Votes and Proceedings 1996-May-02 | Legislative Assembly of Ontario

No. 68 N^o 68

Votes and

Proceedings

Procès-verbaux

Legislative Assembly

of Ontario

Assemblée législative

de l'Ontario

1st Session,

36th Parliament

1^re session,

36^e législature

Thursday,

May 2, 1996

Jeudi

2 mai 1996

PRAYERS

10:00 A.M.

PRIÈRES

10 H

Mr Clement moved,

M. Clement propose,

That in the opinion of this House, since Ontarians are entitled to high levels of service from the public sector; and

since Ontarians sent a clear message in the June election that the status quo is not acceptable and called for a government committed to driving substantive reforms in the delivery of public services; and

since the Progressive Conservative government has already taken steps to respond to this message by reviewing all public expenditures; and

since it is important that this process does not neglect the needs of Ontarians and should include the establishment of guiding principles within the public service that will ensure that it is responsive to the public's expectations;

therefore, in order to provide Ontarians with a better, more accountable and more responsive public service, the Chair of the Management Board should investigate the establishment of a mechanism to ensure that the following principles and standards are adopted by the government of Ontario;

a) measurable standards need to be established whereby the public as consumers of public services can assess how services are delivered on a regular basis;

b) information needs to be readily available to the public that will allow them to understand what services cost, who is in charge and how they can benefit from the service;

c) the public must be consulted on a regular basis to ensure that the service is still achieving its desired objectives and continues to be a service which the public sector should be providing;

d) the public's needs must be paramount in determining how to deliver a service;

e) the public must be treated equally and with dignity and respect;

f) the public must have access to a system of redress whereby the government must accept the responsibility for the delivery of services in an appropriate manner; and

g) the taxpayer must be protected by ensuring that government services are delivered in an efficient and economic manner within the context of the existing fiscal environment.

A debate arising, at 11:00 a.m., further proceedings were reserved until 12:00 noon.	À 11 heures, la suite du débat est réservé jusqu'à midi.
Mr Colle then moved,	Ensuite, M. Colle propose,

That in the opinion of this House, since the roads in this province constitute a $100 billion asset; and that the Ministry of Transportation is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the provincial highway system which consists of about 22,000 kilometres of roadway; and

since the 1995 Annual Report the Provincial Auditor has concluded that 60% of highways are currently considered to be in poor or substandard condition; and that if immediate actions are not taken to repair highways the condition of the infrastructure will continue to deteriorate to the point that a massive and costly reconstruction effort will become necessary; and

since the average cost of rehabilitation is estimated at $80,000 per kilometre lane but if not implemented immediately the reconstruction cost per kilometre lane escalates to $250,000 per kilometre lane; and that poorly maintained roads jeopardize the safety of motorists and increase the number of accidents resulting in higher repair and insurance costs; and

since representatives for the Ontario Road Builders' Association who appeared before the Finance Committee earlier this year told committee members that since this government came into power no money has been spent on the roads and highways in the province thus increasing the deterioration of roads; and that provincial cuts to the road maintenance and repair budget mean increased costs for future road reconstruction; and

since the Provincial Government is transferring thousands of kilometres of provincial roads to municipalities which in addition have had their provincial operating grants drastically cut; and that a comprehensive long-term government investment strategy in road maintenance and repair will maintain and encourage economic growth and commerce in communities across Ontario and can readily be undertaken by a highly trained and highly skilled local workforce;

therefore, the Government of Ontario should immediately establish a Road Maintenance and Reconstruction Fund whereby the government guarantees that a fixed portion of the gas tax along with other government revenues be designated to go directly toward the Road Maintenance and Reconstruction Fund for road maintenance, repair and reconstruction in order to systematically eradicate the existing substandard condition of 60% of provincial roads.

The Acting Speaker (Mr Morin) addressed the House as follows:-

Before we proceed with the voting today, I would like to address the members that on Thursday last, there seemed to be some confusion as to the procedure we were following on the deferred votes for both items of private members' public business.

I want to assure all members that the procedure followed, was completely in accordance with Standing Order 96(f) and, was the procedure we have followed in this House for many years. When a vote is requested on the first item of business, the calling in of the members by the Chair is deferred until we determine if there is to be a vote on the second item. The members are then called to the House once with one five-minute bell and both votes are then taken in succession.

We have tried to accommodate those members in the past who have wished to vote on the first item, but not the second, by pausing between the questions to allow those members to leave the Chamber before voting on the second item. This also allows other members who may be waiting in the lobbies to enter the House to record their vote on the second item. This procedure, I admit, is cumbersome at best, however we have to follow the Standing Order that requires the votes to be taken in succession. If it is the wish of the members, I will cause the doors to be opened for 30 seconds of the clock after the first vote rather than an unspecified pause as we have done in the past.

In the Third Session of the previous Parliament, this House operated under a special order dated April 20, 1993, wherein the votes on Thursday mornings were taken individually. In that case, there were two five-minute bells which seemed to work much better than the current procedure, however until a similar order is passed, we have to proceed with our present procedure.

Pursuant to Standing Order 96(e), no objection having been made to the putting of the question on Mr Clement's Resolution Number 16, the question having been put, was carried on the following division:-

Conformément à l'article 96(e) du Règlement, la motion portant sur la résolution numéro 16 de M. Clement n'a pas fait l'objet d'opposition et la motion, mise aux voix, est adoptée par le vote suivant:-

AYES / POUR - 58

Agostino Duncan Parker

Arnott Fisher Pettit

Baird Ford Phillips

Barrett Fox Preston

Bartolucci Froese Pupatello

Beaubien Galt Ramsay

Bradley Grandmaître Rollins

Brown Gravelle Ross

(Algoma-Manitoulin) Hampton Sergio

Brown Hastings Shea

(Scarborough West) Hoy Sheehan

Carroll Johnson Smith

Castrilli (Brantford) Spina

Chudleigh Jordan Stewart

Clement Lalonde Stockwell

Colle Laughren Tilson

Conway Leadston Wettlaufer

Cordiano Marland Wildman

Crozier McLeod Wood

Curling Munro (London South)

Danford Ouellette

NAYS / CONTRE - 2

Bisson Churley

And it was,

Resolved, That in the opinion of this House, since Ontarians are entitled to high levels of service from the public sector; and