Justice committee  Yes, because it sends a signal that we take this problem seriously.

Justice committee  Yes, absolutely. If we switch roles for a minute, I'll tell a very brief story. One of my colleagues—the president of our union, as luck would have it—was assaulted by a patient who was under the influence of mushrooms, I believe. It was a drug-affected young man who made a bad choice.

Justice committee  That's a very important question. Thank you very much. We can do more things with this data than I can tell you about in three minutes, but I'll do my very best to be succinct. Beyond the prospect of criminal prosecution, we use this data as actionable risk intelligence within our service.

Justice committee  One thing I would say with respect to the bill specifically is this: The degree to which the violence we're seeing among our members rises to the level of criminal remains to be determined. I don't know. I don't have a number for that. But even in the absence of criminal assault on our people, there are tangible things we can do to strengthen the safety of our members as well as the safety of the communities that we are responsible to serve.

Justice committee  Thank you. I will make it very brief. I am hesitant to comment too far beyond the realm of my expertise. I will say that, working clinically as a paramedic at the beginning of the pandemic, we were lauded as heroes. People were very kind. They donated things to us. They banged pots in the evening and thanked us for our service.

Justice committee  Thank you for your question. It's an important one. A number of things need to line up in order for a violent act to escalate to the level where the legislation would take effect. We need to remember that the incident needs to be reported. It needs to be reported to the police.

Justice committee  Gladly. We implemented a new reporting process. This is embedded in our electronic patient care record. After every 911 call, our members are prompted to fill it out if they experienced violence. That's the tip of the iceberg. This took a lot of time, and it took a lot of blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes to convince people, one person at a time, and—most importantly—to show them that, when they do file reports, they are taken seriously.

Justice committee  It is an incredibly important question and I'm grateful you brought it up. If you'll permit me, I would say that the figure you referred to earlier was one in four. One in four of our members in the Peel Region Paramedic Services had symptoms of PTSD, depression or anxiety just before the pandemic.

Justice committee  I think it's a combination of a few different things. I'm sure my colleague would echo the sentiments. When we've talked to people who work as paramedics in the region of Peel and have asked them exactly this question, they've told us a few things. First, the violence they are experiencing is so widespread that it fades into the background as another chronic stressor, particularly when we're talking about abusive comments.

Justice committee  We could all benefit from a little more kindness. I would say that when my team reviews the violence reports, the things that my colleagues are describing—using quotes—“shock" the mind. It's utterly reprehensible in many cases, and it troubles me deeply.

Justice committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the committee for this invitation. It is very important, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this issue. I am an advanced care paramedic with the Region of Peel. I'm also a clinician-scientist, having finished a Ph.D. a little over a year ago.