No. 86

No 86

Votes and Proceedings

Procès-verbaux

Legislative Assembly
of Ontario

Assemblée législative
de l’Ontario

Monday

February 28, 2011

Lundi

28 février 2011

2nd Session,
39th Parliament

2e session
39e législature

PRAYERS

PRIÈRES

10:30 A.M.

10 H 30

The Speaker delivered the following ruling:-

Le Président a rendu la décision suivante :-

On Thursday February 24, 2011 the Member for Brant (Mr. Levac) raised a point of order respecting the distribution of what he considered to be objectionable material to members’ desks in this Chamber. Subsequently, the Member for Wellington–Halton Hills (Mr. Arnott) indicated that it was he who had distributed the material in question. The third party House Leader (Mr. Kormos) and the Government House Leader (Ms. Smith) also contributed to the submissions on this matter.

Members will know that the only material that is to be distributed in this Chamber is that which relates to the Parliamentary Proceedings. The Orders and Notices Paper and the committee meeting notices are two examples of such material.

Some of you will have encountered the steely resolve of our intrepid Sergeant or Mr. Butt as they intercept pages delivering personal or non-parliamentary material on your behalf. As a result, Members have on occasion taken to personally placing such things as announcements, invitations or even apples on their colleagues’ desks in this Chamber.

Since most of this material is benign in nature and not in and of itself objectionable to any Member, the Speaker has traditionally exercised a moderate level of tolerance provided that House staff or resources are not used to distribute it. This practice I would suggest is well known to most members.

It disturbs me then that any Member would take advantage of the Speaker’s forbearance in this regard and risk compromising the neutrality of Assembly staff by asking pages to deliver or even delivering himself, material that is neither parliamentary nor benign but, in fact quite blatantly political. That the material in question was enclosed in sealed envelopes signals to me that the Member either knew it was inappropriate for distribution in the House or that he was acting as the messenger and was unaware of its contents. Neither possibility gives me much reassurance.

I will consider that the Member for Wellington–Halton Hills has by this ruling been duly warned and I will consider any repetition a deliberate disregard for the authority of this Chair. Further, I caution all Members to refrain from distributing such partisan material in the future in respect of the longstanding traditions of this House, otherwise, as the Member for Welland suggests, the Speaker will be left with no option but to apply a more rigorous standard.

ORAL QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS ORALES

The House recessed at 11:43 a.m.

À 11 h 43, l’Assemblée a suspendu la séance.

1:00 P.M.

13 H

REPORTS BY COMMITTEES

RAPPORTS DES COMITÉS

Mr. Shurman from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts presented the Committee's Report on Infection Prevention and Control at Long-Term-Care Homes, (Section 3.06, 2009 Annual Report of the Auditor General of Ontario) and moved the adoption of its recommendations (Sessional Paper No. 391).

M. Shurman du Comité permanent des comptes publics présente le rapport du comité sur la Prévention et contrôle de l’infection dans les foyers de soins de longue durée (Rapport annuel 2009 du vérificateur général de l’Ontario, section 3.06) et propose l’adoption de ses recommandations (document parlementaire no 391).

On motion by Mr. Shurman,

Sur la motion de M. Shurman,

Ordered, That the debate be adjourned.

Il est ordonné que le débat soit ajourné.

PETITIONS

PÉTITIONS

Petition relating to making PET scans available through the Sudbury Regional Hospital (Sessional Paper No. P-14) Mme Gélinas.

Petition relating to banning the use of replacement workers during a strike (Sessional Paper No. P-72) Mme Gélinas.

Petition relating to tax credits for farmers (Sessional Paper No. P-146) Mr. Arnott.

Petition relating to picketing of supported group living residences (Sessional Paper No. P-149) Ms. Jones.

Petition relating to real estate development of burial grounds (Sessional Paper No. P-151) Mr. Brownell.

Petition relating to the eastward extension of Highway 407 (Sessional Paper No. P-152) Mr. Ouellette.

Petition relating to exempting electricity from the HST (Sessional Paper No. P-159) Mme Gélinas and Mr. Miller (Hamilton East–Stoney Creek).

Petition relating to contamination of the Oak Ridges Moraine (Sessional Paper No. P-166) Mr. O'Toole.

Petition relating to Special Services At Home (SSAH) (Sessional Paper No. P-168) Ms. Jones.

Petition relating to revising the Green Energy Act (Sessional Paper No. P-172) Mr. O'Toole.

Petition relating to OHIP coverage for new immigrants (Sessional Paper No. P-187) Mme Gélinas.

Petition relating to Bill 53, Escaping Domestic Violence Act (Sessional Paper No. P-188) Mr. Brownell.

Petition relating to HST on heating fuels (Sessional Paper No. P-189) Mme Gélinas.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

ORDRE DU JOUR

Debate was resumed on the motion for Second Reading of Bill 150, An Act to provide for the resolution of labour disputes involving the Toronto Transit Commission.

Le débat réprend sur la motion portant deuxième lecture du projet de loi 150, Loi prévoyant le règlement des conflits de travail à la Commission de transport de Toronto.

After some time, the House then adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

Après quelque temps, à 18 h, la chambre a ensuite ajourné ses travaux.

le président

Steve Peters

Speaker

PETITIONS TABLED PURSUANT TO STANDING ORDER 39(a)

Petition relating to funding for Reconstructive Surgery after Bariatric Surgery (Sessional Paper No. P-71) (Tabled February 28, 2011) Ms. Jones.

Petition relating to the eastward extension of Highway 407 (Sessional Paper No. P-152) (Tabled February 28, 2011) Mr. Chudleigh.