42nd_Legislative_Assembly_of_Ontario

42nd Parliament of Ontario

42nd Parliament of Ontario

2018–2022 Canadian provincial legislature


The 42nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario was a legislature of the province of Ontario, Canada. The membership was set by the 2018 Ontario general election and sat for two sessions until it was dissolved on May 3, 2022 in advance of the 2022 Ontario general election.

Quick Facts Parliament of Ontario, Parliament leaders ...

A majority government was formed by the Progressive Conservative Party with leader Doug Ford serving as Premier of Ontario. The Official Opposition, and the only other recognized party, was the Ontario New Democratic Party led by Andrea Horwath.[1] The Ontario Liberal Party and Green Party of Ontario also elected members to seats in the legislature, but neither elected enough MPPs for official party status. At dissolution, the New Blue Party of Ontario and the Ontario Party each had one MPP, but also lacked official party status.

Ford was officially sworn in as Premier of Ontario by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario on June 29, 2018.[2] The first session of the 42nd Legislative Assembly was opened on July 11, 2018 with the election of Ted Arnott as Speaker.[3]

Election and appointments

The Members of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) that served in the Legislative Assembly of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario were elected in the general election held on June 7, 2018. The election returned 76 Progressive Conservatives, 40 NDP members, 7 Liberals, and 1 Green. This allowed the Progressive Conservative Party to form a majority government with its leader Doug Ford becoming Premier and the NDP forming the Official Opposition.[4] Neither the Liberals, nor the Green Party had sufficient number of seats to provide them with party status in the legislative assembly.[5] Ford assembled a 21-member Cabinet which was sworn in by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell on June 29. The cabinet featured Ford as Premier and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs with former Progressive Conservative leadership candidates Christine Elliott as Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Caroline Mulroney as Attorney General. Former interim leaders of the Progressive Conservatives Vic Fedeli and Jim Wilson were assigned to be Minister of Finance and Minister of Economic Development, respectively. This initial cabinet also featured Lisa MacLeod as both Minister of Community and Social Services and Minister of Children and Youth Services, Lisa Thompson as Minister of Education, Rod Phillips as Minister of the Environment, and John Yakabuski as Minister of Transportation.[6] In addition, 26 other Progressive Conservative MPPs were appointed to be parliamentary assistants. Todd Smith was appointed Government House Leader and Ted Arnott was elected Speaker.[3]

The first change to the Cabinet came on November 2, 2018, when Jim Wilson resigned to sit as an independent and Todd Smith assumed his role as Minister of Economic Development.[7] The first major cabinet shuffle came on June 20, 2019, as the premier expanded the cabinet to 28 members[8] with 31 other Progressive Conservative MPPs being parliamentary assistants.[9] Doug Downey, Paul Calandra, Stephen Lecce and Ross Romano were promoted to cabinet to be Attorney General, Government House Leader, Minister of Education, and Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, respectively. Jill Dunlop, Kinga Surma, and Prabmeet Sarkaria were promoted to be Associate Ministers. Rod Phillips became Minister of Finance, Jeff Yurek the Minister of the Environment, Todd Smith the Minister of Children and Youth Services, Caroline Mulroney the Minister of Transportation, Vic Fedeli the Minister of Economic Development, Lisa Thompson the Minister of Government and Consumer Services, Lisa MacLeod the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Laurie Scott the Minister of Infrastructure, and Monte McNaughton the Minister of Labour. Bill Walker and Michael Tibollo were demoted from ministerial positions to be Associate Ministers, and Christine Elliott's portfolio split with Merrilee Fullerton taking over the newly created Ministry of Long-Term Care.

In February 2021, Peter Bethlenfalvy replaced Rod Phillips as Minister of Finance following criticism of his international vacations during the COVID pandemic,[10] though he returned to cabinet in June as the Minister of Long-Term Care. That June shuffle removed 5 members (Jeff Yurek, John Yakabuski, Laurie Scott, Bill Walker, and Ernie Hardeman) and introduced 6 new members to cabinet, including David Piccini as Minister of the Environment, Parm Gill as Minister of Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Khaleed Rasheed as Associate Minister of Digital Government, Stan Cho as Associate Minister of Transportation, Nina Tangri as Associate Minister for Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, and Jane McKenna as the Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues. Kinga Surma and Jill Dunlop were promoted from their associate minister roles to be Minister of Infrastructure and Minister of Colleges and Universities, respectively, with Prabmeet Sakaria being promoted from associate minister to President of the Treasury Board.[11]

First session

2018-19

The first session of the 42nd Parliament began on July 11, 2018, with the Speech from the Throne delivered by Lieutenant Governor Dowdeswell on behalf of the Premier Ford and the Progressive Conservative government. In the summer session two bills were adopted. The first bill, adopted by the Parliament on July 26, was the Urgent Priorities Act (Bill 2) which enacted back-to-work legislation to end strike action at York University, canceled the White Pines wind project, and required Hydro One create new compensation packages for their chief executive officer and board of directors which would be subject to government approval.[12] The second bill, titled Better Local Government Act, 2018 (Bill 5) removed the City of Toronto's powers to determine the composition of City Council and the division of the City into wards and replaced it with a requirement that the City's wards follow the provincial riding boundaries, as well as eliminate elected chair positions in the regions of Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka, in favour of appointed positions — all applicable to the 2018 municipal elections.[13]

In the fall 2018 sitting of the first session, seven more bills were adopted. Bill 4 repealed the province's emissions trading legislation, the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act[14] and Bill 34 repealed the Green Energy Act. Bill 32 amended the Ontario Energy Board Act to spread of the cost of expanding the natural gas distribution system to all rate-payers rather than those immediately benefiting from the expansion. Bill 47, Making Ontario Open for Business Act, retracted the planned 2019 increase to the minimum wage while tying future increases to a calculation of inflation, replaced a mandatory provision for all employees to be provided two paid sick days with unpaid leave days, eliminated mandatory pay-equity for part-time and casual workers, deleted the allowance of a trade union to obtain a list of employees and closed the Ontario College of Trades.[15] Bill 57 was an omnibus bill that made numerous amendments to various acts, including closing the office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, and the office of the Environmental Commissioner, repeals the Ontario Place Corporation Act and the Trillium Trust Act, expanding the area Metrolinx provides service to while deleting the requirement that it consider all forms of transportation it is plans, exempting the Royal Canadian Legion from property taxes, allowing professional full-time fire-fighters to also work part-time at a different fire department,[16] increasing the maximum allowable contributions that can be made to political parties while removing the prohibition of MLAs from attending fund-raising events, proclaiming March 27, 2019, to be Special Hockey Day, creating a Low-Income Individuals and Families tax credit, closing the offices of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner and the French Language Services Commissioner while moving their duties to the offices of the Integrity Commissioner and the Ombudsman, respectively.[17] Also, Bill 36 created a licensing system for private cannabis retail stores and allowed cannabis consumption in all areas where the smoking of tobacco is allowed and Bill 67 disallowed strike action by the unionized workers of the Ontario Power Generation.[18]

In the spring 2019 sitting, several more bills were adopted. The Restoring Ontario's Competitiveness Act (Bill 66) was another omnibus bill that amended numerous unrelated acts, as well as repealed the Pawnbrokers Act, the Toxics Reduction Act, 2009, and the Wireless Services Agreements Act, 2013. Bill 48 amended several education-related acts to make provisions for service animals in schools, require applicants for the Ontario College of Teachers to demonstrate proficiency in mathematics, and amend the provisions regarding teacher-student sexual abuse.[19] Bill 68 repealed and replaced the Police Services Act and the Police Oversight Act with the Community Safety and Policing Act and the Special Investigations Unit Act.[20] In addition to repealing the Lung Health Act, Bill 74 enacted the Connecting Care Act to create a new Crown agency titled Ontario Health intended to merge the 14 Local Health Integration Network and several crown agencies such as Cancer Care Ontario, the Gift of Life Network, eHealth Ontario, HealthForceOntario, and provide the ability for the government to create Integrated Care Delivery Systems (or Health Teams) to deliver health care services.[21] Bill 115 terminated the province's agreement with The Beer Store in favour of making alcoholic beverages available for sale through grocery stores and convenience outlets.[22] Bill 107 transferred, to Metrolinx from the City of Toronto, the responsibility for designing and developing rapid transit within the city.[23] Bill 108 amended 13 acts, including the Endangered Species Act by inserting new abilities for the Ministry of the Environment to delay listing species on the endangered list and provide exemptions from the protections under the act for listed species,[24] the Environmental Assessment Act by allowing for exemptions to routine class environmental assessments, the Ontario Heritage Act by creating a formal process for property owners to appeal a heritage designation, the Development Charges Act and Planning Act regarding what and how certain services may be charged development cost charges, community benefits charges and municipal parkland acquisitions, allow for inclusionary zoning and create lower timelines for local governments to decide on rezoning and subdivision applications, and the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act by amending the practices and procedures of the tribunal.

Few bills were adopted during the fall 2019 sitting but they amended, created or repealed numerous acts. Bill 136 repealed the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and replaced it with the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act.[25] Bill 124 caps public sector wage increases to no more than 1% per year.[26] Bill 138 repealed the Toronto Stock Exchange Act; enacted the Egyptian Heritage Month Act, the Hellenic Heritage Month Act, the Provincial Day of Action on Litter Act, and the Supply Chain Management (Government, Broader Public Sector and Health Sector Entities) Act; repealed and replaced the Liquor Licence Act and the Wine Content and Labelling Act with the new Liquor Licence and Control Act; amended cannabis-related acts to allow for online and telephone purchases from private cannabis retail stores and allowed peace officers and judges to refer a youth to an education program rather than pursuing conviction of a cannabis offense, and created a lower aviation fuel tax rate applicable to purchases made in Northern Ontario. Bill 132, aimed at red tape reduction eliminated or lowered certain penalties for contravening the Environmental Protection Act; repealed the Residential Complex Sales Representation Act, Local Planning Appeal Support Centre Act, Farm Products Grades and Sales Act, Partnerships for Jobs and Growth Act, Paperback and Periodical Distributors Act, Statute Labour Act, and the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act; permits Algoma University and Ontario College of Art & Design University to award degrees and diplomas in all branches of learning; and amended Pesticides Act to allow for more use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes, among other provisions.[27]

2020-21

The legislature reconvened in 2020 but the events of the Covid pandemic came to dominant the agenda. Covid-related legislation adopted in 2020 included budgetary measures in Bill 188;[28] Bill 186 to create an unpaid leave of absence within the Employment Standards Act for infectious disease emergencies and to repeal the SARS Assistance and Recovery Strategy Act; Bill 187 to allow local governments to hold meetings through electronic means; Bill 189 to suspend loan repayments in the Ontario Student Assistance Program;[29] Bill 190 to allow provincially-regulated organizations to conduct business remotely (e.g. use of electronic signatures, filings, affidavits); Bills 192 & 204 to suspend evictions of commercial tenants and freeze residential rents;[30] Bill 195 to allow the Ontario Provincial Police to enforce covid-related regulations on gatherings; Bill 218 indemnified workers and organizations from legal actions relating to covid exposures;[31] and Bill 283 enacted the Covid-19 Vaccination Reporting Act.[32]

Other bills adopted in 2020 included Bill 197 to amend the Environmental Assessment Act to prioritize assessments by anticipated impact, allow for a streamlined-class of assessment, and reduce mandated timelines of other assessments; amend the Planning Act addressing community benefits charges and enhancing order making powers for the minister responsible; amend the Education Act to allow for demonstration schools; create an appeal process for those denied farm business registration; amend the Payday Loans Act to cap fees for dishonoured cheques, pre-authorized debits, and loans under $1,500; create the new Transit-Oriented Communities Act; and repeal and replace the Burden Reduction Reporting Act, 2014 and the Reducing Regulatory Costs for Business Act, 2017 with the new Modernizing Ontario for People and Businesses Act, 2020.[33] Bill 213, titled the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2020 was adopted to repeal the Ontario Highway Transport Board Act, grant university status and rename several Christian colleges, remove residency requirements for corporate directors, and allow the Ministry of the Environment to levy new fees for providing documents. Bill 215 removes local government ability to regulate noise associated with the delivery of goods, and increases fines for unlicenced ridesharing. Bill 229 reduces the authority of conservation authorities and allows municipalities to opt out;[34] removes promotion of renewable energy generation from the list of objectives of the Ontario Energy Board; exempts Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada from paying property tax; creates the "seniors' home safety tax credit"; creates iGaming as a subsidiary of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation; creates the Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc.; exempts forestry operations on crown land from complying with the Endangered Species Act; updates and modernizes the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act; repeals and replaces the Film Classification Act with the new Film Content Information Act; and repeals the Financial Services Commission of Ontario Act.[35] Bill 236 creates government regulations applicable to food delivery services.[36]

Bills adopted in 2021 included Bill 245 which enacted the Ontario Land Tribunal Act to consolidate several different boards and tribunals into one body;[37] Bill 251 which enacted the Anti-Human Trafficking Strategy Act and repealed and replaced the Hotel Registration of Guests Act with the Accommodation Sector Registration of Guests Act;[38] Bill 283 which created the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority; and Bill 282 which enacted the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act to regulate towing services.[39] Bill 246 mandated that school buses be equipped with four overhead amber signal-lights and four overhead red signal-lights. Bills 254 and 307 brought social media accounts under the purview of the Members' Integrity Act and invoked the "notwithstanding clause" to double the amount of time spending limits are imposed on political advertising by third parties.[40] Bill 269 created Invest Ontario and the Ontario jobs training tax credit[41] while Bills 222 and 257 expedited certain transit and broadband projects that were deemed to be a priority. Bill 288 replaced the Ontario College of Trades with a new Crown corporation Skilled Trades Ontario.[42] Bill 276 made the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the Collège de Hearst into universities,[43] dissolved the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council and the Ontario Drug Benefit Act's Pharmacy Council and a Citizens' Council, and created a prohibition on recordings hearings of the Landlord and Tenant Board.[44]

Second session

Speech from the Throne was read on October 4, 2021.

Timeline of the 42nd Parliament of Ontario

The following notable events occurred during the 2018–present period:

Summary of seat changes

More information Seat, Date ...

Party standings

More information Affiliation, Leader ...

Membership changes

More information Party, Jun. 7 ...

Seating plan

Hassan Farrell Harden Rakocevic Morrison Glover Bell Bourgouin Arthur Berns-McGown Burch Collard Yarde Karahalios Park
Kernaghan West Stevens Gates Gretzky French G. Singh Andrew Hatfield Karpoche Blais Simard Hillier Baber
Stiles Armstrong Mantha Taylor Begum Mamakwa Shaw Mae Lindo Natyshak Hunter Gravelle Miller Nicholls
Gélinas Fife S. Singh Vanthof Sattler Horwath Bisson Tabuns Fraser Wynne Schreiner Wilson
Arnott
Gill Lecce Mulroney Calandra Fedeli Ford Elliott Bethlenfalvy Sarkaria Clark T. Smith Jones Downey MacLeod Rickford
Parsa Khanjin Coe McNaughton Dunlop Rasheed Piccini Surma McKenna S. Cho Fullerton Thompson Tibollo Romano Tangri R. Cho Hardeman
Walker McDonell Hogarth Yakabuski Crawford Bailey Sandhu Pettapiece Skelly Martin Barrett Roberts Scott Harris Miller Cuzzetto Bouma
Kramp Pang Fee Triantafilopoulos Oosterhoff Sabawy Thanigasalam Ke D. Smith Ghamari Wai Babikian Kusendova Anand Kanapathi Martow Mitas

Note: Bold text designates the party leader, John Fraser serves as the Parliamentary leader of the Ontario Liberal Party as their leader does not have a seat in the Legislature.

List of members

More information Name, Party ...

Officeholders

Officeholders in the Legislature

Speaker

Other Chair occupants

Party leaders

Floor leaders

Whips

Front benches


References

  1. Denette, Nathan (June 8, 2018). "Doug Ford has won Ontario's election. What happens now? A guide". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  2. D'Mello, Colin (June 13, 2018). "Ford looks to push 'urgent' items on agenda; may recall legislature early". CTV News. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. Benzie, Robert; Ferguson, Rob (July 11, 2018). "Ted Arnott is the new Speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  4. Grenier, Eric (June 8, 2018). "Doug Ford promised to deliver the GTA for the Ontario PCs and that's what he did". CBC News. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  5. McQuigge, Michelle (June 10, 2018). "What does losing official party status mean in Ontario?". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  6. Rieti, Joihn (June 29, 2018). "Ontario PC cabinet puts big-name politicians in top roles". CBC News. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  7. Westoll, Nick (November 2, 2018). "Jim Wilson, Ontario's economic development minister, resigns to seek treatment for 'addiction issues'". Global News. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  8. Powers, Lucas (June 20, 2019). "Fedeli, MacLeod, Thompson all demoted in major Ontario cabinet shuffle by Ford". CBC News. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  9. Walsh, Marieke (July 26, 2018). "Ford government passes omnibus bill to end strike, limit Hydro One powers, cancel wind farm". iPolitics. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  10. Westoll, Nick (August 14, 2018). "Bill to cut number of Toronto city councillors passes final reading at Queen's Park". Global News. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  11. Loriggio, Paola (October 31, 2018). "Ontario government passes legislation to cancel cap-and-trade". Global News. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  12. Crawley, Mike (October 23, 2018). "Ford government freezing $14 minimum wage as part of labour reform rollbacks". Global News. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  13. Walker, Mike (December 12, 2018). "New law allows firefighters to 'double-hat'". CTV News. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  14. Powers, Lucas (November 15, 2018). "Ontario PCs slash spending and oversight, unveil tax cut and new LCBO hours in 1st economic plan". CBC News. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  15. Benzie, Robert (December 20, 2018). "MPPs vote to prevent power workers' strike". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  16. Crawley, Mike (October 25, 2018). "New teachers must pass math test, Ford government proposes". CBC News. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  17. Flaherty, Dave (February 26, 2019). "Significant changes planned for Police Services Act, SIU". The Oshawa Express. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  18. Artuso, Antonella (June 4, 2019). "TTC upload bill passes, new rules for drivers too". Toronto Sun. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  19. Allen, Kate (May 3, 2019). "Sweeping changes buried in housing bill called 'doomsday scenario' for Ontario's endangered species". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  20. "Provincial inspectors taking over animal welfare calls come 2020". CBC News. December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  21. McGrath, John Michael (June 6, 2019). "Everything you need to know about the public-sector salary cap". TVOntario. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  22. Nick, Boisvert (October 29, 2019). "Ford government attacks red tape in new bill, but environmentalists say it goes too far". CBC News. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  23. "Four more weeks of lockdown for Ontario". Toronto Star. April 15, 2020. p. A3.
  24. "Patios fine for summer. Now what do we do?". Toronto Star. September 9, 2020. p. A2.
  25. "Bill 229, Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures), 2020". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  26. Antonella, Artuso (December 19, 2020). "Bloated delivery fees put on diet". Ottawa Sun. p. A4.
  27. Carolino, Bernise (March 1, 2021). "Ontario introduces new anti-human-trafficking bill". Canadian Lawyer Magazine.
  28. Artuso, Antonella (April 27, 2021). "New road rules no stunt". Toronto Sun. p. A11.
  29. Papineau, Chelsea (January 25, 2022). "Ontario launches new Crown agency for skilled trades". CTV News.
  30. "Doug Ford's government lays out agenda in Ontario throne speech". CBC News. July 12, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  31. Goodfield, Kayla (November 7, 2018). "Ford confirms PC MPP Jim Wilson resigned over sexual misconduct allegation". CP24. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  32. "MPP Amanda Simard leaving PCs, will sit as an independent". CBC News. November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  33. "MPP Randy Hillier suspended from Ontario PC caucus after autism debate". CBC News. February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  34. "Ex-PC MPP Amanda Simard joins Ontario Liberals". CBC News. January 16, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  35. "York Centre MPP removed from caucus after saying lockdown is "deadlier than COVID"". 680news.com. Rogers Digital Media. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  36. Belinda C. Karahalios, Ontario Legislative Assembly, retrieved January 27, 2021
  37. Aguilar, Bryann (19 August 2021). "MPP Rick Nicholls booted from Ontario PC caucus after refusing to get COVID-19 vaccine". CP24. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  38. "Brampton NDP MPP leaves caucus to sit as independent after losing nomination contest". CBC News. Toronto ON: The Canadian Press. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  39. "Campaign for June 2 Ontario election to begin Wednesday". Toronto. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  40. Travis Dhanraj (12 March 2019). "Suspended MPP Randy Hillier hits back at Doug Ford government in letter, cites 'childish grievances'". Global News. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  41. Aguilar, Bryann (19 August 2021). "MPP Rick Nicholls booted from Ontario PC caucus after refusing to get COVID-19 vaccine". CP24. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  42. "Rod Phillips". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  43. "Jeff Yurek". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  44. Trevithick, Matthew (January 7, 2022). "Jeff Yurek to resign, not seek 4th term as MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London - London". Global News. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  45. Cristina Tenaglia [@cristina_CP24] (March 17, 2022). "NEW: Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath boots longtime Hamilton NDP MPP Paul Miller from caucus, says he can't run in upcoming election: #onpoli" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022 via Twitter.

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