Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario Assemblée législative de l'Ontario (French)
41st Parliament of Ontario
Type
Type	Unicameral house of the Legislature of Ontario
History
Founded	July 1, 1867 (1867-07-01)
Preceded by	Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada
Leadership
Lieutenant Governor	Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell Since September 23, 2014
Speaker	Hon. Dave Levac, Liberal Since November 21, 2011
Premier	Hon. Kathleen Wynne, Liberal Since February 11, 2013
Leader of the Opposition	Patrick Brown, PC Since September 14, 2015
Government House Leader	Hon. Yasir Naqvi, Liberal Since June 24, 2014
Opposition House Leader	Jim Wilson, PC Since September 11, 2015
Structure
Seats	107
Political groups	Governing Party   Liberal (59) Opposition Parties   PC (28)   NDP (20)
Elections
Last election	June 12, 2014
Next election	On or before October 4, 2018
Meeting place
Ontario Legislative Building, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Website
www.ontla.on.ca

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Ontario Legislature and Queen's Park

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (also known as Ontario Legislative Assembly or Parliament of Ontario),^[1] is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada by number of members. It meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital, Toronto.

The Legislative Assembly has existed since 1867 when the British North America Act, 1867 severed the Province of Canada into two new provinces, with the portion then called Canada West becoming Ontario. Section 69 of 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, with 107 seats representing electoral districts ("ridings") elected through a first-past-the-post electoral system across the province.

Like the Canadian federal government, Ontario uses a Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which members are elected to the Legislative Assembly through general elections and from there the party with the most seats chooses a Premier of Ontario and Executive Council of Ontario. The premier acts as Ontario's head of government, while the Queen of Canada acts as its head of state. The leader of the party with the second-most seats in the House becomes the Leader of the Opposition.

The Ontario Legislature is sometimes referred to as the "Ontario Provincial Parliament". Members of the 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 current assembly was elected on June 12, 2014 as part of the 41st Parliament of Ontario. The first session of the 41st Parliament opened on July 2, 2014. On Friday May 2, 2014, the 40th Parliament of Ontario was dissolved by Lieutenant Governor David C. Onley on the advice of Premier Kathleen Wynne after the NDP and Progressive Conservative leaders said they would not support the Liberal minority government's budget.^[2] The election was held on June 12, 2014, as a result of which Kathleen Wynne's Liberal Party formed a majority government.^[3]

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. Ordinary Members of the Legislature may introduce privately (Private Members' Bills), play an integral role in scrutinizing bills in debate and committee 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 constituents.

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 usually 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.

Timeline of the 41st Parliament of Ontario

• July 2, 2014 : The 41st Parliament of Ontario begin its first session. Jim Wilson becomes Leader of the Opposition after being chosen interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives. Dave Levac, member from Brant was re-elected as the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
• July 3, 2014 : David C. Onley addresses the speech from the throne for the last time as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
• September 23, 2014 : with Elizabeth Dowdeswell sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, making the top three of the Order of precedence in Ontario all female for the very first time in the history.
• November 21, 2014 : Joe Cimino, the MPP representing Sudbury resigned his seat.
• February 5, 2015 : The former MP Glenn Thibeault was elected as a Liberal MPP in Sudbury, replacing Joe Cimino.
• August 1, 2015 : PC MPP Garfield Dunlop (Simcoe North) resigns in order to allow PC leader Patrick Brown to run for a seat in the legislature.
• August 28, 2015 : PC MPP Christine Elliott (Whitby-Oshawa) resigns her seat.
• September 3, 2015: In a by-election, PC leader Patrick Brown is elected the MPP for Simcoe North
• February 11, 2016: Lorne Coe elected PC MPP for Whitby-Oshawa in a by-election.

Party standings

Election of the Legislative Assembly of the 41st Ontario Parliament occurred June 12, 2014, as a result of which Kathleen Wynne's Liberals formed a majority government.

Seating plan

(v • d • e)

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.^[4] 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 of the legislature of Upper Canada and the United Provinces of Canada, had similar layout.

List of members

• Party leaders' names are in italics, with the Premier's in bold-italics.

Officeholders

Speaker

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

Other Chair occupants

• Deputy Speaker and Chair of the Committee of the Whole: Bas Balkissoon (Liberal)

Leaders

• Premier of Ontario: Hon. Kathleen Wynne (Liberal)
• Leader of the Opposition: Patrick Brown (Progressive Conservative)
• Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party: Andrea Horwath

Floor leaders

• Government House Leader: Hon. Yasir Naqvi
• Opposition House Leader: Jim Wilson
• NDP House Leader: Gilles Bisson

Whips

• Chief Government Whip: Marie-France Lalonde
• Official Opposition Whip: John Yakabuski
• NDP Whip: John Vanthof

Front benches

• Executive Council of Ontario
• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 41st Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• Ontario New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet of the 41st 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.^[7]

Standing Committees in the current Parliament:

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.^[7]

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 fourth 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. The mace was stored at United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and remained in the United States until 1934 when it was returned to Ontario when President Franklin Roosevelt sent an order to Congress to return the mace.^[8] Stored at the Royal Ontario Museum and, the first mace is now located in the Speaker's office at the Ontario Legislature.

A second mace was introduced in 1813 and used until 1841. The third mace was not purchased until 1845 and then transferred to the Union Parliament and finally to the Parliament of Canada 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. It is topped by the St Edward's Crown with a diamond inside and head of the mace is engraved with leaves and the royal cypher of Queen Victoria.

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 Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, 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.

Membership changes

See also

• Office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• 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

External links

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

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