Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The committee met at 0903 in committee room 1.

Election of Chair

The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Tamara Pomanski): Good morning, honourable members—nice to see you. It is my duty to call upon you to elect a Chair. Are there any nominations? Ms. Naidoo-Harris.

Ms. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I nominate MPP Shafiq Qaadri of Etobicoke North as Chair.

The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Tamara Pomanski): Does the member accept the nomination?

Mr. Shafiq Qaadri: I’m honoured to accept. Thank you.

The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Tamara Pomanski): Are there any further nominations?

There being no further nominations, I declare the nominations closed and Mr. Qaadri elected Chair of the committee.

Le Président (M. Shafiq Qaadri): Merci beaucoup, mes collègues. Je voudrais vous remercier pour votre confiance. Thank you, colleagues, for this distinct honour.

Election of Vice-Chair

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Proposals, election of Vice-Chair? Are there nominations? Ms. Martins.

Mrs. Cristina Martins: I’d like to move that Mr. Berardinetti be appointed Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Thank you. A motion has been moved by Ms. Martins. Is there any debate on this particular motion? Seeing none, are members ready to vote? All those in favour of Mr. Delaney’s—

Interjection: Berardinetti.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Sorry—Mr. Berardinetti’s election as Vice-Chair? All opposed? Mr. Berardinetti, I congratulate you on your election as Vice-Chair.

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Appointment of subcommittee

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Colleagues, may I have a motion to move the appointment of a subcommittee on committee business.

Mr. John Yakabuski: Yes. I move that a subcommittee on committee business be appointed to meet from time to time at the call of the Chair or at the request of any member thereof to consider and report to the committee on the business of the committee;

That the presence of all members of the subcommittee is necessary to constitute a meeting; and

That the subcommittee be comprised of the following members: the Chair as Chair, Mr. Cimino, Mr. Delaney and Mr. Smith; and

That substitution be permitted on the subcommittee.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Are there any questions, comments or debate on this particular motion for the subcommittee appointment?

Seeing none, those in favour of subcommittee as read, if any? Those opposed? Thank you. Subcommittee is duly appointed as itemized.

Thank you, colleagues. That’s the order of business.

Briefing

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): We now have a briefing by our esteemed Dr. Parker.

Mr. Jeff Parker: Hi, everyone. For those who don’t know me, I’m Jeff Parker, a research officer with the Legislative Research Service. There will be myself or someone else in this chair for all your committee meetings. We’re here to not only assist you with any research questions you may have, but we also assist the committee in drafting any and all reports at their direction. So if you have any further questions, I’m happy to answer them whenever you need it.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Thank you, Mr. Parker. Mr. Potts.

Mr. Arthur Potts: The Chair referenced you as a doctor. Doctor in?

Mr. Jeff Parker: Pardon me?

Mr. Arthur Potts: I think the Chair referenced you as a doctor.

Mr. Jeff Parker: I have my PhD in political science.

Mr. Arthur Potts: Oh, good for you.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): In fact, not only does he have a PhD in political science, he happens to have his thesis in front of him just to remind us.

But in any case, are there any further questions?

Interjection: No.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Ms. Pomanski, our honourable Clerk.

The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Tamara Pomanski): Welcome back, members. Nice to see new faces and old. We’re going to have a great time here in justice policy.

Mr. John Yakabuski: I’m the old. Returning faces or old?

The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Tamara Pomanski): Returning faces; I’m a returning face, too.

For some who have never sat on this committee before, justice policy is one of the policy field committees, one of three such in the legislature. The House may refer bills or matters before this committee for its consideration. In addition, the committee may conduct self-directed studies in accordance with the standing orders.

A resource binder was sent to you with detailed information on the procedural and administrative practices of the committee. That was sent in the summertime. Let me know if you didn’t receive it. My contact information is on the last page, along with my assistant’s. Again, any questions or concerns, I’m here, and my role is to provide impartial and confidential advice on procedural and administrative matters.

Welcome to the committee, and I look forward to working with you all.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Just before we conclude, if there are no further comments, I think I’d like to congratulate all the members and the staff of this committee. I think, as all of us will know, we’ve gone through a whirlwind here, and we’re still standing to tell the tale.

So if there’s no further business—

Mr. Arthur Potts: I’d like to move adjournment.

The Chair (Mr. Shafiq Qaadri): Any debate on that particular motion? Any comments? The motion is accepted, and committee is now adjourned.

The committee adjourned at 0908.

CONTENTS

Thursday 23 October 2014

Election of Chair JP-1

Election of Vice-Chair JP-1

Appointment of subcommittee JP-1

Briefing JP-1

STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE POLICY

Chair / Président

Mr. Shafiq Qaadri (Etobicoke North / Etobicoke-Nord L)

Vice-Chair / Vice-Président

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest / Scarborough-Sud-Ouest L)

Mr. Lorenzo Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest / Scarborough-Sud-Ouest L)

Mr. Joe Cimino (Sudbury ND)

Mr. Bob Delaney (Mississauga–Streetsville L)

Mr. Jack MacLaren (Carleton–Mississippi Mills PC)

Mrs. Cristina Martins (Davenport L)

Ms. Indira Naidoo-Harris (Halton L)

Mr. Arthur Potts (Beaches–East York L)

Mr. Shafiq Qaadri (Etobicoke North / Etobicoke-Nord L)

Mr. Todd Smith (Prince Edward–Hastings PC)

Substitutions / Membres remplaçants

Mr. John Yakabuski (Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke PC)

Clerk / Greffière

Ms. Tamara Pomanski

Staff / Personnel

Mr. Jeff Parker, research officer,
Research Services