Today is the last day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On average, 78 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 15 women will die of breast cancer every day. With 13,000 diagnoses this year, statistically that means one in eight women—look around you, ladies—will be diagnosed in her lifetime.

Early detection can make all the difference, which is why I’m so relieved to hear that our government is connecting more women to breast cancer screening by lowering the eligibility from 50 to 40 beginning in 2024. Women aged 40 to 49 who were screened were 44% more likely to survive, and the five-year survival prognosis of stage 1 breast cancer is 99%—survival, 99%. These are positive.

And the knowledge of breast density: This category is another key piece in screening and the diagnostic process. Knowing your breast density is so instrumental in this category, so I’m proud to advise that, since July, all women in Ontario who receive a mammogram are directly informed of their density category.

Speaker, the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. Regular mammograms are so important and can improve the outcome and reduce the need for aggressive treatment.

All you need is 20 minutes. Prioritize your health, ladies. Breast health should not be just a priority in October; it should be literally something that we look at every day and—

It’s my very great honour to speak on motion 18. Life is very challenging in the best of times. Our limits are pushed to comprehend the way people respond to things. But the last week and a half has made me question humanity itself.

We all went to bed the Friday before last. Earlier that day, I had picked out a medium-sized turkey for Thanksgiving, and we went into slumber not realizing what we would wake to, the reality of terror and nightmare of human slaughter in Israel, human slaughter that was tantamount to 9/11. It was unbearable to watch things unfold in Israel, surreal and very disturbing. When my husband woke me up, he said, “You need to turn on the TV set.” I had no capacity to absorb what I was about to see or hear.

Saturday, October 7, or in the Jewish calendar the 22nd day of Tishrei, the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret, with the evening of Simchat Torah, which marks the final day of the reading of the Torah, which is a very holy day, is supposed to be a joyous occasion, one of the happiest holidays in the Jewish calendar. But as I turned on the television and scanned social media, we discovered that hundreds of young people’s lives were gone, brutally murdered at a music festival located in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip. These lives were savagely taken by Hamas, women and children slaughtered in their own homes.

The videos on social media, visuals of inhumane atrocities: children dying; teenage girls being dragged—raped, bruised and bloodied—out of trucks; elderly people, dementia patients who had no idea what was going on or where they were or what kind of pain they were feeling; Holocaust survivors, people who had started their lives in terror and now ended their lives in terror. Hamas’s attack on Israel was the worst Jewish casualty since the Holocaust—full stop.

Currently, there are over 1,400 Israelis murdered, including six Canadians, over 3,000 injured and 199 still being held hostage. We do not know if we’ll ever see them again. It was horrific. It was inhumane. It was despicable.

I have a very strong table, and to sit at my table, you need to say three things—I represent the largest Jewish contingency in Thornhill—first, “I support Israel’s right to defend itself.” Second, “I support Israel’s right to exist.” And lastly, “I stand with Israel—full stop.”

Our Premier said all of these things right out of the gate, no hesitation. He was there for us. When I circle back to that day that we heard everything, I spent the rest of the day with my neighbours, members of my community, with my children. I sat in a living room and watched the news as Israeli reservists here in Thornhill tried to figure out a way to get across the globe to serve their community. These boys were only a few years older than my son. We were in that living room with them. I was physically in that living room with those boys, who were Israeli Canadians, and we listened to them, and we listened to them preparing to defend Israel. And I will say this, and there can be no question or confusion: Israel has an absolute right to defend itself and its people.

That night, I visited the congregation and families of the Russian Center of Thornhill Woods, where I was greeted by Rabbi Hildeshaim and his wife, Chanie, and we celebrated Simchat Torah—yes, we celebrated. Simchat Torah is the end of the reading of the Torah, which is known as the Bible, and at that time, many Orthodox Jews who do not use technology on holy days were not even aware of what had happened. They didn’t know, but there were rumours and they had begun to circle. It was sickening for them to think about what their friends and family members were experiencing in Israel, and although they were deflated, their spirits were not broken.

The rabbi’s wife, Chanie—we had a brief conversation—reminded me that we had to lift ourselves above everything that had happened, to celebrate regardless. Now, Chanie is a strong woman, and on any other gathering, we would be laughing or perhaps even baking. Chanie makes a pretty mean challah, which is like a beautiful, braided egg bread, and I thank her for her company and her guidance. But, just like everyone else in that room, part of her heart and many of her family members are in Israel—a place, for some, that seemed far away.

The next day, I travelled to the BAYT, which is the Beth Avraham Yosef of Toronto, which is the largest Orthodox synagogue in Canada. Rabbi Korobkin is their stoic leader and just about everyone in his purview has deep ties to Israel. Many of the congregants are dual citizens or global citizens, and “global citizens” is a term that my friend, businessman Larry Zeifman, would use.

Larry is a very interesting character. Like many of my friends in Thornhill or the GTA, he was in Israel at the time of the attack and he still is. Zeifman said he couldn’t bring himself to leave, and to quote Larry: “I said to my wife on” Saturday “night, I can’t leave ... these are our people, we have to stay to provide moral support. Our kids are here, they’re not going anywhere, there’s no way they would ever contemplate leaving.” This is pretty positive light—light over darkness—and Larry is a pretty good example of what it’s like to live in my community.

So how was this possible, and how did we live in a world that would perpetrate such evil? Israel is so far away, but is it really that far away? Israel is thousands of miles away on a map, but it’s not when you live in Thornhill. Yesterday, I actually googled the distance on my smart phone, and my smart phone advised that the distance between where we sit right now and Tel Aviv is 5,772 miles; this is the equivalent to 9,290 kilometres or 5,016 nautical miles—sounds like a fair distance away, doesn’t it? Or does it?

So, like many members of my community, they still have hearts that live not only in Thornhill but also in Israel. This connection could also extend to another home in Israel, very close family ties—brothers, sisters, children. You see, Israel is not that far away. And like my son’s friend in that living room, many of our Thornhill youth were, at that same moment, planning to go back to Israel, to protect Israel, to fight for democracy and protect its people, who include all spectrums of religions. See, Israel is not that far away.

I then went over to Chabad Flamingo—the flamingo, by the way, is another very large congregation with very similar ties to Israel. I attempted to console the people and spoke with their passionate leader, Rabbi Kaplan. Rabbi Kaplan leads the congregation in prayer and support, and he does this consistently, and he does this because Israel is not that far away.

Last weekend, I put the turkey in the freezer—there would be no celebration. We were not ready to take part in the usual style at Thanksgiving. I had no appetite. We were deflated. We were shocked.

I then decided to travel over to visit my friends at the Jewish Russian Community Centre, led by Rabbi Zaltzman. They, too, were in prayer mode.

The rabbi’s own daughter was in Israel, and I chatted with the congregants who so desperately wanted to help those people in Israel. They were making plans to bring supplies for the Israelis in need, including emergency food, essential supplies, trauma support and supplies to be shipped to Israel, because Israel is not that far away.

Last Thursday night, I visited Chabad Lubavitch at 770 Chabad Gate. This is a special place for our community. The address is significant because it represents 770, which is the street address of the world headquarters for the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, which is located in Brooklyn, New York. This building in Thornhill is representative of that Chabad and the Chabad-Lubavitch world movement, and we consider it to be an iconic site in Judaism. It is also adjacent to a strip mall that has been riddled with hateful anti-Semitic incidents for so many years. One happened over the weekend.

I went in and joined their evening session, as beautiful children played around the adults as we prayed for the souls of those who had been murdered in Israel. Rabbi Spalter is another strong leader. He leads a flock with long care and love. He was there with Rabbi Itchy Grossbaum—Rabbi Itchy, as I call him. He’s a very kind leader with a beautiful expanding family. I sat with the congregation as family member after family member talked about their life’s blessings, and their family members that were either about to serve or serving in the Israeli army, protecting the democratic nation of Israel for their future and, more importantly, for the family members ahead of them. To them, Israel is not that far away.

I have spoken to countless constituents, each with a connection to terror. Last week, I called one of our not-for-profit constituents, only to hear a very sad individual on the other side. She was crying. A family member was one of those held hostage by Hamas, yet to be released. She also has countless family members in Israel that have been under siege. For her, Israel is not that far away.

I grew up locally. Many of my friends and I went to York University. It was close and safe and offered a variety of courses. I loved campus life. In many years, we were delighted when my oldest chose York. It was close by, but at what cost? When you’re a Jewish student on campus at York, you learn very quickly that there are forces around you that will make you feel uncomfortable about your Jewish identity. I’ve heard this on countless occasions from constituents and students. Everyone I know has a story. Specific student unions don’t make the Jewish students feel very welcomed. It’s a very sad thing in a community of learning and vibrancy.

I remember a few years ago when a Jewish student group was holding a small Israeli event at York University. There were protesters outside that room. The protests turned a little upsetting for a parent. I was that parent, because my daughter was on campus. A group of student union protesters had gathered in an area outside that room, and that room became locked. My child was on campus that night, and that was a very scary night. My child was there; she wasn’t picking up the phone. What I went through until I could get through to her pales in comparison to what parents in Israel are now feeling—not knowing that their daughters and their sons are held hostage by terrorists; not knowing if they’ll come home.

Over the weekend, the family of a Canadian Israeli woman who was missing since the Hamas terrorists ambushed a music festival in southern Israel learned that she had died. Her name was Shir Georgy. She was only 22 years old. Canadian Ben Mizrachi was one of the 260 people gunned down by Hamas at the music festival in southern Israel—also 22 years old.

Canadian Israeli Adi Vital-Kaploun, 33, was killed by Hamas terrorists in her kibbutz near the Israeli border. Vital-Kaploun’s family said she died a hero after convincing her killers to spare her two young children and warning her father and her husband to stay hidden during the attack.

Then there’s Alexandre Look, who recently celebrated his 33rd birthday. He was amongst those who were killed while attending the music festival. Alexandre Look, who lived in Montreal, died a hero, his dad posted on Facebook on Monday. My understanding was that he found refuge with 30 other people in a bomb shelter. That bomb shelter did not have a door, and he barricaded it with his body.

The pain and the loss of not just Israeli blood but also Canadians is insurmountable, because Israel is not that far away. We look to our local communities over the course of the last week, and I reflect as I received the countless calls from scared York University students harassed by organizations that uphold values that are not inclusive and a joint statement from three student unions that support a recognized terrorist organization, promoting and glorifying violence against innocent Israeli citizens. This statement failed to acknowledge the death toll of those who had been savagely taken. This is unacceptable and must not be tolerated.

The glorification of a murderous terrorist group that has butchered innocent lives is vile. And I will take this one step further: We don’t expect any member of this House, regardless of the side they sit on, to justify terrorist attacks on thousands of innocent Israeli lives. An apology was eventually provided, but how does that saying go? When somebody shows you who they are, believe them when they show it to you the first time.

In the last several days, I’ve seen hate rallies celebrating the kidnapping and slaughtering of innocent Israeli people. That, too, is difficult was to watch. To quote our Premier, “These hate rallies are” just another painful reality and “painful reminder of the work left to do to stamp out anti-Semitism once and for all.” These rallies have no place in Ontario or Canada. You see, Israel is not that far away.

As a parent, I’m grateful to the Minister of Education for implementing mandatory Holocaust education in schools. As Winston Churchill used to say, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Right now, I’m thankful for many things in my community. I’m grateful for the extraordinary leadership in Thornhill and that of our Premier, who denounced this act of terrorism right out of the gate, no hesitation, no wait-and-see, no tactics, because, quite simply, it was the right thing to do. I’m thankful for my colleagues, who periodically check in with me and my riding to provide support and compassion for a bleeding community. And I’m thankful for York Regional Police for keeping us safer, and all GTA police forces, including Durham and Toronto and the OPP, and also including safety partners Hatzoloh and Shomrim, who are working around the clock for our community.

I want to thank the Premier for his powerful speech in support of Israel at Mel Lastman Square. There were 15,000 people in Mel Lastman Square, members of every community, not just those of the Jewish faith. I was proud to stand beside so many of my caucus colleagues, shoulder to shoulder.

Throughout its 75 years history, Israel has demonstrated endless strength and resilience, and although we’re not in Israel, when we stood at Mel Lastman Square, Israel was not that far away. I want to thank the United Jewish Appeal for moving quickly to bring this massive and extraordinary event into fruition, and thank the Premier, again, for his unwavering support when I requested that Niagara Falls be lit in blue and white to honour the lives of those lost to the hands of the Hamas—light over darkness.

There’s an anonymous man who’s sitting in the airport right now, and he’s paying for the tickets of any reservists that are flying back to Israel. These reservists leave behind their families and their homes and their comfort. Let’s not forget, Thornhill is donating its most precious gifts: our sons and our daughters. This man bought 250 tickets.

People coming together, caring for one another, protecting one another, supporting one another: I’m seeing it all right now. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a neighbour or a stranger, anyone, everyone is doing what they can to contribute and show support, fostering a sense of unity, and I think this is quite a piece of light that we can take with us.

I wholeheartedly support this motion. The reprehensible actions of the Hamas, the slaughter, the rape and the kidnapping of innocent lives in Israel, including Canadians, must be condemned. And I stand in support of Israel’s right to defend itself—full stop—because, in the words of my friend Chanie, “They can’t take our light away.” And as we gathered to symbolically light the candles marking Simchat Torah, one by one we lit them up. We prayed for those who had been taken away from us and for those suffering because Israel is not that far away.