My question is for the Solicitor General. Firefighters hold an essential role in our communities. They risk their lives to keep us and our loved ones safe. I want to give a shout-out to the men and women of stations number 431, 432, 433, 434 and 435, from Etobicoke–Lakeshore. Thank you for your service.

Speaker, the Liberal carbon tax is placing additional financial burdens on our public safety system. People in my riding of Etobicoke–Lakeshore are concerned about how this punitive tax is impacting first responders in our province. They want to ensure that Ontario’s firefighters have the support they need to protect our communities.

Speaker, could the Solicitor General discuss how the carbon tax is impacting firefighters’ efforts in Ontario?

Unlike the carbon tax queen, Bonnie Crombie, and her party of nine, our government knows that this tax makes life harder and more expensive for hard-working families and businesses throughout our entire province. Not only does it increase the cost of goods, but it’s also driving up the cost of fuel and gasoline for everyone in this province, including our firefighters and those trucks that drive right in front of me along the Gardiner on their way to the food terminal every day.

We have heard how the NDP and the Liberals won’t stand up for our public safety heroes, but I know we, this party led by Premier Ford, will always stand up for our public safety heroes.

Speaker, can the Solicitor General further elaborate on the importance of cancelling the carbon tax for Ontario’s firefighters?

Well, it has nothing to do with this bill, but I’m happy to respond about the Mimico GO Station because it’s very important to my community. It’s a 10-minute walk from my house, and I take it all the time.

The Mimico GO Station—we are working with the Ministry of Transportation. What I’d like to see is—the company is no longer utilizing the location. So we need to find somebody else to build that GO station. There is a GO station; you can use it. What I’d like to see is us opening up some of the parking so more people can have some parking at this moment. But right now, what we do need is someone to take over the property. Metrolinx is dealing with it. I’m on top of it. My team is on top of it.

I appreciate the question, because I’m able to get that out to the constituents in my area, because it is extremely important that we’re able to take transit when we can and where we need it. But my goal is to get some more parking over there. So thank you for the question.

Once again, you have to look at the judicial system as it is. They are impartial. Every judge is impartial. That’s why they take their job.

This bill is actually extremely important because we have seen more trends of hate-related crimes, human trafficking and car theft. Car theft is rampant. Most recently, police services, including the Toronto Police Service, have reported an increase in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, hate crimes driven by, obviously, the conflict in Israel and Hamas—against Israel and Hamas.

We’re proposing changes to the Victims’ Bill of Rights that has made changes in regulation to allow more victims to sue convicted offenders for emotional distress and related bodily harm for more crimes, including terrorism, motor vehicle theft, hate crimes, religious officials who have been targeted or people who are disrupting religious worship, as well as far more sexual offences and human trafficking than in the past—