CONTENTS
Tuesday 4 December 1990
Organization
Adjournment
STANDING COMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE
Chair: White, Drummond (Durham Centre NDP)
Vice-Chair: Morrow, Mark (Wentworth East NDP)
Carr, Gary (Oakville South PC)
Chiarelli, Robert (Ottawa West L)
Fletcher, Derek (Guelph NDP)
Harnick, Charles (Willowdale PC)
Mathyssen, Irene (Middlesex NDP)
Mills, Gordon (Durham East NDP)
Poirier, Jean (Prescott and Russell L)
Sorbara, Gregory S. (York Centre L)
Wilson, Fred (Frontenac-Addington NDP)
Winninger, David (London South NDP)
Clerk: Freedman, Lisa
Staff: Swift, Susan, Research Officer, Legislative Research Service
The committee met at 1540 in room 228.
ORGANIZATION
The Chair: First, one of the main reasons for us meeting this afternoon is to receive the subcommittee report, which I am compelled to read in its entirety.
The subcommittee met at noon "pursuant to standing order 123 to consider a report to the committee on the following matter designated by Mr Harnick for consideration by the committee:
"The current status of and improvement upon the relationship between victims of crime in the province of Ontario and the justice system in that province, with particular consideration of the issue of a victims bill of rights, including the operations of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
"This issue is to be considered for a period of 12 hours.
"The following list of witnesses is to be invited by the clerk of the committee to appear before it at public hearings:
"Irwin Waller, professor of criminology, University of Ottawa; representative, Victims of Violence National Inc; representative, Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres; representative, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic; representative, Metro Action Committee on Public Violence Against Women and Children; representative, Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses; representative, Ministry of the Attorney General, Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; representative, Ministry of the Attorney General, victim-witness assistance program; representative, Ministry of Correctional Services, victim-offender reconciliation program; representative, Ministry of Correctional Services. restitution program; representative, Ministry of the Solicitor General, victim crisis assistance program; representative, Criminal Lawyers Association; representative, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario; representative, Advocates Society; representative, Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto Police Force; representative, Ontario Provincial Police; and other witnesses to be determined by the subcommittee.
"The hearings are to commence during the break period between the new year and the spring sitting of the House.
"Consideration of this designation shall take precedence over any designation by any other party."
A very long list there, unfortunately.
Second, the subcommittee met as before "to consider a report to the committee on the following matter designated by Mr Sorbara for consideration by the committee:
"The current status of the Ministry of the Attorney General's court backlog strategy announced on 21 November 1990 and the impact of the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Elijah Anton Askov et al v Her Majesty the Queen, 18 October 1990 as it is presently being applied in the Ontario Court of Justice (Provincial Division).
"This issue is to be considered for a period of 12 hours.
"The following list of witnesses is to be invited by the clerk of the committee to appear before it at public hearings:
"Attorney General of Ontario; Deputy Attorney General, Ministry of the Attorney General; director of policy development division, Ministry of the Attorney General; assistant deputy Attorney General, criminal law division; assistant deputy Attorney General, courts administration; director of the crown law office, criminal division; and other witnesses to be determined by the subcommittee.
"The hearings are to commence during the break period between the new year and the spring sitting of the House.
"Consideration of this designation shall follow the designation by the third party and shall precede the designation by the government."
Report of the subcommittee, three: As before, the subcommittee met "to consider a report to the committee on the following matter designated by Mr Winninger (for Mr Morrow) for consideration by the committee:
"The mandate, administration and procedures of the support and custody enforcement branch.
"This issue is to be considered for a period of 12 hours.
"The following list of witnesses is to be invited by the clerk of the committee to appear before it at public hearings:
"Susan Cullen, director of SCOE; Susan Himel, director of legal services, SCOE; Paul Slan, chair, family law section, Canadian Bar Association; representative, Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic; representative, In Search of Justice; representative, National Association of Women and the Law; representative, Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses; and other witnesses to be determined by the subcommittee.
"The hearings are to commence during the break period between the new year and the spring sitting of the House.
"Consideration of this designation shall follow the designations by the official opposition and the third party."
It is to be noted that the lists are not in order of priority and, as well, are not all-inclusive. Other witnesses can be called and could assume a greater precedence in terms of the order of priorities here.
This report is deemed to be adopted. Is there any discussion of the report? Hearing none, it is adopted and we can move on to the budget.
You have before you the budget summary for the standing committee 1990-91 fiscal year, which includes a fairly barebones listing. Is there any discussion on the budget?
Mr Fletcher: I was just wondering about two things. One is the advertising of public hearings, $20,000. Is that the advertising that goes into every newspaper in a jurisdiction where there is going to be a hearing, or is that advertising that goes throughout Ontario?
The Chair: My understanding is that that advertising part of the budget may not be necessary.
Clerk of the Committee: Actually, this advertising is for any bill that might get referred to committee. Advertising ranges from $7,000 to $20,000, depending on how we advertise. We generally advertise in every daily newspaper across Ontario. Depending on the subject matter, we may advertise in ethnic newspapers and in weekly newspapers. That is why the figure from $7,000 to $20,000 per bill is worked into the budget.
Mr Fletcher: Thank you. I have one more question, on the last page, sound equipment rental $800 per day. Is that sound equipment rental when we are on the road or is that sound equipment rental for this room?
Clerk of the Committee: That is just a contingency. It is generally in there when we are on the road. We do not pay for equipment here. In case the equipment breaks down in here and we have to frantically go out and get something, we just build it into the budget.
Mr Fletcher: So that would be on the road?
Clerk of the Committee: Yes.
Mr Harnick: Is there provision to amend this budget if we need to later on?
Clerk of the Committee: The way it works is that this budget will go before the Board of Internal Economy. If we want to submit a supplementary budget, we then bring that supplementary budget before the Board of Internal Economy at the appropriate time.
Mr F. Wilson: My question also has to do with the ability to amend. Are these hard and fast categories or is there any ability to shift from one to the other? For instance, under all advertising for any advertising and printing somehow, or are they hard and fast?
Clerk of the Committee: Yes and no is the answer. There is always some shifting we do except for certain categories. Advertising is one of those categories it is difficult to shift, so we would go for a supplementary budget.
Mr F. Wilson: Could I call upon your experience to say if there has ever been an opportunity for any committee or this particular committee to go over budget?
Clerk of the Committee: Committees do not go over budget. We quickly pass a supplementary budget before that happens.
Mr Mills: I would like to think this budget is being prepared through the clerk's experience in previous exercises like this. That is really what your figures are based upon, previous, so really there is not much point in discussing, I do not think.
Mr Poirier: Mr Chairman, I presume from seeing this proposed budget that all meetings will be at Queen's Park.
Clerk of the Committee: The way this budget works is that we discussed in the subcommittee that for each of the three 12-hour designations we would allow one week of sitting time. That would be 12 hours for witnesses and there may be extra days for sitting. Given that during the recesses we sit only four days a week, that is why there are 12 days. There is no travel at all built into this budget.
The Chair: My understanding is that, as it stands presently with the 12-hour hearings, there really would not be an ability to move across the province, because it is too short a time.
Mr Harnick moves that the budget be adopted as set out, in the amount of $125,546.
Motion agreed to.
The Chair: My understanding is that, until such time as we have set a schedule and received approval from the House leaders in terms of sitting in the early new year, we will stand adjourned until the call of the Chair.
The committee adjourned at 1551.