The committee met at 1501 in committee room 1.

Selection of estimates

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Good afternoon, committee. The Standing Committee on the Interior will now come to order. On our agenda today is the selection of estimates for consideration.

On April 22, 2024, the Lieutenant Governor transmitted to the Legislative Assembly the estimates of certain sums required for the services of the province for the year ending March 31, 2025. Pursuant to standing order 62(b), these estimates, upon tabling, are deemed to be referred to the standing committees to which the respective ministries and offices were assigned pursuant to standing order 113(b). All committee members should have received an electronic copy of the 2024-25 estimates from the Clerk.

The estimates from the following ministries have been referred to the Standing Committee on the Interior for selection and consideration:

—Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs;

—Ministry of Energy;

—Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks;

—Ministry of Mines;

—Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry;

—Ministry of Northern Development.

The objective of today’s meeting is to select the estimates of certain ministries for review by the committee. Standing order 63 sets out the process by which the committee makes its selections. Each of the recognized parties on the committee shall select the estimates of up to one ministry or office in each turn. The official opposition selects first, followed by the government. If members of one party decline to make a selection, the selection then passes to the next party in the rotation. The process concludes when either there are no further ministries available to select, or if both recognized parties decline to make any, or any further, selections.

Pursuant to standing order 63(c), these selections are to be reviewed in the order that they were chosen; however, this order may be altered by unanimous agreement of the subcommittee on committee business or by order of the House.

Pursuant to standing order 63(d), the time for the consideration of the estimates of each ministry shall be determined by the respective committee.

The estimates of those ministries not selected for consideration will be deemed to have been passed by the committee. As Chair, I will report those unselected estimates back to the House and they will be deemed to be adopted and concurred in by the House.

If supplementary estimates are tabled for any of the selected ministries, those supplementary estimates will be considered by the committee during the same time which the committee decides to allocate for consideration of the main estimates for those corresponding ministries.

In accordance with standing order 66(a), the committee must present a report to the House with respect to the estimates it has selected and considered by the third Thursday of November of this year. If the committee fails to report by the third Thursday in November, the estimates and supplementary estimates before the committee will be deemed to be passed by the committee and deemed to be reported to and received by the House.

When making your selections, I would also like to add that if members could please look at the list of ministries provided and give the correct names of the ministries when they are selected for consideration.

Do members have any questions before they begin? You’re good? Okay.

Now we will start with the selections. I will start with the official opposition for their first selection.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Okay.

Now we move to the government side. Your selection is going to?

Mr. John Yakabuski: With the second selection in the draft, the government chooses the Ministry of Energy.

Mr. Aris Babikian: Now we move to the official opposition again. Mr. Bourgouin, your selection?

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: The Ministry of Mines.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Okay.

We move to the government side.

Mr. John Yakabuski: The government chooses the Ministry of Northern Development.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Thank you.

MPP Bourgouin, next selection. Take your time.

Mr. Aris Babikian: The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Okay.

We move to the government side now.

Mr. John Yakabuski: The government makes no selection.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): We go back to MPP Bourgouin.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Okay. I guess we’ve had our selections. Thank you all for your selections.

If there is any other business which members may wish to raise, please go ahead. Any further discussion? Any motions? No.

Thank you, everyone, for attending today’s meeting. This concludes our business for today. The committee is now adjourned.

The committee adjourned at 1508.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE INTERIOR

Chair / Président

Mr. Aris Babikian (Scarborough–Agincourt PC)

Vice-Chair / Vice-Président

Mr. Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk–James Bay / Mushkegowuk–Baie James ND)

Mr. Aris Babikian (Scarborough–Agincourt PC)

Mr. Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk–James Bay / Mushkegowuk–Baie James ND)

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto (Mississauga–Lakeshore PC)

Mr. Andrew Dowie (Windsor–Tecumseh PC)

M^me Dawn Gallagher Murphy (Newmarket–Aurora PC)

Mr. Kevin Holland (Thunder Bay–Atikokan PC)

Mr. John Jordan (Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston PC)

Mrs. Karen McCrimmon (Kanata–Carleton L)

Ms. Sandy Shaw (Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas / Hamilton-Ouest–Ancaster–Dundas ND)

Mr. John Yakabuski (Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke PC)

Substitutions / Membres remplaçants

Mr. Stéphane Sarrazin (Glengarry–Prescott–Russell PC)

Clerk / Greffière

Ms. Thushitha Kobikrishna

Staff / Personnel

Ms. Pia Anthony Muttu, research officer,
Research Services