Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario Assemblée législative de l'Ontario
Type
Type	Unicameral
Houses	Legislative Assembly
Leadership
Speaker	Dave Levac, Liberal since November 21, 2011
Government House Leader	John Milloy, Liberal since October 20, 2011
Opposition House Leader	Jim Wilson, PC since October 20, 2011
Members	107
Political groups	Liberal Party Progressive Conservative Party New Democratic Party
Elections
Last election	October 6, 2011
Meeting place
Ontario Legislative Building, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Website
www.ontla.on.ca

The Ontario Legislature at Queen's Park

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (also known as Ontario Legislative Assembly or Ontario Legislature), is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada. It is located in the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in Toronto.

The British North America Act section 69 stipulates "There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant-Governor and of One House, styled the Legislative Assembly of Ontario". The Legislative Assembly is unicameral, without an upper house (amalgamating the bicameral lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Canada (lower house) and the upper house of the Legislative Council of Canada), with 107 seats representing ridings elected in a first-past-the-post system across the province.

The Legislative Assembly is informally known as the "Ontario Provincial Parliament". This is because unlike the other Canadian provinces, members of this assembly refer to themselves as "Members of the Provincial Parliament" (MPPs) as opposed to "Members of the Legislative Assembly" (MLAs) as in many other provinces. Ontario is the only province to do so, in accordance with a resolution passed in the Assembly on April 7, 1938. However, the Legislative Assembly Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L10 refers only to "members of the Assembly".

The 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was elected on October 6, 2011. The first session of the 40th Legislative Assembly opens on November 22, 2011.

Lawmaking

In accordance with the traditions of the Westminster System, most laws originate with the cabinet (Government bills), and are passed by the legislature after stages of debate and decision-making. Although ordinary Members of the Legislature pass few laws they have introduced privately (Private Members' Bills) they nonetheless play an integral role in scrutinizing, debating and amending bills presented to the legislature by cabinet.

Members are expected to be loyal to both their parliamentary party and to the interests of their ridings.

In the Ontario Legislature this confrontation provides much of the material for Oral Questions and Members' Statements. Legislative scrutiny of the executive is also at the heart of much of the work carried out by the Legislature's Standing Committees, which are made up of ordinary backbenchers.

A Member's day will typically be divided among participating in the business of the House, attending caucus and committee meetings, speaking in various debates, or returning to his or her constituency to address the concerns, problems and grievances of constituents. Depending on personal inclination and political circumstances, some Members concentrate most of their attention on House matters while others focus on constituency problems, taking on something of an ombudsman's role in the process.

Finally, it is the task of the Legislature to provide the personnel of the executive. As already noted, under responsible government, ministers of the Crown are expected to be Members of the Assembly. When a political party comes to power it will invariably place its more experienced parliamentarians into the key cabinet positions, where their parliamentary experience may be the best preparation for the rough and tumble of political life in government.

Coat of arms

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the first and the only legislature in Canada to have a Coat of Arms separate from the provincial coat of arms.

Green and gold are the principal colours in the shield of arms of the province. The Mace is the traditional symbol of the authority of the Speaker. Shown on the left is the current Mace. On the right is the original Mace from the time of the first parliament in 1792. The crossed Maces are joined by the shield of arms of Ontario.

The crown on the wreath represents national and provincial loyalties; its rim is studded with the provincial gemstone, the amethyst. The griffin, an ancient symbol of justice and equity, holds a calumet, which symbolizes the meeting of spirit and discussion that Ontario's First Nations believe accompanies the use of the pipe.

The deer represent the natural riches of the province. The Loyalist coronets at their necks honour the original British settlers in Ontario who brought with them the British parliamentary form of government. The Royal Crowns, left 1992, right 1792, recognize the parliamentary bicentennial and represent Ontario's heritage as a constitutional monarchy. They were granted as a special honour by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of the Governor General.

In the base, the maple leaves are for Canada, the trilliums for Ontario and the roses for York (now Toronto), the provincial capital.

The motto "Audi Alteram Partem" is one of a series of Latin phrases carved in the Chamber of the Legislative Building. It challenges Members of Provincial Parliament to "Hear the Other Side".

Media

Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly are broadcast to Ontario cable television subscribers as the Ontario Parliament Network.

Party standings

The 39th Legislature was dissolved on September 7, 2011.

Election of the 40th Ontario Legislature occurred October 6, 2011, as a result of which Dalton McGuinty's Liberals form a minority government.

Affiliation		Leader of the Party	Leader in the Legislature	OntLA Status	Members[1]
	Liberal	Dalton McGuinty		Government	53
	PC	Tim Hudak		Official Opposition	37
	NDP	Andrea Horwath		Third Party	17
	Independent				-
	Vacant				-
Total					107
Government Majority					-1

Seating plan

(v • d • e)

See the following for a detailed seating plan: Official Seating Plan of the 40th Legislature(PDF)

Nicholls

MacLaren

Yurek

Jackson

Walker

Milligan

Pettapiece

Smith

Harris

Thompson

Fedeli

Clark

Scott

McKenna

McNaughton

Leone

McDonell

Cambell

Vanthof

Schein

Armstrong

Mantha

Ouellette

O'Toole

Chudleigh

Arnott

Munro

Jones

Dunlop

Barrett

Hillier

Bailery

Forster

P. Miller

Singh

Tabuns

Natyshak

Taylor

Wilson

Hardeman

Shurman

Witmer

Elliott

Hudak

Yakabuski

MacLeod

N. Miller

Klees

Bisson

Horwath

DiNovo

Marchese

Gélinas

Pure

Levac

Milloy

Bradley

Wynne

Duguid

Duncan

McGuinty

Matthews

Meilleur

Gerretsen

Bartolucci

Kwinter

Sorbara

Colle

MacCharles

Leal

Sergio

Hoskins

Best

Bentley

Broten

Chan

Chiarelli

Takhar

Gravelle

Levac

Beradinetti

Cansfield

Craitor

Delaney

Dhillon

Flynn

Mauro

Murray

Sousa

Jeffrey

McMeekin

McNeely

Orazietti

Qaadri

Sandals

Zimmer

Balkissoon

Albanese

Dickson

Jaczek

Mangat

Moridi

Naqvi

Coteau

Crack

Damarla

Piruzza

Wong

The seating chamber was influenced by the British House of Commons layout and that of the original St. Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster.^[2]. The difference with the British layout is with the use of individual chairs and tables for members, absent in the British Commons' design.

view of the layout of the original Parliament of Ontario and that of the Upper Canada and the Province of Canada

Previous location of the legislature, once home the legislature of Upper Canada and the United Provinces of Canada had similar layout.

List of members

	Name	Party	Riding
	Joe Dickson	Liberal	Ajax—Pickering
	Michael Mantha	New Democrat	Algoma—Manitoulin
	Ted McMeekin	Liberal	Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale
	Rod Jackson	Progressive Conservative	Barrie
	Michael Prue	New Democrat	Beaches—East York
	Jagmeet Singh	New Democrat	Bramalea—Gore—Malton
	Linda Jeffrey	Liberal	Brampton—Springdale
	Vic Dhillon	Liberal	Brampton West
	Dave Levac	Liberal	Brant
	Bill Walker	Progressive Conservative	Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
	Jane McKenna	Progressive Conservative	Burlington
	Rob Leone	Progressive Conservative	Cambridge
	Jack MacLaren	Progressive Conservative	Carleton—Mississippi Mills
	Rick Nicholls	Progressive Conservative	Chatham-Kent—Essex
	Jonah Schein	New Democrat	Davenport
	Michael Coteau	Liberal	Don Valley East
	Kathleen Wynne	Liberal	Don Valley West
	Sylvia Jones	Progressive Conservative	Dufferin—Caledon
	John O'Toole	Progressive Conservative	Durham
	Mike Colle	Liberal	Eglinton—Lawrence
	Jeff Yurek	Progressive Conservative	Elgin—Middlesex—London
	Taras Natyshak	New Democrat	Essex
	Donna Cansfield	Liberal	Etobicoke Centre
	Laurel Broten	Liberal	Etobicoke—Lakeshore
	Shafiq Qaadri	Liberal	Etobicoke North
	Grant Crack	Liberal	Glengarry—Prescott—Russell
	Liz Sandals	Liberal	Guelph
	Toby Barrett	Progressive Conservative	Haldimand—Norfolk
	Laurie Scott	Progressive Conservative	Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock
	Ted Chudleigh	Progressive Conservative	Halton
	Andrea Horwath	New Democrat	Hamilton Centre
	Paul Miller	New Democrat	Hamilton East—Stoney Creek
	Monique Taylor	New Democrat	Hamilton Mountain
	Lisa Thompson	Progressive Conservative	Huron—Bruce
	Sarah Campbell	New Democrat	Kenora—Rainy River
	John Gerretsen	Liberal	Kingston and the Islands
	John Milloy	Liberal	Kitchener Centre
	Michael Harris	Progressive Conservative	Kitchener—Conestoga
	Elizabeth Witmer	Progressive Conservative	Kitchener—Waterloo
	Monte McNaughton	Progressive Conservative	Lambton—Kent—Middlesex
	Randy Hillier	Progressive Conservative	Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington
	Steve Clark	Progressive Conservative	Leeds—Grenville
	Teresa Armstrong	New Democrat	London—Fanshawe
	Deb Matthews	Liberal	London North Centre
	Chris Bentley	Liberal	London West
	Michael Chan	Liberal	Markham—Unionville
	Amrit Mangat	Liberal	Mississauga—Brampton South
	Dipika Damerla	Liberal	Mississauga East—Cooksville
	Harinder Takhar	Liberal	Mississauga—Erindale
	Charles Sousa	Liberal	Mississauga South
	Bob Delaney	Liberal	Mississauga—Streetsville
	Lisa MacLeod	Progressive Conservative	Nepean—Carleton
	Frank Klees	Progressive Conservative	Newmarket—Aurora
	Kim Craitor	Liberal	Niagara Falls
	Tim Hudak	Progressive Conservative	Niagara West—Glanbrook
	France Gélinas	New Democrat	Nickel Belt
	Victor Fedeli	Progressive Conservative	Nipissing
	Rob Milligan	Progressive Conservative	Northumberland—Quinte West
	Helena Jaczek	Liberal	Oak Ridges—Markham
	Kevin Flynn	Liberal	Oakville
	Jerry Ouellette	Progressive Conservative	Oshawa
	Yasir Naqvi	Liberal	Ottawa Centre
	Phil McNeely	Liberal	Ottawa—Orléans
	Dalton McGuinty	Liberal	Ottawa South
	Madeleine Meilleur	Liberal	Ottawa—Vanier
	Bob Chiarelli	Liberal	Ottawa West—Nepean
	Ernie Hardeman	Progressive Conservative	Oxford
	Cheri DiNovo	New Democrat	Parkdale—High Park
	Norm Miller	Progressive Conservative	Parry Sound—Muskoka
	Randy Pettapiece	Progressive Conservative	Perth—Wellington
	Jeff Leal	Liberal	Peterborough
	Tracy MacCharles	Liberal	Pickering—Scarborough East
	Todd Smith	Progressive Conservative	Prince Edward—Hastings
	John Yakabuski	Progressive Conservative	Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke
	Reza Moridi	Liberal	Richmond Hill
	Jim Bradley	Liberal	St. Catharines
	Eric Hoskins	Liberal	St. Paul's
	Bob Bailey	Progressive Conservative	Sarnia—Lambton
	David Orazietti	Liberal	Sault Ste. Marie
	Soo Wong	Liberal	Scarborough—Agincourt
	Brad Duguid	Liberal	Scarborough Centre
	Margarett Best	Liberal	Scarborough—Guildwood
	Bas Balkissoon	Liberal	Scarborough—Rouge River
	Lorenzo Berardinetti	Liberal	Scarborough Southwest
	Jim Wilson	Progressive Conservative	Simcoe—Grey
	Garfield Dunlop	Progressive Conservative	Simcoe North
	Jim McDonell	Progressive Conservative	Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry
	Rick Bartolucci	Liberal	Sudbury
	Peter Shurman	Progressive Conservative	Thornhill
	Bill Mauro	Liberal	Thunder Bay—Atikokan
	Michael Gravelle	Liberal	Thunder Bay—Superior North
	John Vanthof	New Democrat	Timiskaming—Cochrane
	Gilles Bisson	New Democrat	Timmins—James Bay
	Glen Murray	Liberal	Toronto Centre
	Peter Tabuns	New Democrat	Toronto—Danforth
	Rosario Marchese	New Democrat	Trinity—Spadina
	Greg Sorbara	Liberal	Vaughan
	Cindy Forster	New Democrat	Welland
	Ted Arnott	Progressive Conservative	Wellington—Halton Hills
	Christine Elliott	Progressive Conservative	Whitby—Oshawa
	David Zimmer	Liberal	Willowdale
	Dwight Duncan	Liberal	Windsor—Tecumseh
	Teresa Piruzza	Liberal	Windsor West
	Monte Kwinter	Liberal	York Centre
	Julia Munro	Progressive Conservative	York—Simcoe
	Laura Albanese	Liberal	York South—Weston
	Mario Sergio	Liberal	York West

• Cabinet ministers are in bold, leaders are in italics and the Speaker of the Legislature has a dagger next to his name.

Officeholders

Speaker

• Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Dave Levac (Liberal)

Other Chair occupants

• Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole:

Leaders

• Premier of Ontario: Hon. Dalton McGuinty (Liberal)
• Leader of the Opposition: Tim Hudak (Progressive Conservative)
• Ontario New Democratic Party: Andrea Horwath

Floor leaders

• Government House Leader: Hon. John Milloy
• Opposition House Leader: Jim Wilson
• NDP House Leader: Gilles Bisson

Whips

• Chief Government Whip: Jeff Leal
• Deputy Government Whip:
• Official Opposition Whip: John Yakabuski
• NDP Whip: Cheri DiNovo

Front benches

• Executive Council of Ontario
• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Ontario New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Committees

There are two forms which Committees can take. The first, standing committees, are struck for the duration of the Parliament pursuant to Standing Orders. The second, select committees, are struck usually by a Motion or an Order of the House to consider a specific bill or issue which would otherwise monopolize the time of the standing committees.

Standing committees

A committee which exists for the duration of a parliamentary session. This committee examines and reports on the general conduct of activities by government departments and agencies and reports on matters referred to it by the house, including proposed legislation.^[3]

Standing Committees in the current Parliament:

Standing Committee on Estimates Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs Standing Committee on General Government Standing Committee on Government Agencies Standing Committee on Social Policy

Standing Committee on Justice Policy Standing Committee on Public Accounts Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly

Select committees

Select committees are set up specifically to study certain bills or issues and according to the Standing Orders, consists of not more than 11 members from all parties with representation reflecting the current standing in the house. In some cases, the committee must examine material by a specific date and then report its conclusion to the legislature. After its final report, the committee is dissolved.^[3]

Select Committees in the 39th Parliament:

• The Select Committee on Elections completed its work on June 30, 2009.
• The Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions completed its work on August 26, 2010.
• The Select Committee on the proposed transaction of the TMX Group and the London Stock Exchange Group completed its work on April 19, 2011.

Mace

The ceremonial mace of the Legislature is the third mace to be used in Ontario.

The first mace was first used by the Chamber of Upper Canada's first Parliament in 1792 at Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) and then to York (now Toronto). The primitive wooden mace, painted red and gilt and surmounted by a crown of thin brass strips. It was stolen by American troops during the War of 1812 in 1813. It remained in the United States until 1934 and returned to Ontario. Stored at the Royal Ontario Museum and now located in the Speaker's office.

A second mace was introduced in 1813 and used until 1841. A replacement mace was not purchased until 1845 and then transferred to the Union Parliament and finally to the Canadian Parliament in 1867. This mace was lost in the fire at the Centre Block in 1916. The current mace used in Legislature was purchased in 1867.

Officers

Like the Parliament of Canada, the Legislature has procedural officers:

The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the chief permanent officer of the Legislative Assembly, with the rank and status of a Deputy Minister. He or she is the principal procedural adviser and senior officer of the House. The Clerk's responsibilities include advising the Speaker and Members of the Legislature on questions of procedure and interpretation of the rules and practices of the House. The Clerk is also responsible for the overall direction and administration of the Legislative Assembly and is Secretary of the Board of Internal Economy. As Chief Executive Officer, the Clerk is accountable to the Speaker for the administrative and operational functions of the Office of the Assembly.

The other key officer is the Sergeant-at-Arms, whose role is to keep order during meetings in the Legislature. The Sergeant-at-Arms is also charged with control of the Ceremonial mace in the Legislature in session.

Other officers of the legislature include the Ontario Ombudsman, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, the Auditor General of Ontario and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.

See also

• List of Ontario political parties
• Cabinet of Ontario
• List of Ontario general elections
• List of Ontario Legislative Assemblies
• Category:Members_of_the_Legislative_Assembly_of_Ontario
• Ontario Parliament Network

References

1. ^ CBC.ca OntarioVotes2007
2. ^ http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/estatehistory/reformation-1834/shaping-the-commons-/
3. ^ ^{a b} Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Glossary retrieved 10 February 2010

External links

• Legislative Assembly of Ontario official site
• The Mace
• The Speaker
• Canadian Governments Compared