I’m sure my colleague from Ottawa Centre appreciates that. I want to raise something that he raised yesterday—that we both raised yesterday—and that is the independent child advocate. In 2007, the province of Ontario established, as an officer of this Legislature, the child advocate. That child advocate was the voice for children in care, for wards of the crown. He was able to hear their voices that are very hard to hear.

I would like to know the member’s opinion on whether he thinks to it would be a good thing for the government and all of us here to re-establish an independent child advocate so that children who we are responsible for, youth who we are responsible for as the crown, will have a voice and advocacy on their behalf?

I’d like to thank the member from Ottawa South for the question. There is no question: I strongly, strongly believe, that we need independent officers of this Legislature, first and foremost, but especially as it pertains to the welfare of young people. We require a child and youth advocate.

I think the removal, the firing, of Irwin Elman was a mistake. I think children who are encountering what are sometimes insurmountable difficulties and tremendous barriers and obstacles need that one person, that one trusted adult they can reach, and that would be realized through the re-establishment of the child advocate. I can’t understand why that was ever removed in the first place. I think that was a mistake. I think there’s an opportunity to re-establish it and the government should and must take it.

We absolutely need more investments in mental health and support services such as this to make sure that young people are able to live their best lives.

We also do need more inspections. I know that from the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex. They are running out of spaces for kids. Many of these unlicensed places will take kids into hotels, where the child is staying in a hotel room and the care worker is staying in another room. These kids are vulnerable. These kids could potentially be trafficked. There are so many different issues with this. We need to crack down on unlicensed care placements. We need to make sure that we’re buttressing the system by providing supports for care and for mental health.

I appreciate the speech and the comments made by the member. I would ask the member, because my colleagues have spoken to this I think quite strongly: the restoration of the position of the child advocate. Will your government be supporting amendments to restore the position of child advocate in this province?

Thank you to the member for the question. I want to assure the member that the NDP would never prop up the Liberals, just as we would never prop up any government that was going to undermine the rights of vulnerable children. The NDP has been calling for the reinstatement of the child and youth advocate. That is something that is missing from this bill that there was an opportunity for the government to move ahead with. The NDP has been calling for years for an end of for-profit group homes that exploit loopholes, that take advantage of children, that are abusive to children. We saw that horrendous exposé of what is happening to some of the most marginalized and vulnerable children in a for-profit group system.

Back in 2012, when we had a Provincial Advocate for Child and Youth here in the province, that office recognized the disproportionate needs for children in care who identify as Black and Indigenous.

I wanted to quote from this book called HairStory: Rooted—A Firm Foundation for the Future of Black Youth in Ontario’s Systems of Care.

“Benefits of Kinship Care

“Children in kinship care can maintain their racial, cultural and religious ties. They are living with families where they are, for example, speaking the same language, getting the same kind of food they are used to, and the family traditions are very similar, if not the same. It strengthens their identities and allows them to remain connected to their community.”

My question to the government is, if you purport to care about all children and youth in Ontario, why not ensure we have kinship care in this bill that’s supposed to support children and youth, knowing how important it is to Black and Indigenous—