The committee met at 1206 in committee room 1.

Committee business

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Good afternoon, colleagues. I would like to call this meeting of the Standing Committee on the Interior to order. As always, please wait to be recognized by myself before speaking. All questions and comments will need to go through the Chair.

On the agenda is committee business. Are there any motions? MPP Rae.

Mr. Matthew Rae: I move that the committee meet for public hearings on Bill 186, An Act to limit the liability in respect of agritourism on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.; and

That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to immediately post notices regarding the hearings on the parliamentary channel and on the Legislative Assembly’s website; and

That the deadline for requests to appear for hearings be 7 p.m. on Monday, November 25, 2024; and

That the member for Perth–Wellington be invited to appear as the sponsor of the bill at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, and that the sponsor of the bill shall have 20 minutes to make an opening statement followed by 40 minutes of questions and answers, divided into two rounds of 7.5 minutes for the government members, two rounds of 7.5 minutes for the official opposition members and two rounds of five minutes for the independent member of the committee; and

That subsequent witnesses shall be scheduled in groups of three for each one-hour time slot, with each presenter allotted seven minutes to make an opening statement followed by 39 minutes of questioning for all three witnesses, divided into two rounds of 7.5 minutes for the government members, two rounds of 7.5 minutes for the official opposition members, and two rounds of 4.5 minutes for the independent member of the committee: and

That witnesses appearing be permitted to participate in person or participate remotely; however, a maximum of one individual may appear in person on behalf of an organization and any additional representatives of that organization shall participate remotely; and

That the Clerk of the Committee shall provide a list of all interested presenters to each member of the subcommittee on committee business and their designate as soon as possible following the deadline for requests to appear; and

That if all requests to appear cannot be accommodated, each member of the subcommittee or their designate may provide the Clerk of the Committee with a prioritized list of presenters to be scheduled, chosen from the list of all interested presenters for those respective hearings by 8 p.m. on Monday, November 25, 2024; and

That the deadline for written submissions be 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2024; and

That legislative research provide the committee members with a summary of written submissions as soon as possible following the written submission deadline; and

That the deadline for filing amendments to the bill be 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2024; and

That the committee meet for clause-by-clause consideration of Bill 186 on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. and from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. and from 7 p.m. until midnight; and

That the subcommittee on committee business be authorized to revise hearing dates, deadlines, and clause-by-clause consideration of the bill if necessary.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Any debate? MPP Bourgouin.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: We just got this today. I’m just curious, was that submitted this morning or just today?

Mr. Matthew Rae: Yes.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: We’re asking people to do submissions on the 26th, which is—well, we meet on the 26th, but the deadline is today at 7 p.m. That is fair and that is very democratic and that is good, in this government’s eyes? That’s how we should proceed?

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): MPP Rae, go ahead.

Mr. Matthew Rae: Through you, Chair, this bill received unanimous approval at second reading.

Mr. Guy Bourgouin: But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be debated or there shouldn’t be at least some reasonable time for stakeholders to be able to speak on this. This is nonsense, if you ask me. It’s way too short notice, and I want to make sure it’s on record because this is crazy. How do you want stakeholders to be able to response to this, even if they’re for this bill? If you’re against, then you can speak. But there’s no way people will meet these deadlines. We’re on the 25th today, and the deadline is at 7 o’clock tonight.

The Chair (Mr. Aris Babikian): Any further debate? I see none, so I’m going to put the question. All in favour of the motion, please raise your hand. All in opposition? The motion is carried. Thank you.

The committee now is adjourned until Tuesday, November 26, at 9 a.m. Thank you very much for all of you.

The committee adjourned at 1212.

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. John Jordan (Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston PC)

Mrs. Karen McCrimmon (Kanata–Carleton L)

Mr. Steve Pinsonneault (Lambton–Kent–Middlesex PC)

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

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

Substitutions / Membres remplaçants

Mr. Matthew Rae (Perth–Wellington PC)

Clerk / Greffière

Ms. Thushitha Kobikrishna

Staff / Personnel

Ms. Amanda Boyce, research officer,
Research Services