My question is to the Premier. A new report released by the Daily Bread Food Bank and North York Harvest found that one in 10 people in Toronto are now making use of food banks. That is double the rate of 2022. There were over 2.5 million visits in the past year to food banks in Toronto alone, a 51% increase. Food banks across Ontario are reporting similar increases as well.

It is clear that we are facing a food insecurity crisis in this province. Food banks themselves know that distributing food will not solve the issue. Food insecurity is a public policy issue requiring public policy solutions. My question to the Premier is, how is this government going to address the growing food insecurity crisis in Ontario?

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Ontario Place has been a cherished public space for over 50 years, providing joy, recreation and cultural experiences for Ontarians and tourists alike and holds cultural and historical significance as a landmark that symbolizes Ontario’s commitment to innovation, sustainability and public engagement;

“Whereas redevelopment that includes a private, profit-driven venture by an Austrian spa company prioritizes commercial interests over the needs and desires of the people of Ontario, and it is estimated that the cost to prepare the grounds for redevelopment and build a 2,000-car underground garage will cost approximately $650 million;

“Whereas there are concerns of cronyism by Therme Group Canada’s vice-president of communications and external relations, who was previously the Premier’s deputy chief of staff;

“Whereas meaningful public consultations with diverse stakeholders have not been adequately conducted and the official opposition has sent a letter of support for a public request to begin an investigation into a value-for-money and compliance audit with respect to proposed redevelopment of Ontario Place;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to halt any further development plans for Ontario Place, engage in meaningful and transparent public consultations to gather input and ideas for the future of Ontario Place, develop a comprehensive and sustainable plan for the revitalization of Ontario Place that prioritizes environmental sustainability, accessibility and inclusivity, and ensure that any future development of Ontario Place is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner, with proper oversight, public input and adherence to democratic processes.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it, and give it to page Peter to give it to the Clerks.

Speaker, I want to talk a little bit about what has happened as well in our communities over the past few days since this attack. I think it’s very important for us to make sure that we act on this. The Toronto police have investigated two recent acts of vandalism at a local mosque, both believed to be hate-driven, one of which occurred on October 12 at a mosque at Danforth Avenue and Donlands Avenue, which was targeted with hate symbols and hateful writings. At the same time, we have heard about the school closure and the horrific anti-Semitic attacks across the city, where police had been called to make sure that people across Toronto can feel safe.

Speaker, the impact that all of this has had—the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian hate has increased immensely. There are people who are Palestinian Canadians, who are Israeli Canadians, who are Jewish Canadians, who are Muslim Canadians. And I think sometimes it’s forgotten or missed by many of us that there are Palestinian Christians, there are Palestinian Jews, and there are Palestinians of other religions as well who have been impacted by this—including the 1,100 Christians who are stuck in a church looking for safety.

It is extremely incumbent on us to make sure—and I know that the motion did not go through, and I hope that the House will listen—that we do everything to push the government of Canada to advocate for an immediate release of all hostages, the protection of all civilians in accordance with international law, an end to the siege of bombardment of Gaza, and humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian civilians urgently.

The reason I say this is because we need to also look at the root cause of all of this. I got to learn a lot from some of the experts—and I say this from lessons that I have learned from people who are family members, are Holocaust survivors who have shared their side of the story. Recently, one of them is David Hearst, a journalist who talked about the impact and looking at the root cause of this.

Right now, when we look at this, we know that we have a responsibility to listen and understand the issue. I know this may be the first time many people across the province are tuning in to the issue of Palestine and Israel. As sad as that sounds, there are a lot of people who have called me with anger and rage, and after we had a conversation, they said, “I will go and find out what the issue is on both sides.” And I know that there are a lot of people who have their own personal stories, who know and learn about what took place. So, today, when we talk about this, we have to make sure that we tell the full story. We have to make sure that we allow for our communities to be heard in a fair way that is important.

The difference between those who have been returned from Israel and those who have returned from Palestine is very simple, and I’ll tell you why. While 1,300 Canadians from Tel Aviv were safely returned, there was a stark difference in the way Palestinians were treated when they tried to get back to their homeland, to Canada—so for that, we need to step back and understand what took place. When Palestinian Canadians tried to go back, they had to take a bus to Jordan and book their own flight and return to Canada. They did not have our local MP, Minister Bill Blair, putting out the flight that went and carried them back. They didn’t have that. So I ask this House: Do Palestinian Canadians not have the same right? Do their lives not have value in the same way—to make sure that they also return home safely to their loved ones? When Hala talks about her 16 family members who were killed and one family member who is still waiting to return—does that family member not have the right, just like anyone else, just like any other human being?

When we have people who are Palestinian Canadians telling us their side of the story, we need to make sure that we hear that as well. And today, I hope that our government will listen. As a provincial government, we don’t have the power to move policies, but we do have power in our voices, in our words, to make sure that we influence the federal government to make that change.

We also need to make sure that we look at the root cause of this. We know that the violence did not start last week—

I want to ask the member, because he’s in Scarborough: Why hasn’t he advocated for operational funding for the city of Toronto so that Scarborough could have better services within the TTC?

Thank you very much, Speaker. I also want to take a moment to thank my colleague and friend from Toronto Centre for her very informative remarks, because I know she cares deeply about transit across this city and this province and has done a lot of work as a councillor before to make sure that we have transit that is integrated and serves the people.

One of the things that we’ve always had difficulty with, Speaker, which provincial governments repeatedly failed, was providing the operating funding. The answer that she was just giving—I think there was more to carry forward on that topic as well. Because we have seen governments fail to provide the operational funding necessary for the TTC, and look at where we are right now. I’m in Scarborough; we have a horrible system where people need to wait for 45 minutes to an hour sometimes to get on the bus.

So I would like to hear from the member about what she thinks could have been in this bill, but also, in terms of schedule 2, how this will actually deteriorate when it comes to the services that we need in our transit system.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Toronto city staff’s assessment of Bill 23 notes that it does not sufficiently address housing affordability, but instead decimates the city’s ability to fund services for new residents;

“Whereas the assessment from officials, including the chief planner, notes that this bill will harm the city’s ability to build affordable rentals and new homeless shelters;

“Whereas this bill does not present solutions that would push developers to build in ways that would save homebuyers any additional cost or address the skyrocketing cost of housing;

“Whereas this bill will push for a revenue loss for Toronto while the city is anticipating an $815-million budget shortfall and residents continue to struggle with not only day-to-day costs but also underfunded city services;

“Whereas this bill will impact the city’s ability to deliver on its 10-year housing targets, invest in new shelter services, and continue affordable housing development and protection programs that support vulnerable residents;

“Whereas this bill will decrease the amount of affordable housing required under the city’s zoning policies and deliver on the HousingNowTO targets and the annual financial impact of Bill 23 on Toronto would be approximately $200 million, $130 million of which would be removing housing services;

“Whereas Bill 23 will take away the powers of municipalities to protect tenants in the case of demovictions and harm renters, homeowners, and families who are looking to find safe and affordable homes and remove access to city services;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to repeal this harmful piece of legislation and engage in meaningful consultations with municipalities, conservation authorities, and communities to address the housing affordability crisis.”

Speaker, I fully support this petition. I will affix my signature to it and give it to page Sophie to take to the Clerks.

I listened to both the member from Durham and the member from Richmond Hill asking for support for this legislation, and one of the things I’m really concerned about, Speaker, is the crisis in our housing across this province. Not only can’t people rent, but people are seeing the high mortgage payments and the increasing property taxes. We’re seeing this is going to happen in Toronto, as well.

How do you justify the cut by your government of $124.4 million in this budget to municipal affairs?

I have a petition here.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas Toronto city staff’s assessment of Bill 23 notes that it does not sufficiently address housing affordability, but instead decimates the city’s ability to fund services for new residents;

“Whereas the assessment from officials, including the chief planner, notes that this bill will harm the city’s ability to build affordable rentals and new homeless shelters;

“Whereas this bill does not present solutions that would push developers to build in ways that would save homebuyers any additional cost or address the skyrocketing cost of housing;

“Whereas this bill will push for a revenue loss for Toronto while the city is anticipating an $815-million budget shortfall and residents continue to struggle with not only day-to-day costs but also underfunded city services;

“Whereas this bill will impact the city’s ability to deliver on its 10-year housing targets, invest in new shelter services, and continue affordable housing development and protection programs that support vulnerable residents;

“Whereas this bill will decrease the amount of affordable housing required under the city’s zoning policies and deliver on the HousingNowTO targets and the annual financial impact of Bill 23 on Toronto would be approximately $200 million, $100 million of which would be removing housing services;

“Whereas Bill 23 will take away the powers of municipalities to protect tenants in the case of demovictions and harm renters, homeowners, and families who are looking to find safe and affordable homes and remove access to city services;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, call on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to repeal this harmful piece of legislation and engage in meaningful consultations with municipalities, conservation authorities, and communities to address the housing affordability crisis.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it and give it to page Taylor to take it to the Clerks.

I am also delighted to welcome the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association here, Local 3888, but more specifically Andrew Curtis and Bill Morris to the House here. I’m sure they’re somewhere around in one of the galleries.

I have a petition here to stop the elimination of the 69 Warden South bus route.

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Toronto Transit Commission’s annual service plan seeks to replace route 69 Warden South by the existing 135 Gerrard and the new 117 Birchmount South operating from Warden Station to Bingham Loop;

“Whereas 69 Warden South is an essential route for the residents of Scarborough, especially residents of Scarborough Southwest;

“Whereas for families, youth, students and seniors, the 69 Warden South is the only way for them to access public services such as the Albert Campbell library and the Warden subway station;

“Whereas many youth and seniors living in Scarborough Southwest have to rely on public transit to access basic necessities such as groceries, pharmacies and health care;

“Whereas the proposed growth plan for Scarborough along Kingston Road requires proper transit planning and accessibility for residents both current and future;

“Whereas the replacement route is longer, inefficient, and eliminate door-to-door service for many, requiring extra walking, and would make many places like the Taylor Memorial library, Birchmount Community Centre, Birchmount Stadium, Scarborough Gardens, grocery stores such as Tasteco, Sun Valley, Red Rose Halal, and many more completely inaccessible by public transit;

“Whereas the average daily ridership on this route is 3,900 people on weekdays and 2,100 people on Saturday, and 1,800 people on Sunday;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to stop the elimination of the 69 Warden South bus route, which is essential to the day-to-day travels and livelihoods of all Scarborough Southwest residents and establishments and call on the Toronto Transit Commission to do a consultation and study that provides the services that the residents of Scarborough need.”

I fully support this petition, will affix my signature to it and give it to page Eric for the Clerks.

Resuming the debate adjourned on December 6, 2022, on the motion for time allocation of the following bill:

Bill 51, An Act to amend the Legislative Assembly Act / Projet de loi 51, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l’Assemblée législative.