The committee met at 0900 in room 151.

Committee business

The Chair (Mr. Ernie Hardeman): Good morning, everyone. I call this meeting to order. On the agenda for today, we have consideration of committee business.

Are there any motions members may wish to raise? MPP Smith.

Mr. Dave Smith: That’s MPP Smith, Peterborough–Kawartha, as opposed to MPP Smith, Scarborough Centre, beside me.

The Chair (Mr. Ernie Hardeman): We’re not really fussy about that.

Mr. Dave Smith: We’re interchangeable? Actually, Chair, there are some significant differences. He was a running back for the North Carolina Tar Heels; I was a running back for the Bowmanville Redmen.

The Chair (Mr. Ernie Hardeman): There you go. Do you have a motion?

Mr. Dave Smith: Yes.

I move that the committee meet for pre-budget consultation on the following dates:

—Tuesday, December 3, 2024, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Timmins, Ontario; and

—Wednesday, December 4, 2024, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Manitoulin Island, Ontario; and

—Thursday, December 5, 2024, from 10 a.m. (CST) until 12 noon (CST) and from 1 p.m. (CST) until 6 p.m. (CST) in Kenora, Ontario; and

—Monday, December 16, 2024, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Stratford, Ontario; and

—Thursday, January 9, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Ottawa, Ontario; and

—Tuesday, January 14, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Leamington, Ontario; and

—Wednesday, January 15, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in St. Catharines, Ontario; and

—Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Hamilton, Ontario; and

—Monday, January 27, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Stouffville, Ontario; and

—Tuesday, January 28, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Mississauga, Ontario; and

—Wednesday, January 29, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Toronto, Ontario; and

—Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 10 a.m. (EST) until 12 noon (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST) in Peterborough, Ontario;

That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to immediately post notices regarding the hearings on the Ontario Parliamentary Channel, on the Legislative Assembly’s website and with Cision; and

That the Clerk of the Committee, in consultation with the Chair, may place several advertisements in news outlets over several days in Timmins, Manitoulin Island, Kenora, Stratford, Ottawa, Leamington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Stouffville, Mississauga, Toronto and Peterborough regarding the hearings respectively, if possible; and

That the Clerk of the Committee be authorized to arrange travel for up to two staff persons to be designated by the government member of the subcommittee on committee business, up to two staff persons to be designated by the official opposition member of the subcommittee on committee business and one staff person to be designated by the independent member of the committee to travel with the committee, and that reasonable expenses incurred for travel and meals be paid for by the committee upon receipt of a properly filed expense claim; and

That the deadline for requests to appear for the hearings are on the following dates:

—Hearings held in Timmins, Manitoulin Island will be 5 p.m. (EST) and Kenora be 5 p.m. (CST) on Monday, November 25, 2024; and

—Hearings held in Stratford be 5 p.m. (EST) on Friday, December 6, 2024; and

—Hearings held in Ottawa be 5 p.m. (EST) on Friday, December 27, 2024; and

—Hearings held in Leamington, St. Catharines and Hamilton be 5 p.m. (EST) on Monday, January 6, 2025; and

—Hearings held in Stouffville, Mississauga, Toronto and Peterborough be 5 p.m. (EST) on Friday, January 17, 2025; and

That 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 at consultations in Timmins, Manitoulin Island, Kenora, Stratford, Ottawa, Leamington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Stouffville, Mississauga, Toronto and Peterborough be permitted to 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 at hearings to be in Timmins, Manitoulin Island, Kenora, Stratford, Ottawa, Leamington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Stouffville, Mississauga, Toronto and Peterborough cannot be accommodated, each member of the subcommittee or their designate 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 the following dates:

—Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 2 p.m. (EST) for hearings in Timmins, Manitoulin Island and Kenora; and

—Monday, December 9, 2024, at 2 p.m. (EST) for hearings in Stratford; and

—Monday, December 30, 2024, at 2 p.m. (EST) for hearings in Ottawa; and

—Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 2 p.m. (EST) for hearings in Leamington, St. Catharines and Hamilton; and

—Monday, January 20, 2025, at 2 p.m. (EST) for hearings in Stouffville, Mississauga, Toronto and Peterborough; and

That the deadline for written submissions be 7 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, February 5, 2025; and

That the committee meet for report-writing at Queen’s Park on the following dates as needed:

—Tuesday, February 18, 2025, from 9 a.m. (EST) until 10:15 a.m. (EST) and from 3 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST); and

—Wednesday, February 19, 2025, from 9 a.m. (EST) until 10:15 a.m. (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST); and

—Tuesday, February 25, 2025, from 9 a.m. (EST) until 10:15 a.m. (EST) and from 3 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST); and

—Wednesday, February 26, 2025, from 9 a.m. (EST) until 10:15 a.m. (EST) and from 1 p.m. (EST) until 6 p.m. (EST); and

That a copy of the final report on pre-budget consultations 2025 be presented to the Minister of Finance prior to the report being translated, printed and tabled in the House; and

That in the event that hearings are undersubscribed by 75% or more in any location, the subcommittee on committee business be authorized to cancel the hearing(s) at that/those location(s) and reschedule presenters to appear on an alternate date if possible; and

That the subcommittee on committee business be authorized to revise hearing dates and deadlines for pre-budget consultations 2025.

The Chair (Mr. Ernie Hardeman): You’ve heard the motion. Debate?

Mr. Rick Byers: Mr. Chair, I just want to commend the committee, and as a past member, I want you to know how extraordinarily disappointed I will be in not being able to go to every one of these sessions—and I wish the committee productive business.

The Chair (Mr. Ernie Hardeman): It’s so successful, and each time, we seem to go more places. So it must be working really well, and we commend the committee for that.

Any further discussion on the motion? Is the committee ready to vote? All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion is carried.

The committee now stands adjourned.

The committee adjourned at 0911.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Chair / Président

Mr. Ernie Hardeman (Oxford PC)

Vice-Chair / Vice-Présidente

Ms. Catherine Fife (Waterloo ND)

Mr. Deepak Anand (Mississauga–Malton PC)

Ms. Patrice Barnes (Ajax PC)

Ms. Catherine Fife (Waterloo ND)

MPP Zee Hamid (Milton PC)

Mr. Ernie Hardeman (Oxford PC)

MPP Andrea Hazell (Scarborough–Guildwood L)

Ms. Christine Hogarth (Etobicoke–Lakeshore PC)

Mr. Terence Kernaghan (London North Centre / London-Centre-Nord ND)

Mr. Brian Saunderson (Simcoe–Grey PC)

Mr. Dave Smith (Peterborough–Kawartha PC)

Substitutions / Membres remplaçants

Mr. Rick Byers (Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound PC)

Ms. Natalie Pierre (Burlington PC)

Mr. David Smith (Scarborough Centre / Scarborough-Centre PC)

Clerk / Greffière

Ms. Vanessa Kattar

Staff / Personnel

Mr. Alex Alton, research officer,
Research Services