’t have to go through the trauma of explaining the impact on themselves. It’s, quite frankly, patently obvious. That’s what the Victims’ Bill of Rights, as expanded under this bill, will allow us to do, is to not retraumatize those individual victims and allow them to get restitution.

In 2018, the Broken Trust report, written by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, identified the importance of having a coroner’s office in Thunder Bay. However, in 2023, that service is gone and the acting police chief at the time said the move will create further delays that will have significant adverse affects on their investigations, and potentially traumatize families who are waiting for the remains of their loved ones, while creating an indignity to the deceased. What’s happening is that all bodies are being sent to Toronto.

Interjection.

So my question is: Will the government amend Bill 157 in order to establish a forensic pathology unit in Thunder Bay, as recommended in the 2018 Broken Trust report?

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.

The next question.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

In 2020, the Conservative government decided to stop renewing an annual million-dollar funding boost to rape crisis and sexual assault support centres. Some of these centres have seen the longest wait-lists they’ve ever experienced. Centre workers warn that wait times act as a deterrent for victims because victims will stop trying to access services when they are told they have to wait. Obviously—we know people—the trauma is just intensified with the waiting.

Will you consider amending Bill 157 to increase funding to rape crisis and sexual assault support centres?

I had a particular interest in the Architects Act, which might not be immediately obvious, but the Architects Act, obviously, governs architects in the province of Ontario, and under the current piece of proposed legislation, it proposes to create new categories within the Architects Act. I think that’s very useful and particularly important in getting us towards our goal of building 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years, and I’m wondering if any of the speakers can comment on the changes to the Architects Act and what those changes might entail.

This weekend was CTV Lions Children’s Christmas Telethon’s 75th anniversary. That is 75 years of people giving back to the community. It’s actually become a northern tradition when people kick off their Christmas decorating period or they do their baking or, as a tradition, they volunteer or they perform and, most importantly, they donate.

This year, they raised $337,615, which is a mouthful, but it’s a reflection of how much the community in northern Ontario loves to give back. The slogan is, “Putting a Christmas Smile on Children’s Faces Since 1949,” and you think about how many kids have a special Christmas because of it.

Last year, when I was volunteering, I answered the phone and a lady who was donating told me that when she was growing up, the only gift she got as a child came from the CTV Lions Children’s Christmas Telethon, Speaker. Just imagine what that meant to her and the fact that for more than 20 years, she’s been donating and giving back, making sure that other kids have a special Christmas.

I know it’s a special time of year. It’s something to be very proud as a northern tradition. I want to thank CTV, I want to thank the Lions Club, but most of all I want to thank the volunteers, the performers and everyone who comes together to ensure that these kids have a smile at Christmastime.

Selflessness is service without thought of reward or recompense. This is the heart of kindness. As we enter the holiday season, we as legislators should reflect on kindness, goodness and what it means to be in this role and how we can best serve our communities.

I’m reminded of the famous quotation, “The measure of a society is how it treats its weakest members.”

Seniors raised us, built our communities, but this government has done scarce little to support those in their golden years and treat them with the utmost respect. CPP and OAS have not kept up with the cost of living, and the meagre increases under this government are nowhere near enough.

Vacancy decontrol puts people at risk. In 2003, Premier Dalton McGuinty promised tenants, “We will get rid of vacancy decontrol which allows unlimited rent increases....” Since then, we see more of the same wilful neglect.

Why is there ideological opposition to rent control and protecting tenants? Who does this blind adherence serve? Seniors, people living with disabilities, new Canadians, young people and those on a modest income are all at risk. Why won’t this government help and serve them?

Why privatize health care? There’s tough talk about price gouging and HVAC scams, but there’s no action. Social assistance rates are below the poverty line, and food banks are at the risk of collapse from demand.

Rather than writing letters, I hope this government will look inside this Christmas and reflect on who they truly serve.

At the end of this month, it will conclude my first year here in the Ontario Legislature. It’s an honour and privilege to represent the community of Brampton East, and I’m pleased to be part of a government that’s finally delivering for the people of Brampton.

Under Premier’s Ford’s leadership, we’re building a new second hospital for Brampton. We’re building a new medical university, led by the Toronto Metropolitan University. We’re creating new jobs in Brampton, such as the new Magna plant that’s being built on Mayfield Road in my riding of Brampton East. We’re supporting drivers with the gas tax credit, giving them 5.7 cents per litre. We’re supporting our economy and we’re continuing to build the largest transit expansion in Ontario’s history.

By supporting Brampton Transit and developing the Queen Street rapid bus transit route in my riding, our government shows its commitment to build the infrastructure that Brampton so desperately needs. We’re building infrastructure, we’re expanding existing highways such as the 401 and 410, and we’re going to build Highway 413 to unlock all that gridlock that people are stuck in. We’re the government that’s going to get it done. And this list is going to go on. Under this government, Brampton will never again feel left behind.

I’d like to take a moment to thank my caucus colleagues for their support, as well as my staff, Anthony, Mumpree, Pinar, Harpinder, Jasmeen and Navi, for their hard work. Most importantly, I’d like to thank the people of Brampton East for their tremendous support and trust. I’m honoured to represent them here in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

With that, this being my last member’s statement of the year, I’d like to wish everybody a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah and happy holidays. I hope you enjoy this holiday season with your loved ones and friends. Have a great time.

We have put several supports and increased funding to not just support centres but to victim witness programs and into every sector of our expansion for the justice system. So it wouldn’t be the tool, quite frankly, of this bill to do a funding increase per se.

I’m happy to chat more about where you think the system needs more supports, but we are supporting the system and we are supporting the victims of everything from serious sexual assaults to human trafficking all the way through the system, Madam Speaker. As they need the supports, we’re providing them and, of course, we’ll continue to provide more in the future.

Look, the architects serve a very critical part of our housing strategy. Without the architects, we wouldn’t be able to build the 1.5 million homes that we are going to.

The architectural technologist category does exist already, but as was mentioned to my friend from Ottawa–Vanier, there is a glitch in the system. The glitch is that they exist as an entity, as a part of the puzzle for moving us forward, but there was an issue around the architects association being able to provide regulatory oversight. So, Madam Speaker, we’re taking the opportunity to fix that glitch and get them back to work.

Madam Speaker, Lynn Roy, who lives in the village of Greely in my riding of Carleton was living in the Philippines 10 years ago while her husband was working there on a contract. She was shown the San Pedro, Laguna garbage dump site, an enormous dump site with more than 1,000 families living in the dump with no water, no electricity and no opportunity. They are, as Lynn describes, the poorest of the poor.

In 2014, Lynn co-founded the Home for Alternative Learning and Motivational Strategies school, which provides an opportunity for impoverished children living in the San Pedro garbage dump site to go to school, and to also have breakfast and lunch every day.

Since moving back to the Carleton riding several years ago, Lynn has been working part time at the Manotick LCBO. Every single dollar she has ever made at the LCBO has been donated to the Home for Alternative Learning and Motivational Strategies school, and she continues to run the school from her home. She also takes a month’s leave of absence without pay each year to go to the Philippines and to work at the school as a volunteer.

Lynn, thank you for being an inspiration.

Madam Speaker, Lynn is proof that there really are angels among us.

Oxford has a long and proud history of baseball and softball. In fact, Beachville is home to the first documented game of baseball in North America, taking place on June 4, 1838. It was not in Cooperstown, New York, as is commonly believed; it was in Oxford.

One of Canada’s best professional baseball players, Tip O’Neill, started his career playing in Woodstock as well. Called Canada’s Babe Ruth, O’Neill was one of the star players during the early years of the sport. The baseball diamond in Woodstock’s Southside Park is now named after him.

Earlier this month, another chapter of this history was written when Woodstonian Brian Paton was inducted into the Softball Canada Hall of Fame. This honour only adds to his long list of accomplishments, including being a member of the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame and Woodstock Sports Wall of Fame.

Brian started his softball career as a catcher, later becoming an outfielder for the Woodstock Twins and Tornadoes. In 1987, Brian made the jump to Team Canada’s softball team, helping them to win gold four times at the Pan Am Games and three World Cup medals. He remained a member of the team for 17 years, eight of them as team captain. He also played for the Toronto Gators, where he was MVP and the top hitter for the team.

Congratulations, Brian, for being named to the Softball Canada Hall of Fame, and thank you for your contributions to softball in Oxford and Ontario.

Good morning, Speaker. I am honoured to rise to recognize a group of remarkable students from the Brantford–Brant community. This month, the North Park Collegiate Student Anti-Racism Coalition was awarded a peace medal by the YMCA in the youth category.

The group began as a safe place that provided students a secure platform to report instances of racism around the school. However, the anti-racism coalition has evolved into a distinct group that includes students from many different backgrounds and grades who strive to educate their peers on different cultures.

The coalition also places an important emphasis on the celebration of unique cultures, and it has organized fashion shows, international food days, anti-racism assemblies, educational campaigns and food drives. Despite having 20 core members, the coalition has interfaced with a multitude of students through its weekly meetings and has fostered a strong sense of community and inclusion at their school.

When speaking about the importance of the coalition, Bhumi Shah, one of the students who visited us here last week, said, “Something as simple as acknowledging Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, as a celebration as meaningful to some as Christmas and Hanukkah, can help students feel less isolated.”

Speaker, I am proud to represent a riding that is home to such bright and talented youth. I’d like to say a big thank you to the members of the North Park anti-racism coalition. You are making Brantford–Brant proud.