STANDING COMMITTEE ON ESTIMATES
COMITÉ PERMANENT DES BUDGETSÂ DES DÉPENSES
Wednesday 12 December 2007 Mercredi 12 décembre 2007
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The committee met at 1536 in committee room 1.
ELECTION OF CHAIR
The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Sylwia Przezdziecki): Good afternoon. I would like to welcome you all to the standing committee on estimates. It is my duty to call upon you to elect a Chair. Are there any nominations?
Mr. Dave Levac: Madam Clerk, I nominate MPP Tim Hudak for Chair of this committee. None other could accomplish this task.
The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Sylwia Przezdziecki): Does the member accept the nomination?
Mr. Gilles Bisson: On a point of order, Madam Clerk: There could be more nominations.
Mr. Tim Hudak: I accept the nomination. I'm honoured that my colleague Mr. Levac has bestowed the honour of a nomination upon me. I'm caught a bit off guard, and I want to thank all the other members of the committee for their kind comments and encouragement.
Interjections.
Mr. Tim Hudak: You know what? Gosh, darn it, yes, I will accept the nomination to be Chair.
The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Sylwia Przezdziecki): Are there any further nominations?
Mr. Gilles Bisson: I just want to welcome you as the clerk of our committee. We know that you're going to work hard on our behalf, and my job is to make sure that I push you all the way.
Mr. Dave Levac: That's not a nomination.
The Clerk of the Committee (Ms. Sylwia Przezdziecki): There being no further nominations, I declare the nominations closed and Mr. Hudak elected Chair of the committee.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Well, thank you, my colleagues all. It turns out those bottles of whisky that went around were worth it, and I'm glad to be back in the chair.
I have some --
Mr. Dave Levac: Wine.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Wine?
Interjection: VQA.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): VQA Ontario wine.
ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIR
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): There is some other business that we need to attend to. It's my duty to call upon a Vice-Chair to be elected. Are there any nominations for the position of Vice-Chair? I'm going to go with Monsieur Bisson.
Mr. Gilles Bisson: Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and I want to congratulate you on your election to the chair of this august committee. I would move Garfield Dunlop as Vice-Chair of our committee.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Garfield Dunlop has been nominated in absentia for the position of Vice-Chair.
Interjection.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): I do recognize somebody is sitting in Garfield Dunlop's seat, but I'm not clear if that's Mr. Dunlop.
Mr. Gilles Bisson: I just want to say that I'm pleased to accept the nomination from my good friend Mr. Bisson.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): But having spoken to Garfield before, I know he is interested in continuing to serve, so he has been nominated in absentia, which I believe is in order.
Are there any further nominations for the position of Vice-Chair?
Mr. Dave Levac: None other could fill it.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Seeing none, Mr. Garfield Dunlop from Simcoe North is the Vice-Chair of the standing committee on estimates.
APPOINTMENT OF SUBCOMMITTEE
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Now a subcommittee has to be appointed, right? Here we go. We're going to need somebody to move a motion of subcommittee.
Mr. Dave Levac: Mr. Chair, on behalf of the government side, I would like to nominate Mr. Lou Rinaldi to be our subcommittee member, and -- I'm not sure. Mr. Gilles Bisson from the NDP has signalled that his name could be put forward for subcommittee and my understanding is that Mr. John O'Toole would allow his name to stand as a member of the subcommittee. I therefore offer that slate for our consideration.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Mr. Levac has moved that a subcommittee on committee business be appointed to meet from time to time at the call of the Chair, or on the request of any member thereof, to consider and report to the committee on the business of the committee;
That the presence of all members of the subcommittee is necessary to constitute a meeting; and
That the subcommittee, from Mr. Levac's nomination, be composed of the following members: the Chair as chair; Mr. Rinaldi; Mr. O'Toole; and Monsieur. Bisson; and that substitution be permitted on subcommittee.
Are there any other nominations for subcommittee members?
Mr. Dave Levac: That was my full motion.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Any discussions or comments on the composition of the subcommittee? Seeing none, all those in favour? Opposed? It is carried.
We look forward to meeting with the subcommittee to discuss the next items of committee business.
Mr. Dave Levac: On a point of order, Mr. Chairman: I would be remiss in not congratulating you on ascending to the chair, but also thanking the clerks and the staff for all their work.
Also, to my committee members, a very merry Christmas, happy seasons, happy new year and happy Hanukkah.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): I would say, what a swell way to kick off the estimates committee for the new session of the Ontario Legislature. I do want to thank Katch Koch, our former clerk, who has now moved on to the -- you're staying with the auditor's committee. Is that my recollection?
Mr. Katch Koch: Public accounts --
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): The public accounts committee and social policy. We thank him very much for his outstanding service over a number of years at the estimates committee.
We welcome our new clerk in this capacity as the clerk of estimates. I don't know what you did you to earn this particular committee to hang around with almost on a weekly basis when estimates are in session, but we wish you the best and congratulations on this position.
Is there any other business?
Mr. Gilles Bisson: Just a quick comment. Having sat on this committee off and on for some five terms now, I don't know if we've ever been given these resource binders at the beginning of a committee, but if we were, I don't remember. But I want to say to the clerks for putting it together, job well done. I think that will assist our members, especially newer members, in regard to what the mandates of our committees are and the history of what we do and all that. So I just want to thank you for putting this together. I greatly appreciate it.
The Chair (Mr. Tim Hudak): Kind comments, Monsieur Bisson. All agree, I would think. Thank you very much for putting that package together, we say to our new clerk.
Seeing no further business, we are adjourned, folks. Thank you very much, and we look forward to an outstanding session of estimates in the new year.
The committee adjourned at 1542.
CONTENTS
Wednesday 12 December 2007
Election of Chair E-1
Election of Vice-Chair E-1
Appointment of subcommittee E-1
STANDING COMMITTEE ON ESTIMATES
Chair / Président
Mr. Tim Hudak (Niagara West–Glanbrook / Niagara-Ouest—Glanbrook PC)
Vice-Chair / Vice-Président
Mr. Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North / Simcoe-Nord PC)
Mr. Gilles Bisson (Timmins—James Bay / Timmins—Baie James ND)
Mr. Kim Craitor (Niagara Falls L)
Mr. Bob Delaney (Mississauga—Streetsville L)
Mr. Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North / Simcoe-Nord PC)
Mr. Tim Hudak (Niagara West—Glanbrook / Niagara-Ouest—Glanbrook PC)
Mrs. Amrit Mangat (Mississauga—Brampton South / Mississauga—Brampton-Sud L)
Mr. Phil McNeely (Ottawa—Orléans L)
Mr. John O'Toole (Durham PC)
Mr. Lou Rinaldi (Northumberland—Quinte West L)
Substitutions / Membres remplaçants
Mr. Dave Levac (Brant L)
Clerk / Greffière
Ms. Sylwia Przezdziecki
Staff / Personnel
Ms. Elaine Campbell, research officer,
Research and Information Services