My question is for the Premier. The Premier says he wants judges who will be tougher during bail hearings, and on this we can agree. That’s why we worked with the government last year on bail reform. But the Premier also says he wants to abolish the independent judicial system in exchange for a politicized one with like-minded judges—one that’s used and abused south of the border. So he has appointed biased, unqualified political insiders, notably his former deputy chief of staff, to lead the panel that makes judicial recommendations.

But the problem with politicizing the judicial system, Mr. Speaker, is that the Premier’s former deputy chief of staff is also a paid gun lobbyist for Colt’s. How can we expect judges to get tougher on gun crime when the guy recommending them for the job is the guy who sells the guns?

Gun crime is no laughing matter. Police in Ontario reported 4,791 violent gun crimes in 2014. That’s 1,000 more than the previous year. Homicide by gun crime is at an all-time high. The Premier has nice catchphrases like “stop the crime” and “get tough on bail reform,” but he has asked the guy who sells the guns for advice.

Mr. Speaker, there is a violent gun crime in Ontario every two hours. How can we believe the Premier’s tough-on-crime stance when he has asked the guy who sells the guns to appoint the judges?