Thursday, December 16, 2004

Ontario Hansard - 16-December2004: Kennedy in Contempt of the Ontario Legislature

Ontario Hansard - 16-December2004

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS


CORPORATIONS TAX
AMENDMENT ACT, 2004 /
LOI DE 2004 MODIFIANT LA LOI
SUR L'IMPOSITION DES SOCIÉTÉS

Mr O'Toole moved first reading of the following bill:
Bill 166, An Act to amend the Corporations Tax Act / Projet de loi 166, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l'imposition des sociétés.

The Speaker (Hon Alvin Curling): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.

Mr John O'Toole (Durham): The export film sector and others in Ontario's film and TV industry are in a crisis; they are jobs of some 50,000 Ontario citizens. The bill amends the Corporations Tax Act to increase the amount of Ontario film and television tax credits for a qualified production company for 20% to 33% of the company's qualifying labour expenditures. It also expands the tax credit to cover 40% of the company's qualified labour expenditures in the case of feature films. This is not the first time productions have been disappointed by the current government.

EDUCATION AMENDMENT ACT, 2004 /
LOI DE 2004 MODIFIANT LA LOI
SUR L'ÉDUCATION

Mr Kennedy moved first reading of the following bill:
Bill 167, An Act to amend the Education Act / Projet de loi 167, Loi modifiant la Loi sur l'éducation.

The Speaker (Hon Alvin Curling): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry?
All those in favour, please say "aye."
All against, say "nay."
I think the ayes have it.
Call in the members. There will be a five-minute bell.
The division bells rang from 1349 to 1354.

The Speaker: All those in favour, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.

Ayes


Arthurs, Wayne
Bartolucci, Rick
Bentley, Christopher
Berardinetti, Lorenzo
Bountrogianni, Marie
Bradley, James J.
Broten, Laurel C.
Bryant, Michael
Cansfield, Donna H.
Caplan, David
Chambers, Mary Anne V.
Colle, Mike
Cordiano, Joseph
Craitor, Kim
Crozier, Bruce
Delaney, Bob
Dhillon, Vic
Dombrowsky, Leona
Duguid, Brad
Duncan, Dwight
Fonseca, Peter
Gerretsen, John
Gravelle, Michael
Hoy, Pat
Jeffrey, Linda
Kennedy, Gerard
Kular, Kuldip
Lalonde, Jean-Marc
Levac, Dave
Marsales, Judy
Matthews, Deborah
Mauro, Bill
McNeely, Phil
Meilleur, Madeleine
Milloy, John
Mossop, Jennifer F.
Orazietti, David
Parsons, Ernie
Peters, Steve
Phillips, Gerry
Pupatello, Sandra
Qaadri, Shafiq
Racco, Mario G.
Rinaldi, Lou
Ruprecht, Tony
Sergio, Mario
Smith, Monique
Sorbara, Gregory S.
Van Bommel, Maria
Watson, Jim
Wilkinson, John
Wong, Tony C.
Zimmer, David

The Speaker: All those against, please rise one at a time and be recognized by the Clerk.


Nays

Baird, John R.
Bisson, Gilles
Chudleigh, Ted
Churley, Marilyn
Hardeman, Ernie
Jackson, Cameron
Klees, Frank
Kormos, Peter
Marchese, Rosario
Martel, Shelley
Miller, Norm
Murdoch, Bill
O'Toole, John
Ouellette, Jerry J.
Prue, Michael
Runciman, Robert W.
Scott, Laurie
Tascona, Joseph N.
Wilson, Jim
Yakabuski, John

The Clerk of the Assembly (Mr Claude L. DesRosiers): The ayes are 53; the nays are 20.

The Speaker: I declare the motion carried.

Mr Frank Klees (Oak Ridges): Mr Speaker, on a point of order.

The Speaker: On a point of order, the member for Oak Ridges.

Mr Frank Klees (Oak Ridges): Speaker, I rise on a point of privilege pursuant to standing order 21. This legislation that was tabled for first reading today --

Interjections.

The Speaker: I'm hearing the point of order from the member here. Order.
Interjections.

The Speaker: Order. There's a point of order on the floor.

Interjection: No, there's a point of privilege on the floor.

The Speaker: Did you say a point of order or a point of privilege?

Mr Klees: Point of privilege.
Speaker, I thank you. I'm rising on this point of privilege because, as a member of this Legislature, I am highly offended by the actions of the Minister of Education today.
Yesterday during question period, I raised the issue that the Minister of Education, on November 29, issued a four-page letter to boards and directors across this province instructing them to negotiate four-year contracts with teachers. On that same day, I find out today, the same Minister of Education issued a letter to the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation local bargaining units asking them, instructing them, to effectively do the same thing. Today we have this Minister of Education tabling a piece of enabling legislation --
Interjections.
1400

The Speaker: I'd like to hear the point of privilege. I'm hearing a lot of discussion on the government side. Could I have a moment to listen to the point of privilege coming out of the statement made by the minister on the bill?

Mr Klees: Speaker, thank you.
Today we have the Minister of Education tabling for first reading in this House amendments to the Education Act that would allow him to do what he instructed boards to do on November 29. There are two concerns that I have. First, that by tabling this legislation today and having written to boards, and also interfering with the collective bargaining process with the OSSTF, this minister has presumed that we in this House will in fact pass this legislation. I suggest that is contempt for the House. Every member in this place should reserve the right, first, to see the legislation, second, to have an opportunity to debate it, and third, certainly to have an opportunity to vote on it before the minister of the crown issues his directives to bargaining units across this province to boards of education and to directors of education. This is a gross interference with the rights and privileges of myself as a member of the Legislature and, I suggest, of every member of this Legislature.
I ask, Speaker, that this minister be found in contempt of the Legislature, and at the very least that he be asked to withdraw the letter that he sent to the boards and to the directors, and that he be asked to withdraw the letters that he sent to the OSSTF, which essentially are interfering with the collective bargaining process that is traditionally the right of collective agreements in this province.

The Speaker: Let me just respond to the member for Oak Ridges. I have not seen the bill; I do not know what is the content of the bill until it has been printed and distributed. There's no prima facie case of privilege that I can see arising out of this unless I can see the content. Maybe you can file the proper papers and tell me specifically what part of the bill is in contempt, and then I can proceed with that.

Mr Klees: I appreciate your response. I will in fact file the appropriate documentation. I would ask that you give very serious consideration to the actions of the minister that have arisen from this, what I contend is a major affront to every member of the Legislature.

Hon John Gerretsen (Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, minister responsible for seniors): On a point of order, Speaker --

The Speaker: Order. One second. The bill has been voted on. I'm going to ask the Minister of Education to make a comment.

Hon Gerard Kennedy (Minister of Education): The bill introduced today simply amends the terms from three years to two to four years for collective agreements, as we wrote to school boards our intention to do so, to bring about this legislation to have that effect. It is technical in nature. The only other aspect of the bill is that it also gives certainty, in the absence of conformance, on what would happen to the terms of other contracts. That's the content of the bill, and I'm happy to rise and explain it in this House.

CORRECTION OF RECORD


Hon John Gerretsen (Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, minister responsible for seniors): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I would like to clarify the remarks I provided to the House in response to a question from the member from Beaches-East York yesterday, wherein I stated that I had not received the resolution from the city of Kawartha Lakes on the issue of municipal restructuring.
The fact is, a letter from Mayor Barbara Kelly of Kawartha Lakes was received by my ministry approximately three weeks ago. It was brought to my attention following yesterday's question period that the letter was under review by my ministry and staff. I've responded to her letter today and my office has been in contact with Mayor Kelly to clarify any misunderstanding that my remarks yesterday may have created.

VISITORS


Mr Norm Miller (Parry Sound-Muskoka): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I would like to introduce Danika Hawthorne's relatives who are here visiting: an uncle from the Cayman Islands, Kyle Broadhurst, an aunt from British Columbia, Debra Broadhurst, and friend Nipkonnie Rice. They are in the gallery.

Hon Sandra Pupatello (Minister of Community and Social Services, minister responsible for women's issues): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: On a matter of a question raised in the House yesterday regarding the member from Burlington, where he was discussing a family and the reduction of benefits, I'd just like to report that we are following up with this family and are hoping the family will be able to provide the documentation required, which has been lacking on that file.

The Speaker (Hon Alvin Curling): That's not a point of order.

Mr Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence): On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Today, Anthony Palmieri, the long-serving parking superintendent, is retiring. After all these years of service, I hope the House would congratulate him and wish him well in his retirement.

The Speaker: Maybe it's time for me to make a statement too. Over this session, many members have gotten up on points of order to introduce visitors in the House. I would much prefer that those messages come to the Speaker, and I will do the introductions if they are appropriate to introduce. It is getting a bit out of hand here.