No. 146

N^o146

Votes and Proceedings

Procès-verbaux

Legislative Assembly
of Ontario

Assemblée législative
de l'Ontario

Monday
March 26, 2007

Daytime Meeting - Sessional Day 220
Evening Meeting - Sessional Day 221

Lundi
26 mars 2007

Séance de l'après-midi - jour de session 220
Séance du soir - jour de session 221

2^ndSession,
38^th Parliament

2^e session
38^e législature

Prayers
1:30 P.M.

Prières
13 H 30

The Speaker addressed the House as follows:-

I beg to inform the House that I have today laid upon the Table a report of the Ombudsman concerning the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (Sessional Paper No. 412).

The Speaker addressed the House as follows:-

Pursuant to Standing Order 62(c), the Supplementary Estimates (2006-2007) of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, the Ministry of Community and Social Services, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ministry of Health Promotion, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal, the Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, and the Ministry of Transportation before the Standing Committee on Estimates are deemed to be passed by the Committee and are deemed to be reported to and received by the House.

Pursuant to Standing Order 61(c), the reported Supplementary Estimates (2006-2007) of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Transportation, not selected for consideration, are deemed to be concurred in.

Accordingly, the Supplementary Estimates (2006-2007) of the following ministries were deemed to be passed by the Standing Committee on Estimates and were deemed to be reported to and received by the House:-

MINISTRY OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL SERVICES

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

         702

Adults' Services

$

105,316,500

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       1203

Economic, Fiscal, and Financial Policy

$

615,000

MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND LONG-TERM CARE

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       1408

Acute and Emergency Health Services

$

183,750,000

       1409

Community and Mental Health

$

35,000,000

       1407

Health Capital

$

9,900,000

MINISTRY OF HEALTH PROMOTION

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       4201

Ministry of Health Promotion

$

14,880,000

MINISTRY OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS AND HOUSING

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       1902

Local Government

$

11,000,000

       1904

Affordable Housing

$

127,115,000

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE RENEWAL

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       4001

Infrastructure and Growth Management

Planning/Ministry Administration

$

72,000,000

MINISTRY OF TRAINING, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       3002

Postsecondary Education

$

25,200,000

MINISTRY OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       606

Citizenship and Immigration Capital

$

19,895,000

MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       902

Economic Development and Trade

$

20,001,000

MINISTRY OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       4301

Research and Innovation

$

2,000

MINISTRY OF TOURISM

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       3804

Tourism Capital

$

17,800,000

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION

(SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES ONLY)

       2702

Policy, Planning and Standards

$

336,122,200

       2704

Provincial Highways Management

$

28,433,000

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 188, An Act to authorize the expenditure of certain amounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007.  Hon. Mr. Sorbara.

Projet de loi 188, Loi autorisant l'utilisation de certaines sommes pour l'exercice se terminant le 31 mars 2007.  L'hon. M. Sorbara.

Bill 189, An Act to proclaim April 24 Armenian Genocide Memorial Day.  Mr. Duguid.

Projet de loi 189, Loi proclamant le 24 avril Jour commémoratif du génocide arménien.  M. Duguid.

Motions

Motions

With unanimous consent, on motion by Mr. Bradley,

Avec le consentement unanime, sur la motion de M. Bradley,

Ordered, That the March 30, 2006 Order of the House referring Bill 67, An Act to amend various Acts to require a declaration with respect to the donation of organs and tissue on death, to the Standing Committee on Social Policy be discharged and the bill be referred instead to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly;

The December 7, 2006 Order of the House referring Bill 161, An Act respecting employment agencies, to the Standing Committee on General Government be discharged and the bill be referred instead to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly;

The November 30, 2006 Order of the House referring Bill 164, An Act to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, the Environmental Protection Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills be discharged and the bill be referred instead to the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly; and

That, in addition to its regularly scheduled meeting times, that the Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly be authorized to meet from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursday mornings to consider Bill 67, An Act to amend various Acts to require a declaration with respect to the donation of organs and tissue on death; Bill 161, An Act respecting employment agencies; and Bill 164, An Act to amend the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, the Environmental Protection Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Mr. Bradley moved,

M. Bradley propose,

That pursuant to Standing Order 9(c)(i), the House shall meet from 6:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Monday,         March 26, 2007, Tuesday, March 27, 2007 and Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 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 - 50

Balkissoon

Bentley

Berardinetti

Bountrogianni

Bradley

Broten

Bryant

Caplan

Chan

Colle

Crozier

Delaney

Dhillon

Di Cocco

Dombrowsky

Duguid

Duncan

Flynn

Fonseca

Gerretsen

Hoy

Jeffrey

Kular

Kwinter

Levac

Marsales

Matthews

Mauro

McMeekin

McNeely

Meilleur

Mossop

Parsons

Patten

Peters

Peterson

Phillips

Pupatello

Racco

Ramal

Ramsay

Rinaldi

Sandals

Smith

Smitherman

Sorbara

Takhar

Van Bommel

Wynne

Zimmer

NAYS / CONTRE - 23

Arnott

Barrett

DiNovo

Dunlop

Ferreira

Hardeman

Horwath

Hudak

Kormos

MacLeod

Marchese

Martel

Martiniuk

Miller

Munro

Murdoch

O'Toole

Prue

Savoline

Tascona

Tory

Witmer

Yakabuski

Petitions

Pétitions

Petition relating to amending the Ontario School Boards' Education Act to divert waste from Ontario high school classrooms and cafeterias (Sessional Paper No. P-168) Mr. Patten.

Petition relating to supporting the Regulation of Zoos Act (Sessional Paper No. P-264) Mrs. Van Bommel.

Petition relating to supporting the Ombudsman having the power to probe decisions and investigate complaints concerning the Children's Aid Societies (Sessional Paper No. P-211) Ms. Horwath.

Petitions relating to increasing long-term care operating funding in 2007 and 2008 and introducing a capital renewal and retrofit program (Sessional Paper No. P-282) Ms. DiNovo, Mr. Dunlop, Mr. Murdoch, Mr. O'Toole, Mr. Ouellette, and Mr. Zimmer.

Petition relating to allocating funding for affordable and supportive housing in Ontario's 2007 provincial budget and re-assume financial responsibility for the cost and repair of the current social housing stock  (Sessional Paper No. P-283) Mr. Zimmer.

Petition relating to increasing the Ontario Disability Support Program payments on an annual basis to ensure it covers the cost of living increase incurred by ODSP recipients (Sessional Paper No. P-284) Mr. Marchese.

Petition relating to funding the eight million dollar shortfall for Lakeridge Health (Sessional Paper No. P-286) Mr. O'Toole.

Petition relating to working with Hershey to reverse the decision to close the Smith Falls plant, fund infrastructure projects, complete the four-laning of Highway 7 and the reconstruction of Highway 15, postpone the closure of Rideau Regional Centre, create a fund to attract investment to Eastern Ontario (Sessional Paper No. P-287) Mr. Sterling.

Petition relating to increasing the operating budget of Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare to permit continued operation of community laboratory services (Sessional Paper No. P-289) Mr. Miller.

Orders of the Day

Ordre du Jour

Debate was resumed on the motion that this House approves in general the Budgetary Policy of the Government.

Le débat reprend sur la motion portant que la présente Assemblée adopte en général la politique budgétaire du gouvernement.

After some time,

Après quelque temps,

Mr. Tory moved that the motion moved by the Minister of Finance on March 22, 2007 "That this House approves in general the Budgetary Policy of the Government," be amended by deleting the words following the words "That this House" and substituting thereto the following:-

"recognize that the budgetary policy put forward by the Minister of Finance continues the McGuinty government's legacy of broken promises and demands more and more from taxpayers while delivering less and less, and that this House condemns the McGuinty government for:

Saying anything and paying anything that they think will get them elected;

Increasing spending by more than $20 billion since coming to office - an increase of $750,000 every hour they've been in office - and having no results to show for it;

Increasing spending by more than $20 billion since coming to office and still failing to keep a huge number of campaign commitments including, but not limited to:

· The broken promise to not raise taxes;

· The broken promise to close coal-fired electricity plants by 2007;

· The broken promise to balance the budget every year;

· The broken promise to not add to the waste of taxpayers' dollars;

· The broken promise to provide children with autism the support and treatment they need;

· The broken promise to stop school closings;

· The broken promise to ensure 75% of students meet or exceed the provincial standard on province-wide tests within their first mandate;

· The broken promise to implement a hard cap of 20 students for early grades;

· The broken promise to provide a new funding formula for rural and northern schools;

· The broken promise to cap hydro rates at 4.3 cents per kilowatt hour until 2006;

· The broken promise to make the Ministry of Agriculture a lead ministry;

· The broken promise to eliminate barriers to foreign-trained professionals within one year;

· The broken promise to spend $6,000 more per year for individuals in long-term care;

· The broken promise to unclog emergency rooms;

· The broken promise to divert 60% of municipal solid waste by 2005;

· The broken promise to roll back tolls on Highway 407;

· The broken promise to build 20,000 new affordable housing units;

· The broken promise to create tens of thousands of new child care spaces; and

· The broken promise to tackle gridlock.

Continuing this government's ad-hoc, one-off approach to funding key priorities, including a $50 million last minute handout to Magna when less than 24 hours later it was announced they were part of a $4.7 billion bid to purchase Daimler Chrysler;

Referring to tax relief as nothing but "trinkets and baubles" for hardworking Ontario taxpayers, yet maintaining the government's long-standing practice of rushing money out the door at fiscal year-end to fund pet projects;

Failing to provide tax relief to middle-class Ontarians despite manufactured deficits and massive spending increases over and above what was contained in their 2003 election platform;

Overseeing the loss of more than 120,000 manufacturing jobs in the province and failing to respond to a motion passed in this House calling for a comprehensive jobs strategy; and

Failing to provide the strong leadership to make the important decisions that will deliver results to the people of Ontario.

Therefore, the Government has lost the confidence of this House."

On motion by Mr. Bisson,

Sur la motion de M. Bisson,

Ordered, That the debate be adjourned.

Il est ordonné que le débat soit ajourné.

Mrs. Bountrogianni moved, That the House do now adjourn.

M^me Bountrogianni 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 4:55 p.m.

À 16 h 55, la chambre a ensuite ajourné ses travaux.

6:45 P.M.

18 H 45

Orders of the Day

Ordre du Jour

Debate was resumed on the motion for Second Reading of Bill 171, An Act to improve health systems by amending or repealing various enactments and enacting certain Acts.

Le débat reprend sur la motion portant deuxième lecture du projet de loi 171, Loi visant à améliorer les systèmes de santé en modifiant ou en abrogeant divers textes de loi et en édictant certaines lois.

After some time, pursuant to Standing Order 9, the motion for the adjournment of the debate was deemed to have been made and carried.

Après quelque temps, conformément à l'article 9 du Règlement, la motion d'ajournement du débat est réputée avoir été proposée et adoptée.

The House then adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

À 21 h 30, la chambre a ensuite ajourné ses travaux.

le président

Mike Brown

Speaker

Sessional Papers Presented Pursuant to Standing Order 39(a)

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

Agricorp, Annual Report 2005-2006 (No. 413).

Certificate pursuant to Standing Order 106(e)(1) re intended appointments dated March 23, 2007 (No. 408) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Compendia:

       Bill 188, An Act to authorize the expenditure of certain amounts for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007 (No. 414).

Discriminatory Business Practices Act, Director's 2005-2006 Annual Report (No. 409) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Annual Report 2004-2005 (No. 404) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Annual Report 2005-2006 (No. 405) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Ontario Health Quality Council / Conseil ontarien de la qualité des services de santé, 2007 Report on Ontario's Health System (No. 403) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Ontario Film Review Board / Commission de contrôle cinématographique de l'Ontario, Annual Report 2005-2006 (No. 410) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Royal Botanical Gardens, Annual Report 2005 (No. 407) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Science North / Science Nord, Annual Report 2005-2006 (No. 406) (Tabled March 23, 2007).

Technical Standards and Safety Authority, 2005-2006 Annual Report (Our Place in Safety) (No. 411) (Tabled March 23, 2007).