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February 19, 2015

41st Parliament, 1st Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcripts 2015-Feb-19 (PDF)

L045 - Thu 19 Feb 2015 / Jeu 19 fév 2015

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Thursday 19 February 2015 Jeudi 19 février 2015

ORDERS OF THE DAY

Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act (Making Ontario’s Roads Safer), 2015 / Loi de 2015 modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne le transport (accroître la sécurité routière en Ontario)

Report, Chief Electoral Officer

Introduction of Visitors

Oral Questions

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

Ontario Heritage Week

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

Environmental protection

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

Consumer protection

By-election in Sudbury

By-election in Sudbury

Special-needs children

Visitors

Alex Beduz

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

Affaires francophones

Affordable housing

Canadian International AutoShow

Firefighters

Chinese New Year

Social Assistance Management System

Wong Association of Ontario

Carleton University

Petitions

Landfill

Air-rail link

Immigration policy

Taxation

Forest industry

Distracted driving

Environmental protection

Gasoline prices

Employment practices

Winter road maintenance

Missing persons

Water fluoridation

Winter road maintenance

Private Members’ Public Business

Protecting Interns and Creating a Learning Economy Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 sur la protection des stagiaires et la création d’une économie d’apprentissage

Service clubs

Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Off-Road Vehicles), 2015 / Loi de 2015 modifiant le Code de la route (véhicules tout terrain)

Protecting Interns and Creating a Learning Economy Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 sur la protection des stagiaires et la création d’une économie d’apprentissage

Service clubs

Highway Traffic Amendment Act (Off-Road Vehicles), 2015 / Loi de 2015 modifiant le Code de la route (véhicules tout terrain)

Orders of the Day

Ontario Retirement Pension Plan Act, 2015 / Loi de 2015 sur le Régime de retraite de la province de l’Ontario

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Good morning. Please join me in prayer.

Prayers.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act (Making Ontario’s Roads Safer), 2015 / Loi de 2015 modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne le transport (accroître la sécurité routière en Ontario)

Resuming the debate adjourned on February 17, 2015, on the motion for second reading of the following bill:

Bill 31,

An Act to amend the Highway 407 East Act, 2012 and the Highway Traffic Act in respect of various matters and to make a consequential amendment to the Provincial Offences Act / Projet de loi 31, Loi modifiant la Loi de 2012 sur l’autoroute 407 Est et le Code de la route en ce qui concerne diverses questions et apportant une modification corrélative à la

Loi sur les infractions provinciales.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): When this item of business was last debated, the member from Ottawa–Orléans had the floor with six minutes and 15 seconds remaining. She also indicated that she would be sharing her time with the member from Ottawa South.

The member from Ottawa South.

Mr. John Fraser: I want to thank the member from Ottawa–Orléans for sharing her time with me.

It’s a pleasure to speak today to Bill 31, and I’d like to congratulate the minister for bringing forward this bill. It’s a very important bill that deals with public safety.

In this bill we have a number of measures to deal with truck and bus safety, pedestrian safety, cycling safety, distracted driving, impaired driving and driving with medical conditions. So as legislators, this is a bill that’s very important and central to our key role in representing the people who elected us, which is public safety. Our key role is to ensure that the public are safe, and in listening to the debate yesterday—or the day before, I believe—all members in this Legislature understand how central and key that responsibility is.

I’d like to pick up on a few of the remarks made by the member from Ottawa–Orléans. I think she said—she mentioned to me yesterday as well—that a car is like a weapon, in a sense. You’re driving around a tonne—2,500 pounds—of metal at fairly high rates of speed at times, and even at a low rate of speed you can do a lot of damage. I think the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke gave a description the other day of two cars coming at each other at 90 kilometres an hour and the kind of force that would be felt when they collide.

Operating a motor vehicle is a very serious responsibility. I read an interesting fact: Fatalities caused by distracted driving may exceed fatalities caused by impaired driving as early as next year, which is a pretty sobering thought. And in listening to the debate yesterday, many of the members spoke about distracted driving, highlighting something they were very concerned about. So I would like to speak a little bit about distracted driving.

But first I would like to go back to how we view impaired driving in our society. Right now, when you talk about impaired driving or a conviction for impaired driving—I think the member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke described it as people being shunned. I’m not quite sure if it’s that far, but there certainly is a stigma attached to it; it’s a very serious social transgression to drink and drive.

At one point, though, drinking and driving was socially acceptable. It’s hard to believe now, but it was. It was something that was commonplace. There were a lot of tragic consequences to that. So how did we get to the point in our society where we don’t accept that anymore? Well, we educated people. We educated people, through organizations like MADD, through our police services like the OPP and local services, about the tragic personal consequences of impaired driving. The other thing we did was that we took impaired driving and made the penalties commensurate with the risk to public safety.

We said to ourselves, “This is no longer acceptable. We have to apply penalties that are commensurate with the risk.” Even in this bill, actually, we take some further measures.

I believe that we need to take the same approach with distracted driving. I know that in my city of Ottawa there’s a public education campaign, “Leave the Phone Alone”—no texting. It’s been effective. They’ve done a fair amount of enforcement.

In this bill, we have increased penalties by increasing the fines to a range of $300 to $1,000, by adding three demerit points for distracted driving through legislation, and applying that to the novice licence in the graduated licensing system.

I would like to mention as well that the member from Scarborough–Rouge River put forward a bill, the Manoranjana Kanagasabapathy Act, which was a bill that came out of a very tragic incident that occurred in his riding. I’d like to thank him very much for putting that forward. It’s included in this bill, and I really believe it’s a very important part of this bill.

We were talking about these things yesterday. It’s not just BlackBerrys and Apples and any kind of device that you can text on. It is, as the member opposite—

Interjections.

Mr. John Fraser: There’s distracted debating that we have right now. Thank you very much. I appreciate your input, as always.

It is different things: People eating, combing their hair, putting their makeup on. What is interesting about these things is that often you’ll see people on them everywhere—when they’re having lunch with each other, when they’re in meetings, sometimes when they’re in debate. But it has very tragic consequences. So we have to underline the social consequences of not paying attention to the road.

Again, I’m in favour of this bill. I think there are a number of good measures here. There are lots of great things to debate. But I would like to add my voice to those who have already spoken in the Legislature, to say that the measures here for distracted driving are important and we should move forward with them. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Mrs. Gila Martow: Unfortunately, I missed the beginning of what the member from Ottawa South was saying, because I had to wait—I stay at my sister’s house when I have to be here early in the morning, because she’s downtown and the commute from Thornhill is too long. I would appeal to everybody to think about what we’re doing to our own colleagues and friends and neighbours with this worsening traffic gridlock all the time. It took us three or four lights to get through at Harbord, to get to Wellesley and Queen’s Park.

There was a lineup of cars in the bike lane, and I noticed in the cab—Ali from Beck Taxi was the cab driver—that he had “Stop and look for bikes” stickers on his windows, so that people should look before they open the doors, which is part of what we’re talking about with this bill: to be a little more careful, when you open your door, not to hurt any cyclists. There’s a lot that we could be doing downtown in the GTA and Hamilton to make the roads safer for cyclists, to make the roads safer for pedestrians and to make traffic move so that business and the economy can get booming again. I think that we should focus on the things that we can do easily.

I think distracted driving—obviously there have to be fines and we have to be concerned, but I think it’s more of a public awareness campaign. It’s more of an understanding of people’s behaviour. The society that we live in now is so much technology, so much going on up to the minute, so many people, their lives and their jobs—they can’t function. Maybe we have to have a public awareness campaign for employers who would consider not promoting somebody or, worse, would consider firing somebody if they couldn’t get them to respond immediately, to answer an e-mail or a text message immediately.

People aren’t always doing it just to play games or to set up a date or a social event. They are often under incredible pressure from their jobs. I think all of us here are aware of that, where we’ve gone somewhere and there’s been an important message—

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Thank you. Questions and comments.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: Mr. Speaker, I first of all want to say that I represent a part of the province where you probably can’t text and you probably don’t have a road. Many places where I come from unfortunately are landlocked communities where there isn’t that type of technology. I say that not to make fun of it, but just to get people to recognize that, depending on where you live in this province, the issues are very different.

There, it would be nice just to have cell service. For example, in the towns of Moosonee and Moose Factory you can’t get your cellphone to work because the network that they’ve got there is not compatible with anybody else, like Bell or Rogers or whoever. So to be able to have a cellphone and live in Moosonee or Moose Factory is a challenge.

Places like Attawapiskat, interestingly enough—and I give the government some credit; they’ve actually helped with some NOHFC funding in order to put a cell tower up in Attawapiskat. And we have a cell service in Attawapiskat, but guess what? It doesn’t work with anybody else’s cellphone, except if you happen to be connected to the cell service that runs out of Thunder Bay. So I just say, there’s a very different reality for people in this province, depending on where they live.

The general intent of making sure that people do the responsible thing behind the wheel—the minister talked about the car as a weapon. He’s perfectly right. There’s far too much distracted driving. Everything from eating cheeseburgers to doing your hair to texting on the phone while driving is, quite frankly, taking a pretty irresponsible approach to what driving is.

I’ll pick up on the point that was just made, that a lot of this stuff is, I would say, common sense, and a large part of it should be actually done through public awareness and advertising on the part of the government. I’m not so sure that, at the end of the day, we’re going to have the kind of effect we want coming out of this legislation. I think it’s good that we talk about it and that we try to find some way to address the issue, but I think the larger thing we’ve got to do is to break the culture. Once you’ve broken the culture I think you’re probably going to be further ahead.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments.

Mrs. Kathryn McGarry: Thank you to my colleagues from Ottawa South, from Thornhill and from Timmins–James Bay for speaking in support of Bill 31.

As we know here on this side, for the last 13 years Ontario consistently remains ranked as either first or second for road safety in North America. But people are still being killed on our roads. That’s precisely why we need to do more. Bill 31 I think goes a long way in addressing a lot of the issues that we have here.

It’s interesting that I hear support on all sides of the House, because all of us have either been involved in or have family that have been involved in a cycling or car or pedestrian accident. So I really am thrilled to hear some of these things coming forward.

Keeping our roads safe is the highest priority on the government side here, and I think that many have talked about distracted driving, which is kind of a new phenomenon. You know, 20 years ago we didn’t have cellphones, we didn’t have the types of electronic devices that take our eyes off the road. In today’s society we have to get that message.

Certainly, our young folks are. I have two boys right now who are doing their driving courses, and they’re being taught each and every time they’re in the car that their cellphones are firmly either in the trunk or out of sight. I think that that goes a long way to providing support for our own distracted-driving clause.

According to recent statistics, over 45 per cent of drivers killed in Ontario are found to have drugs in their system, and I do believe that I’ve heard support across the House regarding our drug-impaired driving laws that we’re looking at bringing forward in this bill.

Thanks very much, everybody, for the support on this bill. I look forward to further debate.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Ms. Laurie Scott: I’m pleased to rise to make comments on the act to amend the Highway Traffic Act and the Highway 407 East Act, which affects a lot of pieces of legislation, and about distracted driving and making our roads safer.

The member from Ottawa South had his remaining few minutes, which I listened to diligently, about concerns. This is about making safety better for motorists. I see the Highway 407 East Act—I certainly just want to put a plug in there: The 407 east to Highways 35 and 115 can’t come soon enough. The government changed the dates a few times on that, kind of disappointing many of my residents, but we’re supposed to have it there by 2020. We welcome that to open up the area of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton. It’s a big impact on our area, and we have many businesses waiting for that to happen.

Highway 35—of course, we’ve asked for four-laning. It’s been in process and everything is kind of at the table. Again, it’s kind of political will, so we encourage that to be done as soon as possible.

There were lots of comments on distracted driving, which will certainly have penalties. We’ve all seen the commercials. I think there are more commercials now about ways to try to encourage people to stop—very vivid commercials.

I also want to mention something in my office: the MTO’s suspending licences. Sometimes licences are suspended by the MTO for medical reasons. The problem is that some of them aren’t accurate. The frustration we have a lot in my constituency office, for sure, is that the person may not even know their licence has been suspended because the mail doesn’t get there for, like, 10 days. The other

part is that it’s 30- to 50-some days before it’s actually reviewed, and that is just too long for a person to not be able to go to work and to need rides to medical appointments. I think that really needs to be looked at.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): I return to the member for Ottawa South. You have two minutes.

Mr. John Fraser: I’d like to thank the members from Thornhill, Timmins–James Bay, Cambridge and Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock.

I’d like to respond to the member from Thornhill that I do agree that the measures in this bill with regard to cycling are very important as well: the issue of public awareness and making sure that people know it’s not just about the penalties; it’s about social change. I thank her very much for her remarks.

To the member from Timmins–James Bay, I appreciate very much his comments on things that are important to his community and that he raised those in the debate. Again, I agree with the need to have public awareness campaigns. Penalties are just not enough. It’s too late by the time there’s a penalty. I’m encouraged by this bill. I think we can make some progress in terms of ending or reducing distracted driving. I thank him very much for his comments.

To the member from Cambridge, I very much appreciated your comments on distracted driving, and I fully agree with the penalties being extended to drug-related offences, driving while you’re drug-impaired—the measures in the bill. That’s very important as well. I’m sure that all the members in the Legislature agree with extending those prohibitions.

To the member for Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock, thank you very much for your comments on behalf of your community and what’s important to you there. I do agree that the medical suspensions from MTO are things that many of our constituency offices deal with. There are some measures in this bill to improve that and make it a more transparent process. I’m encouraged by that as well, and I thank you very much for your remarks.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): I thank everyone for their comments.

Further debate?

Mr. Ted Arnott: I’m very pleased and privileged to have the honour to speak in this House this morning in response to the government’s Bill 31,

An Act to amend the Highway 407 East Act, 2012 and the Highway Traffic Act in respect of various matters and to make a consequential amendment to the Provincial Offences Act.

Bill 31 was introduced in this House last fall, on October 21, and now we’re engaged, of course, in second reading. There has been considerable second reading debate so far, and as a result, those of us who are speaking have about 10 minutes to speak to this bill. So there isn’t a great deal of opportunity.

I think that the people from my riding of Wellington–Halton Hills, whom I’m privileged to serve—and I want to express my appreciation again for the trust that they’ve given me over recent years to serve in this place—would wonder, perhaps, about the priorities of the debate today.

Reading the newspaper and following question period, there are no fewer than three OPP investigations under way, investigating the activities of the government with respect to Ornge air ambulance, the cancellation of the gas plants and the resulting deletion of emails, and of course, more recently, what went on leading up to the Sudbury by-election, all of which are pretty significant issues. We’ll be discussing those, I’m sure, during question period, in a short time.

At the same time, I think it’s important to remind members of the fiscal context in which this debate occurs today. I take my numbers from the fall economic statement that the government released before Christmas, the Ontario economic outlook and fiscal review. We see that the government is currently projecting a $12.5-billion deficit in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31 of this year. The government claims to be working toward a balanced budget by 2017-18, and at the same time the deficit went up year over year from $10.5 billion last year to $12.5 billion this year.

We see that the projected provincial net debt is going to be $287.3 billion this year—not as high as Greece, but getting there. We see that the net debt in 2003 was $139 billion, so over a period of about 11 years, it has doubled.

We see that provincial government spending this year is projected to be $130.2 billion, which is up from $126.4 billion last year. Again, this is a government that purports to be working towards a balanced budget, moving to a balanced budget, and yet spending went up by almost $4 billion last year. We see that the net debt per capita, meaning the amount of money that each Ontario resident—man, woman and child—would owe, if indeed we were ever to try to pay down the debt, is $21,003, up from $11,339 in 2003—again, virtually a doubling of the net debt per capita since this government took office.

Then, of course, the projected interest payment on the debt this year being $10.8 billion—I see the member has a point of order.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Point of order.

Mr. Bob Delaney: On a point of order, Speaker: I appreciate the member’s narrative. He’s a very experienced parliamentarian. Although I cannot quarrel with what he’s saying, I do have to ask the Speaker, what does this has to do with the bill that’s under discussion?

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): I would ask the member if he would tie it into the bill as quickly as he can.

Mr. Ted Arnott: Bill 31 is an important bill that the government has brought forward in the Legislature. We’re debating it today. I’m simply outlining the fiscal context in which we debate this legislation today. I’m glad that the member didn’t dispute the numbers. Of course, the numbers are factually correct, and they are in the fall economic statement. These are certainly the government’s own numbers. Again, I think that it’s important to point out the fiscal context in which we come into this House today and discuss these issues.

I’ll just conclude, in deference to the member: Interest payments on the debt this year are projected to be $10.8 billion. The interest on the debt is the fastest-growing item in the provincial budget; by 2017-18, it’s expected to be $13.9 billion. Of course, money that we pay to our lenders on the debt, in terms of interest, is money that can’t go to front-line services like improving highway safety.

I’ll come back now to the bill. Bill 31, of course, is an important piece of legislation that the government has introduced. We know that, in

summary, the bill removes the requirement that the registrar of motor vehicles give a person who has failed to pay a toll, and subsequent fees and interest, a second notice. At the next opportunity, a vehicle permit won’t be validated or issued to that person, so they’re not requiring a second notification, if this bill is passed.

This bill will remove the requirement that the Minister of Transportation conduct an annual review, including public consultation, on the amount of the toll the following year with respect to the 407.

Again, we recall that back in the heady days of the new Liberal government in 2003, when they were first elected, they’d been elected, I believe, on a platform and commitment to reduce the tolls on the 407, even though I think they knew it was impossible to do that. There was a legal challenge and a court case, and in the end it was found that the government didn’t have the power to reduce the tolls and couldn’t do it. So, of course, they brought in this requirement for an annual review and public consultation on the tolls, and apparently they’ve decided that that is no longer necessary.

There are provisions in this bill with respect to distracted driving. I think we would all agree, Mr. Speaker, that more needs to be done to discourage distracted driving in the province of Ontario. With this bill, the penalties for using hand-held devices—in other words, cellphones, BlackBerrys, iPhones, whatever—while driving a car, driving a vehicle, behind the wheel, would be raised to between $300 and $1,000, from the current fine range of $60 to $500, a fairly substantial increase in the fines for using hand-held devices while driving.

Again, I would give credit to and acknowledge the former member for Durham, John O’Toole, who for so many years pushed an amendment to the Highway Traffic Act, I believe, to basically make it illegal to use a cellphone while driving. When he started that quest, I think there were a lot of people who thought it was going to be impossible to enforce, and people had questions about the privacy issues.

But at the same time, he maintained and continued to raise that issue in the House for a number of years, and was ultimately successful, showing an example, I think, of how private members can in fact make a difference in this place and influence public policy and the ultimate decisions of government. It sometimes takes time and you have to be patient and persistent, but certainly he demonstrated those qualities, and, in the end, the government agreed.

I think it’s also important to point out that Bill 31 includes—there are numerous indications from the government that the bill will also usher in demerit points, but there’s really no mention of demerit points in the proposed legislation. Rather, the government and the minister can bring in regulations, I gather, to deal with that issue over time. Of course, from an opposition perspective, we’d like to see the details. I think it’s reasonable to ask questions around what they’re planning to do with respect to regulation.

If it was set in legislation, it would be, obviously, more clear and better understood by all of us, and it would probably be in the public interest to ensure that those details are forthcoming soon.

With respect to impaired driving, again, I think there’s a consensus in the House amongst all three political parties—I can’t speak for all parties, but I gather and expect that most members here would agree that we need to continue to take steps to discourage the consumption of alcohol before driving a vehicle. Impaired driving is a serious problem and continues to be a serious problem. Although we’ve made, I think, great strides towards reducing it, there are still too many instances in our province where people are getting behind the wheel after they’ve had too much to drink.

Obviously, in an impaired condition, the chances of having an accident and hurting themselves and hurting other people on the road go up exponentially. More has to be done in that regard too.

This bill attempts to increase the effectiveness of MTO’s conduct behaviour programs, including the ignition interlock program. As we know, ignition interlock systems can be installed in vehicles, ensuring that if a person has had too much to drink—or even, basically, anything to drink, I believe—if they turn their key, the vehicle won’t start. It’s a mechanism for ensuring that people who have consumed alcohol and perhaps have been convicted of impaired driving in the past are not going to be able to start their cars, and that’s a good thing, I think.

Again, I think that’s something that has arisen from the debate in this Legislature. It seems to me that the member for Simcoe North was pushing that for a number of years as well.

I haven’t had a chance to go into all the details of what I’d hoped to talk about, because we have only 10 minutes. I have a number of other things that I’ll try to address in my concluding remarks, Mr. Speaker, after the questions and comments. But this is an important piece of legislation that the government has introduced. It deals with a lot of issues with respect to improving highway safety and improving safety for bicyclers.

I think it’s important that we debate these issues in detail and ensure that the bill goes to a standing committee of the Legislature for further discussion, allowing public input amongst people who have an interest in these issues and who are experts, quite frankly, more so than perhaps some of us as members, and to hear from the general public as to what needs to be done to improve and strengthen this bill.

I certainly look forward to the continued debate on Bill 31.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Mr. Taras Natyshak: It’s a pleasure to rise today and to speak to Bill 31, the Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act (Making Ontario’s Roads Safer)—and who could argue with that? Of course, our communities are always aware and involved and wanting legislators to take a look at road safety, as it is our most important mechanism for people to get around.

I think what I’d like to do is provide a little bit of background around what we experience in Essex county—mainly a lack of good maintenance and upkeep of roads, tied to budgetary constraints that the provincial government has put on us. There are similar experiences in northern communities, where we see, particularly in winter, that roads are unsafe simply because they’re not allocating the proper amount of funding to be able to maintain the current roads that are there. So I think they’re putting the cart before the horse in terms of prioritizing this bill.

Needless to say, it is important. It’s certainly a matter of health and safety and protection for drivers and of course cyclists, those who use our roads. Some of the provisions are very reasonable when it comes to distracted and drugged driving. We certainly look forward to hearing more about them and actually getting more community input from stakeholders.

One thing that I would say is there is a difference in terms of driving in urban areas like Toronto and driving in my community of Essex. We tend to not actually be as aware—I can tell you my wife is fearful of driving in Toronto because there’s so much happening. So there has to be some realization that driving in Ontario is different in different parts, and those types of considerations have to be made. A one-size-fits-all approach to mandating provisions or regulations might not fit. Let’s take that into consideration, especially when it comes to speed limits for municipalities and what the pressures might be on them to conform to any type of standards here within the bill.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Mr. Grant Crack: I’d like to thank the member from Wellington–Halton Hills and the member from Essex for their comments on this very important bill.

Two components are very important to me. Number one, which I’ll speak briefly about, is the ability to allow municipalities or give the tools to municipalities to collect provincial offences fines. I was formerly a mayor for 11 years, sat on the united counties of Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry county council, and we always, always had issues with collecting provincial offences. So to give municipalities extra tools—I think they’ll be very much appreciative of that.

The second component is later on in the actual bill itself, and it’s some changes to the tire pressures on ATVs. If the members would recall, I introduced a motion which was unanimously supported in the House here to allow two-ups and side-by-sides the same privileges four-by-fours currently enjoy across the province, to go on various roads approved by municipalities, and of course approved by the province as well.

I’m looking forward to this particular piece of legislation, continuing the debate. I know that there are stakeholders right across the province—not only ATV owners—looking for these changes so that they can carry their passenger on the back; side-by-sides are very safe now, so to allow them the privilege as well. Also, it will help the farming communities; not only that, but the tourism component as well. Because I hear that in my riding of Glengarry–Prescott–Russell, which borders right on the great province of Quebec, where I was born, two-ups and side-by-sides are allowed on Quebec roads.

What happens is tourists can’t come into Ontario; they have to stop or go elsewhere. So we’re losing a lot of economic development by not having the privilege of being able to come to Ontario and enjoy all the great things that Ontario does have to offer.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Mr. Michael Harris: I’m happy to chime in. It was a pleasure listening to my colleague from Wellington–Halton Hills remark this morning. The first portion or first half of his remarks obviously brought the importance of our fiscal situation to the Legislature this morning, and to the folks watching at home.

I know we also mentioned a pioneer of this bill, John O’Toole, a former member for Durham. I imagine he’s watching this morning, as he usually does, so I want to welcome him this morning to the Legislature and hope that he’s enjoying his retirement and so forth.

Just picking up on the comments from the previous member—you know what? I know we’re going to be debating for a second time today a bill or a motion on allowing side-by-sides, UTVs etc. on Ontario highways.

I would encourage that member to speak to his transportation minister and encourage him to move forward with that. It is a simple regulation change that could happen with the stroke of a pen, so get off the pot, per se, and get it done, really. We’ll be supporting, obviously, that bill or motion this afternoon. I know my colleague from Parry Sound–Muskoka will also be discussing this important issue in the days coming.

I want to just spend, I guess, 35 seconds on an area of the bill where we do have concerns. Obviously, distracted driving is now the leading cause of death on Ontario highways.

But we’ve got an issue with this vehicle inspection centre system—very vague details in terms of what this is about. We hear complaints daily about the Drive Clean program; it’s just a useless bureaucracy that inconveniences drivers. I’m concerned that here is another system that will grow and grow, and is simply another tax on drivers—so big concerns with that. With that, I’ll sit down and listen to the rest of the debate.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Mr. Jagmeet Singh: One of the areas I want to touch on is the outsourcing of the new vehicle inspection centre system and, in fact, the existing outsourcing of driver licensing. This system has been shown to be flawed in a number of ways. Many people have spoken out about this. We’ve seen numerous issues about this. In fact, this is a trend with this government, and it’s a serious problem.

When you outsource, one of the major problems that happens is, there is a lack of accountability. We see that with Serco, and we are afraid that we’ll see that in the future with the new vehicle inspection centre system.

We’re also currently seeing that with Tarion. Tarion is another example. This is an example of, let’s know our history so we’re not doomed to repeat it. Tarion currently, as it exists, is an arm’s-length provider of warranty. It’s the only provider of warranty for new homes in Ontario. The system is so flawed; it is flawed from top to bottom. It is biased in favour of builders and developers. It actively denies claims on every occasion it can. In fact, it fights claims in court to make sure that people don’t get the coverage that they’re entitled to. People are up in arms.

They’re upset across this province, and this government is doing nothing about this. In fact, the way that it has been set up, the government can’t even have proper oversight over it unless we change legislation.

We’re asking the government to not make that same mistake now. We know that it doesn’t work. We’ve seen what goes on with Tarion. Let’s not do that with Serco and with this new vehicle inspection centre system. My concern is that without proper oversight, without proper accountability, we are going to see a system that does not serve the people of Ontario and, in fact, will be something that works against the people of Ontario. Again, when it comes to Tarion, we’re seeing that right now first-hand. We should learn from our history.

We should learn from the problems of Tarion and the fact that it’s not serving the people, and not engage in something that’s going to continue that same mistaken path.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): I now return to the member for Wellington–Halton Hills. You have two minutes.

Mr. Ted Arnott: I want to thank the members who responded to my brief comments this morning on Bill 31.

When we talk about highway safety, I think there has to be an emphasis on improving highway infrastructure as well. As you know, for a number of years now I’ve been calling upon the provincial government to place the Highway 6 Morriston bypass project on the ministry’s five-year plan for new construction, the southern highways program. I’ve had numerous discussions with members, and before Christmas I had a fairly long conversation with the Minister of Transportation on the last day of the House. He certainly led me to believe that he was doing everything he could.

I have not yet heard back from him, but I am hopeful. I took him at his word that, indeed, he is doing everything he can to try and get that project on the five-year plan of the ministry. We have broad support from the community, the township of Puslinch council, the county of Wellington and a very large industry association that has come together to advocate. So we’re hopeful, and we look to the minister to provide the necessary leadership.

I would also point out—and we know the Good Roads/ ROMA convention is coming up next weekend—the concern that many municipalities have with the cancellation of the Connecting Link Program. I’m sure my friend for Northumberland–Quinte West knows about that. There have been a number of municipalities through the last couple of years that have brought and continue to bring this to the attention of the government. The infrastructure programs that have been brought in by the government are not an adequate replacement for the Connecting Link Program.

We have issues in Centre Wellington: a bridge that needs to be built through town—they call it the St. David Street bridge—which is estimated to cost $2.6 million. The town of Halton Hills had a five-year capital program, including $9.3 million in needed projects along the connecting link roadways. Basically, they were left high and dry when this project was cancelled.

I would also draw attention to the need for a traffic light in Rockwood in front of the new school, the École Harris Mill school. In the township of Guelph/Eramosa, Mayor Chris White and I are working together on that. We’re going to continue to urge the minister to make sure that there’s safety on Highway 7 in front of that new school so that the kids can cross the road safely. I will continue to raise that issue as well in the coming weeks and months until it’s resolved.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Further debate?

M me France Gélinas: I’m really happy to have this opportunity to talk about Bill 31, Making Ontario’s Roads Safer. As you know, I represent a mainly rural riding, one of those big northern ridings. I represent 33 little communities. I want to talk about how to make our roads safer. I will read from my constituents who have written and who want to share their ideas about making our roads in northern, rural Ontario safer. I’ll start with Lynn Castonguay:

“I am e-mailing you today to inform you that I travel Hwy 144 from Onaping to Chelmsford on a daily basis and this roadway has become a hazard in several areas. The area between Dowling and Onaping (mainly before the A.Y. Jackson Lookout)”—this is a beautiful park on the side of a river—“is an area that needs immediate attention before someone gets seriously hurt.

“The

section has become overcome with potholes that have merged into large ruts in the road: They are deep and when hit have a tendency to send your vehicle out of control. I witnessed it last night with two vehicles in front of me and for me as well. The only way to avoid these is to take the shoulder of the road which is not cleaned” of snow or ice, “or take the middle of the hwy.

“Since this roadway is the only main road to Levack/ Onaping”—it takes you to all the way to Timmins if you continue going north—“I think it would be wise for it to be better maintained.

“These should be looked at and filled on a regular basis and the issue was a problem last year and it appears it is going on again this year.

“Thought I should file a complaint in order for this matter to be addressed.”

I have this other letter from Mr. G.W. He lives in Onaping Falls, also in my riding.

“Dear Madame Gélinas,

“I’ve written you on several occasions in the past and I’m here one more time to express my fear and trepidation when driving Hwy 144 between Dowling and the Onaping/Levack turnoff.

“You have been very gracious in replying to my last email and that is much appreciated and I really do understand that these kinds of improvements take time, but that

section of Hwy 144 is abominable ... it is getting worse by the day.

“I wish you or one of your able employees would drive that stretch of highway at any time of the day”—by the way, I did go out and drive that stretch of highway, and he’s absolutely right—“especially at shift change at the mines or whenever the heavy trucks are using it (which is always).”

Just so that you know, there are three mines in that area of Onaping/Levack, as well as many, many aggregate pits, so there are big trucks. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the big tandem trucks when they’re coming at you—you don’t want to be in front of them.

“By the end of the winter, sections of that road will be impassable unless you have a large truck or a tank! These are not the ramblings of a discontented citizen ... I love my province and hold my legislators in very high esteem, but something has to be done before there is a catastrophic accident in that stretch of road. Again, thanks for your time and concern.”

That was from G.W. in Onaping, Ontario.

I will continue. This time it’s Chris LaBerge, who writes:

“Hello. This letter is regarding the conditions of our highways. I drive from Cartier to Chelmsford for work to support my family. The potholes are so bad there has been damage incurred to my vehicle. You cannot drive in the proper lanes because of these and it is highly unsafe.

“Also there is a lot of wildlife, as well as logging and ore trucks up this way and it is extremely hard to watch out for them when you are dodging potholes in which some are six inches deep....”

He comes up with five concerns:

“

(1) Who is going to pay for the repairs to my vehicle?

“

(2) When is this stretch of highway going to be resurfaced?

“

(3) What will it take for any actions to be done?

“

(4) Where are we supposed to drive? (In our own lanes and absolutely destroy our vehicles, or in the middle of the highway and hope for the best.)

“

(5) How does our infrastructure become so unsafe and deplorable without anything being done?

“We the taxpayers/drivers pay for this through our taxes, and are extremely frustrated to have to pay for it again in nonsense repairs” to our vehicle.

“Thank you for your time.”

I will keep going and read an email that I got from James Neville. He called to complain on January 6 of this year. Mr. Neville and his family live in Levack and complain that the road is full of holes, and it is so bad that he blew out one of his studded tires. Those are not cheap, Speaker.

“Why are we being held hostage because of MTO negligence?” he asked. He has no choice but to use this road to travel to work. He is worried that his family members will get killed, travelling this stretch of highway. The contractors are using a hand tamper to patch the holes. Of course, they are not sticking and are flying off into windshields.

I received a call from—she didn’t want me to use her name, but her initials are E.B. She says that Highway 144 is terrible: “I can’t avoid the holes, and the patching is a hazard because it doesn’t stick to the road and flies off into our windshields. Why don’t they fix it properly the first time? It would save a lot of money. The road was like this last winter. They had all summer to fix it. These contractors are not doing a good job.”

I’ll go on with Mrs. G.T., her initials:

“Hi France:

“It is with regret that I find I am writing to you once again about the deterioration of this stretch of highway.” She’s talking about Highway 144 between Chelmsford and Onaping.

“Over the past month, I have watched numerous stretches of potholes becoming a continuing stretch of potholes on each side of the highway and deeper by the day.

“It seems worse than last year at this time.

“This morning a truck careened over the guardrails into a deep rock-engulfed ravine, the exact spot a car went over one month ago; around a rock cut”—second accident: exact same place, because of the potholes.

“I pray each night as I return home that I will make it home safely as I cannot tell where every hole is in the dark and the only place to avoid them seems to be driving as close as you can to the centre line.

“It’s nerve-racking when you know you are passing 30 to 50 hauling and dump trucks each way.” Those are the trucks that service the mines and the logging as well as the aggregates.

“I pray each night as I return home that I will not get into an accident and will make it home, due to the terrible condition of this highway.

“Also, is there a fund I can put a claim in for replacing a tire and front-end spring which broke due to hitting pothole after pothole? My mechanic said these springs are half an inch in diameter and it takes a lot to break them. Within 10 minutes the broken spring punctured two tires. Luckily this happened in my driveway and not on the highway.

“I look forward to hearing from you once again.

“Last year after I emailed you, within four to five days, at minus 36 degrees Celsius, they were fixing the potholes at night. I had to laugh.”

Ron Leclair also wrote to me. Ron lives in Onaping. “The hot patches aren’t working either—cars ripping out the asphalt and flying at windshields of the car behind them. I’ve had to replace windshields twice.”

I shared some of those stories with you this morning, Speaker, and believe me, I have way more. While this Legislature is talking about making roads safer, we know that we have a safety issue in my riding. We know that we have a stretch of road that is so dangerous that we can tell where the next accident will happen. But when you add to this 30-, 50- or 60-ton trucks coming at you non-stop—24 hours a day, seven days a week, those big trucks are on the road. You’re trying to make your way home, because it is our only road. We deserve safety on our roads, too.

I agree that distracted driving is dangerous, but I also agree that people in northern Ontario need roads that are safe. Right now, I hope you will share with the constituents that have taken the time to write that we need to do better.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Mr. Yvan Baker: I’m proud to speak to this issue today. I think this is a really important issue. I know that a lot of us, if not all of us, have been impacted by road safety, the importance of making sure that, as we travel our roads, we know that the people of Ontario are safe and can get from work and can get to play in a quick but also safe manner. That has to be paramount.

We also have to make sure that our roads are moving. This is important to support not only our quality of life but also our economy. I know that is something that’s so important to all of us, and I know it’s critically important to our Minister of Transportation, Minister Del Duca. I know he’s working very hard on these issues.

There are a number of things that the government is doing to address these things. I know the member opposite talked about roads in rural areas. You’re absolutely right that the issues that touch us in terms of safety and in terms of making sure that our roads are moving apply to all parts of Ontario. I have to emphasize that for the past 13 years we’ve been ranked either number one or number two in terms of road safety.

Hon. Michael Chan: Wow. That’s a good record.

Mr. Yvan Baker: That’s a record to be proud of. But we’re not resting on our laurels. Minister Del Duca is not resting on his laurels. There’s more work to be done. On average, one person is killed on our roads every 18 hours, and one person is injured every eight and a half minutes. We really need to keep working on road safety.

One of the things that I wanted to speak to was just a couple of the items that I know are in Bill 31 that I think are important. I can’t possibly cover it all, because there are a number of elements to this bill that are important. But, first of all, something that I think is really important is increased penalties for distracted driving. We see it every day: people who are distracted behind the wheel. Increased penalties, I think, are an incredibly important element to this, not only in terms of the fines but also the demerit points that people will face.

There are measures in this bill about impaired driving. There are measures here about bus and vehicle safety. There are measures about pedestrian safety and about helping municipalities in order to collect defaulted provincial offences fines. All of these measures are critical to making sure our roads are safe, making sure they move quickly, making sure we enjoy the quality of life, but have the safety that all Ontarians would like and deserve.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Mrs. Gila Martow: I listened very intently to the member from Nickel Belt. We all know that we’re here to serve our constituents, and I really appreciated hearing the letters from her constituents.

What I hear often—I get more emails than phone calls, which I guess is a sign of the times, and what I hear often from emails is that people want to be able to get where they need to go, and they want to get there safely. What they are very concerned about in Thornhill is their children’s safety. People would like to have their kids ride their bikes to go a mile or two miles. It’s not that far. We all did it when we were kids. They just feel that the roads aren’t safe for them.

What this bill is really supposed to be about, I would hope, is to make our roads safer. What seems to be coming out is a lot more red tape and a lot of costs to the drivers.

What we need to focus on is how we can make the roads safer. It’s not always fun to do the maintenance work. People tend to want to put money into new projects on which they can have big fancy announcements, but the reality is that cars are being damaged by potholes and by unsafe road conditions, by speed bumps when the roads weren’t cleared of snow and people didn’t see the speed bumps. As the member from Nickel Belt mentioned, the springs on cars, the suspension, get damaged by all these things, and we’re actually making the cars unsafe if we’re not keeping our roads well maintained and well cleared of snow.

I would ask the Speaker for permission to show a picture. I know we’re not allowed to show props, but it shows the very beautiful, creative bike lanes next to very safe pedestrian conditions in Japan. It’s very clearly marked by a different type of paving colours and signage, and it just looks so beautiful that even if you actually have nowhere to go, you want to go for a walk or get on your bike and use those bike lanes. So I think that’s what we should be working on: creative ways to get people to use our roads safely.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

M. Gilles Bisson: Monsieur, la 144, ça doit être le pire bout de chemin qu’on a vu dans cette province depuis longtemps. Quand tu arrives dans le bout du Halfway Lake Provincial Park en descendant—moi, je le sais parce que j’ai eu l’occasion de visiter Sudbury une couple de fois cet hiver, une belle place pour aller faire les vacances au milieu de l’hiver. C’était vraiment horrible. La condition de la route est telle que tu as besoin de vraiment ralentir.

Si tu essaies de conduire juste à 80 kilomètres à l’heure, tu prends vraiment la chance d’avoir un accident parce que l’asphalte est si décollé du « top » du chemin. C’est franchement déplorable jusqu’à quel point ce chemin-là n’est pas bon.

Je sais que la députée M me Gélinas a soulevé la question avec le ministre, puis avec le ministère. Espérons que ça va être réparé cet été, parce qu’on sait que M me Gélinas est toujours bien capable d’avancer ses dossiers. Mais je pense que ça parle d’un fléau—c’est un beau mot, ça, fléau—qui est beaucoup plus prononcé ces jours-ci, puis ça, c’est les investissements qu’on fait et qu’on ne fait pas, des fois, quand ça vient à nos chemins.

Je sais que la première ministre, qui a quasiment beaucoup de bon sens, veut investir dans l’infrastructure des transports en commun ici au sud de la province de l’Ontario, à Toronto, à Hamilton et autres. Nous, les néo-démocrates, on dit : « Écoute, ça fait beaucoup de bon sens. On n’a pas de problème. Mais n’oubliez pas qu’il y a une autre

partie de la province qui est le Nord. On a plus de routes au Nord, en géographie, que vous autres avez au sud de la province, et on a besoin de mieux entretenir ces routes. »

Le chemin est assez grave qu’on pourrait commencer un jardin pour être capable de planter des concombres au milieu de la 144. La terre est assez défrichée que tu pourrais—the challenge of the day, right? Tu aurais pu commencer un jardin sur la ligne jaune de la 144 et planter des concombres, parce que je pense qu’il y a une chance qu’ils pourraient pousser à travers de cet asphalte.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Questions and comments?

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Good morning, Speaker. Thank you for this opportunity. Thanks to all the colleagues who have pointed out how important this bill is.

I was driving down from Barrie one day. The gridlock was pretty bad, but we were moving about 40 kilometres an hour. I looked at the car beside me and there was a young woman frantically texting away on her phone. And then I realized that in the back seat was a beautiful little baby, in the seat behind her. I felt so badly because just as she was texting, somebody cut in in front of her, and I don’t know how there was not an accident. I felt so badly for that little girl. I think we need to deter people from doing that. One of the best ways to do that is to hit people in the pocketbook, unfortunately.

Also, one of the very important parts of this bill: As SCFEA travelled the province, many of the mayors of the municipalities and also Mayor Lehman in Barrie have let me know that there are millions of dollars of unpaid Provincial Offences Act fines. I believe that this bill will help municipalities to collect those fines. I pay $6,600 a year in municipal taxes for a subdivision home. Our municipality desperately needs that money that is owed to them, and I hope that everyone understands that this is a very important part of this bill as well.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): I thank everyone for their comments. I return to the member for Nickel Belt. You have two minutes.

M me France Gélinas: I’d like to thank the member from Etobicoke Centre, the member for Thornhill, my colleague from Timmins–James Bay and the member from Barrie for their comments.

What I tried to do this morning was to give you a bit of a glimpse into what it means to live in northern Ontario, what it means to live in Nickel Belt. The roads are really bad. I did reach out to the ministry and the Minister of Transportation, and they have given me a

schedule to fix the road. They’ve actually gone out of contract. There is a contractor from down south who is presently in Nickel Belt trying to patch the road, but at minus 42 this morning in Nickel Belt with the wind chill, and minus 36 the day before and minus 38 the day before that, it’s not always obvious to be able to do this in the middle of winter—not to mention that there’s snow everywhere. A stretch of it will be repaved next summer, but it won’t be until the following summer when the next stretch of it is done.

For the people who use it every day, those timelines are too long. Too many people feel that their life is in danger with this timetable. We certainly appreciate that they’re trying to fix it right now, and they have answered my plea to do something, but this

schedule of some of it next summer and some of it not until the summer of 2016 is hard for the people who travel that road every day to accept.

Mr. Gilles Bisson: It might be part of their agricultural policy—more farmland.

M me France Gélinas: Yes; if there is a cucumber plant growing in the middle of the highway, Gilles, I will let you know.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Further debate?

Ms. Eleanor McMahon: I’m thrilled and honoured to rise in the House today to speak to a critically important piece of legislation for our province: the Making Ontario’s Roads Safer Act, Bill 31. In doing so, I join my colleagues opposite from Nickel Belt, Kitchener–Conestoga, Etobicoke Centre, Thornhill, Timmins–James Bay and Barrie. Thank you, colleagues, for participating in this important conversation.

As has already been noted, Ontario enjoys the safest roads in North America. An important piece of the framework is because we have the kinds of laws that really make Ontarians feel safe, and in reality they are safe. But it’s worth spending a few minutes, I think, talking about the importance of Bill 31 and what it’s destined to do.

It is part of a broader package of legislative and subsequent supported regulatory amendments to the Highway Traffic Act destined to improve road safety, enhance the collection of defaulted Provincial Offences Act fines, improve the Highway 407 East Act and address a number of housekeeping items that are important in the ongoing maintenance and safety of our roads.

The intended outcomes of these proposed changes in this broad-ranging bill include improvements related to impaired driving by drugs and alcohol, distracted driving, medically unfit drivers, truck, vehicle and bus safety, pedestrian safety, cycling safety—I’m going to talk about that in a moment, Speaker—collection of defaulted POA fines, and of course the Highway 407 East Act.

The road safety issues that the bill aims to address continue to be persistent challenges in our province, unfortunately. According to recent statistics, over 45% of drivers killed in Ontario were found to have drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol in their system; drinking-and-driving fatalities represented nearly one quarter of all fatalities in 2011; between 2008 and 2012, an average of 14% of convicted alcohol-impaired drivers were repeat offenders—that is indeed a sad statistic—and if current collision trends continue, fatalities from distracted driving may exceed those from drinking and driving by 2016.

In 2011, pedestrians constituted approximately one in five motor-vehicle-related fatalities. In my previous life, before I was elected, as the CEO of the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, Ontario’s cycling advocacy and policy organization, I was proud to be part of the Cycling Death Review, conducted by the Ontario coroner, that looked into cycling deaths between 2000 and 2012. There were 125 Ontarians who lost their lives while cycling, and that is indeed something that we should all be interested in addressing.

It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child, and this legislation is no different. I’m proud of the fact that it includes ideas from members opposite. I think Ontarians expect that from us, Speaker. They want the best of us; they want us to work together. This bill is reflective of suggestions and wonderful ideas from the member from Parry Sound–Muskoka, the member from Simcoe North, the member from Nepean–Carleton and the member from Parkdale–High Park.

It is also the culmination of years of hard work by officials in the Ministry of Transportation and across 12 government ministries who embraced the #CycleON strategy, which I was proud to launch in September 2013 with the member for Toronto Centre, the previous Minister of Transportation.

I spoke a moment ago about the broad-ranging aspects of the bill, and I want to focus, as I mentioned, now a little bit on the cycling safety part, Speaker. It’s an issue of interest and concern to all Ontarians, including people in my riding. I know our mayor and city council and citizens in Burlington care deeply about creating the kind of bicycle-friendly community that we’re now seeing across the world, as cities and countries move to become more bicycle friendly, recognizing the benefits to a more bicycle-friendly community.

What are those, Speaker? Well, they are environmental. Cycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions currently account for about 40% of all emissions, and getting those lower is in everyone’s interest.

Economic opportunities: 40% of our trips in Canada are less than five kilometres. If we could encourage people to ride their bikes more often instead of taking their cars for those five-kilometre trips, how much further ahead would we be? People would be fitter. They’d be healthier. Our air would be cleaner. Our communities would be more connected.

Our children would have opportunities to ride to school. In 1971, 87% of Canadian children rode their bikes and walked to school. Now that number is about 13%. So we’ve done an absolute flip, and consequently, we’re seeing record and rising rates of obesity in our children. The Ontario Medical Association has pointed to the fact that this may be the first generation that doesn’t outlive their parents. Why aren’t we finding ways to create opportunities to get our children cycling and walking to school?

When I was at Share the Road, we did a survey of four Ontario school districts, and we found the number one reason that children weren’t riding their bikes to school was convenience. Their parents found it more convenient to drive them. I think we’ve got a lot to do to change the conversation and work to do that. Certainly this legislation will help to create those kinds of bicycle-friendly communities and give municipalities the tools they need.

Let me just highlight some of the active transportation and cycling safety initiatives that are highlighted in Bill 31. Speaker, I just want to underline the fact that when I was at Share the Road, we worked doggedly on this legislation, with members opposite I might add, which is a very nice thing to be able to say in terms of the co-operation that’s engendered in this bill, and I highlighted that a moment ago.

Promoting active transportation and cyclist safety is resident in Bill 31 and is evidenced by requiring drivers of motor vehicles to maintain a minimum distance of one metre when passing cyclists on highways. This legislation, called the one-metre safe passing law, is something that we worked on very diligently with the member from Parkdale-High Park when I was at Share the Road and is now being embraced by our government. There is a jurisdiction in Canada that has this legislation already; it’s Nova Scotia.

There are 25 US states that currently require motorists to leave at least three feet of space when passing a cyclist, and it has led to enormous reductions in collisions and enhanced cycling safety. The number one reason, unfortunately—and I knew this when I was at Share the Road because we did a lot of polling and data collection—that 60% of Ontarians don’t ride their bikes is because they’re too afraid to do so. That is definitely a number that we all should aspire to reduce.

Another piece of Bill 31 that speaks to the cycling agenda is permitting cyclists to ride on the paved shoulders of all unrestricted highways. As I highlighted, the member from Parry Sound–Muskoka worked very diligently on this kind of legislation for years through private members’ bills. It’s now being embraced by our government. Good for him for his solid work in this regard. That’s going to not only make it cycling friendly; it’s going to create opportunities for cycling tourism.

In the year 2000, the province of Quebec invested in something called the Route verte, which is a 4,300-kilometre cycling route that spans the province and nets the province of Quebec $140 million a year in tourism revenue. Ontario has those opportunities resident within it. We have beautiful roadways. We have beautiful rural infrastructure in particular, wide-open spaces, wonderful wineries, restaurants and opportunities for Ontarians to enjoy.

I know the Waterfront Regeneration Trust is an organization that is working with tourism, cycling stakeholders, municipalities, road safety folks and the MTO right across our province in creating those kinds of tourism opportunities so that Ontario residents can get out and enjoy their bikes. But having paved shoulders to ride on is going to make an enormous difference.

It’s also great for vehicles and trucks. We heard from the Ontario Trucking Association that having a paved shoulder will prevent collisions and save lives. That, in and of itself, is very important. I know, again, that the member from Parry Sound–Muskoka has worked diligently on that.

This legislation will permit contraflow bike lanes on one-way highways and roadways. This is also incredibly important. You see these all over Europe. They’re incredibly important in terms of creating a cycling network in municipalities and elsewhere.

Authorizing the use of bicycle signal heads on traffic control systems: Speaker, the city of Ottawa, which is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the country, has cycling signals that are destined and focused on cyclists at intersections, allowing them to proceed through the intersection before the flow of traffic, saving lives and making it easier for them.

These are the kinds of measures that municipalities want and need. They’re asking our government, and we’re responding, Speaker, because we know how important that is.

Increasing the penalties for dooring: What is dooring, people may wonder. Unfortunately, if we, as drivers, don’t look before we open our door into the oncoming lane, a cyclist may be coming. It’s incredibly important. The CAA is poised to do some very important work in this area. Making sure that we’re very safe and that we avoid dooring will save lives and, again, create safer roads for all of us.

There are some pieces relative to fines and increasing the fines and making sure that cyclists do their part. I know that sharing the road is everyone’s responsibility. When I was at Share the Road, that’s something that we certainly espoused. Cyclists are safe—they’re also motorists, by the way, and they know that they have to do their part.

Thank you, Speaker, for this opportunity to speak to an issue of great passion and interest for me, the cycling safety of our communities in our province. I’m very proud to be part of a government that has embraced Bill 31. I want to thank the members opposite for their years of work on bringing this legislation to the fore.

Again, Speaker, thank you for this opportunity.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bas Balkissoon): Seeing the time on the clock, this House stands recessed until 10:30 a.m.

The House recessed from 1012 to 1030.

Report, Chief Electoral Officer

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I beg to inform the House—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Can I have order, please? Thank you.

I beg to inform the House that I have laid upon the table a report from the Chief Electoral Officer with respect to the complaints pertaining to the Sudbury by-election.

Introduction of Visitors

Mr. Randy Pettapiece: I’d like to introduce Lauren Wu, who is going to be volunteering in our office now. Welcome, Lauren.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I want to introduce Hilary Martin, who is in the members’ gallery. Hilary is the president of the Carleton University Young Liberals and was the youth chair of my most recent campaign. I want to thank Hilary for all her hard work in mobilizing a lot of young people and engaging them in politics. Welcome to Queen’s Park, Hilary.

Ms. Cheri DiNovo: It’s my delight to introduce Sheena Weir and Jennifer Rubel from the Ontario law society.

Hon. Helena Jaczek: To join us in the House today, we have the parents of page captain Eileen Zhang—her mother, Kathy Fan, and father, Richard Zhang—and her brother, David Zhang.

Ms. Peggy Sattler: I am delighted to welcome to the House this morning Naguib Gouda from Career Edge and Jasmine Irwin from the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance. Welcome.

Hon. Dipika Damerla: I’d like to welcome representatives here today from Action Ontario: Lisa Hooper, Glen Hutzul, Jennifer Tyrrell, Dr. Brian Kirsh, Anne Coffey and Dr. Angela Mailis-Gagnon. Chronic pain is an important issue, and I appreciate their advocacy on behalf of patients. Dr. Hoskins will be speaking at their lunch reception in room 230, and I hope everybody will be there. Thank you.

Mr. Han Dong: Mr. Speaker, as can you tell from my outfit, it is the Chinese new year, or lunar new year. It’s celebrated every year.

I just want to welcome the president of the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations, Mr. Cheng Yi Wei, and the secretary, Mr. Phuc Tran. Later on, they’ll be hosting a reception at Queen’s Park after question period in room 247. I welcome all the members to join us.

Hon. Tracy MacCharles: I’m very happy to welcome students, parents and teachers from Gandatsetiagon Public School—we call it Gandy public school—in Pickering. I met with them this morning, a great group of grade 5 students here. Welcome.

Hon. Michael Gravelle: We have in the east gallery my senior mining policy adviser, Drew Redden, who, more importantly, is here with his mother, Joanne, and his sister Jill. Let’s welcome them. Thank you very much. That would be Joanne Redden and Jill Redden.

Mr. Yvan Baker: First of all, I’d like to welcome the students from St. Clement Catholic School in the heart of Markland Wood in my riding of Etobicoke Centre. They’re here visiting today, and I think they’re just filing in.

I also had the fortune this morning of meeting with some young people that I’d like to introduce. Normally folks come to my office and they raise issues that are of importance. Today I had a group of four young people come to me and speak with me, not to raise issues but to thank me and other MPPs for our public service. It’s very unique and special. I’d like to thank them for engaging the young people in the political process. From MY Canada: Lia Milousis—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: It’s Carleton University Day at Queen’s Park today and I want to welcome the fearless leader of Carleton University, President Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte. Along with her today we have: Suzanne Blanchard, Mark Savenkoff, Don Cumming, Peter Ricketts and Kathy McKinley. There is a reception in room 228 today at 5 p.m.

Ms. Soo Wong: I believe you will find that we have unanimous consent that all members be permitted to wear pins in recognition of Chinese New Year.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Scarborough–Agincourt is seeking unanimous consent to wear the pins that have been provided for all members in both galleries. Do we agree? Agreed.

The Associate Minister of Finance.

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: I would like to join my colleague from Etobicoke Centre in welcoming the students from MY Canada who are here to thank us all for our public service. I think it’s a wonderful group.

L’hon. Madeleine Meilleur: Ça me fait grandement plaisir aujourd’hui de vous présenter un ami très sincère, le frère Maxime Allard, qui est le président du Collège universitaire dominicain à Ottawa. Bienvenue, Maxime.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: On behalf of the member for Etobicoke North I want to welcome the parents of page captain Ishani Sharma: Ishani’s mother Nishtha Sharma and father Rakesh Sharma are here at Queen’s Park today. Welcome.

Oral Questions

By-election in Sudbury

Mr. Steve Clark: My question is to the Premier. Speaker, you mentioned this morning that the Chief Electoral Officer has tabled a report to this Legislature. Quite frankly, it’s a bombshell.

I wrote the Chief Electoral Officer on December 15 regarding perceived contraventions of

section 96.1 of the Election Act.

In the report from the Chief Electoral Officer: “No Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario has ever conducted a regulatory investigation into allegations of bribery or ever reported an apparent contravention of the home statutes of my office to the Attorney General.”

Further in the report, it says: “Having reviewed the evidence and findings from this regulatory investigation, I am of the opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara amount to apparent contraventions of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act as reflected in my attached report. Consequently, I have reported this matter to the Attorney General.”

Premier, when are you going to do the right thing and announce today the resignation of Pat Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed Jr.?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. Be seated, please. Thank you.

Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: As the member opposite is well aware, this is information that has just been received. From the outset, we’ve been clear with Elections Ontario that they have our full co-operation. We’re glad that Elections Ontario took this issue seriously and they’ve determined that the opposition’s allegations against me and the member from Sudbury were baseless.

Patricia Sorbara will continue to offer her full co-operation as Elections Ontario’s examination moves to the next phase in the process.

I understand that the complaint has been referred to the Ministry of the Attorney General for further examination by the proper authorities.

As the member opposite knows, Elections Ontario’s examination is entirely independent of the government and neither the Attorney General nor her political staff have any involvement in that process.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Steve Clark: Back to the Premier: Premier, this report was tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. All 107 members have a duty to uphold openness and transparency in government. You, yourself, said in your throne speech that you were going to have an open and transparent government, and you were going to do politics differently.

Premier, the report speaks for itself. There are alleged contraventions of the act. The members on this side of the House and the members in the opposition have all written to the OPP and to the Chief Electoral Officer.

When are you going to stand up in your place, do the right thing and cut these two bad apples loose?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Thank you.

Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: As I said, we have all just received this information. We have said that we will continue to work in full co-operation with Elections Ontario. The fact is that this is the next phase in Elections Ontario’s process, and we will let the process unfold.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Dufferin–Caledon will come to order.

Final supplementary.

Mr. Steve Clark: We’re members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. We can decide that we’re going to carry and do politics differently in this province. In the opposition, we were there. We wrote the Chief Electoral Officer. We listened to the tapes. We could hear it. Ontarians could hear it.

We’re asking you a very simple question now that the report is here and we all have a copy of it. Do the right thing: Call for their resignations, and let’s move forward.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Thank you.

Premier.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, again, as I have said, we have all just received this information. I understand the political imperative of the party opposite.

We will continue to work with Elections Ontario; Patricia Sorbara will continue to work with Elections Ontario. I am glad that they have taken this seriously and that they have tabled this report.

As I have said, this doesn’t change the fact that any suggestion that anything was offered in exchange for any action is false. That has not changed, and that will not change. The fact is that we were working to keep this young man involved in the process. That’s what Patricia Sorbara was doing.

We’ve just received this information, Mr. Speaker, and we’ll take it under consideration.

By-election in Sudbury

Mr. Steve Clark: My question is back to the Premier. I’m going to read you again a paragraph from the Chief Electoral Officer’s report: “Having reviewed the evidence and findings from this regulatory investigation, I am of the opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara amount to apparent contraventions of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act as reflected in my attached report. Consequently, I have reported this matter to the Attorney General of Ontario in accordance with

section 4.0.2 of the Election Act.”

Premier, if you stand with these two, you’re going to fall with these two. Stand up and call for their resignations.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Thank you.

Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I appreciate the sentiment from the member opposite. As I have said, we’ve just received this information. We received the information from Elections Ontario. The member has quoted from one letter. I will quote from the letter regarding my involvement: “Having reviewed the evidence and findings from this regulatory investigation”—

Ms. Sylvia Jones: She still works for you.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Excuse me. I’m going to ask the members from Dufferin–Caledon and Huron–Bruce to come to order please—second time for both of you.

Carry on.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: —“I am of the opinion that the actions of Premier Wynne do not amount to an apparent contravention of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act.”

Similarly, in the letter regarding Glenn Thibeault, “Having reviewed the evidence and findings from this regulatory investigation, I am of the opinion that the actions of Mr. Thibeault do not amount to an apparent contravention of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act.”

Mr. Speaker, we received all of this information—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Supplementary?

Mr. Steve Clark: Again, my question goes back to the Premier. In recent months, your government has distanced itself from alleged criminals like Ben Levin for child porn; Chris Mazza for corruption and expense scandals; and Livingston, Miller and Faist for destruction of gas plant documents.

Premier, you are degrading your office. Cut this bad apple loose and apologize to the people of Ontario.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, we have just received this information today, and we will continue to co-operate with Elections Ontario, as will Patricia Sorbara. But nothing in this information today changes the fact that there was no offer for any action. Any allegation that that was the case is—

Interjections.

Hon. Glen R. Murray: Why don’t we just listen to the facts?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The minister is not helping.

Mr. John Yakabuski: That would be novel.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member is not helping either. Thank you.

Finish, please.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I have deep respect for Elections Ontario and for the work that the Chief Electoral Officer does, and I understand that they are moving now into the next phase.

But the fact is that what I did and what we have done on this side was work to keep a young person involved in the party. That is what we did.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock, please. Regretfully, I’ve heard some unparliamentary language. I can’t identify the individual, and I wish they would never say that again.

Final supplementary.

Mr. Steve Clark: Premier, you can spin it any way you want. You can talk about getting a young person involved. You can issue press releases saying the tapes exonerate your staff. But clearly the proof is in these documents. There are contraventions.

You can do the right thing, Premier. You can be what you said you would be at our inaugural meeting of this Legislature. You can do politics differently. You can be open and transparent.

Premier, apologize to the people of Ontario. Let’s get these people’s resignations, and let’s move forward.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. Be seated, please. Thank you.

Premier.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I received this information this morning; I’ve said that repeatedly. Patricia Sorbara will continue to work with Elections Ontario. The fact is that Elections Ontario has moved into the next phase. The Attorney General’s office and other authorities will now take that investigation to the next stage. I will take all of this information under advisement.

By-election in Sudbury

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Premier. Today the Chief Electoral Officer said, “I am of the opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara constitute apparent contraventions of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act.”

I want to ask the Premier: When is she going to actually fire Pat Sorbara and remove Mr. Lougheed from his position as the chair of the Police Services Board in Sudbury?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: As I have answered this question six times already, I will answer it once again. We just received this information. I’ve said from the outset that we will work, and that Patricia Sorbara will work, in full co-operation with Elections Ontario. We have done that. We will continue to work with the authorities. As I just received this information this morning, we are taking it under advisement.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Elections Ontario is non-partisan. They’ve investigated the actions of the Premier’s office and her operatives, and they say that Gerry Lougheed and Pat Sorbara broke the law.

When will the Premier admit that this has happened and ask for their jobs? When will she make sure that she does the right thing and remove these people from their responsibilities because they no longer have the public trust?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Well, let’s just be clear that that is not what the letters have said. That’s the point that I was making earlier: that in terms of the facts, nothing has changed. Elections Ontario is talking about allegations. They’re talking about apparent allegations, about the appearances.

The fact is that there was no commitment to offer anything in exchange for an action. That has not changed from yesterday to today. I made a decision about appointing a candidate. We worked to keep the past candidate involved. That’s the fact.

Elections Ontario has taken this seriously, and I’m pleased that they’ve taken it seriously. The process will unfold, but nothing in terms of the facts has changed from yesterday to today.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The report is one thing, but what actually happened is something else altogether. It’s time this Premier comes clean on exactly what happened around the stink in Sudbury.

When this Premier—this Premier—learned that David Livingston was the subject of a police investigation, she rushed in to say, “That is not the way a government should operate. That is not the way a Premier’s office should conduct itself. And it is not the way my office operates.”

Now, Elections Ontario has an unprecedented finding in their investigation, and they say that the Election Act was in fact broken. When will this Premier fire Pat Sorbara and make sure that Mr. Lougheed is removed from his position of public trust on the police services board in Sudbury?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Once again, let’s just be clear, Mr. Speaker: That is not what Elections Ontario has said. Elections Ontario is talking about “apparent” actions, “apparent contraventions.” The facts have not changed from yesterday to today. Elections Ontario is going to the next phase. They have referred the complaint to the Ministry of the Attorney General for further examination by the proper authorities. This is in process.

Mr. Speaker, I received this information this morning, as everyone in the House did. That I have said—

Mr. John Yakabuski: There’s enough of a smell on it. Do the right thing. Cut her loose.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke will come to order.

New question.

By-election in Sudbury

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is to the Premier. We now have Mr. Lougheed, Ms. Sorbara, Elections Ontario and the OPP with one version of what happened in Sudbury, and the Premier with another version of what happened. So we have two different versions. We talked about that yesterday. It’s clear the Premier is still sticking to that today.

The Chief Electoral Officer said this: “Having reviewed the evidence”—reviewed the evidence—“and findings from this regulatory investigation, I am of the opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara amount to apparent contraventions of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act....”

Now, this Premier has her version of the truth and everybody else has a different one. Premier, it must be getting pretty lonely, is what I would say. Whose version of the truth can the people of Ontario believe?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, I think it’s very important to read closely what has been said: “in the opinion” and an “apparent contravention.” There isn’t a conclusion in that language. What Elections Ontario has done is they have passed this process on to the next phase, through the Attorney General’s office, for further examination by the proper authorities. That is what the next stage is. We all just received this information this morning, and I will take it under advisement.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, the Premier says that nothing in fact has changed, but that is not true. Today, Elections Ontario confirmed that there was a wrongdoing in Sudbury. This is a non-partisan organization. This non-partisan organization did their jobs, and they came to the conclusion—

Hon. Brad Duguid: That’s not what they confirmed. You keep making things up. Stop putting words in their mouth.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister of Economic Development, come to order.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: —that Pat Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed offered bribes to Andrew Olivier. Now, the question remains, will this Premier do the right thing? If she’s not prepared to actually fire Pat Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed, will she confirm that she will be appointing an independent investigator and prosecutor for this process to go forward?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Deputy Premier.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, I think it’s time to actually take a look at what happened. In this by-election, the best candidate—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Actually, don’t stop the clock. Order, please. Carry on.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Yes, Speaker. The people of Sudbury have spoken. In this election, the best candidate—and the only party with a positive message—was elected. I understand that hurts the party opposite.

We’ve been very clear. The Premier has said over and over again: “We did have a conversation with a past candidate about how to stay involved, how to continue to make a positive contribution.” I think nobody here would suggest that those aren’t conversations that happen within parties.

The member from Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock resigned her seat and accepted a paid position on the same day. She said, and I quote from the Toronto Star, “Scott, who will now be the party’s paid election readiness chair”—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, this is a shameful demonstration of a government that simply will not take responsibility for its actions. The people of this province deserve so much better than this, Speaker. They deserve to have trust in the Premier’s office. They deserve to have trust in the government. They deserve to have the people who are working for the Premier and the government to be above this kind of accusation. And when this kind of accusation comes forward, they deserve to have a Premier who steps up to the challenge and behaves in a way that’s dignified and appropriate for a Premier. That’s not happening today.

I will ask the question one more time: Will this Premier fire Pat Sorbara? Will she make sure Mr. Lougheed is no longer the chair of the police services board in Sudbury? Will she appoint an independent prosecutor from outside of Ontario?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, I’ll continue with this quote from the Toronto Star from January 10, 2009: “Scott ... conceded it is ‘a very’” difficult “‘issue’”—a very difficult issue—“to get MPPs, who have no pension plan, to resign.” So—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order.

Carry on, please.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, it is not credible—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Stormont–Dundas–South Glengarry will come to order.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, it is simply not credible for the opposition parties to pretend—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Prince Edward–Hastings, come to order.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: —that these aren’t conversations that don’t happen in the political process. I suspect there were difficult conversations with Jonah Schein, with Paul Ferreira, with Laurie Scott, the member from Kawartha Lakes. In politics, this happens. We have talked—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. The member from Renfrew will come to order. The member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound will come to order, and the member from Prince Edward–Hastings will come to order. It’s the second time for two of you.

New question.

By-election in Sudbury

Mr. Randy Hillier: My question is to the Premier. Premier, you apparently don’t mind living and conducting your office in the shadows of shame, disgust and malfeasance. But, Premier, your actions cast a shadow—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Excuse me. I will ask you to withdraw.

Mr. Randy Hillier: I withdraw.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Carry on.

Mr. Randy Hillier: But your actions cast a long shadow over this whole institution and every member in it. It also casts a long, dark shadow over the province—your actions.

Any Premier—any honourable Premier—would take this seriously. You mentioned that the Chief Electoral Officer took this matter seriously, but clearly you are not. You are prepared to bring harm and injury to this institution.

Will you do the honourable thing and relieve Sorbara and Lougheed from their jobs until this matter is cleared up in the courts?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Let me once again say that we all just got this information, Mr. Speaker. What I will not do is take rash advice from the other side of the floor until I’ve had an opportunity to consider all of the information.

Let me just read from the report. This is page 8 in the report. What it says is, “To form an opinion that conduct amounts to an ‘apparent contravention’ as set out in s. 4.0.2 of the Election Act, I must be satisfied, based on the evidence obtained in my investigation, that there is a prima facie case of a contravention.

“This means I must be aware of sufficient facts that, if proven correct, would constitute a contravention of the Election Act or the Election Finances Act.”

He goes on to say, “I am neither deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone’s guilt or innocence.” That is what he says in the report.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Randy Hillier: Again to the Premier: Premier, the Chief Electoral Officer cannot prosecute. However, the Chief Electoral Officer is an independent, non-partisan officer of this House. He has a duty, and obviously he’s taking it seriously.

Everybody knows what the right thing to do here is. The Chief Electoral Officer has spelled it out clearly that these allegations are a prima facie case of wrongdoing. He has recommended further action. How come you won’t take any action at all, Premier? No action at all. Have those two bad apples removed and do the honourable thing and take away this dark shadow that you’re casting over all of this institution.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Let me just go over what I quoted, and let me just add to it and go a little bit further. Again, what the electoral officer says: “This means I must be aware of sufficient facts that, if proven correct, would constitute a contravention of the Election Act or the Election Finances Act. When I form an opinion that there has been an ‘apparent contravention’, I do not weigh questions of credibility or balance competing facts as between the parties. I am neither deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone’s guilt or innocence. Those decisions are respectively for prosecutors and judges.”

That is what the Chief Electoral Officer has said, Mr. Speaker. He has passed on this information to the next phase of his process.

By-election in Sudbury

Mr. Gilles Bisson: My question is directed to the Premier. Premier, you’re talking about taking this to the next phase. You say that you’ll take Elections Ontario’s report under advisement. The fact is that political interference is at the heart of this scandal.

Will the Premier commit today to take herself out of this process? Will she take her Liberal Attorney General out of this process? And will you appoint an independent prosecutor to prosecute these charges?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I respect and trust the processes that we have in place in Ontario. I respect that Elections Ontario and our judicial system are of the highest quality in the world. I’m sorry that the NDP doesn’t have that faith in our institutions in Ontario, but we do on this side of the House.

So, Mr. Speaker, we’re going to let this process play out. I will once again read into the record what the Chief Electoral Officer has said. He said, “I am neither deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone’s guilt or innocence. Those decisions are respectively for prosecutors and judges,” of whom we have excellent members in this province, Mr. Speaker.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please. Order. Start the clock.

Supplementary?

Mr. Gilles Bisson: To the Premier: Premier, it’s in fact your disrespect of the process that’s put you in this mess in the first place. The law is clear.

I’ll say to you again that the Chief Electoral Officer has said his report is “now in the hands of the Ministry of the Attorney General,” your Liberal cabinet minister. I’m looking at the minister, the Attorney General, who’s sitting in the Liberal front bench, and I’m asking: Will the Premier take out of the hands of the Liberal Attorney General and put into the hands of an independent prosecutor from outside Ontario the responsibility to actually prosecute these charges?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Attorney General.

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur: The Chief Electoral Officer is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly. The Chief Electoral Officer has a process in place to investigate complaints. As has been mentioned previously on numerous occasions, this process exclusively involves non-partisan officials within the Ministry of the Attorney General.

No political staff, including myself or members of my political office, have anything to do with this process. The system is already designed so that only non-partisan officials handle any complaint. The third party has been made aware of this process.

It is my understanding that the matter is being dealt with by another prosecution service.

Ontario Heritage Week

Mrs. Kathryn McGarry: My question is the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. This week is Ontario Heritage Week. Yesterday, we had the members of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario here with us in the Legislature—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): All members have the right to ask questions in silence.

Mrs. Kathryn McGarry: As a past president of ACO Cambridge, I’m proud to have worked with the ACO. The Architectural Conservancy of Ontario was incorporated in 1933. They had a vision to preserve the best of Ontario’s architecture and natural areas that continues today.

Preserving our heritage boosts tourism and provides economic benefits such as revenue from the film industry. Murdoch Mysteries chose my riding of Cambridge as a filming location. Heritage tourists stay longer and spend more, and this is a growing area of tourism. One year, the annual heritage house tour in my riding of Cambridge brought in 600 visitors from around the province.

Speaker, could the minister please tell the members of this House about Ontario Heritage Week?

Hon. Michael Coteau: I want to start by wishing all Ontarians who are celebrating Chinese New Year a happy new year.

I also want to thank the member from Cambridge for her advocacy around heritage here in the province of Ontario. Heritage Week is an amazing opportunity to put a spotlight on promoting and protecting our province’s heritage, and I’m glad the member from Cambridge has embraced these values.

Heritage Week in Ontario started on Monday and will go until Sunday, February 22. Throughout communities across this great province, there will be many different events, so I encourage all members to get out there and support their communities as they celebrate the heritage here in the province of Ontario.

I know the MPP from Kingston and the Islands attended a great event this week to kick off Ontario Heritage Week. The event took place at the Ryerson athletics centre, which we know is a historical site where the Toronto Maple Leafs won eight Stanley Cups. I hope all members have the opportunity to celebrate this amazing week.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mrs. Kathryn McGarry: Thank you, Minister. I know that each year there’s a theme chosen to celebrate Ontario’s Heritage Week.

When I was president of ACO, one year we asked the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee and city council to designate the Shade Street arena in Cambridge under

part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. Not only was it the oldest operating arena in North America; it was beautifully built in 1922 with yellow brick and a roof full of skylights to allow in the natural light. One of the reasons it was designated was its culturally significant history. Hockey player Bobby Hull played in this arena, and Toller Cranston, the famed figure skater, made his name while he skated in the Shade Street arena. The citizens in my riding of Cambridge are very proud of our sports heritage.

Could the minister please tell the members of this House about the theme for this year’s Ontario Heritage Week?

Hon. Michael Coteau: Again, I’d like to thank the member from Cambridge for her question. The theme for this year’s Heritage Week is “Play. Endure. Inspire. Ontario’s Sport Heritage.” It’s a celebration of our athletic past here in the province of Ontario. It’s a reminder of our sport legacy, which has enriched our province and has provided inspiration to countless Ontario athletes. It’s given us a very strong foundation from which to grow and develop sport and athleticism here in Ontario.

This year’s theme is especially fitting because, as we know, in four and a half months we will have the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, which will take place in the GTA and throughout the province of Ontario. Our athletes will be in the spotlight this summer, and I know that they’ll build Ontario’s strong sport heritage and also make some history of their own.

By-election in Sudbury

Mr. John Yakabuski: My question is for the Premier. Premier, the report from Elections Ontario is not ambivalent; it is clear. There is an apparent breach of the rules. They have broken the law according to the Chief Electoral Officer. They have broken the law.

Premier, you have claimed to be a leader. I ask you to show some of that leadership. You talked about always acting in the best interests of Ontarians with a commitment to transparency, to openness and to accountability. Show that you are accountable and cut Pat Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed loose, at least until the time that this investigation is complete, the Attorney General has completed their investigation and the OPP have completed theirs.

Show some leadership and have these people step aside so that the people across this province can believe there is some integrity left in this government.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, let me just once again read what the Chief Electoral Officer has said: “To form an opinion that conduct amounts to an ‘apparent contravention’ as set out in S. 4.0.2 of the Election Act, I must be satisfied, based on the evidence obtained in my investigation, that there is a prima facie case of a contravention.

“This means I must be aware of sufficient facts that, if proven correct, would constitute a contravention of the Election Act or the Election Finances Act.”

He goes on to say, “I am neither deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone’s guilt or innocence. Those decisions are respectively for prosecutors and judges.”

That is what the Chief Electoral Officer has said, Mr. Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. John Yakabuski: Premier, leadership is not by demonstrating how long you can stonewall. Leadership is about doing the right thing, even if it hurts, even if it’s an admission that something wasn’t right on your part.

I guess we could ask: Are you protecting Pat Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed because they were working under your direct orders? Did they make those offers under your direct orders? Or will you do the right thing, respect the report from the Chief Electoral Officer and send these people into the penalty box? At the very least, if you’re not going to fire them outright, put them in the penalty box until this matter can be cleared up. On behalf of the people of Ontario, I ask you: Do the right thing.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. Be seated, please. Thank you.

Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Deputy Premier.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, let me try this one more time. I’m quoting from the Chief Electoral Officer. He said, “I am neither”—

Interjections.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Listen: “I am neither”—

Interjections.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Okay, don’t listen. “I am neither deciding to prosecute”—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock, please.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Start the clock.

Finish, please.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: The Chief Electoral Officer writes: “I am neither deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone’s guilt or innocence.” That is clearly what the Chief Electoral Officer has said.

Speaker, the people of Sudbury have made a decision. The opposition is not happy with that decision, but I think at least they need to respect that decision. The new member for Sudbury has been a very strong advocate and championing the causes that matter to the people—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. New question?

By-election in Sudbury

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Premier. Pat Sorbara is the Premier’s deputy chief of staff. Right now, she is on the public payroll, and she’s making decisions that affect Ontarians from one end of this province to the other.

Today, the Chief Electoral Officer said, “I am of the opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara amount to apparent contraventions of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act ....”

Apparent: obvious; certain; very, very visually clear. That’s what “apparent” means. So I ask the Premier—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order. Stop the clock.

My attempt to have everyone put questions and answers in silence applies to everybody.

Please, Leader.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Will the Premier do the right thing and ask, or have, Pat Sorbara step aside from her position?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Deputy Premier.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: It’s hard to believe that I have to do this one more time, but I’m going to do this one more time.

The Chief Electoral Officer wrote: “I am neither deciding to prosecute a matter nor determining anyone’s guilt or innocence.”

I think the members of the opposition need to actually read what the Chief Electoral Officer said and respect the process.

The Premier has said repeatedly that we will fully co-operate with any investigations under way in this matter, as we have always done.

I do think it’s important to remind the members opposite—and I know this isn’t easy—but they had an MPP step aside after five months, and they lost a seat. The people of Sudbury were sick and tired of the negativity. They appreciated the positive campaign—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. New question?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Thank you, Speaker. It was actually my supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, back to the Premier: What’s really hard to believe is that the Chief Electoral Officer actually says that they have never “conducted a regulatory investigation into allegations of bribery or ever reported an apparent contravention of the home statutes” of his office to the Attorney General. That’s what’s actually really hard to believe: that that’s actually happening for the first time in Ontario under the watch of this government because of the actions that they’ve taken.

I talked about Pat Sorbara. Now I want to ask about Gerry Lougheed, who is actually in a position of trust, Speaker, as the head of a police services board that’s supposed to be upholding the laws of Ontario. This report says that he has actually broken the laws of Ontario. So my question to the Premier is, when is she going to call for Gerry Lougheed to step aside from the position of head of the police services board in Sudbury?

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Deputy Premier.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Attorney General.

Hon. Madeleine Meilleur: I think that the Chief Electoral Officer, in his report, in his letter, at page 4, specified very clearly that they have developed a new protocol that was not in existence when they were in power. It’s a new protocol: “In this protocol, any potential for placing the Attorney General in a personal conflict of interest is eliminated because the report of an apparent contravention is made by my office directly to the Deputy Attorney General of Ontario.”

Like I said earlier, I was informed that the matter is being dealt with by an independent prosecution service, not by the Ministry of the Attorney General.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I apologize to the leader of the third party for missing her supplementary.

New question.

Environmental protection

Mr. Bas Balkissoon: My question is to the Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure regarding the Rouge park in my riding and parts of Markham. Provincial governments of all stripes have upheld strong environmental standards for the benefit of the Rouge ever since Premier David Peterson announced that these lands would be protected. Unfortunately, the weak legislation put forward by the federal government to establish a national Rouge park fails to protect the environmental integrity of the Rouge.

As a long-time supporter of the Rouge, I’ve been following this controversial Bill C-40 at the federal level, the Rouge National Urban Park Act, with interest and concern. It appears that the federal Conservatives have blown a great opportunity to create a national Rouge park. Mr. Speaker, would the minister provide this House with an update regarding Bill C-40 and how, in its current form, it is failing Ontarians and the environment?

Hon. Brad Duguid: I want to thank the member for that question. I want to thank him for his passion for saving the Rouge. He and I have been involved together for over 25 years in efforts to protect and preserve this valuable piece of land. Unfortunately, the federal government has refused to adopt any recommendations from Ontario residents or environmental groups that would strengthen environmental integrity requirements with this bill. It’s incredibly disappointing that the bill passed through the House of Commons in its original weak state.

This bill, as it stands, simply fails to protect the environmental integrity of the Rouge and all the lands that surround it—and that’s not acceptable. As a result, this minister and this government will not, in good faith, transfer provincially owned lands to federal ownership. Our government and I are calling on the Senate to work with the environmental groups—those who founded the Rouge in the first place and fought for it—to refer the bill back to the House of Commons and allow the bill to be strengthened appropriately.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mr. Bas Balkissoon: I would like to thank the minister for this update.

I’m proud to be part of a government that will not allow weaker laws to govern this important natural landscape in my riding. My constituents will be extremely glad to know that our government is championing the need to protect the environmental integrity of the Rouge. We have an obligation to assure that the Rouge is protected for future generations to experience and enjoy.

Mr. Speaker, some of my constituents have been hearing incorrect information from the federal Conservatives regarding our government’s stance towards agriculture on these important lands. Can the minister please educate the House on our government’s position towards agricultural lands within the park?

Hon. Brad Duguid: Again, I want to thank the member for his passion for these lands.

Let’s be clear: Our government has always supported agriculture uses as a proposed use in the park. I’ve met with several farming groups and representatives of the agriculture community there, to reassure them that our government has long accepted and supported agriculture as a continuing use in the park.

Our environmental partners, for the most part, have also been clear that they support agriculture uses in the proposed park, and welcome farmers as important partners in conservation. Together, we can make the Rouge a model for sustainable agricultural practices.

Again, I repeat that we urge the Senate to work with the environmental groups when Bill C-40 is referred to a Senate committee, and send the legislation back to the House of Commons to allow it to be strengthened so that the views of those environmentalists that founded the park and the views of our agricultural stakeholders can be taken into consideration.

By-election in Sudbury

Mr. Steve Clark: I want to again read into the record a fact that was presented by the Chief Electoral Officer today in his report.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): To which ministry, please?

Mr. Steve Clark: To the Premier.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Mr. Steve Clark: Obviously, it’s to the Premier.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Not obviously.

Mr. Steve Clark: The quote is: “no Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario has ever conducted a regulatory investigation into allegations of bribery or ever reported an apparent contravention of the home statutes of my office to the Attorney General.”

This is a historic day for the province of Ontario.

Interjections.

Mr. Steve Clark: The truth hurts, Minister. The truth hurts.

Speaker, Mr. Bisson, for the NDP, and I both wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer. The OPP are involved. The Civilian Police Commission is involved. The Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner is involved.

When are you going to—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock, please.

The Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, the member for Trinity–Spadina, the Minister of Labour and the deputy House leader—who is now warned—the rest of you will come to order.

Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Deputy Premier.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, if it weren’t too late for Academy Award nominations, I would be nominating the members opposite for their feigned indignation.

The reality is that both opposition parties have had conversations with potential candidates, with past candidates, about how to continue to stay involved, how to continue to make a positive contribution.

We need look no further than the member from Kawartha Lakes-Brock. She herself conceded that it’s a very delicate issue—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Order. Thank you.

Finish, please.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: The member has conceded that it is a very delicate issue, Speaker—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Dufferin–Caledon is warned. The member from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke is warned.

Carry on.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Thank you, Speaker. Of course, it isn’t just the PCs who have had those conversations. The NDP has as well. We need think no further back than 2013 and the Scarborough–Guildwood nomination, where a long-standing party member was railroaded by Adam Giambrone out of the nomination, Speaker—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Supplementary?

Mr. Steve Clark: My question, going back to the Premier—

Interjection.

Mr. Steve Clark: Well, you know what? There are a few Academy Awards performances going on there.

Listen, I’m going to ask a very simple question. This is a government under three OPP investigations. The Chief Electoral Officer has presented his report on his investigation. We’ve got other officers of the Legislature, we’ve got other commissions, that are investigating this government.

My question is simple: Premier, will you agree with me that we should reconstitute the justice committee, have these people attend the meeting—and let’s discuss these investigations and get a full report to MPPs in this Legislature.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Speaker, I hate to go back, but I’m going to. This is an

article by Richard Brennan in the Toronto Star: “Tempers flared Saturday when NDP provincial council blocked an investigation into a July Scarborough–Guildwood nomination won by former Toronto councillor Adam Giambrone.

“‘You are all cowards,’ said 90-year-old Joy Taylor, who along with other riding executive members has maintained that several ineligible members were allowed to vote, giving the two-person race to Giambrone, a last-minute entry.” A call for an independent probe into the results was ruled out of order.

“I am very disappointed,” the president of the riding association told the Star.

So Amarjeet Kaur Chhabra, a young woman who immigrated from India and overcame childhood polio to run for the nomination, was railroaded by the—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock, please. There are times where even I have to correct my record. I apologize to the member from Trinity–Spadina. It was actually Beaches–East York.

New question, the leader of the official opposition.

Mr. Jim Wilson: Premier, in essence, the rule of law—

Interjections.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Sorry. I apologize again.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: I mean, I know you don’t like hearing from me, Speaker, but you’re giving me a complex.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I’m hoping that’s said in jest.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: It was.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Sorry about that. New question, the leader of the third party.

By-election in Sudbury

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Premier. The Chief Electoral Officer says, “I am of the opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara amount to apparent contraventions of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act.”

My question to the Premier is, who is responsible for giving Pat Sorbara her instructions?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Deputy Premier.

Hon. Deborah Matthews: The people of Sudbury made a decision to actually send a Liberal to Queen’s Park, a Liberal who represented their riding. He was the only candidate who presented a positive platform, a positive campaign, and we are delighted that he is here making that positive contribution.

Here’s why I believe the people of Sudbury changed their minds and chose to send a Liberal to Queen’s Park. The NDP has twice rejected a budget that contained many progressive initiatives, including an increase to the Ontario Child Benefit. They said no not once but twice. They said no to families caring for people with developmental disabilities not once but twice. They said no to personal support workers who had an increase to—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Elections Ontario says—the Chief Electoral Officer says, “I’m of the opinion that the actions of Gerry Lougheed Jr. and Patricia Sorbara amount to apparent contraventions of subsection 96.1(

e) of the Election Act.” Who is responsible for giving Gerry Lougheed his instructions, Speaker?

Hon. Deborah Matthews: Again, let’s look at what the NDP, who seem to have left their values somewhere else, rejected not once but twice. They said no to 56,000 children who need an investment in the Student Nutrition Program. They said no to workers who deserve a fair minimum wage. They said no to aboriginal communities who benefit from the Remote Communities Allowance and the Aboriginal Economic Development Fund. They said no to people struggling with homelessness who need enhanced funding of the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative.

They said no to people who rely on social assistance rates and were hoping for an increase. They said no to people living in poverty who will rely on a new Local Poverty Reduction Fund. They said no to workers and future retirees who will save for retirement with a made-in-Ontario pension plan. They said no to families who are counting on child care modifications—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. New question.

Consumer protection

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: My question is for the Minister of Government and Consumer Services. Ontario’s senior citizen population is projected to double from 2012 to 2036, and I am one of those people. I know the government has committed to better serving this community by delivering strong health services, creating the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan and working in collaboration with various stakeholder organizations.

Speaking to my constituents, I hear frequent concerns regarding the senior community and their consumer protection. Media coverage has described multiple scenarios involvi