This question is for the Premier. Yesterday, while defending his latest plan to stack the judicial appointments committee with insiders and lobbyists, the Premier launched into a tirade about the state of crime in the province. He said, “They’re kicking in doors in the middle of the night, putting guns to people’s heads....”

Given the Premier’s concern about the risk of handguns in violent crime, why did he give a lobbyist for an American handgun manufacturer the power to choose Ontario’s next judges?

Interjections.

Speaker, the tough-on-crime so-called bluster here in the House is not going to change the fact that it’s this government’s failures that have left people without access to justice. Victims of crime are seeing their assailants walk free not because of an insufficiently conservative judge, but because of delays that are the direct result of this Premier’s mishandling and underfunding of our court system.

So, back to the Premier, Speaker: How will appointing a handgun lobbyist to the judicial appointments committee help reduce gun crime?

Interjections.

Speaker, not only are these new patronage appointments former Conservative staffers who lobby their former employers for a living, but one of them registered to lobby after they were appointed to the committee that selects judges. Judges are not meant to be like-minded with any political party and they are not meant to be appointed in the interests of private companies seeking to do business with the government. They are meant to serve the people.

So, Speaker, yes or no—back to the Premier—will these insiders continue to lobby for handgun manufacturers while they are appointing our judges?

Interjections.

This Premier refuses, again, to take accountability and responsibility for anything. Our court system is collapsing, and he is blaming the judges?

The government spent a billion dollars on a new Toronto courthouse—

Interjections.

Our court system is collapsing, and he is blaming judges?

The government spent a billion dollars on a new Toronto courthouse only to have it dubbed “a monument to failure.” Courtrooms are forced to close every single day in this province because of understaffing. Their chronic underfunding means that people never get their day in court, and it means that victims will continue to be forced to watch their assailants walk free under this government.

Will the Premier finally take responsibility or will he continue to look for scapegoats for his own failures?

To the Premier: Why was a multinational accounting firm with little to no experience with software development handed this contract without having to compete?

Despite what the government members say, ministry and tribunal staff say timelines and milestones are repeatedly delayed, and the costs just keep growing.

To the Premier: Can you explain why you’ve let the costs balloon to over $26 million when they cannot seem to get the job done?

People are not getting justice at the Landlord and Tenant Board. They have been plagued with delays since this government came into office six long years ago. There are now more than 38,000 people waiting for their cases to be heard. People are waiting months and sometimes years for their hearing to be even scheduled.

And while Ontarians are stuck in this chaos, this government’s solution is to hand out more multi-million dollar contracts to their insider friends and giant corporations.

So one more time to the Premier—and I’m going to make it simple: Why was only one company considered for this contract, and why is it 26 times more expensive today than it was when it was signed?

This question is for the Premier.

Yesterday, the Premier tripled down, I guess, on his decision to interfere in our judicial appointments process. He described an epidemic of crime happening on his government’s watch. His solution: appointing Conservative insiders to the committee that appoints judges.

Ontarians don’t want an American-style partisan judiciary. They do not want judges picked because they are “like-minded” with a government that is under criminal investigation by the RCMP. They just want a system that works.

Will the Premier rescind these appointments and start reversing the damage that his neglect has had on access to justice in this province?

The newly appointed chair of the judicial appointments committee is a registered lobbyist who lobbied the government as recently as last week—among their clients, American gun manufacturers. Yesterday, the Attorney General seemed to say this was all business as usual, and I have to say, unfortunately, I don’t disagree, because under this government, business as usual means that insiders, donors, people with access come first every single time.

Back to the Premier: Will he rescind these appointments now or do we have to wait another month for him to backpedal on this latest scandal?

I’ll remind the Attorney General again, the Federation of Ontario Law Associations called the Premier’s comments a “juvenile misapprehension.” He has placed two former staffers on the committee to advance a political agenda in our courts.

The Advocates’ Society has sent the Premier a letter saying that his approach poses “a substantial threat to the independence of ... judges” and “the administration of justice” here in the province of Ontario. They may not like it, but that’s what they’re saying.

Speaker, back to the Attorney General again: He must make clear right here and right now, is he going to move forward on this, or will he show some integrity and condemn the Premier’s comments?

Interjections.

Interjections.

I’m going to shift here a little. I’d like to get some clarity on the questions that I asked yesterday. After getting caught giving misleading testimony to the Integrity Commissioner under oath, the Premier’s former policy adviser and his former Minister for Public and Business Service Delivery both changed their testimony before resigning.

To the Premier, my question is, has Mr. Sackville or any other official in the Premier’s office changed their testimony to the Integrity Commissioner?

So back to the Premier: How can people trust this government when top staff in the Premier’s office are repeatedly giving conflicting information about the greenbelt under oath, and what will the Premier do about it?