Ontario.

• Author: Koch, Katch
• Position: Legislative Reports

The Second Session of the 38th Parliament was prorogued on June 5, 2007. The House had a very busy spring session approving a number of important bills after they were reported back from various Standing Committees of the Legislative Assembly.

On May 10, 2007, the Premier asked the Auditor General to conduct a special assignment under Section 17 of the Auditor General Act to review the grant decision making processes with respect to the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration strategic year-end investments for the fiscal period 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. The Auditor presented his report to the Premier on July 26, 2007.

A statutory dissolution date of September 10, 2007 is set for the current Parliament with a fixed general election date of October 10, 2007.

Committees

The Standing Committee on Estimates met on its' regularly scheduled times to consider the 2007-2008 printed Estimates of ministries and offices following the introduction of the budget on March 22, 2007.

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs considered three Government bills namely Bill 187, An Act respecting Budget measures, interim appropriations and other matters. Two days of public hearings were held in April followed by a day of clause-by-clause consideration in May and the bill was reported back to the House with certain amendments. The Committee also considered Bill 203, An Act to amend the Highway Traffic Act and the Remedies for Organized Crime and Other Unlawful Activities Act, 2001 and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. This bill deals with increases in fines and penalties for impaired driving and street racing as well as the forfeiting of a vehicle used to engage in unlawful activities. Public hearings were held on May 3 with clause-by-clause consideration on May 10, 2007 before the amended bill was reported back. The Committee also considered Bill 174, An Act to enact the Taxation Act, 2007 and make complementary and other amendments to other Acts. Public hearings were held on May 15 with clause-by-clause on May 17, 2007 and the bill was reported with certain amendments.

The Standing Committee on General Government considered two Government bills: Bill 184, an Act to protect species at risk and to make related changes to other Acts. The bill deals with the protection and recovery of species at risk in Ontario and replaces the existing Endangered Species Act. Two days of public hearings were held followed by one day of clause-by-clause...