Report continued from volume A.

1800

Private Members’ Public Business

Hate crimes

Mrs. Michelle Cooper: I move that, in the opinion of the House, the government of Ontario should establish a special prosecution unit for hate crimes.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Pursuant to standing order 100, the member has 12 minutes for her presentation.

Mrs. Michelle Cooper: Speaker, Ontario is strong because of its people. It thrives because of its diversity—because of the countless cultures, religions, languages and traditions that come together to form one province. What makes Ontario exceptional is not that we are all the same but that we have chosen, generation after generation, to live side by side with mutual respect, dignity and a shared commitment to opportunity. That is the promise of Ontario, but hate threatens that promise.

Hate is not confined to one community. It does not stop at one neighbourhood. When hatred takes root, it erodes trust, fractures communities and weakens the very foundation of our society. Hate diminishes us all. And, Speaker, the data now confirms what many communities are already feeling: According to Statistics Canada, hate crimes in Canada have surged, rising more than 80% between 2019 and 2022. That trend has continued with nearly 4,900 police-reported hate crimes in 2024.

Importantly, Ontario accounts for nearly half of all police-reported hate crimes in Canada, making this not only a national issue but one that is especially urgent here at home. And the situation in Ontario itself has continued to deteriorate. Between 2020 and 2024, police-reported hate crimes in Ontario rose from 702 incidents to 1,190 incidents, an increase of approximately 70% in just four years. This is not a spike—it is a sustained and deeply concerning rise.

But within that broader increase, one reality stands out clearly and consistently: the disproportionate targeting of Jewish Canadians. In 2024, approximately 68% of all religion-motivated hate crimes in Canada targeted the Jewish community—nearly seven in 10. Jewish Canadians make up less than 1% of the population yet remain the most targeted religious group year after year. And here in Toronto, anti-Jewish hate crimes account for a significant share of reported incidents—once again making the Jewish community the most targeted. Speaker, these are not just statistics. They are a warning, and they reflect a lived reality.

I rise today not only as a member of provincial Parliament but as a Jewish woman who represents a riding with a large and vibrant Jewish community—and I want to speak plainly about what that means today. Because of my religion, when we attend synagogue, we require security cameras and armed guards just to pray. Because of my religion, our children go to school with police parked outside, sometimes with officers on horseback patrolling nearby. Because of my religion, police presence has become a normal part of daily life in our neighbourhood, not because of anything we have done but simply because of who we are. We are targeted.

It has become normalized for protests to take place in our neighbourhoods where families live, where children walk to school, where vile and hateful things are shouted at us and at our children simply because we are Jewish. We are spit at. We are yelled at. We are made to feel like strangers in our own communities.

The situation has escalated beyond words. In my neighbourhood only two weeks ago, a Jewish-owned business had been shot at, targeted simply because the owner is Jewish. Synagogues have been riddled with bullets in my neighbourhood and adjoining neighbourhoods. A Jewish girls’ school was also shot at. Businesses and parks have been graffitied with hateful, vile messages targeted towards the Jewish community. This is not abstract. This is not theoretical. This is happening here in Ontario right now, and this is unacceptable.

Speaker, this is not the Ontario I grew up in, and it is not the Ontario we should accept for anybody from any background, from any religion or from any cultural community. If this can happen to one community, it can happen to any community, and this is why this matters to every single member in this House.

We often stand here and say hate has no place in Ontario, but words alone are not enough. They must be matched with action, because right now there is a gap. We have dedicated police services, but too often, hate crimes are under-reported, under-investigated or under-prosecuted.

Hate crimes are also among the most challenging offences in the Criminal Code to investigate and prosecute, as it can be difficult, particularly for front-line officers in volatile situations, to determine whether a statement crosses the line from constitutionally protected free speech to criminal hate speech. That complexity does not lessen the harm, but it does demand greater expertise.

When that expertise is not consistently applied, the message received by victims is not reassurance; it is doubt—doubt that justice will be served, doubt that the system is equipped to respond, doubt that their experience is fully understood. Speaker, that is something we have the responsibility to fix.

This motion did not come forward in isolation. In developing it, I consulted with community leaders, advocacy organizations and law enforcement. I spoke with those supporting victims, those tracking hate incidents and those responsible for investigating them.

What I heard was consistent and clear: We need dedicated coordination; we need dedicated, specialized expertise; and we need to ensure that hate crimes are not only investigated, but effectively prosecuted, because these cases are different. They are often more complex. They require a deeper understanding of motive, context and community impact, and they demand consistency in how they are handled. Without that, outcomes can vary and confidence in the system erodes.

That is why I am introducing this private member’s motion calling on the government of Ontario to establish a specialized hate crime crown prosecution unit: a unit that would bring together dedicated, experienced crown prosecutors with focused expertise in hate-motivated offences; a unit that would ensure consistency across jurisdictions; a unit that would strengthen coordination with police and better support victims through the process. With a dedicated crown structure in directing these cases to prosecutors with hate crime expertise, we ensure more intensive crown-police partnerships, stronger prosecutions, better outcomes and enhanced support for victims and communities.

The creation of this hate crime crown prosecution unit reinforces this commitment and positions Ontario as a national leader in combatting hate-motivated offences, and it sends a clear message that in Ontario, hate crimes will be taken seriously at every stage of the justice system. This is not about symbolism.

Other jurisdictions have recognized that specialization improves outcomes, particularly in complex cases with broader societal impact, and hate crimes are exactly that. A dedicated unit would strengthen prosecutions, it would build trust with affected communities and it would reinforce the principle that justice must not only exist but be seen to be working. Most importantly, it will bring the perpetrator to justice and make our streets safe for all communities across Ontario.

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Speaker, this motion is not about one community; it is about all communities. It’s about ensuring that every person in Ontario, regardless of their religion, race or identity, can live openly and safely. It is about ensuring that when someone is targeted because of who they are they know their government stands with them not just in words but in action. It is about reaffirming what Ontario stands for: a place where diversity is strength, a place where people are free to be who they are, a place where hate is not ignored but confronted.

Speaker, I do not want any children to grow up thinking it is normal to need armed guards to go to school or pray. I do not want any parent to have to explain to their child why they’re being targeted for who they are. No community should feel alone in facing hate. We have a responsibility in this House to act, to close the gaps, to strengthen our systems and to ensure that the values we speak about are reflected in the lived reality of the people we serve.

This motion is a step forward. It is practical, it is achievable and it is necessary. I urge all members of this House on all sides to support it, because standing against hate should never be partisan; it should be a shared commitment, a shared responsibility and a shared promise to the people of Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further debate?

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: I want to thank the member from Eglinton–Lawrence for tabling this motion. It’s with a lot of pride that I rise today to speak in support of it.

Motion 58 reads: “That, in the opinion of the House, the government of Ontario should establish a special prosecution unit for hate crimes.”

Hate crimes have no place in Ontario. These crimes are complex and always emotional for the victims and the survivors that are impacted. Justices, clerks, crown attorneys and other court staff should all be specially trained to understand how to support victims of hate crimes and their communities.

It should be noted that there are already dedicated specialized prosecution units through the crowns, whether it’s through guns and gangs, intimate partner violence, human trafficking and other types of units. The prosecution of hate crimes deserves the same dedicated staffing with the specialization of legal knowledge. Ontario crowns have a hate crimes working group, but it is not resourced nor is it populated with specialists exclusively, so that’s why this motion should be welcomed by the House.

All that being said, we cannot talk about this motion without talking about the environment that it exists in. This symbolic motion is just one part of a larger justice system and a society where hate crimes currently take place.

I’m going to use the rest of my time, Speaker, to speak about a few things that are taking place in Ontario, including the types of hate crimes that are occurring, why Ontario needs a comprehensive anti-hate strategy, including upstream investments, which is the best way to prevent and counter hate. I’m also going to touch upon our court backlogs and the failing tribunals and the overcrowded jails, and how that also lends itself to an unstable environment.

Hate crimes in Ontario are taking place. It oftentimes affects those based on race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental and physical ability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and other similar factors. Just in the village that I represent—the Church and Wellesley Village—just two weeks ago, a member of my community from the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood was violently assaulted by two men in black ski masks that followed him in a car and then left the car to chase him down and beat him up. Those perpetrators are still at large—and they did all of that while hurling homophobic slurs.

The rise of anti-Semitism, Speaker, must be called out. We have seen the news reports. We have seen hateful acts towards Jewish schools, places of worship, synagogues, as well as community gathering spaces. Vandalism, bomb threats, shooting at buildings after hours have become all too frequent occurrences. These acts of violence and intimidation and acts of anti-Semitism are blatantly wrong and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

We’ve also seen in Ontario the rise of white supremacist groups. We’ve seen them organizing online. We’ve seen them gaining popularity and power within Canada. Racist hate crimes, including those against Black and Indigenous people, have a long and horrible history in Canada for which reparations should be made.

Similarly, in the Muslim community, they have been subjected to egregious hate crimes inside Ontario and outside, most notably the shooting at the mosque in Quebec and the brutal Islamophobic killing of the Afzaal family in London, Ontario. Our party has advanced the Our London Family Act, trying to push for legislation in there that comprehensively addresses all forms of hate, including Islamophobia.

Anti-Palestinian racism is also on the rise, and it’s oftentimes coupled with Islamophobia.

The Canadian government’s definition of a hate crime includes “advocating or promoting genocide against an identifiable group.” We need to address every single form as it exists. This also includes femicide and misogyny.

Hate crimes against women are common but are not classified as hate crimes. This gender-based violence is normalized.

In Canada, in 2025, we saw 144 victims of femicide. That means that 12 women are killed every single month or a woman is murdered every two and a half days. The rise of the manosphere and online misogynistic networks is normalizing this behaviour more and more. It is another form of hate.

Speaker, in the previous legislative session, I tabled a motion calling on this government to create a comprehensive Ontario-wide anti-hate strategy. I deeply regret that this government did not promote it or support it. Having a special prosecution unit for hate crimes is important. I support this, and we support this in the official opposition NDP.

But we also need to know and recognize that sometimes we cannot put a Band-Aid on a gaping hole and expect the bleeding to stop. We must recognize that the motion here today must be accompanied with some thinking and strategy, moving us forward to address what is at the root of all this hate. We need to make sure we have better education in our schools, starting in appropriate ways to speak to young people and scaling it up. We need to ensure that there are public awareness campaigns to respect one another for our diversity. We need to be able to enable workplace training that is mandatory, that is going to be embraced and not seen as an inconvenience. We need to promote diverse characters in all forms of popular media. We need to support equity-seeking groups when they seek positions of leadership. We need to create opportunities for every single beautiful, diverse community in Ontario so that we understand and share in that uniqueness and recognize that it should all be celebrated and that everybody in Ontario should have a right to feel safe and a sense of belonging.

Empathy-based educational interventions for young people are proven to reduce aggression and increase openness to people who are different. I heard this time and time again during the Standing Committee on Justice Policy as we studied intimate partner violence.

Additionally, growing up in a community that is caring, where there is enough food, where young children are being raised in a stable environment by caring adults, responsive health care, educational opportunities also makes people feel valued and safe. They then in turn perpetuate that in their actions, and they are less likely to become radicalized and extreme. By creating these stable, caring communities, it is one of the best ways that we can reduce all forms of crime, including hate crime.

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Speaker, I want to speak about our backlogged courts because the specialized prosecution unit will be operating within that context.

Just like the upstream prevention I spoke about, without functioning courts, tribunals or correctional institutions, a special prosecution unit for hate crimes is a sliver of the solution. It’s symbolic and non-binding, but it is a step in the right direction.

Other movements and actions that will take us a step further in the right direction would include the fact that special prosecution units won’t be very effective unless the courts are well run and managed. That means we must do everything we can to clear the historically high backlog that currently exists in Ontario, something that does not happen in the province of BC despite the fact that they already have a dedicated special prosecution unit.

What I want to see—and I know that we all care about access to justice; we all care about the safety of every single community. We want to see the court staff, including the crowns who are dedicated to this, be resourced for success, because it is very costly to administer a dysfunctional justice system where we see perpetrators of crime released back on the street.

We recently saw the government accidentally release 150 inmates when they should not have. I can’t speak to that at the moment—we don’t have the time—but that’s part of a system that is not working.

Anyone watching the justice system knows that the problems are deep. The reason why I’m speaking about this is because we need to make it all work. Every single component in the ecosystem around justice must work. So absolutely, we need to create this specialized dedicated prosecution unit. That is important. We need to ensure that they are resourced for success. But if they don’t have a pathway to get to court quickly and to trials quickly, what we’ll see is that charges will be stayed and criminals will be released. That is the last thing that we want to see, Speaker, especially if they’ve committed the crime. They’ve got to pay with their time.

It has been a very challenging time, I think, in Ontario. We’re seeing overcrowding in our jails, we’re seeing traumatized inmates and we’re seeing a system of corrections that’s failing to rehabilitate.

The challenge that we have—and I think it’s very important for all of us to recognize—is that we want to fix things. But fixing a broken system without adequate resources is going to lead us to the same outcome. And that means that the courts, as it stands right now—huge dysfunction. I cannot stress this more. If we have a specialized prosecution unit, that’s fantastic, but if the courts don’t work—and right now they don’t; we have the longest wait times in the country for bringing a case to trial—it all falls apart.

That means the good work from the member from Eglinton–Lawrence is not seen to fruition. It means that the police who have investigated and who have actually collected enough evidence to consult with the crown to determine that there is enough there to charge—it all falls apart, and then we’re back at square one.

Speaker, I can’t think of anything more important than combatting hate in Ontario. It’s something that we all need to recognize we all have a role in. And to the communities who have been affected, every single one of you, every single one of us who’s been impacted: I think this is a job for all of us, and I’m so proud to speak in support of this motion. I’m proud to work with this member to ensure that this motion gets passed. I’m also proud to work with this member to ensure that we can fix our justice system together.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further debate?

M^me Lucille Collard: It’s always a pleasure to rise on behalf of the people of Ottawa–Vanier and to speak to this motion from the member for Eglinton–Lawrence—a very important motion.

I want to convey a very clear and important principle: Hate crimes cannot be tolerated in our society, period. Because they are not simply criminal acts; they are acts that strike at identity, belonging and dignity. When that happens, the impact goes far beyond the individual.

Speaker, hate crimes are fundamentally different from other offences. They are not just about harm caused in a moment; they are about the message that harm sends. When someone is targeted because of their religion, their ethnicity, their language or who they are, the message is not just directed at one person; it is directed at an entire community. That message is simple and deeply harmful: “You are not safe here.” That is why hate crimes require a distinct and serious response.

Speaker, we must also acknowledge the reality we are facing. Ontario has reported the highest number of police-recorded hate crimes in Canada, despite being the most diverse province in the country. We have seen a troubling increase in incidents in recent years, including anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks, particularly in the context of global tensions such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. In cities like Toronto, hate crime reports have reached historic highs, with members of Jewish and Muslim communities disproportionately affected. We have seen incidents that are not only more frequent but also more serious and more complex.

Speaker, this is not about assigning blame; it’s about recognizing that the situation is evolving and we have to evolve with it. That’s what our response must be.

Ontario has taken steps on the investigative side. Through the hate crime and extremism investigative team, a network of 19 police services is working to better identify and investigate these offences. But there is a gap, because while investigations are becoming more specialized, prosecutions are not. Hate crimes are prosecuted by generalist crown attorneys, who must handle a wide range of cases, often without the specialized training or resources required for these highly sensitive and complex files. These cases are not simple. They often involve proving motivation, navigating community impacts and addressing broader social and political contexts. If we are investing in better investigations, we must also ensure that cases are carried through effectively in the justice system.

Another critical issue is under-reporting. According to the Canadian general social survey, only about 22% of self-perceived hate crimes are reported. That means nearly four out of five incidents go unreported. And why? Often because victims do not believe the system will respond effectively. They feel the incident will not be taken seriously, or they fear the process itself. Speaker, this is fundamentally an issue of trust. Trust is essential if we want communities to come forward.

We can also look at other jurisdictions for insight. In Nova Scotia, for example, the creation of a specialized hate crime unit at the investigative level has been linked to a significant increase in reporting and public awareness. This tells us something important: When people see that the system is equipped to respond, they are more likely to engage with it. That same principle could apply on the prosecution side.

This is where the motion before us becomes relevant. A specialized prosecution unit would not only handle complex cases, it could also develop expertise in hate-motivated offences, support and train other crown attorneys, ensure consistency in how these cases are treated and strengthen collaboration with police and communities. It could also help ensure that hate-motivated elements are properly recognized in charges, because we know that many hate crimes are ultimately prosecuted as general offences without fully reflecting the nature of the harm. This is not about creating a separate justice system, it’s about strengthening the one we have.

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At the same time, we must recognize that enforcement alone is not enough. Organizations like Unifor have highlighted that addressing hate requires a broader approach, including education, anti-racism initiatives, mental health support and stronger social protections. The government has taken steps, for example, through security grants for faith-based organizations. These are important measures. They help communities feel safer in their spaces. But they address the visibility of hate, not always its consequences in the justice system.

What this motion asks us to consider is whether we can strengthen our response further, not to criticize what has been done, but to build on it, because the reality is this: Hate crimes are becoming more complex, more visible and more damaging, and our systems must be ready to respond accordingly.

Speaker, society is measured not only by how it celebrates diversity, but how it protects it. Hate crimes challenge that protection. They challenge the idea that everybody belongs. That is why we must act. We must act thoughtfully, carefully, but decisively, because in Ontario, there must be no doubt: Hate has no place here.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further debate?

Hon. Stephen Lecce: Madam Speaker, when did we become a nation where we have normalized girls’ elementary schools being shot at? When did this become acceptable for Canadians, where it happens on a quarterly basis in the nation? When did this become normal, for a religious institution—protected under the charter and the Constitution—being shot at, often in the light of day, an act of intimidation designed to make people feel othered and unsafe in a place of worship? When did it become normal for a student at a university to be spat on and yelled at to “Go back to Poland”—people born in this country, not that that is germane to the subject for any citizen, born here or naturalized or otherwise. When did that become normal?

This is the disturbing story that afflicts many communities, but I want to focus on the Jewish community, not because they are the only community facing hate, but because the disproportionality of the stories and the statistics make it clear that there is some moral decay taking hold in the country, in word and in deed, where we allow these things to take place. Condemnation on Twitter is not cutting it for the parents who feel like they may have to leave the country, because they just cannot in good conscience guarantee the safety of their child.

When I was in church at Easter—my large Roman Catholic church does not require any police officer with an automatic assault rifle to protect the parishioners. That is un-Canadian. It is unbecoming of anyone to allow this to take place, and it worries me.

I’m not here to appeal to members’ positions on foreign policy; I’m here to appeal to a common humanity: that we say no to the oldest form of hate, the scourge of anti-Semitism, which has stood the test of time—millennia of hate.

It pains me—it deeply saddens me as a Canadian—that to start this debate we have to focus on statistics, stats, that demonstrate a moral degeneracy. Every year, the numbers tell a story. But when less than 4% of Toronto’s population are afflicted by 81% of all religious-based hate, I would submit we have a crisis before us—not a problem, not a small issue of inconvenience; this is a crisis. It should seize us, because this is something that afflicts all of us.

Madam Speaker, it must be said, this is a community that has stood up for the rule of law, stood up for religious freedom, for human rights. You cannot think about the civil rights movement in the United States without remembering the images of Rabbi Heschel and Martin Luther King. They led the way. On school segregation, it was the ADL who led the injunction to end that form of prejudicial state policy. On gay rights, the Jewish community has been loud and proud in defence of human rights for everyone, irrespective of who they love or the God they worship. They have systematically been a force for good in the world. And I speak about the Canadian Jewish diaspora with us today.

The member for Eglinton–Lawrence speaks not just as a strong and newly elected member of provincial Parliament; she appeals to us as a mother, as a woman, as a Jew, but, most importantly, as a Canadian. And she or her children—or any of yours watching today—should not have to be so marginalized where there is now a mainstream discussion amongst the Jewish diaspora of “Do we have to leave?” These are the same words that incrementally, systematically rose in 1933, leading to 1939. It started with hateful words. It ended in violence. I just feel like we have a slow-moving train happening before our eyes.

We have to act. We have to say more than words. We have to be strong in our opposition to hate. But it cannot be thoughts and prayers reactively because words matter, Madam Speaker. When any of us, including legislators, invoke language that exacerbates or compounds the othering taking place, we’re also part of the problem. When we attend rallies that celebrate “the martyrdom” of the terrorists who killed innocent lives on October 7, we are part of that problem. We are normalizing hate. We are enabling it. Maybe not by design, maybe not by explicit intention, but it’s the effect, and we have to be more conscious that we’re talking about real people, their children.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, a Sikh, a Buddhist, a Hindu. It does not matter. I speak to you as the son of Italian immigrants with no skin in the game in the global context. I just want coexistence. I want to go back to a world where we can respect each other for who we are, not because of my faith or the hyphenation—“He’s an Italian Canadian, she’s a wonderful Canadian, and you are a British Canadian.” We’re Canadians, and we need to stick together. The world is divided. It’s treacherous. It is dark. We need to be a light in the world.

And so, Madam Speaker, I conclude with this: This private member’s bill sets in motion the elevation not just of the knowledge we codified via Holocaust education, which the member for Eglinton–Lawrence and I helped initiate, but it codifies a legislative approach, a toughening of sentencing and enforcement so that any act of hate is faced with real enforcement and penalty, and that we elevate to all Canadians—all of us, irrespective of our faith, will stand up for a broader civility that should triumph in the darkness that we face.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further debate?

Mr. Hardeep Singh Grewal: I’m honoured to rise today to speak in favour of the motion brought by the member from Eglinton–Lawrence. I want to thank her for her hard work and dedication in bringing this motion forward, especially the work and research that she’s done consulting with our policing agencies, consulting with our communities—and not just with one—consulting with everyone, meeting with leaders of faith groups and the extensive work that was done there. I really commend her for that great, hard work and bringing that forward and bringing this conversation to the Legislature here today.

Hate crimes are not just attacks on individuals; they’re attacks on identity and they’re attacks on faith. They’re attacks on entire communities that simply want to live in peace and contribute to the province that we all call home.

Speaker, across Ontario, we’re seeing a troubling rise in hate-motivated incidents. From 2020 to 2024, police reported hate crimes increasing by approximately 70%. Hate crimes motivated by religion increased by 185%. In Ontario alone, it accounts for nearly half of all of the police-reported hate crimes in Canada, Speaker. Statistics shows that South Asian Canadians, including many Sikh families, are among the most targeted groups for race-based hate crimes.

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Behind every statistic, Speaker, is a story. Behind every number is a person who has been made to feel unsafe for simply being who they are. As a Sikh Canadian, this issue is truly deeply personal to me. Our community understands both the pain and discrimination, and the strength that comes from resilience. Sikhs have a long history of standing up against injustice, defending freedom and serving others, but no one should have to show resilience simply to feel safe walking down the street or spending time with their family.

Recently, while in Muskoka, I experienced first-hand the kind of hate that too many Canadians continue to face—whether that may have been a simple family moment for me and my family at that time—but it became a reminder that there are still those who judge others based on appearance, faith or background, Speaker.

Moments like that stay with you, not because they weaken you, but because they remind you why this work matters. They remind you there are families across Ontario who continue to face similar experiences—families that worry about their safety and parents who worry about the environment their children are growing up in. Despite these challenges, these communities continue to show incredible strength. They continue to contribute, to build, to serve and to uplift others. That resilience is something we should honour. But resilience is not enough.

As legislators, we have the responsibility to ensure that every Ontarian feels safe, protected and supported by the justice system. Hate crimes are complex. They require specialized knowledge. They require coordination. They require expertise. But too often, charges are withdrawn or reduced, simply because the system does not have a dedicated resource to prosecute these cases effectively.

In Peel region alone, 175 hate crime occurrences were reported in 2025, yet only 42 resulted in criminal charges. That gap demonstrates a need for a stronger and more coordinated approach. A specialized hate crime prosecution unit will bring together dedicated crown prosecutors with expertise in hate-motivated offences. It will strengthen prosecutions, will improve consistency and will better support victims.

Successful prosecution is not only about ability; it’s about deterrence. It’s about sending a clear message that hate has no place here in Ontario, Speaker.

With one minute left on the clock, I’d like to share the remainder of my time with my honourable colleague from Brampton Centre.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Further debate?

Hon. Charmaine A. Williams: Now, before I begin, I want to be clear about the perspective from which I rise today. I rise as the first Black woman elected to Brampton city council, one of the first Black members of provincial Parliament and the first Black minister in a Progressive Conservative government.

Applause.

Hon. Charmaine A. Williams: Thank you.

I speak today with both pride and responsibility—pride in the progress that we have made, and responsibility to be honest about the challenges that remain. With responsibility, I rise in support of the member for Eglinton–Lawrence’s private member’s bill, not just as a legislator, but as someone who has experienced and seen first-hand the real impact of hate in our communities.

The data is clear: Black Ontarians are the most frequently targeted racial group for hate crimes in this province. Anti-Black hate is most concentrated in cities like Peel, Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Waterloo region, where police report sharp year-over-year increases. Because fewer than one in five incidents are ever reported—

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): Thank you, Minister. I’m very sorry to have to cut you off.

Further debate? Further debate?

The member has two minutes to reply. I now return to the member for Eglinton–Lawrence.

Mrs. Michelle Cooper: I want to begin by sincerely thanking all members in this House for their thoughtful, heartfelt, strong remarks today. This is a deeply personal issue. It affects everybody.

I also want to thank everybody who is here today—really, I’ve had the opportunity to consult with so many people to bring this motion forward—as well as those who provided strong letters of support. I thank you. Your engagement—from everybody in the community—has strengthened this proposal and reflects a shared commitment to safety and justice.

I need to give a shout-out to Toronto police services, York Regional Police service, Peel Regional Police services, Victim Services Toronto, as well as the Police Association of Ontario for all consulting and supporting this.

I also want to acknowledge the many community organizations that have been consistent voices calling for stronger action and better coordination for addressing hate-motivated crime, including CIJA, B’nai Brith, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal, CJPAC, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism; support letters from Roots Community Services, Ontario Gurdwaras Committee, the Hindu Federation of Canada; and many others who have stood firmly against hate in all forms.

To my husband, Josh, my family, my friends, and community leaders: Thank you for your unwavering support.

This motion is not about politics. It’s about ensuring that hate crimes are treated with the seriousness that they demand, that victims are supported and that prosecutions are consistent, specialized and effective.

In closing, I ask all members to support this motion so that Ontario can lead with clarity, courage and conviction in the face of rising anti-Semitism.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): The time provided for private members’ public business has expired.

MPP Cooper has moved private member’s notice of motion number 58.

Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Motion agreed to.

The Acting Speaker (Ms. Jennifer K. French): All matters relating to private members’ public business having been completed, the House stands adjourned until Monday, April 20, at 9 a.m.

The House adjourned at 1848.