Mr. Speaker, today I want to highlight a major concern in my riding of Don Valley East. For so many of my constituents, increased violence in schools, places of worship and public transit has become a reality of daily life, and people are worried about their personal and family safety.

When people fall through the cracks, one of the stops is often public transit. We need to create a safety net that catches them before they get there.

This is about getting vulnerable people the supports that they need. We know that anyone can turn to violence and that anyone can commit a crime, but we also know that building a stronger network of support systems will reduce the risk for everyone.

During the pandemic, as an emergency physician, I saw how rates of child abuse and domestic violence increased because people were stressed to their limits by cost of living, by isolation, by fear, by other things. Worsening access to health care has also meant that people can’t get the mental health and addictions supports that they need.

Mr. Speaker, this government can’t keep pushing public safety onto the municipalities. While there may be some superficial promises in the budget to address social well-being, we all know what a promise from this government is worth. It’s time for this government to stop talking and start delivering.

This means getting serious about tackling hatred in our communities, defending against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and racism in all its forms. And it means tackling gun violence by getting weapons off the street and especially out of the hands of youth.

This government—this province—has an obligation to keep the people of Ontario safe, and we must hold them to it.