We’re not talking about all communities. Today, we’re talking about this community, the drag community, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Across Ontario, from Toronto to Thunder Bay, communities have been targeted. They are experiencing hate and violence on the very doorsteps of your business associations and on your small business storefronts, from Welland to Fort Erie to Guelph to Kingston, Kitchener, Gravenhurst, Brockville, Peel, Elora, Lambton, Sarnia, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay—and I could go on. The list is so long.

The private member’s bill—and this government will know it—will take years to pass. Will you expedite that process? Will you work with us to protect the community today?

It was really nice to see you as well this morning. I find that sometimes our best conversations are the ones that happen most spontaneously. So I look forward to many of those encounters, when we can sit down and really focus on fixing the issues that are facing Ontarians. This is the work that I want to do. I think it’s incredibly important that each and every single one of us tries to look at what we can do best for our communities. I know that public service comes with a lot of sacrifice. I’m very aware that the work sometimes can feel daunting and overwhelming.

With respect to the jerseys, I’ve seen the mayor of Toronto don other jerseys when we’ve lost or perhaps we’ve taken on opportunities to champion the teams in the sports fields that we love, and we should do that. I welcome those moments when we can build friendship across every political line.

I think the most important task for us as parliamentarians here is to bring the voices of the community we represent into the House. So when I rise, oftentimes I will share a story—and I want to be able to share their stories as often as I can—it’s largely because they don’t get to stand here at the podium and they don’t get a microphone. So I want to carry their stories. I want to share their priorities and their family priorities so that we can all listen to them, just as much as I will be actively listening to you, Mr. Speaker, and to all members as they share their stories from their communities.

The other thing that I think Toronto Centre residents can expect from me is that they’ll have a champion. I know that sometimes our fights will be difficult. I totally get that; I came from a place where we had some fights every now and then. But I also came from a house in a lower form of government where we were able to work collaboratively together, where we found ways to work together, and that’s what the residents of Toronto Centre expect. They expect us to be able to find ways of co-operation and to address the issues that matter most to them.

Right now, what matters most to them are health care, education, mental health and addictions recovery services. That’s what I’ll be championing, along with affordable housing.

It’s a place where we get to see all of the community members out, and Toronto as a city—Toronto Centre in particular—is a microcosm. Our friend, our colleague, talked about the microcosm that exists in Peterborough; we have residents from around the world who call Toronto Centre home. They speak over 180 different languages. It truly is the most culturally dynamic multicultural city in the world.

I think many people can recognize that not only is Toronto a major employment hub—and there are probably many members who have family members who come to Toronto Centre to work. They become my residents during the daytime, especially during an employment cluster, even if they don’t necessarily vote for myself or the local representatives. But it actually is a place that brings us together, and I really am proud to be a downtown resident raising a family in Toronto Centre.

We have an opportunity to serve in this House. I will not take this privilege lightly, because I know that what I do is going to be analyzed under a microscope; I am very aware that my presence here is very unusual. But I also want to say to all the kids out there, and to all the young adults out there, and to all the queer families—and this includes parents who are taking care of queer kids—that there’s no chair you can’t sit in. Whether it’s the councillor’s chair, the mayor’s chair, the Premier’s chair, or the Prime Minister’s chair, these are places that we all belong. We didn’t get here lightly, and it was not without struggle, and so I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me, who took to the streets, to the courts, to win our civic rights so that we can be free to be who we are today. It’s those giants, their shoulders, that I stand on. Thank you very much.