I am sure that the members on that side of the House are hearing the same stories from their constituents as we are hearing on this side of the House. I just want to—just last week, a single mom came to my office, working full-time but struggling to pay her bills. She got an eviction notice after 18 years in her apartment and doesn’t know where she’s going to live. A 75-year-old man told us he works a minimum-wage job at Walmart, because he has to, to pay the bills. He’s lived at the same address for 30 years—the unit is now up for sale; he’s desperate about where he is going to live.

So my question to the government members is, why is there nothing in this bill or any of the previous housing bills that this government has introduced that is going to deal with stabilizing rents and keeping tenants housed in this province?

Point of order.

Point of order, Speaker.

While the London terror attack was the most deadly incident of Islamophobia in Ontario, it was certainly not the first. And in the three years since, we have seen an alarming intensification of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism—especially in the wake of the violence in Gaza—in our schools, on our streets and in our communities.

In 2022, I was proud to co-sponsor Our London Family Act, legislation that sets out comprehensive measures to proactively combat Islamophobia and all forms of hate. Shockingly, the government refused to allow the bill to be debated, saying it would be studied instead and brought back. Two years later, there has been no study, no legislation, no opportunity for debate, and no increased protection from harassment, discrimination and hate.

Speaker, all Ontarians deserve to feel safe in their workplaces, schools and communities. If this government is not prepared to heed the urgent call of Ontario’s Muslim community, the NDP is. The need for legislated action has never been greater, and we hope that this time the government will support our efforts and pass our bill.

I want to thank my colleague the member for Nickel Belt for her remarks. I think her summary of what happened in committee was very useful, to hear the kind of input that people brought to the public consultation process. It was also interesting and very disappointing to hear about the number of amendments that were proposed and yet were rejected by this government.

So I wanted to ask the member for Nickel Belt if she could highlight maybe one or two amendments that were rejected that she feels would have had the greatest impact on helping protect kids in this province.

I appreciated the remarks of the government members on this bill, which we on this side of the House have been clear that we support because it does take some modest action to improve protections for children and youth.

However, many of the concerns that this bill addresses and more—a huge number more of concerns—were identified by the former child and youth advocate in this province, Irwin Elman. He points out that there are 19,000 serious occurrence reports every quarter that are produced by group residential homes. And one of his primary roles was to address those serious occurrence reports.

So why did the government not take the opportunity to reinstate that vital position of child and youth advocate?

Speaker, Gabrielle lives in London West and has been on a child care wait-list for two years. She was only able to return to work because she found home child care, and she and her husband adjusted their work schedules so that one can do the 8:30 drop-off and the other can do the 4:30 pickup.

Gabrielle works at London Health Sciences Centre and told me that many nurses want to get back to work after their mat leaves, but they can’t because they can’t find child care.

Speaker, does this government understand that a child care plan without a workforce strategy is not going to help women like Gabrielle get back into the labour market?

I had the opportunity to attend the public hearings on this bill. I was there for a panel that had deputations from Dr. Martha Harding—who is from the East Village Animal Hospitals, which are veterinary clinics in London, Kitchener and Hamilton that are run as non-profits—the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society as well as the Toronto Humane Society. All three of those presenters talked about the barriers to pet ownership and accessing veterinary care because the model that is enshrined in the Veterinarians Act does not allow not-for-profit corporations to own and operate veterinary clinics.

I understand that this may be addressed in the regulations, but I’m interested in hearing from the members whether that is the direction that this government is going in because it’s so important for low-income individuals to access veterinary care.

I would like to express thanks to London West resident Johanne Nichols, who collected about a hundred signatures on a petition that addresses increasing costs in health care for corporate executives and administration. She notes that our health care system is in crisis. She is concerned about ensuring that funding is going to direct patient care instead of senior administration salaries. She is recommending that the Legislative Assembly institute parameters to specify the percentage of health care budget and funding that should be going to administrative and corporate personnel.

I will affix my signature to this petition and send it to the table with page Riley.

I will affix my signature and send this petition to the table with page Ethan.

I fully support this petition, affix my signature and will send it to the table with page Riley.

We have all heard from constituents who want to see some improvements to the program to improve access to the program and also to make timely repairs. This petition has a number of measures that the government could and should take.

I fully support this petition, affix my signature and send it to the table with page Jasnoor.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I would like to thank my constituent Carl Kelly, who is a prostate cancer survivor and an active volunteer in the London Prostate Cancer Support group, who provided me with signed copies of petitions urging this government to ensure OHIP coverage for PSA testing.

The petition notes that prostate cancer is the most common cancer to affect Canadian men. It notes that early detection of prostate cancer saves lives and that PSA testing is a critical screening tool to enable that early detection. It calls on the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to ensure that PSA testing is covered under OHIP for all eligible residents of this province.

I support this petition, affix my signature and send it to the table with page Norah.

The petition notes the significant cuts to community mental health services and the effective disbanding of the anti-racism directorate, which have led to an increase in demand for mental health services on campus and an increase in reported incidents of hate and racism on Ontario campuses. It also notes that this government has come nowhere close to providing the funding that colleges and universities need in this province in order to provide appropriate mental health and anti-racism supports for students.

It notes that Bill 166 opens the door to political interference, which is why—

I am very proud to present this petition entitled “Justice for Sexual Assault Survivors.” It is a petition that urges support for Bill 189, Lydia’s Law, legislation that I am proud to be a co-sponsor of, along with my colleague the member for Waterloo and also the member for Toronto Centre.

The petition notes that the vast majority of sexual assault cases in this province go unreported. There are a very small number that actually go to trial. Of that small number, last year more than 1,300 of those cases that went to court were withdrawn or they were stayed before a trial had been held. This is shameful for the survivors who had the courage to actually report and tried to pursue justice. It is a denial of justice for those survivors, just as they were denied an opportunity to hear a debate about Lydia’s Law in this chamber.

The petition calls for the recommendations that were made in 2019—five years ago—by the Auditor General to ensure the proactive reporting on sexual assault cases that fall through the cracks in this broken justice system and to look for reasons that—

The petition calls on the Legislative Assembly to adopt the provisions of Lydia’s Law, including the Auditor General’s recommendations to ensure some accountability from this government for taking sexual assault cases to trial and also to enhance the independent legal advice program and the Victim Quick Response Program.

I couldn’t agree more with this petition. I affix my signature and send it to the table with page Kai.

Point of order, Speaker.

I am proud to support this petition, which is signed by 120 residents in London West, and I will send it to the table with page Anika.

Again to the minister: During the hearings on this bill at committee, we heard about the veterinary legislative oversight acts that are in place in other jurisdictions—BC, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Florida—that all include non-profit veterinary services in their veterinary legislation.

My question to the minister is: Can she assure all of those veterinarians who want to be able to provide non-profit delivery of veterinary services that the regulations under this act will be expanded to enable that in this province?

Thank you to the minister and the parliamentary assistant for their remarks on this bill.

I had the opportunity to attend one of the committee meetings that was reviewing this legislation, and I was particularly interested in the panel from the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society, the Toronto Humane Society and Dr. Martha Harding, who operates three not-for-profit veterinary clinics. They shared stories about how, in this current affordability crisis, we are seeing a doubling of demand for pet food to community food banks. They are seeing more and more animals having to be surrendered for economic reasons, which is absolutely heartbreaking, because all families—low-income people should be able to access veterinary services.

What in this bill will expand access to veterinary services, especially for low-income Ontarians?

I have a petition entitled “Stop Bill 166.” This is legislation, of course, that was passed yesterday in this Legislature, despite the opposition of the official opposition. The reason we opposed that bill is set out in this petition. It’s because it directs anti-racism and mental health work on campuses without the involvement of those who have expertise in this area, at a time when there have been significant cuts to community mental health services and, also, an effective dismantling of the Anti-Racism Directorate.

It also notes that our post-secondary institutions are facing a very serious fiscal crisis, and the inadequacy of the government’s funding for post-secondary education is going to mean cuts to staff who work in mental health and anti-racism services on campus. The petition raises concerns about the political interference in university research and education in Ontario through Bill 166, and notes that the protection of universities from political interference is lauded as a cornerstone of democracy and, therefore, calls on the government to not move ahead with Bill 166.

I fully support this petition, affix my signature and will send it to the table with page Harry.

This petition notes that the pressure placed on our education system has led to a dramatic increase in reports of violence in our schools, as well as an increase in the severity of the violent incidents. The petition recommends that classroom sizes be reduced, that additional supports be funded for schools, including mental health resources. It calls for an end to violence against education workers, teachers and EAs and other education staff. It calls for improved workplace reporting and more support staff.

Those are the kinds of measures that would be needed to address violence in our schools. Those are measures I fully support, and I will affix my signature and send the petition to the table with page Harry again.

We also have a birthday on this side of the House. We would like to congratulate the terrific member for Toronto–St. Paul’s on her birthday today.

I’m pleased to welcome my constituent Craig Smith who is here in the public gallery. Craig and I worked together in this place in 1990. He is now the president of ETFO Thames Valley, and I’m here. Welcome to the Legislature, Craig.

To my colleague the member for Ottawa Centre: One of the things that we heard at committee is that there are two basic essentials for policies to be effective. One is the direct engagement and involvement of those who are directly affected by a policy, to be involved in the development of that policy, and the second is the resources to operationalize a policy, to implement it. I wondered if the member sees either of those two criteria included in the bill.

Thank you to my colleague the member for Ottawa Centre for his remarks. He spoke about the financial crisis that is facing our post-secondary sector and the consequences for teaching faculty. Many of those faculty positions are filled by contract faculty who have very precarious job security—no job security, actually—very precarious employment, lack of benefits etc.

One of the things that we heard in committee is the same thing is happening in the mental health services offices on campus, the same thing is happening in the equity and diversity and inclusion offices on campus. They are terribly understaffed because universities and colleges don’t have the resources. Has the member been hearing that in his community as well?

I’m proud to rise today as someone who served on the Thames Valley District School Board as a trustee for 13 years. I was elected in 2000, at a time when public education was under attack by a former Conservative government, and today I am proud to be part of the official opposition caucus that is once again fighting for public education against a Conservative government that wants students to fail.

Speaker, this government does not understand the importance of a strong publicly funded education system. They don’t understand what happens to students and parents when education funding declines.

One of my favourite quotes about education is that it’s the great equalizer and the great escalator. It ensures that every child, regardless of their background, is able to participate and benefit from the education system, and it also ensures that kids get the support that they need to reach their full potential. But what we have seen under this government is a $1,500 decrease in per-student funding since 2018. OPSBA, the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, says in fact that this is the lowest per-student level of funding in 10 years.

What happens when education is underfunded, and especially at a time when community services are also being underfunded? It means that kids in our schools go without support. It means that kids with the highest needs, kids who are already marginalized, are hurt the most. It means violence is normalized in our schools. We’re seeing a spike in violent incidents that we haven’t seen before. It means teachers are leaving the profession. It means EA positions are not being filled, because the jobs don’t pay enough, the jobs are dangerous and the jobs are not respected by this government. It means shortages in administration.

Speaker, we need to see this government come forward with funding that is going to enable all of our kids to succeed. I call on this government: Support this motion. Invest in education, invest in our kids and invest in the future of our province.