Assemblée législative de l'Ontario

The committee met at 0900 in committee room 1.

Subcommittee reports

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): I’d like to call the meeting to order. The first item of business is the subcommittee reports, the first dated April 18, 2019. We have all seen the report in advance, so could I please have a motion? Mr. Burch.

Mr. Jeff Burch: I move adoption of the subcommittee report on intended appointments dated Thursday, April 25, 2019, on the order-in-council certificate dated April 18, 2019.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favour of moving the subcommittee report? Opposed? It’s carried.

The second is dated April 25, 2019. You have all seen the report in advance, so could I please have a motion? Mr. Burch.

Mr. Jeff Burch: I move adoption of the subcommittee report on intended appointments dated Thursday, April 18, 2019, on the order-in-council certificate dated April 12, 2019.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Any further discussion? Seeing none, I’d like to call a vote. All those in favour? Opposed? That report is also carried.

Intended appointments

Mr. Peter Deeb

Review of intended appointment, selected by official opposition party: Peter Deeb, intended appointee as member, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): We have Peter Deeb, nominated as member for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. Could you please come forward, Mr. Deeb?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Good morning.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Good morning. As you may be aware, you have the opportunity, should you choose to do so, to make an initial statement. Following this, there will be questions from members of the committee. With that questioning, we will start with the government, followed by the official opposition, with 15 minutes allocated to each recognized party. Any time you take in your statement will be deducted from the time allotted to the government.

The floor is yours. Welcome.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Very good. Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the standing committee. Thank you for your invitation to appear here today. I’m pleased to attend and to answer any questions. I have a brief opening statement, if I may.

Having been born and raised in Toronto, I’ve had the privilege of seeing this province mature over 52 years and grow into the wonderful place it has become to live and to work. Having been raised in a family of entrepreneurs who have created and financed thousands of jobs over the years, I was expected to develop a keen interest in government, in the workings of government and how it interacts with our daily lives, our livelihoods, our own business, as well as how government policy affects our ability to meet our responsibilities to our employees, our community and our investors and partners.

I began my working life at 18 as a construction worker and, within 12 months, formed with a partner our own contracting business. In the 10 years that followed, we saw that business grow to 160 employees, tradespeople, all of whom were employed here in the province of Ontario.

Concurrent with my first decade as a businessman, I had the opportunity of starting a number of new businesses along the way in the areas of shipping, energy, real estate and financial services, and I’ve enjoyed a fulfilling career spanning some 33 years. During that time, I’ve also had the opportunity of serving as chairman of the Ontario district council and as chairman of the national advisory board of the Investment Dealers Association, now known as IIROC, as chairman of Opera Mississauga and as a member of the board of the Canadian Opera Company.

Following the last provincial election, I made my interest known that I would be willing to serve the province in any way possible and to assist in making the aspirations of Ontarians a reality in the coming years of this new government. When the opportunity arose to serve on the board of the OLGC, I was delighted to accept and am looking forward to assist in ensuring that this institution continues to provide financial and social returns to the people of Ontario for years to come.

I believe that the OLGC is one of a number of crown jewels held by the province which must set an example of how government-owned business can and should be run for the benefit of the people, in a businesslike manner and with a high standard of professionalism and commitment to exemplary financial performance. It’s not an easy thing to run a crown corporation in these politically noisy times, and I admire what the team at the OLGC has accomplished for the people of Ontario over the years, regardless of the government in power.

Currently, this organization provides in excess of $2 billion of dividends to the province for use in support of numerous social objectives, and I believe that the focus of the board must continue to be to grow its profitability and the resulting expansion of its financial contribution to the people of Ontario. This will require a very careful balance between long-term and short-term decision-making as political pressures and, sometimes, even hostilities can derail even the most well-thought-out business plans.

In private business, it’s always critical to consider both the long-term and the short-term consequences of our decisions, and within a crown corporation, making the right long-term decision is often made more difficult by the desire for short-term, politically friendly results that defer the negative consequences to another government years down the road.

I look forward to supporting management in their efforts to make the right business decisions for the people of Ontario to whom the OLGC has a very long-term obligation to perform.

I have watched the current team at OLGC effectively move in the direction of de-risking their business model by seeking private partnerships with a number of service providers across the province, and I believe that they are on the right track. The potential for new revenues from various forms of digital gaming poses an exciting opportunity for the OLGC, as do the various development and hospitality projects being presented for the more traditional gaming venues.

Maintaining a strong financial position for the OLGC remains a critical component of their future success, as they must continue to be a strong and responsible partner if they’re going to attract sophisticated capital into the joint ventures which they choose to pursue on behalf of the province.

I’ve had the chance to become well versed in the various business lines that make up the OLGC portfolio and those of the service providers and partners, from table and digital gaming to hospitality and foodservice, having spent many years analyzing companies in the gaming space for our own clients in my investment business. As well, the various development projects and opportunities before the OLGC now, as well as those that will be before them in the future, are particular areas where my own business experience can prove to be a resource of the current board and the management team as they continue to evolve in a technologically driven business environment.

I look forward to being of service to the OLGC, the government and the people of Ontario in this regard and I welcome your questions, if any, at this time. Thank you.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Thank you, sir. The first round of questions will be from the government. Ms. Fee.

Mrs. Amy Fee: First off, Mr. Deeb, I’d like to say thank you for coming in this morning and for meeting with all of us. You’ve talked about different volunteer stuff that you’ve done, but also your professional experience. I’m just wondering if you could elaborate on how you think your professional experience will assist you on the board at OLG.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Certainly. One of the things I’ve done in preparation for this is we’ve done a deep dive into the financial performance of the OLGC going back, at this point, about seven years in its various renditions. I’m a financial professional by background and by training. I think I could lend an awful lot in the way of guidance going forward on the financing of different projects, on the accounting approach that we take and perhaps some long-term strategy in running this business with more of a growth strategy in mind. I think sometimes, as I said in my opening comments, it’s very difficult for a straight course to be picked by a board and management team in a situation like this and I think I can be of assistance in helping them to get there.

Mrs. Amy Fee: Thank you.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Mr. Cuzzetto.

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: Thank you, Mr. Deeb, for being here. I note you’re part of the Canadian Opera Company.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Yes.

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: Growing up with my grandfather, I would listen to the opera on the old 78s. We had to stack them up. It’s very touching to listen to those operas, and I remember that. I still have all of them that were given to me from him.

Are there any experiences outside of your professional career that you would like to expand upon? Is there any community service or volunteer work you have done that would help with the OLG?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Yes. I’m currently also involved with the YMCA of Greater Toronto working on a couple of very large projects, one of which will be funded by myself, and my family as well. As I said, having grown up in Toronto, I take some time looking out my office window at the buildings that surround us and realize how many of them weren’t there 20 years ago, or 30 years or 50 years. It’s quite a stark difference. For me, I feel I do have an opportunity to contribute back to the city that I love and grew up in and raised my children in. The YMCA is one that I focused on because I think there’s a direct impact and a lot of leverage to contribute in dollars as to the results you get from that.

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto: Thank you very much.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Thank you.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Ms. Khanjin.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Mr. Deeb, good morning.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Good morning.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Thank you for being with us today. In my riding of Barrie–Innisfil—more so Innisfil—we do have a casino which contributes a lot locally, and to the municipality and infrastructure and public services. I just wanted to ask you the importance of the gaming industry to communities, to municipalities and to services across Ontario.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Well, I think the benefit has become self-evident over the years, as we’ve seen these communities grow and these different venues take hold. I believe strongly in the opportunity for us to expand gaming throughout the province and to help other communities as well.

I think a balanced approach needs to be taken. We need to be careful—and the social ramifications of it as well—but I think we have a model that works. It’s working well. It’s producing good results for the local communities. I would be strongly supportive of continuing this program.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Thank you.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Mr. Nicholls.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Good morning, Mr. Deeb. How are you?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Good morning. Thank you.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Good to have you here this morning.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Good to be here.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: It’s good to be seen. I’ve got a few questions for you. In my past life, prior to getting involved in politics, I also worked a couple of years at Casino Windsor. I was involved in their HRD department at the time and had a chance to rub shoulders with OLGC because of the fact of a lot of the issues and challenges that are faced in gaming. We saw a lot of different things too. We saw cheaters, we saw card counters—even saw the precinct, even saw the jail cells located right in the casino as well. There are other issues and challenges that are prevalent in the gaming industry. It just comes along with the gaming industry as well.

A couple of questions I have for you: Are you aware of any other challenges in addition to the challenge that I’ve talked about that the OLG currently faces? What are some of those challenges? And then, tying it in, how would you be in a position to support OLG as a board member?

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Mr. Peter Deeb: Very good. Well, I think, as I said previously, it’s very important for the OLGC to get it right, to set the standard as a government-owned entity. All of the issues that you raise are current issues and issues that need ongoing supervision and regulation. I think they’re doing a good job of it but, you know, crime continues and we have to continue to be diligent in watching over it. I don’t have any particular immediate concerns right now. There’s a lot on the plate of the OLGC, new projects coming down the pipeline to take a look at, so I’m looking forward to getting into the due diligence on those and I think I can provide some guidance in that area.

I would like to see the OLGC make more money from some of the joint ventures that they’re entering into, as they have in the past. I think the contracts could be looked at from a different perspective and I’d like to give my input in that direction.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Do you have any further thoughts on that, as to the direction you’d like to see the OLG go?

Mr. Peter Deeb: I think the private-public partnership model has worked out well, dealing with strategic partners and service providers. I question some of the splits of profit-sharing in some of those contracts and how they were negotiated in the past. Perhaps the province can get a better deal in the future on new contracts. I’d be interested in reviewing that process to see how we’ve come up with the numbers that we’ve done.

Mr. Rick Nicholls: Very good. Thank you very much for your time.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Thank you.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): No further questions from the government? Thank you. We will now switch to the official opposition. Mr. Burch.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Thank you, Chair. Welcome, Mr. Deeb.

My first question is, you are a former chairman of the audit committee, and current, I believe, of the PC Ontario Fund. Is that correct?

Mr. Peter Deeb: That’s correct.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Do you consider this a patronage appointment? You’re familiar with the term “patronage appointment.”

Mr. Peter Deeb: I didn’t hear the whole question. Sorry.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Do you consider this a patronage appointment? You’re familiar with the term “patronage,” “gravy train,” those types of descriptions. Do you consider this a patronage appointment?

Mr. Peter Deeb: I certainly do not. My loyalty is to the mandate of the government of the people of Ontario, and I’m delighted to be able to provide assistance and support for the OLGC going forward. I’ve given to candidates from both the Liberal and Conservative parties over the years. I’m looking out for the best interests of the people of Ontario, my neighbours and my friends. I don’t view this as being—there’s nothing in it for me.

Mr. Jeff Burch: There’s a lot of concern across Ontario. It’s even coming through in the media. I don’t know if you’ve read the article from the Globe and Mail about the concerns about the patronage appointments that we’re seeing here at this committee. Just in my own area, all three failed Conservative candidates have received patronage appointments. They’ve got a long list of them here: Ken Hughes, Charles Harnick, Carmine Nigro, Rueben Devlin, Gavin Tighe, Jenni Byrne, Michael Diamond, David Shiner, Joe Oliver—it goes on and on and on.

You probably know most of these people from your position with the party, so how can you say that this is not a patronage appointment? Did you approach the government, Dean French or the Premier, or did they approach you for this position?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Well, no. Following the last election, I made myself known to the secretariat of appointments, that I’d be interested in serving, and I waited to hear if they would need my services at all. I went on the website and filled out all the relevant information and applied in that manner.

Mr. Jeff Burch: So you’re maintaining that you just expressed your interest, just like any other citizen, for the position?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Yes, indeed.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Okay. You served also as chairman and CEO of Hampton Securities Ltd.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Correct, yes.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Okay. So in 2013, you were hit with two fines for $10,000 from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada—the IIROC—for two things: failing to keep and maintain a proper set of books and records, and refusing to provide access to certain books and records maintained by your company despite a request by the IIROC staff. Can you explain that? That seems like a fairly serious thing. Don’t you think it’s important that proper records are kept if you’re a member of the board of the OLG?

Mr. Peter Deeb: I think if you read the decision of the panel, they refer to these as minor infractions. The “books and records” matter referred to seven trade tickets. We were in the trading business. Out of 15,000 trade tickets that I entered into that year, seven of them had an incorrect time stamp according to them. I think we made the case that perfection is not the standard, and if you were to test any investment dealer in the country, I would challenge them to have a better record than seven out of 15,000. But that’s a decision they came to. It’s an old decision, and we accepted it. Again, that’s an administrative matter, and it was a finding against the firm.

Mr. Jeff Burch: It had nothing to do with you?

Mr. Peter Deeb: No. I don’t process those trade tickets.

Mr. Jeff Burch: So it had nothing to do with you and it’s no big deal is what you’re basically telling us.

Mr. Peter Deeb: I think that was the finding of the chairman of the panel, yes.

Mr. Jeff Burch: We’ll move on. After Mr. Brown’s resignation there were some allegations. Queen’s Park Briefing revealed emails between party lawyer Mike Richmond, campaign co-chair Mr. Soliman and Mr. Velshi that floated the option of PC Party funds being used inappropriately to pay out former HWAD nominee Jeff Peller, who claims that party officials tipped the scales. He was basically accusing them of voter fraud in favour of Ben Levitt, who ended up as the candidate. Police have arrested two individuals in this area.

Do you think it’s important that we pay attention to allegations of potential misuse of funds? And can you talk about that incident? Because indirectly—it’s indirectly, but there’s involvement there, so can you talk about that?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Fair enough. Those incidents predated my time with the PC Ontario Fund, and certainly my time as chair of the audit committee. I’ve only been audit chair for, I think, two or three months, and we’ve yet to have our first audit committee meeting, which is coming up in the next week or so. I’m not privy to the in-depth details of any of those allegations, but I’m sure they’ll be on the agenda for us to discuss at this time.

Look, it’s a government’s job to look into allegations of misconduct regardless of the party, but I don’t think that’s my role today. I think that’s the role of government and the various agencies thereof.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Okay. Chair, I’m going to pass on to my colleague, but I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re continuing along the line of patronage appointments through this committee. It’s very disappointing.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Ms. Stiles?

Ms. Marit Stiles: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, Mr. Deeb.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Good morning.

Ms. Marit Stiles: I have a few follow-up questions to those put forward by my colleague here. Maybe we can just start with this: Can you describe your current role with the PC Ontario Fund?

Mr. Peter Deeb: I’m one of the relatively newer members to the fund. I joined the fund just prior to the last provincial election. We’ve had, I believe, four meetings since then, and I’ve attended all of them. They seem to function normally and as expected, serving the purpose that the fund was created for.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Can you explain, just for folks listening, what the relationship is between the Progressive Conservative Party and the PC Ontario Fund?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Well, the PC Ontario Fund has financial obligations to raise funds for campaigns and the like, no different than any other party—

Ms. Marit Stiles: So like the $1,000-dinner type of things?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Well, yes, I would imagine those fall under it.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Right, but you would know that, because you are actually the chair of the audit committee of that.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Yes.

Ms. Marit Stiles: So you know that that’s actually what they do: raise money for the Conservative Party.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Yes.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Through thousand-dollar dinners and things like that.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Yes.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Right. Okay. Just because it sounded a little unsure—I just wanted to make sure.

How much money would you say that the fund handles, and how is that money disbursed?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Okay, I’m out of my depths here, because I don’t know what confidentiality issues I’m bound by with regard to that.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Well, hopefully you’ll be as clear as you can with us here, given that this is a very serious appointment and the voters and the people of Ontario have, I think, a right to understand it better.

Mr. Peter Deeb: So the fund works within a budget. It has got a budget of campaign financing to raise. It also gets a subsidy from the government, as you’re well aware, and we have to live within our means financially and prepare to fund campaigns as they arise. I think it’s done in a very, very well managed and organized manner—

Ms. Marit Stiles: And your role as the chair of the audit committee: Can you describe in greater detail what that involves?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Certainly. We have an audit committee, which has a governance role. My job as chair is to review the audit process. We have external auditors—I believe it’s PwC that does that—and I am to engage on behalf of the board with the auditor to make sure the audit process is sound and that procedures and protocols are followed properly.

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Ms. Marit Stiles: Okay. Shortly before you joined the PC Ontario Fund, there was an internal memo that was sent to the PC Ontario Fund by fundraiser Thom Bennett demanding “a list of our PC Party of Ontario executives who are on the payroll of the PC Party of Ontario, or firms doing business with, or paid by, either the PC Party of Ontario or the PC Ontario Fund.” To your knowledge, did Mr. Bennett ever get that list?

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Chair?

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Ms. Khanjin.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Sorry. I’m questioning the relevance of the line of questioning, what this has to do with these capable members of OLG. This isn’t a question-and-answer party about the fund. This is a question-and-answer period about the OLG appointment to the board, so I’m just questioning the relevance here.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Thank you. If the member could find a way to relate the questioning back to the—

Ms. Marit Stiles: Mr. Chair, members opposite asked questions about non-professional activities and how they relate to the potential appointees—

Mr. Jeff Burch: Opera.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Yes, like the opera company and the Y. This is also one of his non-professional roles, and I think how he comports himself in that role is a good indicator of how he will comport himself at the OLG.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Continue.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Thank you.

Sorry. Maybe you could—

Mr. Peter Deeb: I’ll ask you for the question again, if you could, please.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Absolutely. Thom Bennett—

Mr. Peter Deeb: Right.

Ms. Marit Stiles: A fundraiser. He demanded a list of “PC Party of Ontario executives who are on the payroll of the PC Party of Ontario, or firms doing business with, or paid by, either the PC Party of Ontario or the PC Ontario Fund.” To the best of your knowledge, did Mr. Bennett ever get that list?

Mr. Peter Deeb: I’m not aware of the request, nor am I aware of whether or not he received that at this point.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Are there, then, in your understanding, members of the PC Party—

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Point of order, Chair.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Yes, Ms. Khanjin?

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: My point about it being relevant to the question—even when we talked about the opera company just a few minutes ago, it had relevance to the actual experience, to the job at hand. This is drilling down on something that is totally irrelevant for the board of the OLG.

Ms. Marit Stiles: It is absolutely relevant. Mr. Chair, this absolutely has relevance, if I may.

Mrs. Robin Martin: So relate it.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Could the member please relate it more directly?

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’ll relate it, yes. In relation to your role as a potential appointee to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., perhaps you could respond to this question: Are there members of the PC Party or the Premier’s staff currently being paid by the PC Ontario Fund?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Not to my knowledge.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Not to your knowledge? Do you feel that if there were, that would be appropriate?

Mr. Peter Deeb: Again, I certainly haven’t been involved long enough to have seen any schedule or any such activity, so—

Ms. Marit Stiles: But you’ve had four meetings. I mean, presumably—and I’ll tell you why I ask this. When Mr. Ford, the Premier, as PC leader, was elected—

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Point of order.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Ms. Khanjin?

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: I’m a little perplexed as to how these meetings actually pertain to the OLG.

Ms. Marit Stiles: If you let me continue—

Mrs. Robin Martin: Well, if you could get to the point.

Ms. Marit Stiles: The clock stopped during that, but anyway.

When Doug Ford became PC leader, he promised to “clean up the mess”—those were his exact words—that was left behind by his predecessor in terms of fundraising and some of the allegations that were being made. I’m trying to get to the bottom of what cleaning up you’ve been part of and whether you’ve taken any actions to follow up on those allegations in your capacity as the chairperson, which I think is directly relevant to the role you would play at the OLG.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Again, my role as chairman of the audit committee is not a directorial role. It’s a role of supervising the audit process and making sure that the audit proceeds along generally accepted accounting standards in conjunction—

Ms. Marit Stiles: So it relates to accountability, and transparency presumably?

Mr. Peter Deeb: No, it relates—

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’ve been on audit committees, so—

Mr. Peter Deeb: It relates specifically to the quality of the audit from an accounting standpoint. That is my narrow mandate from the board as chairman of the audit committee.

Ms. Marit Stiles: And so you wouldn’t see your role in any way as being part of the efforts to clean up or improve transparency and accountability of the PC Party and the PC Party fund as directed by the Premier of Ontario?

Mr. Jeff Burch: The professional standards.

Ms. Marit Stiles: The professional standards.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Yes. Certainly if I saw something that was untoward, I would raise it and bring it to the attention of those who are responsible.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Good. Okay. Do you want to tie this up, maybe, or continue?

Mr. Jeff Burch: I’ll go again.

Ms. Marit Stiles: I’m going to turn it back to my colleague, please.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Mr. Burch.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Mr. Deeb, do you not think it’s pertinent to the administration of these funds that an investigation into whether or not they were used in an appropriate manner can be conducted?

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Point of order, again: Even the beginning of that question had nothing to do with OLG—just keeping on topic here. It’s the least you can do to respect our witness here.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Mr. Chair, can I ask, if we continue to be interrupted like this, that you stop the clock so we get our full time?

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Just wait a second. You have to directly tie the question into the current appointment process.

Mr. Jeff Burch: I’ll just get it on the record that the Conservative members of this committee don’t believe that financial accountability in jobs Mr. Deeb has had is relevant to financial accountability that he will exhibit with the OLG. If that’s really what the Conservative members here think, I feel sorry for the future of this government. I mean, how can you not see the relation between those two things? My colleague was repeatedly interrupted—

Mr. Billy Pang: Point of order.

Mr. Jeff Burch: My colleague has been repeatedly interrupted when she is asking pertinent and relevant questions. That’s unacceptable.

Ms. Marit Stiles: It’s, in fact—Mr. Chair?

Mr. Billy Pang: Point of order.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Point of order.

Mr. Billy Pang: The member of the opposition has to prove himself that the question is relevant; it’s not that we think his question is relevant.

Mr. Jeff Burch: This is a patronage appointment, and we are trying to get to the facts, the very relevant facts, regarding this. There have been repeated interruptions—

Interjection: And there will continue to be.

Mr. Jeff Burch: That’s unacceptable.

Ms. Marit Stiles: If I may, as well, Mr. Chair, actually on the paper provided to us by the committee, it lists one of his relevant volunteer goals at—

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Wait. Excuse me. I want to quit the crosstalk here. If you’re going to ask a question, make sure it’s relevant to the current potential appointment and make that at the start of your question and continue.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: On a point of order, Chair: I’m sorry, I just want to clarify the record and get this on record that certainly the member opposite was imputing motive, and our government members of the committee certainly do not have a motive—

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): A point of order is not used to clarify the record.

Interjection.

Mr. Jeff Burch: Chair, my colleague has brought up facts—

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): You have 45 seconds.

Mr. Jeff Burch: —established facts, and has tied those facts to this candidate’s position that they want to be appointed to. We’re repeatedly interrupted. And now the government members have basically said that financial accountability is not a part of this position, I guess—

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: Point of order.

Mr. Jeff Burch: —because they’re constantly raising objections and we’re trying to get to the bottom of some serious issues.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Point of order. We have a point of order.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: This committee is about questioning the appointment at OLG, not imputing motive on the government’s intentions. I ask the member to withdraw his comments.

Interjections.

Ms. Andrea Khanjin: He’s imputing motive. Can he withdraw his comments, please?

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Could you just return to the line of questioning? You have 15 seconds.

Mr. Jeff Burch: In 15 seconds, I think, clearly, the gravy train is alive and well. It’s a shame the government has decided that we can’t drill down and talk about the gravy train, but apparently it’s alive and well in Ontario and we’re very disappointed. Thank you, Chair.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Your time for questions—

Mrs. Robin Martin: Point of order: Imputing motive is against the rules and the member opposite has been doing that—

Mr. Jeff Burch: No one’s imputing motive. That’s ridiculous.

Mrs. Robin Martin: Yes, you are. You’re imputing motive and you’re casting aspersions on the motives of this government and this committee. I think it’s wholly inappropriate, and I think that should be out of order and should be withdrawn.

Ms. Marit Stiles: They keep using this as a tactic to prevent us from asking questions—

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Okay. The time for the questioning—

Interjections.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): That concludes the time allocated. Thank you very much, sir. You may step down.

Mr. Peter Deeb: Thank you very much.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): We will now consider the intended appointment of Mr. Peter Deeb, member for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. Ms. Fee.

Mrs. Amy Fee: I move concurrence in the intended appointment of Peter Deeb, nominated as member for the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Concurrence in the appointment has been moved by Ms. Fee. Any further discussion? Seeing none, I’d like to call for a vote. All those in favour? Opposed? The motion is carried.

The deadline to review the intended appointment of Angelo Carnevale, selected from the April 5, 2019, certificate, is May 5, 2019. Do we have unanimous agreement to extend the deadline to consider the intended appointment of Angelo Carnevale to June 4, 2019? I heard a no, so we do not have consent.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Point of order, Mr. Chair.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): Yes?

Ms. Marit Stiles: We are continuing to see the same pattern, again, of this government refusing to extend these appointments. I think that we have to have—

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): That’s not a case for a point of order.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Will we receive the report that you requested previously, Mr. Chair, outlining the reason why the person is not able to attend during the time when it was permitted?

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): You previously did ask for a report?

Interjection.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): It has been sent. That report has been sent to committee members.

Ms. Marit Stiles: Okay, thank you.

The Chair (Mr. John Vanthof): That concludes this meeting. We are now adjourned.

The committee adjourned at 0930.

STANDING COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Chair / Président

Mr. John Vanthof (Timiskaming–Cochrane ND)

Vice-Chair / Vice-Président

Mr. Taras Natyshak (Essex ND)

Mr. Roman Baber (York Centre / York-Centre PC)

Mr. Rudy Cuzzetto (Mississauga–Lakeshore PC)

Mrs. Amy Fee (Kitchener South–Hespeler / Kitchener-Sud–Hespeler PC)

Mr. Vincent Ke (Don Valley North / Don Valley-Nord PC)

Ms. Andrea Khanjin (Barrie–Innisfil PC)

Mrs. Marie-France Lalonde (Orléans L)

Mr. Taras Natyshak (Essex ND)

Mr. Rick Nicholls (Chatham-Kent–Leamington PC)

Mr. Jeremy Roberts (Ottawa West–Nepean / Ottawa-Ouest–Nepean PC)

Ms. Marit Stiles (Davenport ND)

Mr. John Vanthof (Timiskaming–Cochrane ND)

Substitutions / Membres remplaçants

Mr. Jeff Burch (Niagara Centre / Niagara-Centre ND)

Mrs. Robin Martin (Eglinton–Lawrence PC)

Mr. Billy Pang (Markham–Unionville PC)

Clerk / Greffière

Ms. Jocelyn McCauley

Staff / Personnel

Mr. Andrew McNaught, research officer,
Research Services