Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The committee met at 0900 in committee room 2.

Appointment of subcommittee

The Chair (Ms. Goldie Ghamari): Good morning, everyone. I call the Standing Committee on Justice Policy meeting to order.

Pursuant to the order of the House dated April 11, a change to the composition of the subcommittee on committee business is required.

I will now entertain a motion for the replacement of subcommittee member MPP Hogarth.

MPP Dixon.

Ms. Jess Dixon: I move that MPP Brian Saunderson be appointed as a member of the subcommittee on committee business.

The Chair (Ms. Goldie Ghamari): MPP Dixon has moved the motion. Is there any debate? No? Are members ready to vote? All those in favour? All those opposed? I declare the motion carried.

Committee business

The Chair (Ms. Goldie Ghamari): The next order of business is committee business. Do we have a motion?

MPP Dixon.

Ms. Jess Dixon: I move that the committee commence a comprehensive study of intimate partner violence in Ontario; and

That the subcommittee on committee business develop a preliminary work plan for the commencement of the study and report back to the committee with this plan as soon as possible; and

That, as soon as possible, legislative research shall prepare a comprehensive foundational report for the committee and supplementary reports as may be required from time to time throughout the study; and

That members of the subcommittee on committee business may designate matters for inclusion in the legislative research reports by the end of this week or as the subjects of supplementary reports as they deem necessary.

The Chair (Ms. Goldie Ghamari): MPP Dixon has moved a motion. Is there any discussion?

MPP Gretzky.

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: I just want to say that we all know how important it is to the stakeholders around the province that this is proceeding and that it’s going to do so with urgency and in the spirit of co-operation. So I want to thank all the committee members for moving this forward.

The Chair (Ms. Goldie Ghamari): MPP Wong-Tam.

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: I recognize that this motion was developed in collaboration with the Ontario NDP, and I want to thank the government members for that co-operation.

I recognize that in the motion there is a suggestion that we provide some research documents, name some research documents, so that they can set a foundational layout for what the work plan could include, and I think that’s a very important piece of it. Obviously, there has been work done in the past, and we want to be able to build on top of that and not necessarily start from scratch, because that’s not a good consumption of time.

Overall, this is a very good step forward.

The Chair (Ms. Goldie Ghamari): Further debate? No? Are members prepared to vote? All those in favour? All those opposed? I declare the motion carried.

Before I adjourn the committee, I just want to thank everyone for being here and for the collaboration. I think, moving forward, this is going to be very important work that we do as a committee, and I think one of the most important things we can do is make sure that we continue to collaborate and keep all partisanship or party sides out of it, because, ultimately, this is about protecting and supporting victims. So I want to thank the committee in advance for their co-operation in working together. This is why we become legislators, and I think we have an opportunity to make a very strong impact here.

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam: Well said, Chair.

The Chair (Ms. Goldie Ghamari): Thank you very much. The committee is now adjourned.

The committee adjourned at 0903.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE POLICY

Chair / Présidente

Ms. Goldie Ghamari (Carleton PC)

Vice-Chair / Vice-Président

Mr. Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong ND)

Mr. Will Bouma (Brantford–Brant PC)

Mr. Lorne Coe (Whitby PC)

Ms. Jess Dixon (Kitchener South–Hespeler / Kitchener-Sud–Hespeler PC)

Ms. Goldie Ghamari (Carleton PC)

Mr. Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong ND)

Mr. Michael Mantha (Algoma–Manitoulin IND)

Mr. Graham McGregor (Brampton North / Brampton-Nord PC)

Mr. Brian Riddell (Cambridge PC)

Mr. Brian Saunderson (Simcoe–Grey PC)

MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto Centre / Toronto-Centre ND)

Substitutions / Membres remplaçants

Mr. Rick Byers (Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound PC)

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West / Windsor-Ouest ND)

Mr. Mike Harris (Kitchener–Conestoga PC)

Clerk / Greffière

Ms. Thushitha Kobikrishna

Staff / Personnel

Ms. Heather Conklin, research officer,
Research Services