No. 4

N^o 4

Orders and

Notices Paper

Feuilleton et Avis

Legislative Assembly
of Ontario

Assemblée législative
de l'Ontario

1st Session,
37th Parliament

1^re session,
37^e législature

Tuesday,
October 26, 1999

Mardi
26 octobre 1999

TABLE OF CONTENTS / TABLE DES MATIÈRES

ORDERS:

TODAY'S BUSINESS / TRAVAUX DU JOUR 3

LEGISLATION / PROJETS DE LOI 4

GOVERNMENT ORDERS / ORDRES DU GOUVERNEMENT 4

NOTICES:

GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTION / AVIS DE MOTIONS DU GOUVERNEMENT 4

ORDERS

ORDRES

TODAY'S BUSINESS /

TRAVAUX DU JOUR

1:30 P.M.

13 H 30

Prayers

Prières

ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS /

AFFAIRES COURANTES

Members' Statements

Déclarations des députés

Reports by Committees

Rapports des comités

Introduction of Bills

Dépôt des projets de loi

Motions

Motions

Statements by the Ministry and Responses

Déclarations ministérielles et réponses

Deferred Votes

Votes différés

Oral Questions

Questions orales

Petitions

Pétitions

_____________

ORDERS OF THE DAY /

ORDRE DU JOUR

1.

Resuming the adjourned debate on the Motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the Opening of the Session.

1.

Suite du débat ajourné sur la motion portant l'Adresse en réponse au discours prononcé par Son Honneur la lieutenante-gouverneure à l'ouverture de la session.

_____________

6:30 P.M.

18 H 30

1.

Resuming the adjourned debate on the Motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the Opening of the Session.

1.

Suite du débat ajourné sur la motion portant l'Adresse en réponse au discours prononcé par Son Honneur la lieutenante-gouverneure à l'ouverture de la session.

_____________

LEGISLATION /

PROJETS DE LOI

G1. Second Reading of Bill 1, An Act to perpetuate an Ancient Parliamentary Right. Hon. Mr. Harris.

G1. Deuxième lecture du projet de loi 1, Loi visant à perpétuer un ancien droit parlementaire. L'hon. M. Harris.

M2. Second Reading Bill 2, An Act to amend the Medicine Act, 1991. Mr. Kwinter.

M2. Deuxième lecture du projet de loi 2, Loi modifiant la Loi de 1991 sur les médecins. M. Kwinter.

M3. Second Reading Bill 3, An Act to provide for a public inquiry to discover the truth about events at Ipperwash Provincial Park leading to the death of Dudley George. Mr. Phillips.

M3. Deuxième lecture du projet de loi 3, Loi prévoyant une enquête publique pour découvrir la vérité sur les événements qui se sont produits au parc provincial Ipperwash et qui ont conduit au décès de Dudley George. M. Phillips.

G4. Second Reading Bill 4, An Act respecting the Legislative Assembly and its officers. Hon. Mr. Sterling.

G4. Deuxième lecture du projet de loi 4, Loi concernant l'Assemblée législative et ses fonctionnaires. L'hon. Mr. Sterling.

G.5 Second Reading Bill 5, An Act to amend certain statutes because of the Supreme Court of Canada decision in M. v. H. Hon. Mr. Flaherty.

G5. Deuxième lecture du projet de loi 5, Loi modifiant certaines lois en raison de la décision de la Cour suprême du Canada dans l'arrêt M. c. H. L'hon. Mr. Flaherty.

GOVERNMENT ORDERS /

ORDRES DU GOUVERNEMENT

1.

Resuming the adjourned debate on the Motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech of Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor at the Opening of the Session.

1.

Suite du débat ajourné sur la motion portant l'Adresse en réponse au discours prononcé par Son Honneur la lieutenante-gouverneure à l'ouverture de la session.

NOTICES

AVIS

Government notices of motion /

avis de motions du gouvernement

1.

Motion relating to evening meeting period on October 25, 26 and 27, 1999. Carried October 25, 1999.

2.

Interim Supply Motion. Debated and Carried October 25, 1999.

3.

Mr. Sterling - Resolution - That the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly be amended as follows:

That Standing Order 1(d) be struck out.

That Standing Order 2 be struck out and the following substituted:

2. For the purpose of these Standing Orders,

"Recognized Party" means a party caucus of 8 or more members of the Legislative Assembly.

"Routine motion" means any motion, including motions under Standing Order 9, made for the purpose of fixing the days or times of the meetings or adjournments of the House, or its committees; establishing or revising the membership of committees, and the meeting schedule thereof; arranging the proceedings of the House; or any other motion relating strictly to the technical procedure of the House or its committees and the management of the business thereof.

"Substantive motion" means a motion that is not incidental or supplementary to any other business of the House, but is a self-contained proposal capable of expressing a decision of the House. Examples of such motions are: the motion for an Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne, the Budget motion, want of confidence motions on allotted days, resolutions and motions for returns or addresses;

"Sitting day" means any day on which the House meets.

"Sessional day" means a meeting of the House held pursuant to Standing Orders 8(a), 9(c)(iii) or 10(a); or an evening meeting of the House held pursuant to Standing Order 9(c)(i) or (ii).

That Standing Order 4(c) be struck out and the following substituted:

c) At the commencement of every Parliament, or from time to time as may be required, the House shall appoint 2 Deputy Chairs of the Committee of the Whole House, to be known respectively as the First and Second Chair of the Committee of the Whole House, either of whom shall, in order of precedence, whenever the Chair of the Committee of the Whole House is absent or otherwise unable to act, be entitled to exercise all the powers vested in the Chair of the Committee of the Whole House including those powers as Deputy Speaker.

That Standing Order 9 be struck out and the following substituted:

9.(a) Except as provided in clause (c)(iii), and in Standing Order 37, at 6:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the Speaker shall adjourn the House without motion until the next Sessional day.

(b) Except as provided in Standing Order 95(e), at 12:00 noon on any day on which the House meets in the morning, the Speaker shall leave the chair until 1:30 p.m.

(c) Upon passage of a government motion, the House shall meet, as the case may be,

(i) Between the hours of 6:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., notice of which must appear on the Orders and Notices paper by the first Sitting day of the first week to which the motion applies, or

(ii) Between 6:45 p.m. and another specified time not later than midnight, notice of which must appear on the Orders and Notices paper by the second sitting day of the week immediately preceding the first week to which the motion applies, or

(iii) Past the adjournment time set out in clause (a) and continuing to a specified time not later than midnight, notice of which must appear on the Orders and Notices paper by the second sitting day of the week immediately preceding the first week to which the motion applies

Such a motion may apply to one day or to more than one day and, in the latter case, shall specify whether clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) apply to different days. The question on such a motion shall be put forthwith and without amendment or debate. If a recorded vote is requested by 5 members, the division bell shall be limited to 5 minutes.

Evening meetings held under clauses (i) or (ii) shall be limited to the consideration of government Orders or private members' public business or both, according to the terms of the motion, but no government bill shall be called on more than one Sessional day during a single sitting day without unanimous consent. At the adjournment time specified for the day or days in the motion, the Speaker shall adjourn the House without motion until the next Sessional day.

(d) Where a motion under clause (c) provides that all or part of an evening meeting shall be devoted to the consideration of private members' public business, the motion shall indicate the business to be considered, the time or times reserved for such business, and any special procedure to be followed. Such motion may provide that all or part of Standing Order 95 applies with necessary modifications to the debate on private members' public business.

(e) When the House adjourns, the members shall keep their seats until the Speaker has left the Chamber.

That Standing Order 10 be amended by adding the following clause

(a.1) The Speaker shall have the authority to vary the time of any recall made under this Standing Order to such extent as is, in his or her opinion, necessary to ensure that reasonable notice of the recall is conveyed to each member and to permit all other arrangements to be made for the House to meet. However, no variance may be made if the time specified in the notice of recall for the House to meet is at least 24 hours later than the time the Speaker receives the notice.

That Standing Order 10(b) be struck out.

That Standing Order 11(a) be amended by striking out the number "20" in the first line and substituting the number "12".

That Standing Order 11(b) be struck out and the following substituted:

(b) If at any time after Prayers, the Speaker's attention is directed to the apparent lack of a quorum, the Speaker shall, upon determining that a quorum is not present, cause the bells to be rung until a quorum is present and, in any case, for no longer than 5 minutes. If a quorum is not present after the expiration of 5 minutes, the Speaker shall adjourn the House without question put until the next Sessional day. The matter under consideration prior to the adjournment is deemed to be adjourned to a future Sessional day.

That Standing Order 14 be struck out and the following substituted:

14. Whenever the Speaker is of the opinion that a motion offered to the House is contrary to the rules and privileges of Parliament, the Speaker shall rule it out of order, and may quote the rule or authority applicable.

That Standing Order 15(d) be struck out.

That Standing Order 16 be amended by striking out all of the words between "may" in the second line and "adjourn" in the 4th line.

That Standing Order 24(a)be amended by striking out the words "of a committee" in the 2nd line and the words "or committee" in the 3rd line.

That Standing Order 24(b) be amended by adding the following:

At any time during a debate limited by this clause, a member then speaking may divide his or her time among a member or members of his or her Party. Such speeches shall be given consecutively without rotation among the parties and shall be deemed to be a single speech for the purposes of Standing Order 25.

That Standing Order 24(d) be struck out.

That Standing Order 25 be struck out and the following substituted:

25. Following the speech of each member, up to 4 members may ask questions and comment for up to 2 minutes each on matters relevant to the matters before the House, and the member originally speaking may reply for up to 2 minutes, in the following circumstances:

i. debate on second reading of a government bill, but no such questions and comments shall be allowed following the reply allowed to the minister or parliamentary assistant who has moved second reading of the bill;

ii. debate on third reading of a government bill, but no such questions and comments shall be allowed following the reply allowed to the minister or parliamentary assistant who has moved third reading of the bill;

iii. debate on the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne, but no such questions and comments shall be allowed following the speeches of the mover and the seconder of the motion for the Address; the speeches of the members speaking first on behalf of the Official Opposition and the other recognized Opposition Parties, and the speeches of the members winding up the Throne Debate for each recognized Party;

iv. debate on the Budget motion, but no such questions and comments shall be allowed following the presentation of the Budget by the Minister of Finance, the speeches of the members speaking first on behalf of the Official Opposition and the other recognized Opposition Parties, and the speeches of the members winding up the Budget Debate for each recognized Party; and

v. debate on a motion for Interim Supply.

That Standing Order 28 be amended by striking out clause (h) and substituting the following:

(h) Except in the case of any division arising out of any Routine Proceeding, or where a Standing Order or other Order specifies the time of the vote, a vote may be deferred at the request of any Chief Whip of a recognized Party in the House. The Speaker shall then defer the taking of the vote to the next Sessional day during the Routine Proceeding "Deferred Votes", at which time the bells shall be rung for 5 minutes.

That Standing Order 28(j) be struck out.

That Standing Order 30(b) be amended by adding at the end thereof the words "However, Routine Proceedings shall continue past 4:00 p.m. to permit the Speaker to put every question on the deferred votes."

That Standing Order 31(b) be struck out and the following substituted:

(b) Up to 9 members of recognized Parties in the House may make a statement during the period for "Members' Statements" and the statements shall be allocated in proportion to the number of private members of each of the recognized Parties in the House.

That Standing Order 32(c) be amended by striking out the words "then shall adjourn the debate" in the 4th and 5th lines and substituting the words "notwithstanding Standing Order 45(a), shall then move adjournment of the debate."

That Standing Order 33(c) be struck out and the following substituted:

(c) On the introduction of a government bill, a compendium of background information shall be delivered to the critics of the recognized Opposition Parties. If it is an amending bill, an up-to-date consolidation of the Act or Acts to be amended shall also be delivered unless the bill amends an Act amended previously in the Session.

That Standing Order 34 be amended by striking out the words following the word "motions" in the second line and substituting the words "as set out in the definition thereof in Standing Order 2. Except as provided by Standing Order 9 and 105, these routine motions do not require notice."

That Standing Order 35(c) be amended by striking out the words "Opposition Party Leaders" and substituting the words "the Leaders of recognized Opposition Parties".

That Standing Order 36(b) be struck out.

That Standing Orders 37(a) and (b) be struck out and the following substituted:

37. (a) The Speaker's rulings relating to oral questions are not debatable or subject to appeal. However, a member who is not satisfied with the response to an oral question, or who has been told that his or her question is not urgent or of public importance, may give notice orally at the end of the Oral Question Period that he or she intends to raise the subject-matter of the question on the adjournment of the House and must give written notice to the Speaker and file reasons for dissatisfaction with the Clerk before 4:30 p.m., and the Speaker shall, not later than 5:00 p.m., indicate the matter or matters to be raised at the time of adjournment that day.

(b) Where notice has been given and reasons filed, as provided in clause (a), at 6:00 p.m. on any Tuesday or Thursday, the Speaker may deem that a motion to adjourn the House has been made, whereupon the matter in question may be debated for not more than 10 minutes, 5 minutes to be allowed to the member raising the matter and 5 minutes to the minister or to his or her parliamentary assistant to reply if he or she so wishes. No more than 3 such matters of which notice has been given and reasons filed shall be debated on any single sitting day. At the conclusion of such debate or debates the Speaker shall deem the motion to adjourn to be carried and shall adjourn the House to the next Sessional day.

That Standing Orders 37(e) be struck out.

That Standing Order 37(f) be struck and the following substituted:

When the House continues to meet past 6:00 p.m. on a government motion as provided in Standing Order 9(c)(iii) the adjournment proceeding under this Standing Order shall not apply.

That Standing Order 37(g) be amended by replacing the time "6:30" in the first line with the time "6:45" and by replacing the time "6:25" in the 3rd line with the time "6:30".

That Standing Order 38 be amended by adding the following clause:

(b.1) No member may seek to present a petition unless it has previously been given to the Clerk of the Assembly who has examined it and certified that it is correct as to form and content.

That clause 38(c) be amended by adding the words "In order to be certified by the Clerk," immediately before the word "every" in the 1st line.

That Standing Order 38(h) be struck out and the following substituted:

(h) Within 24 sitting days of its presentation, the government shall file a response to a petition with the Clerk of the House and shall provide a copy of the response to the member who presented the petition.

That Standing Order 39(b) be amended by striking out the words "Opposition critics" in the 3rd line and substituting the words "critics of the recognized Opposition Parties".

That Standing Order 42(c) be amended by striking out the word "Sessional" in the 1st line and substituting the word "sitting".

That Standing Order 42(g) be amended by replacing the time "6:00" in the 2nd line with the time "5:50" and the number "5" in the 4th line with the number "10".

That Standing Order 42(l)(ii) be amended by striking out the word "Sessional" in the 1st line and substituting the word "sitting", and by adding at the end thereof the words "and during any extension thereof".

That Standing Order 43(a) be amended by deleting the words "Third Party" in the 3rd line and substituting the words "recognized Party having the third largest membership in the House".

That Standing Order 43(b) be struck out and the following substituted:

(b) Debate on a motion under clause (a) shall be at a time allotted by agreement of the House Leaders of the recognized Parties and restricted to one Sessional day. The time available shall be apportioned equally among the recognized Parties in the House. At 5:50 p.m. on that day, the Speaker shall interrupt the proceedings and put the question without further debate.

That Standing Order 43(c) be amended by replacing the number "5" in the 2nd line with the number "10".

That Standing Order 44(b) be amended by adding the word "recognized" immediately before the word "Parties" in the 2nd line.

That Standing Order 45 be amended by adding the following new clause:

(a.1) When a motion to adjourn the House is carried, the matter under consideration prior to the adjournment is deemed to be adjourned to a future sessional day.

That Standing Order 45(d) be struck out.

That Standing Order 46(a) be amended by striking out the words "or any minister of the crown" in the first and second lines.

That Standing Order 46 be amended by adding the following new clause:

(a.1) The time available for debate on a time allocation motion shall be apportioned equally among the recognized Parties.

That Standing Order 46(b) be amended by replacing the time "6:00" in the 1st line with the time "5:50", the time "9:15" in the 1st line with the time "9:20" and the number "5" in the last line with the number "10".

That Standing Order 46(e) be struck out.

That Standing Order 48(a) be struck out.

That Standing Order 57(a) be amended by adding the following words at the end thereof, "Following the Budget speech, if requested by the Minister of Finance, the House shall revert to "Introduction of Bills" for the purpose of allowing the Minister of Finance to move the introduction of any bill or bills arising from the Budget."

That Standing Order 57(b) be amended by replacing the time "5:45" in the 2nd line with the time "5:50", the time "9:15" in the 3rd line with the time "9:20" and the number "15" in the last line with the number "10".

That Standing Order 58 be struck out and the following substituted:

58. When a Budget has been presented, the main Estimates shall be Tabled in the House no more than 12 sitting days later. During those 12 days the Budget debate shall be completed. If no budget has been presented by the first sitting day following Victoria Day the main Estimates shall be Tabled at the next available sitting day. Upon Tabling, the Estimates shall be deemed to be referred to the Standing Committee on Estimates.

That Standing Order 59(d) be amended by adding the word "recognized" before the word "Party" in the 4th line.

That Standing Order 59(e) be amended by adding the words "including a procedural motion," following the word "matter" in the 2nd line.

That Standing Order 62 be amended by adding the following clause:

(b.1) In the event that any Supplementary Estimates are not presented to the House until the third Thursday in November, or thereafter, then those Supplementary Estimates shall be deemed to be referred to the Standing Committee on Estimates as they are presented to the House, shall be deemed to be passed by the Committee and shall be deemed to be reported to and received by the House.

That Standing Order 62(c) be amended by replacing the time "5:45" in the 3rd line with the time "5:50", the time "9:15" in the 3rd line with the time "9:20" and the number "15" in the 14th line with the number "10" and by striking out the words "subject to the usual Standing Orders" in the last line and substituting "and the Speaker shall apportion the time equally among the recognized Parties in the House."

That the following new Standing Order be added:

62.1 Adoption of Orders for Concurrence shall constitute an Order to bring in a Supply Bill founded on the resolutions contained therein, and founded on the resolutions contained in the deemed Concurrences made pursuant to Standing Orders 60 and 61. Debate under this Standing Order shall be apportioned equally among the recognized Parties. At 5:50 p.m. or 9:20 p.m., as the case may be, on the Sessional Day during which debate on the second reading stage of the Supply Bill commences as the first government Order of the Day, or after 3 hours of debate if the debate did not commence as the first government Order of the Day, the Speaker shall without further debate or amendment put all questions necessary to dispose of this stage of the Bill. A Supply Bill given second reading shall be ordered for third reading, and the order for third reading shall then immediately be called and the Speaker shall put the question forthwith without further debate or amendment, no deferral under Standing Order 28(h) being permitted. In the case of any division under this Standing Order, the division bell shall be limited to 10 minutes.

That the following new Standing Order be added:

65(a.1) The time available for debate on an Interim Supply motion shall be apportioned equally among the recognized Parties.

That Standing Order 65(b) be amended by replacing the time "5:45" in the 2nd line with the time "5:50", the time "9:15" in the 2nd line with the time "9:20" and the number "15" in the last line with the number "10".

That Standing Order 68(b) be amended by striking out the word "Sessional" in the 2nd, 5th and 6th lines and substituting in both cases the word "sitting".

That Standing Order 68(c) be amended by striking out the word "Sessional" in the 2nd line and substituting the word "sitting".

That Standing Order 68(d) be amended by adding the words "including a procedural motion," following the word "matter" in the 2nd line.

That Standing Order 71(a) be struck out and the following substituted:

(a) At any time before the commencement of Second Reading debate on a public bill, during "Motions", the Government House Leader may move the following motion, no debate or amendment being permitted, "That the Order for Second Reading of Bill [insert bill title] be discharged and the Bill be referred to the Standing Committee on [insert committee name].

(a.1) Notwithstanding Standing Order 76(a) a bill referred under this Standing Order, when reported from the Committee, shall be ordered for second reading.

That Standing Order 71(c) be amended by striking out the number "12" in the 4th line and substituting the number "8".

That Standing Order 73 be amended by striking out the words "5 calendar days" and substituting the words "the 5^th calendar day".

That Standing Order 74(a) be amended by adding the word "recognized" immediately before the word "Parties" in the last line.

That Standing Order 74(b) be struck out.

That Standing Order 74(c) be struck out and the following substituted:

(c) The Chair of a Committee, including the Chair of the Committee of the Whole House, may take such reasonable steps as he or she considers necessary to facilitate the Committee's consideration and disposition of multiple amendments.

That Standing Order 82 be amended by striking out the word "Revenue" in the 4th line and substituting the word "Finance".

That Standing Order 94 be amended by striking out the first full paragraph of the "PUBLIC NOTICE" and substituting the following:

The rules of procedure and the fees and costs related to applications for private bills are set out in the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly. Copies of the Standing Orders, and the guide "Procedures for Applying for Private Legislation", may be obtained from the Legislative Assembly's Internet site at http://www.ontla.on.ca or from:

That Standing Order 95(g) be struck out and the following substituted:

(g) To be considered in private members' time a bill must be introduced, or notice of a motion must appear on the Orders and Notices paper, not less than 15 calendar days in advance of the date that is determined by the ballot conducted under clause (d).

That Standing Orders 96(d) and (e) be struck out and the following substituted:

(d) The minister shall answer such written questions within 24 sitting days, unless he or she indicates that more time is required because the answer will be costly or time-consuming or that he or she declines to answer, in which case a notation shall be made on the Orders and Notices paper following the question indicating that the minister has made an interim answer, the approximate date that the information will be available, or that the minister has declined to answer, as the case may be.

(e) The answers to such written questions shall be given to the member who asked the question and to the Clerk of the House who shall print a notation in the Votes and Proceedings that the question has been answered.

That Standing Order 98 be amended by adding the following thereto:

Unless expressly provided by the Standing Orders or by unanimous consent, no member shall speak for more than 20 minutes at a time in Committee of the Whole House.

That Standing Order 105 be amended by striking out the words "each Session in" in the 2nd line; inserting the words "on motion with notice" following the word "appointed" in the 3rd line; and striking out the word "Session" in the last line and substituting the word "Parliament".

That Standing Orders 105(a), (b), (c) and (d) be struck out and the following substituted:

That Standing Order 105(h) be struck out.

That Standing Order 105(i) be amended by adding at the end the following:

and to be the committee which is empowered to review and consider from time to time the Reports of the Ombudsman as they become available; and, as the Committee deems necessary, pursuant to section 15(1) of the Ombudsman Act, to formulate general rules for the guidance of the Ombudsman in the exercise of his or her functions under the Act; and, to report thereon to the Legislature and to make such recommendations as the Committee deems appropriate;

That the following new Standing Order be added:

105.1 In any Standing or Select Committee, the Standing Orders of the House shall be observed so far as may be applicable, except the Standing Orders limiting the number of times of speaking. Unless expressly provided by the Standing Orders or by unanimous consent, no member shall speak for more than 20 minutes at a time in any Standing or Select Committee.

That Standing Order 107(a) be amended by striking out the words "(a), (b), (c) and (d)" in the first and second lines, and replacing them with the words "(a) and (b)".

That Standing Order 107(b) be struck out and the following substituted:

(b) At the beginning of each Parliament and, if necessary, during the course of a Parliament, the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly shall prescribe the ministries and offices assigned to the Standing Committees for the purposes of this Standing Order and shall make a report thereon to the House, which report shall be deemed to be adopted.

That Standing Order 109 be struck out and the following substituted:

109(a) No Standing or Select Committee shall consist of more than 9 members and the membership of such Committees shall be in proportion to the representation of the recognized Parties in the House.

(b) Notwithstanding clause (a), each independent member shall, at his or her request, be appointed to at least one Standing Committee. An independent member may state his or her Committee preference to the House Leaders but such statement of preference is not binding. Unless the House decides otherwise, no Standing Committee shall include more than one independent member.

(c) The appointment of an independent member to a Standing Committee shall be in addition to the members of recognized Parties referred to in clause (a). A recognized Party with a majority of seats in the House is entitled to an additional member of the Committee for each independent member appointed to the Committee.

(d) Any member appointed to a Standing or Select Committee may, at any time afterwards, be discharged by Order of the House from attending the Committee and another member appointed.

(e) A temporary substitution in the membership of a Standing or Select Committee may be made provided a notification thereof, signed by the member acting as the Whip of a recognized Party, is filed with the Clerk of the Committee either before or within 30 minutes of a Committee meeting being called to order.

That Standing Order 111 be amended by striking out the word "Sessional" in the 1st line and substituting the word "sitting".

That Standing Order 112 be struck out and the following substituted:

112. At the commencement of every Parliament, or from time to time as may be required, each Standing Committee shall elect a Chair and Vice-Chair.

That Standing Order 114 be amended by striking out the word "Sessional" in the 4th line and substituting the word "sitting".

That Standing Order 116(c) be struck out and the following substituted:

(c) If at any time during a meeting of a Standing or Select Committee the Chair's attention is directed to the apparent lack of quorum, the Chair shall, upon determining that a quorum is not present, suspend the proceedings of the Committee; if no quorum is present at the expiration of 10 minutes, the Chair shall adjourn the Committee to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee.

That Standing Orders 117 and 118 be struck out.

That Standing Orders 121(a) and (b) be struck out and the following substituted:

121. (a) At the beginning of each fiscal year or as soon as possible thereafter, the Clerk of the House shall prepare a budget for presentation to the Board of Internal Economy for its approval in whole or in part. The budget shall set forth in reasonable detail estimates of proposed expenditures of Standing and Select Committees for the fiscal year.

(b) When the expenditures of any Committee have reached the limits set forth in any such budget, the Chair of the Committee shall present to the Board of Internal Economy, for its approval in whole or in part, a supplementary budget or budgets.

That Standing Order 124 be struck out and the following substituted:

124(a) Once in each Session, for consideration in that Session, each member of a committee set out in Standing Order 105(a) or (b) may propose that the committee study and report on a matter or matters relating to the mandate, management, organization or operation of the ministries and offices which are assigned to the committee, as well as the agencies, boards and commissions reporting to such ministries and offices.

(b) Notice of a motion by a member under this Standing Order shall be filed with the Clerk of the committee not less than 24 hours before the member intends to move it in a meeting of the committee. The Clerk of the Committee shall distribute a copy of the motion to the members of the committee as soon as it is received. Whenever a motion under this Standing Order is being considered in a committee, discussion of the motion shall not exceed 30 minutes, at the expiry of which the Chair shall put every question necessary to dispose of the motion and any amendments thereto.

(c) The proposal of a member for study and report must be adopted by at least two-thirds of the members of the committee, excluding the Chair. Such study in the committee shall not take precedence over consideration of a government public bill.

(d) Following its consideration of such a matter, the committee may present a substantive report to the House and may adopt the text of a draft bill on the subject-matter. Where the text of a draft bill is adopted by the Committee, it shall be an instruction to the Chair to introduce such bill in his or her name.

(e) There shall be not less than one sessional day, or 3 hours, of debate in the House on such a bill, to take place at a time or times allotted by agreement of the House Leaders of the recognized Parties.

That Standing Order 129(c) be struck out and the following substituted:

(c) Every member of the committee, other than the Chair, shall be permitted to indicate that he or she dissents from a particular recommendation or comment. The committee shall permit a member to express the reasons for such dissent in an appendix to the report.

That Standing Order 129 be amended by adding the following new clause:

(c.1) The Chair of a Committee may establish a reasonable deadline for filing any dissenting opinion with the Clerk of the Committee.

That Standing Order 133 be amended by adding the following new clause:

(a.1) To certify whether petitions proposed to be presented by members are correct as to form and content.

That Standing Order 134(a) be amended by striking out the word "Sessional" in the 2nd line and substituting the word "sitting".

That Standing Order 137(e) be struck out and the following substituted:

(e) Provide assistance to standing or select committees considering bills.

And that the Clerk of the House be authorized to make such consequential changes in the Standing Orders, including re-numbering, as may be required as a result of the amendments made herein. Filed October 25, 1999.