I also want to quickly recognize our friends from Ottawa. Alex Cullen, Councillor Kavanagh, it’s nice to see you.

A quick thanks as well to the midwives for that delicious breakfast.

Also, I want to acknowledge François Desmarais, who has been in the building—public affairs for Alstom.

Thank you for being here.

“Who makes politics happen?” That’s a question people often ask. Some folks assume that it’s us in this building, arguing over policy, but people who have earned a seat in this place know differently. Behind us are volunteers and donors, families and friends. We may often get the limelight, but those are the folks who build the stage.

My friend Don Smith, who we lost last week, before his 80th birthday, was a first-class stage builder. But for me, he was a man of mystery, because he rarely talked about himself. Don had been a journalist, a city councillor in the great city of Thunder Bay, and a long-time assistant to a federal member of Parliament. He was a guy focused on making relationships better. He was there for two life partners who died from degenerative diseases. He was loyal to them, and he was loyal to all of us.

He was also fun. Don liked to square dance and waltz. He lived by a policy of eating a piece of chocolate a day.

He was very active in his local housing co-op.

I will never forget Don. They rarely make people like him. But all of us know people like this in our community.

So I want to salute Don Smith today: To a life well-lived, to a community well-served.

New Democrats are going to be remembering Don this Friday at 464 Metcalfe Street, at 6 p.m. If you knew Don and you have a story to share, come break bread with us. Let’s remember this extraordinary man and his extraordinary life.

Rest in power, my friend.

I thank the member for his comments this morning.

Thinking about the electric vehicle industry, I’m wondering if the member could reflect upon the state of Ontario’s readiness with respect to the infrastructure we have. I know there have been some recent announcements at the ONroute stations. But I can tell the member, as an owner of an electric vehicle, that it is hard, when the charging capacity reduces in the winter—and the winters are cold in Ottawa, as you know—to find adequate charging stations at an affordable price.

I’m wondering if the member can inform this House about what the government’s readiness plan is to make sure that we aren’t just doing manufacturing-side incentives; for the consumer, there’s actually going to be a charging station when they urgently need it to get their kid to school, to get to work, to get around town to do things they need to do. Is there an update the member can provide?

We’ve seen escalating incidents of violence in our public transit system, and it’s not unique to this great city of Toronto.

In fact, in the city where you and I come from, on March 27, there was a gentleman who was swarmed at the Rideau LRT station in Ottawa at 11:30 p.m. Three of the people responsible for that act have been charged, but one person is still at large.

I still keep getting contacted by people in Ottawa—Ottawa transit riders, city councillors I’m privileged to work with—who are concerned that in this environment right now, people are not going to want to use public transit if they don’t think public transit is safe.

We should talk about what we need to do, as a Legislature, to ensure transit safety in the province of Ontario. There is one major reason why we should talk about that beyond making sure mums and dads, kids, folks getting around the community on public transit can feel safe. The biggest reason we, as a Legislature, have a responsibility to ensure the safety of public transit is because of the climate crisis.

We know that as far as Ontarians’ emissions are concerned, 34% to 35% of Ontario’s emissions are coming from the transportation sector. And we know that public transit is a major way by which we can reduce emissions.

I think we can agree, Speaker, that if people are avoiding taking the bus, if they’re avoiding taking the train, if they’re avoiding taking the LRT systems because they’re fearful for their safety, that is a step backward in Ontario’s action on climate change.

Because this has been a major subject of debate, let’s talk briefly about what people are saying is happening in our subway systems.

I just want to say off the top, for folks listening either on television or here in the chamber, that some of the things I’m about to talk about detail some graphic incidents. I’m just going to invite you to turn off your television or tune out of this debate. But these are things that are happening on our public transit system, and it bears repeating for the record of this place.

On April 8, 2022, Kartik Vasudev, a 21-year-old international student, was shot outside the TTC’s Sherbourne subway station.

On June 17, 2022, Nyima Dolma, a 28-year-old woman, was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire, believe it or not, outside the TTC’s Kipling subway station. She succumbed to her injuries in hospital two weeks later.

On December 8, 2022, Vanessa Kurpiewska, age 31, died in hospital after she was stabbed by a man she did not know at the TTC’s High Park subway station.

On January 21, 2023, a 24-year-old TTC operator was shot with a BB gun while waiting for her shift to begin in Scarborough.

The next day—