37th Parliament, 2nd Session

No. 35

No 35

Votes and Proceedings

Procès-verbaux

Legislative Assembly
of Ontario

Assemblée législative
de l'Ontario

Monday
June 25, 2001


Daytime Meeting - Sessional Day 50
Evening Meeting - Sessional Day 51

Lundi
25 juin 2001


Séance de l'après-midi - jour de session 50
Séance du soir - jour de session 51

2nd Session,
37th Parliament

2e session
37e législature

Prayers
1:30 P.M.

Prières
13 H 30

The Speaker delivered the following ruling:-

On Thursday, June 21, the Member for Windsor-St. Clair (Mr. Duncan) raised a point of privilege concerning the Report of the Environmental Commissioner, tabled on that day, entitled "Broken Promises: MNR's Failure to Safeguard Environmental Rights".

I have carefully reviewed the Environmental Commissioner's Report, the Member's written submission and his comments in the House, as well as the comments of the Minister of Natural Resources.

The Member for Windsor-St. Clair alleges that the Environmental Commissioner, as evidenced by what he has to say in his Report, has been impeded and obstructed in the performance of his duties and that this alleged obstruction represents a contempt of the Legislature. The Member went further in saying, and I quote, "When an officer of the Legislature such as the Environmental Commissioner is obstructed from performing his or her duty, as has been seriously alleged by that commissioner today, it is a serious breach, in our view, of our privileges as members to have access to his reports, which we, by law, must have access to."

First, let me say that, having read the Commissioner's Report, my view is he in fact does not allege that he has been obstructed in performing his duties. The Environmental Commissioner expresses a very high level of frustration with the fact that the Ministry of Natural Resources has not yet "classified its instruments" - a term that has a specific meaning within the Environmental Bill of Rights - but he does not at any point directly or indirectly assert that this Ministry has obstructed, or attempted to obstruct, the performance of his functions, or that the Ministry has in any way tried to frustrate or hinder the Environmental Commissioner from performing his statutory duties.

While the Commissioner reports findings that are critical of the Ministry, none of his statements contain, or equate to, an assertion that the Ministry has obstructed the Environmental Commissioner. Indeed, in making these findings and reporting them to the Legislature, the Environmental Commissioner has specifically fulfilled his role which the Commissioner himself indicated in his Report, and the Member for Windsor-St. Clair also noted in his submission, is to review how provincial ministries carry out the requirements of the Environmental Bill of Rights and to report to the Legislative Assembly.

Again, by my reading of all the materials before me, the Environmental Commissioner simply has not made the allegation of obstruction that the Member for Windsor-St. Clair asserts. I therefore find a prima facie case of contempt has not been made out.

Introduction of Bills

Dépôt des Projets de Loi

The following Bills were introduced and read the first time:-

Les projets de loi suivants sont présentés et lus une première fois:-

Bill 87, An Act to regulate food quality and safety and to make complementary amendments and repeals to other Acts. Hon. Mr. Coburn.

Projet de loi 87, Loi visant à réglementer la qualité et la salubrité des aliments, à apporter des modifications complémentaires à d'autres lois et à en abroger d'autres. L'hon. M. Coburn.

Bill 88, An Act to revise The Ontario College of Art Act, 1968-69. Hon. Mrs. Cunningham.

Projet de loi 88, Loi révisant la loi intitulée The Ontario College of Art Act, 1968-69. L'hon. Mme Cunningham.

Bill 89, An Act to provide for the respectful treatment of victims of crime. Mr. Bryant.

Projet de loi 89, Loi prévoyant le traitement respectueux des victimes d'actes criminels. M. Bryant.

Motions

Motions

Mrs. Ecker moved,

Mme Ecker propose,

That pursuant to Standing Order 9(c)(ii), the House shall meet from 6:45 p.m. to midnight on Monday, June 25, Tuesday, June 26, and Wednesday, June 27, 2001, for the purpose of considering government business.

The question being put on the motion, it was carried on the following division:-

La motion, mise aux voix, est adoptée par le vote suivant:-

AYES / POUR - 69

Baird

Bartolucci

Beaubien

Bountrogianni

Bradley

Bryant

Caplan

Chudleigh

Clement

Coburn

Colle

Conway

Cordiano

Crozier

Cunningham

Curling

Di Cocco

Duncan

Dunlop

Ecker

Elliott

Galt

Gerretsen

Gilchrist

Gill

Guzzo

Hardeman

Hastings

Hodgson

Hoy

Johns

Johnson

Kells

Kwinter

Levac

Marland

Maves

Mazzilli

McLeod

McMeekin

Molinari

Munro

Murdoch

Mushinski

Newman

O'Toole

Ouellette

Parsons

Patten

Peters

Phillips

Pupatello

Runciman

Sampson

Sergio

Smitherman

Snobelen

Spina

Sterling

Stewart

Stockwell

Tascona

Tilson

Tsubouchi

Turnbull

Wettlaufer

Witmer

Wood

Young

NAYS / CONTRE - 4

Bisson

Hampton

Kormos

Martel

The Speaker addressed the House as follows:-

The Member for Scarborough East (Mr. Gilchrist) has provided me with written notice of a point of privilege, as required by Standing Order 21(c). I would like to thank the Member for giving me sufficient time to carefully review this matter.

I wish to advise that I will be deciding on this matter without further hearing directly from the Member at this time, as Standing Order 21(d) permits me to do.

The Member's point of privilege concerns a press release issued by the Member for St. Paul's which advises of his intention to introduce a Bill. The Member for Scarborough East takes issue with the language of the press release, asserting that "not only does [it] imply that he has already introduced this Bill, it also implies that the bill is law and binding on the Government."

I am sure the Member will appreciate that the Speaker is not in a position to require compliance by all Members to any sort of format for press releases. On his specific points alleging that the press release prejudges the course of debate in this legislature, my reading of it leads me to the view that it is in fact suitably prospective in nature and is not offensive on that ground.

I do not find that the press release tramples upon the rights the Member enjoys in this Chamber and therefore a prima facie case of privilege has not been made out.

Petitions

Pétitions

Petition relating to Northern Health Travel Grant program / Programme de subventions accordées aux résidents du nord de l'Ontario (Sessional Paper No. P-1) Mr. Bartolucci.

Petition relating to Bob's Lake and Tay River watershed (Sessional Paper No. P-4) Mr. Gerretsen.

Petition relating to Protecting minors from exposure to sexually explicit materials / Protection des mineurs contre les biens et services sexuellement explicites (Sessional Paper No. P-10) Mrs. Mushinski.

Petition relating to the Sithe project (Sessional Paper No. P-58) Mrs. Marland.

Petition relating to Passing the Budget Bill giving tax credits to parents whose children attend independent schools (Sessional Paper No. P-62) Mr. Tascona.

Petitions relating to Rising prices for Home Care services purchased by Community Care Access Centres (Sessional Paper No. P-72) Mr. Bradley, Ms. Lankin, and Ms. Martel.

Petition relating to Personal needs allowance (Sessional Paper No. P-75) Mr. Christopherson.

Petition relating to Rewriting the Safe Streets Act to exclude all non-profit organizations (Sessional Paper No. P-79) Mr. Patten.

Petition relating to Electricity deregulation and privatization vs. a system of accountable public power (Sessional Paper No. P-80) Mr. Hampton.

Orders of the Day

Ordre du Jour

The Order of the Day for Second Reading of Bill 57, An Act to promote government efficiency and to improve services to taxpayers by amending or repealing certain Acts having been read,

À l'appel de l'ordre du jour sur la motion portant deuxième lecture du projet de loi 57, Loi visant à favoriser l'efficience du gouvernement et à améliorer les services aux contribuables en modifiant ou en abrogeant certaines lois,

Pursuant to the Order of the House of June 20, 2001, the Speaker interrupted the proceedings and put the question, and declared his opinion that the Ayes had it, and a recorded vote having been demanded,

Conformément à l'ordre adopté par l'Assemblée le 20 juin 2001, le Président interrompt les délibérations, met la motion aux voix, et déclare qu'à son avis les voix favorables l'emportent et un vote par appel nominal a été demandé,

The Speaker directed that the Members be called in, for which purpose the division bells were rung.

Le Président donne des directives pour convoquer les députés et la sonnerie d'appel se fait entendre.

During the ringing of the bells, the Speaker addressed the House as follows:-

Pendant la sonnerie d'appel, le Président s'adresse à l'Assemblée en ces mots:-

I have received a request from the Chief Government Whip, under Standing Order 28(h), that the vote on the motion for Second Reading of Bill 57, An Act to promote government efficiency and to improve services to taxpayers by amending or repealing certain Acts, be deferred until Tuesday, June 26, 2001.

J'ai reçu une requête du Whip en chef du gouvernement, conformément à l'article 28(h) du Règlement, que le vote sur la motion portant deuxième lecture du projet de loi 57, Loi visant à favoriser l'efficience du gouvernement et à améliorer les services aux contribuables en modifiant ou en abrogeant certaines lois, soit différé jusqu'au mardi 26 juin 2001.

Therefore the vote is accordingly deferred.

En conséquence, le vote est différé.

A debate arose on the motion for Third Reading of Bill 25, An Act to amend the Public Service Act and Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act, 1993.

Il s'élève un débat sur la motion portant troisième lecture du projet de loi 25, Loi modifiant la Loi sur la fonction publique et la Loi de 1993 sur la négociation collective des employés de la Couronne.

Pursuant to the Order of the House of May 30, 2001, the Deputy Speaker (Mr. Brown) interrupted the proceedings and put the question, and declared his opinion that the ayes had it, and a recorded vote having been demanded,

Conformément à l'ordre adopté par l'Assemblée le 30 mai 2001, le Vice-Président, M. Brown interrompt les délibérations, met la motion aux voix, et déclare qu'à son avis les voix favorables l'emportent et un vote par appel nominal a été demandé,

The Deputy Speaker directed that the Members be called in, for which purpose the division bells were rung.

Le Vice-Président donne des directives pour convoquer les députés et la sonnerie d'appel se fait entendre.

During the ringing of the bells, the Deputy Speaker addressed the House as follows:-

Pendant la sonnerie d'appel, le Vice-Président s'adresse à l'Assemblée en ces mots:-

I have received a request from the Chief Opposition Whip, under Standing Order 28(h), that the vote on the motion for Third Reading of Bill 25, An Act to amend the Public Service Act and Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act, 1993, be deferred until Tuesday, June 26, 2001.

J'ai reçu une requête du Whip en chef de l'Opposition, conformément à l'article 28(h) du Règlement, que le vote sur la motion portant troisième lecture du projet de loi 25, Loi modifiant la Loi sur la fonction publique et la Loi de 1993 sur la négociation collective des employés de la Couronne, soit différé jusqu'au mardi 26 juin 2001.

Therefore the vote is accordingly deferred.

En conséquence, le vote est différé.

The House then adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

À 18 h, la chambre a ensuite ajourné ses travaux.

6:45 P.M.

18 H 45

Orders of the Day

Ordre du Jour

Mr. Stockwell moved,

M. Stockwell propose,

That, An humble Address be presented to the Lieutenant Governor in Council as follows:-

We Her Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, now assembled, request the appointment of the Honourable Coulter Osborne, as Integrity Commissioner, as provided in section 23 of the Members' Integrity Act, 1994, S.O. 1994, chapter 38, to hold office under the terms and conditions of the said Act commencing September 17, 2001.

A debate arose and, after some time, the question having been put, the Acting Speaker (Mr. Christopherson) declared his opinion that the Ayes had it, and a recorded vote having been demanded,

Il s'élève un débat et après quelque temps, la motion mise aux voix, le président par intérim, M. Christopherson déclare qu'à son avis les voix favorables l'emportent et un vote par appel nominal a été demandé.

The Acting Speaker directed that the Members be called in, for which purpose the division bells were rung.

Le Président par intérim donne des directives pour convoquer les députés et la sonnerie d'appel se fait entendre.

During the ringing of the bells, the Acting Speaker addressed the House as follows:-

Pendant la sonnerie d'appel, le Président par intérim s'adresse à l'Assemblée en ces mots:-

I have received a request from the Chief Government Whip, under Standing Order 28(h), that the vote on Government Motion Number 40 be deferred until Tuesday, June 26, 2001.

J'ai reçu une requête du Whip en chef du gouvernement, conformément à l'article 28(h) du Règlement, que le vote sur la motion numéro 40 émanant du gouvernement soit différé jusqu'au mardi 26 juin 2001.

Therefore the vote is accordingly deferred.

En conséquence, le vote est différé.

Mr. Wettlaufer moved, That the House do now adjourn.

M. Wettlaufer propose que l'Assemblée ajourne les débats maintenant.

The question, having been put on the motion, was declared carried.

Cette motion, mise aux voix, est déclarée adoptée.

The House then adjourned at 10:30 p.m.

À 22 h 30, la chambre a ensuite ajourné ses travaux.

le président

GARY CARR

Speaker

Sessional Papers Presented Pursuant to Standing Order 39(A):-

Documents Parlementaires Déposés Conformément à l'Article 39(A) du Règlement

Amendment to intended Order-in-Council dated June 6, 2001 (No. 71) (Tabled June 22, 2001).

Compendia:

Bill 87, An Act to regulate food quality and safety and to make complementary amendments and repeals to other Acts (No. 73).

Bill 88, An Act to revise The Ontario College of Art Act, 1968-69 (No. 74).

Part-time appointments re intended order-in-council dated June 21, 2001 (No. 72) (Tabled June 22, 2001).

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board / Commission de la sécurité professionnelle et de l'assurance contre les accidents du travail, Annual Report 2000 (No. 69) (Tabled June 22, 2001).

Responses to Petitions

Réponses aux Pétitions

Petitions relating to Protecting minors from exposure to sexually explicit materials / Protection des mineurs contre les biens et services sexuellement explicites (Sessional Paper No. P-10):

(Tabled May 14 and May 15, 2001) Mr. Wood.

(Tabled May 14, 2001) Mr. Gill.

(Tabled May 16, 2001) Mr. O'Toole.

(Tabled May 17, 2001) Mrs. Mushinski and Mr. Spina.

Petition relating to Providing Basic needs to recipients of benefits through The Ontario Disability Support Program Act (Sessional Paper No. P-56):

(Tabled May 14, 2001) Mr. Gravelle.

Petition relating to the Highway 401 and Victoria Park Avenue exit ramp(Sessional Paper No. P-60):

(Tabled May 16, 2001) Mr. Caplan.

Petitions relating to Shortage of Nursing staff in Ontario (Sessional Paper No. P-61):

(Tabled May 17, 2001) Mr. Bradley, Mrs. Dombrowsky, and Mrs. McLeod.

(Tabled May 30, 2001) Mr. Peters.

(Tabled May 31, 2001) Mrs. McLeod.

(Tabled June 5, 2001) Mr. Bradley and Mrs. McLeod.

(Tabled June 6, 2001) Mr. Bradley, Mrs. Dombrowsky, and Mrs. McLeod.

(Tabled June 7, 2001) Mr. Peters.