Session: 38:2
Date: 19-Mar-2007

DORIS ANDERSON

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I'm pleased to rise and respond on behalf of John Tory and the PC caucus in honour of the late Doris Anderson. It is also fitting that we celebrate the life of Doris Anderson in light of the 30th anniversary of International Women's Day, which was March 8.

As a journalist and an activist for women's rights, Doris Anderson spent much of her life clearing a path for the advancement of women in Canada and in Ontario. We are fortunate to join today in celebrating the life of such a progressive woman in Canada as we welcome my colleague the member from Burlington, Joyce Savoline, as part of the John Tory team. Ms. Savoline's election to this Legislature has allowed us to reach a historically high proportion of women in the Ontario Legislature, at 25%. I am very proud to be a member of a party that, under Premier Bill Davis, appointed the Honourable Margaret Birch as Ontario's first woman cabinet minister in 1972.

To Doris Anderson, equality simply made sense. It was and is a basic question of human rights and fairness. In order to help our goals of equality and inclusion, it is imperative that we recognize the work of pioneers such as Doris Anderson.

PROVINCIAL ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH ACT, 2007

Ms. Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): I am pleased to comment on the outstanding job that our critic for the Ministry of Children and Youth Services has done in her role on committee and in listening and being a critic. She is standing up for children. She has first-hand experience. She has listened to what the people have said about Bill 165, the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Act. The minister should take up the offer by my colleague to sit down and to work together to get the best solution that we can, the best advocacy that we can for the children.

The minister is quite familiar with the situation I have in my riding of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock in the Best Start cases. Some 15,000 Best Start spaces were created in Ontario; Kawartha-Victoria was the only municipality that got zero.

Hon. Mrs. Chambers: And you know why.

Ms. Scott: I'm glad the minister has spoken up, because we've asked the Auditor General to look into the situation, and I asked the minister in a letter in January-because this has gone on for several months; we've tried to work together-to please tell the service area what is wrong.

Interjection.
Ms. Scott: The service managers in the municipality of Kawartha Lakes-Victoria are working very hard with the ministry to say to them what is wrong. But the children are the people who are suffering here. The minister is responsible for providing the children in my riding of Haliburton-Victoria-Brock with the best services available. When they're the only municipality to get zero-

Interjection.

Ms. Scott: We asked you to look at that, to say you are the minister and the children need the services, and it's disappointing that the minister hasn't acted more strongly on that. I ask her again today. I've asked the Auditor General too. The children are what's important here. That is the bill we're debating. I need her to be an advocate for the children of this riding, because this legislation is not through yet and it's three years late.