This question is for the member for Brampton. Thank you for his presentation. We’ve heard that this bill won’t be the last step in improving the lives of children and youth in care. I understand that at the time this bill was introduced, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services filed several additional regulations.

To the member: Can you expand on what these regulations do and how they complement Bill 188’s goals?

The federal Liberals are playing politics with our children’s future by making it harder for parents to invest in their children’s success. But here in Ontario, under the leadership of Premier Ford, we understand that parents, not governments, know what is the best for their children. Parents should not have to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. That’s why we extended the gas tax cut of 10 cents a litre and scrapped the licence plate sticker fee, saving hundreds of dollars, which supports parents who drive their kids to school—money that they can use to help keep the lights on and heat their homes and schools while their children work, play and study.

We introduced the Ontario Childcare Tax Credit, allowing families to claim up to 75% of their child care expenses, putting more money back into their pockets to invest in their children’s future.

Yes, Mr. Speaker, time and time again, the opposition, propped up by the Ontario—

To the member: A lot of the ongoing work of the child welfare redesign was focused on improving the quality of out-of-home care. That’s an important area of focus. Children and youth in care deserve the best possible quality of care. It makes their lives better, and it helps set them up for success. So what changes would the passage of this bill make to out-of-home care requirements?

The bill proposes improving protections for the privacy of individuals who have a history of involvement with child protection, by restricting access to files by others once a young person leaves care. Children who grow up in the care of their birth parents don’t need to worry that a written record about their childhood would be used to stigmatize them later in life. After all, kids will be kids. I think it’s wrong that a child would have that worry just because they were in care.

Does the opposition support including enhanced protections for the privacy of children and youth leaving care in the CYFSA?

Thank you to my dear colleague for asking a very important question. Writing, reading and math are very important for our children’s future. Every single one of the pages, the young people here, need to be well prepared for their future. No matter when they go through high school or when they graduate from high school, they need very well-trained reading, math and science for their future.