I rise in full support of the motion now tabled by my honourable colleague the Solicitor General of Ontario. I rise in support of this motion because, well, I’m a human being; because I’m a member of my community; because I have relatives, loved ones, neighbours and friends who are fearful of what this city is becoming; but also because I try my hardest to represent the views of the people who elected me—the young and the old, the well-to-do and the dispossessed, the connected and the voiceless. I seek to represent everyone in my constituency. Don’t we all? But above all, I am a citizen, and I am a believer in the concept of civility versus chaos, of right and wrong. And today—in the spirit of this motion—I see a lot of wrong stalking my city. I see it across Ontario and across Canada. Be honest, my honourable colleagues: You see it too. In large part, it takes the form of a system of justice that favours the perpetrator over the victim. It’s a system that seeks root causes, when those root causes too often lie at the tip of a knife or the muzzle of a gun, or a can of flammable liquid and a match, or the raw, bare hands of a strangler. It is a system that assumes the best of the worst among us. And it has got to stop.

Canada needs meaningful bail reform. Serious violent offenders, offenders convicted of intimate partner violence, repeat violent criminals, offenders caught with illegal guns are all being released back onto our streets. As a result, many Ontarians are now afraid to walk down the street or take public transit for the first time in decades.

The people of Ontario are right to be frustrated by the failures of Canada’s justice system. Yet despite repeated demands from every single Premier across this country, led on this critical issue by Premier Ford, Ottawa has continued to resist making the necessary changes to keep our communities safe.

I fully recognize that there have been two distinct manifestations of random violence on our streets, subways, buses and streetcars in the recent months: those who are homeless and often have psychological challenges or challenges with addictions, who may have sought shelter from the weather in our transit system—they deserve our compassion, the right treatment, and comfort from the cold. But there’s a second category—and this is the point of my remarks in the House today, and indeed to this motion: those who are inherently violent and calculating; those who have committed offences in the past, often many times, and often violent offences at that, who are turned back onto our streets time and time again.

It’s all because of—let’s call it what it is—a perverted part of our federal justice system that essentially says, “Let’s give them one more chance, and then another, and then another, and then another.” And as we all know now, it has happened in our city again.

Speaker, this matter is very personal to me, as the member of provincial Parliament for Etobicoke–Lakeshore. We’ve seen the violence on our TTC creep into our neighbourhoods.

Tragically, just last week, as the minister mentioned, Gabriel, a teenager of just 16 years of age, was murdered on the TTC by a repeat violent offender out on bail. This hits too close to home. As the CBC reported on March 28, a young felon, charged with the unprovoked stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at Keele subway station three days previously, had a rap sheet as long as your arm. He had been in and out of prison, both here and in Newfoundland and Labrador, over several years. He was wanted on an outstanding warrant for breaching probation conditions. Charges against him included low-level fraud, theft, mischief, arson, uttering threats, and failing to comply with court orders. He had been ordered not to possess any kind of weapon. He had previously been charged with one count each of assault, obstructing a police officer and failing to attend court. Yet despite it all, an innocent 16-year-old boy has been robbed of his future and snatched from his family forever.

But as all members of this House well know, this grisly roll call doesn’t end there. Here is just a sampling of the carnage in Ontario alone, with thanks to a January 17 National Post article:

On January 11, a 19-year-old Mississauga man was stabbed from behind by a suspect out on bail for a series of alleged violent crimes.

Last December 14, Peel police charged a man with two counts of attempted murder after he allegedly fired a gun into a group of men during an argument. He, too, was out on bail and was already wanted by the Toronto police for second-degree murder and attempted murder.

Last December 27, a man already out on bail for a string of firearms charges and assault on a peace officer was charged with murder in the death of a rookie OPP constable.

And on January 16, one of four accused in a violent London, Ontario, gold dealer robbery, during which the owner was shot dead, was granted bail, even having been found to be previously on bail after leading police on a car chase. That charge was laid while the suspect was already out on bail for gun charges.

So what do we do to end this litany of horrors thanks to what has come to be called Ottawa’s “catch-and-release” policy regarding violent offenders?

You could ask the federal justice minister, David Lametti. On March 7, he told the National Post, “I believe our bail system is strong and sound, but we are always open to suggestions for improvements.” I’ll just leave that one hanging out there for a second.

Or you could ask the honourable Leader of the Opposition, right here in the chamber. On March 28, in Brian Lilley’s column in the Toronto Sun, the member was referred to as follows in her response to calls for more police to tackle this epidemic:

“Stiles said calls for more police were fruitless and just Ford playing politics.

“‘The solution is to address the root cause. We have a homelessness crisis. We have a mental health and addiction crisis,’ Stiles said.”

At least the latter part is true. But as noted earlier, we also have a crime crisis—a crisis of hardened criminals repeatedly let loose on our streets to reoffend, re-assault and often re-murder again and again and again.

On the matter of improvements: In our most meaningful attempt to remedy these lax federal bail rules to date, this House convened special legislative justice committee hearings over January 30 and January 31, inviting expert testimony on how reform to these laws could hopefully save lives. As parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General, I took a lead role in these hearings, with my colleague the member from Sarnia–Lambton.

Here, in my mind, is the key quote from sworn testimony—this one is from a question put forth to OPP commissioner Thomas Carrique: “Yes, I do believe that bail reform will save lives. The experience of police officers in our communities will testify to that. The data where we see ... violent offenders while out on bail committing further violent acts will corroborate that.”

Throughout these hearings, we heard a constant and concerning theme: Serious violent offenders, those previously convicted for intimate partner violence, repeat violent criminal offenders, and thugs caught with illegal guns are being routinely released back onto our streets thanks to the dysfunction of the Canadian bail system.

Our committee’s report, unanimously supported by all three parties, was tabled in the Legislature on March 20, 2023.

The time for stalling and excuses from Ottawa is over. The time for action is now. Until that happens, our government is doing everything we can to confront violent crime within the scope of our own jurisdiction.

In addition to demanding criminal justice reform from the federal government concerning bail rules, led by Premier Ford, with the support of all Premiers, we have hired more correctional services and parole officers for Toronto detention centres. We have deployed new technologies to deter carjacking, and we have committed $75 million to fight cross-border guns and drugs by disrupting gang activities and their revenue streams. This investment also created a guns-and-gangs mobile prosecution unit, to name just a few initiatives, all designed to keep our community safe.

Speaker, in my role as MPP for Etobicoke–Lakeshore, every time I head out for constituency events I hear about the sense of outrage expressed by the people in my riding—I spoke to a man just on Friday, and I told him to watch, so, hopefully, he is watching—that follows the daily headlines of acts of violence committed by offenders out on bail. “Can’t you do something?” they ask. As parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General, I always feel as though I’m making excuses when I try to explain that the Criminal Code and its bail and parole provisions are Ottawa’s responsibility.

But now, the ball is firmly in Minister Lametti’s court, thanks to the leadership of Premier Ford in marshalling the support of every single province and territory and pushing for an end to catch-and-release.

As the National Post so ably put it a short while ago, “It’s hard to get all 10 Canadian provinces to agree on much, but last week they agreed that the state of the country’s bail system is a disaster.” It all so simply is a disaster.

In fact, it is so commonsensical that I remain astonished that more people in positions of authority just don’t get it still today—and it goes like this: “Commit the crime? You do the time.”