A Safer Ontario

After eight years of Doug Ford failing to keep communities safe, Ontario families and businesses are ready for a change. Lee has a serious plan to tackle the challenges that threaten all communities, including auto theft, organized crime, hate-motivated crime, antisemitism, Islamophobia, intimate partner violence and cyber crime.

As a Liberal, Lee believes strongly that building more prisons is not the answer for improving public safety across this province. Instead, Ontario needs to make investments that stop the cycle of crime by addressing its root causes, and improving access to first responders and support services for those who need them. She also wants to make sure the court system is fair, fast and focused on bringing those who break the law to justice.

2. Stop Organized Crime

Ontario is experiencing too much serious and violent crime linked to organized crime, including transnational violence, home invasions, rising extortion and auto theft. Protection from these crimes should not depend on whether someone can afford private security. All Ontarians deserve to be safe in their communities.

As Premier, Lee will bring needed provincial leadership and increased investment and work directly with municipalities, community organizations and police services to disrupt criminal networks and break the cycle of organized crime.

3. Slash Court Delays

Justice for victims needs to be timely, and those who commit crimes need to be held accountable. Far too many criminal cases in Ontario are withdrawn, stayed, dismissed or discharged before trial because of court delays. Charges ranging from animal cruelty and impaired driving to sexual assault and murder have been thrown out because it took too long in Doug Ford’s courts to bring people to justice.

A Lee Fairclough government will work to reduce court delays and ensure that Ontario’s justice system has the capacity and resources required to deliver timely justice.

4. Stopping Hate-Motivated Crimes

There is no place for hate-motivated crime in Ontario. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, anti-immigration sentiment, transphobia, homophobia and other forms of hate remain serious concerns.

Lee wants everyone in Ontario to feel safe. As a former health care executive, she believes strongly that health care settings, schools and places of worship must be safe spaces. As she has met with community leaders during this campaign, she has heard calls for government to work with people across faiths and communities to develop solutions.

Lee will work with communities across Ontario and with the Canadian government to confront all forms of hate-motivated crime and ensure that people can feel safe regardless of their background, faith or identity. This includes reviewing and strengthening measures that address the causes and driving factors behind these crimes, including in the education system and in the community.

5. Improve 9-1-1 Services

During an emergency, being placed on hold by 9-1-1 could be a matter of life and death. As a former hospital president, Lee knows every minute counts for EMS and other first responders. Ontario’s 9-1-1 operators and first responders work tremendously hard, but are being asked to hold up an under-resourced and overburdened system that can delay life-saving care.

Lee’s government will strengthen Ontario’s 9-1-1 and emergency response system, working toward a target of zero instances of 9-1-1 calls being placed on hold.

6. Making Our Roads Safer for Everyone

Public safety means safe roads for cyclists, drivers and pedestrians, on every highway, local road and side street in Ontario.

A Lee Fairclough Liberal government will improve road safety and create modern city infrastructure, including bike lanes. Her government will conduct a comprehensive review of speed cameras in Northern and rural communities. It will also invest in infrastructure to improve safety on Highway 11, 17 and the Trans-Canada, through highway twinning or the two-plus-one model, and complete twinning on Highway 69.

7. Mental Health Support for Victims of Crime and First Responders

Lee understands that victims of crime can experience long-lasting mental health impacts. More needs to be done to support victims through their recovery and to access appropriate mental health services. Her government will ensure better coordination among victims’ services organizations, the health care and education systems and other community resources, and make better use of evidence and research, with strategies that put victims first.

Over her 27 years in health care, Lee saw firsthand the mental health challenges paramedics, police officers and firefighters face. First responders give a great deal to Ontario, and the province has a responsibility to support their health and well-being. Her government will work to ensure they receive the care they need for PTSD and other mental health challenges, so they can stay healthy and do their jobs safely and effectively.

8. Digital Safety and Security

Keeping Ontario safe means strengthening our digital infrastructure as AI advances and governments and businesses adopt emerging technologies. From deepfakes used in scams to AI-powered harassment and cyberattacks that threaten our economy and security, Ontario must do more to protect people, businesses and public services.

Lee’s government will work with the federal government and national partners to make Ontario a leader in cybersecurity and strengthen our province’s and country’s digital resilience.

9. Confronting Intimate Partner Violence

Reports of intimate partner violence are on the rise in Ontario,¹ with devastating consequences for women, children and families. As Premier, Lee will strengthen prevention and support services for victims and survivors, and declare intimate partner violence an epidemic — a step the Ford Conservatives refuse to take despite the evidence and repeated calls from advocates and survivors.

Lee’s government will work with community organizations, service providers, advocates, municipalities, law enforcement, survivors and others with lived experience to develop a comprehensive and meaningful strategy to prevent and respond to intimate partner violence.

Intimate partner violence is both an epidemic and endemic in Ontario. Decades of systemic failures and policy decisions have contributed to this crisis. While rates may fluctuate, this violence has remained far too prevalent for far too long. Stronger, more decisive action is needed. A 2022 coroner’s inquest into the murders of three women in Renfrew County produced 86 recommendations for change. Yet, the Ford Conservatives have failed to fully implement many of them.

A Lee Fairclough government will act with urgency to increase the resources immediately available to people and families experiencing intimate partner violence. She will also focus on proactive measures to identify people and situations that need more support. This includes reviewing how Ontario Works and ODSP housing allowances are structured that could penalize or inhibit people from leaving a dangerous living situation.

10. Hold Delinquent Parents and Spouses Accountable

Families in Ontario are owed over $2 billion in overdue child and spousal support payments.² In fact, under Doug Ford’s watch, no spousal support money is collected by the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) in nearly one of four cases.³

During a cost-of-living crisis, Doug Ford’s failure to enforce these court-ordered payments is only making it worse for affected families and children. As Ontario Liberal Leader and Premier, Lee will fight hard to recover the billions of dollars owed to Ontario families, through additional OPP and Crown attorney resources, tougher penalties and adequate funding for the Family Responsibility Office to hold those who fail to pay accountable.

Lee’s Plan

1. Sustained Investments in Policing and the Justice System