I have a few introductions. I will try and get through them quickly. I would like to welcome folks here today for the debate on Bill 173: Erin Lee, the executive director of Lanark County Interval House and Community Support; Cait Alexander, who is a survivor of intimate partner violence; Kirsten Mercer, a lawyer who represented end violence against Renfrew county; OSSTF members Kelly Bevan and Tracey Marshall; the vice-president of OSSTF, Martha Hradowy; and all the way from Windsor, Fartumo Kusow, who is here—her daughter was killed by her intimate partner last year.

I also want to welcome Chief Mary Duckworth of Caldwell First Nation, Councillors Duckworth and Heil of Caldwell First Nation, former chief and councillor Larry Sault of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Chief Claire Sault of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

My question is to the Premier. I am incredibly disappointed to hear the government House leader talk about sending this to a committee. Nearly two years ago—

Interjections.

Interjections.

Again I will remind the government House leader: You’ve had almost two years to act on that one recommendation, among others, and you soundly rejected it. So there is no trust on this side of the House, or for survivors or for victims’ families or for the advocates, that you are going to move this bill through committee in a timely fashion. So again I ask that you immediately pass it today, pass it through third reading and give it royal assent, regardless of whether the Minister of Energy wants to heckle me, previously saying that it’s not going to go do anything if it receives royal assent.

Speaker, the government rejected recommendation 4, which called on the creation of the role of a survivor advocate, and they rejected recommendation 5, to institute a provincial implementation committee dedicated to ensuring that the recommendations from the inquest are implemented and reported on. So I’m going to ask the government side: Why should survivors and their families and the service providers believe that you are not just going to send this bill to committee in the hopes that nothing actually comes out of it?