Bills next week: Wrapped up in red tape

In the second-to-last sitting week before Christmas, MPPs will be debating red tape and green space.

Upcoming bills (Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, 2022)

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the house will debate Bill 46, the Less Red Tape, Stronger Ontario Act, an omnibus bill that loosens provincial rules in a variety of sectors, including veterinary services, the justice system, cattle farming, and oil and gas production. It comes from the minister of Red Tape Reduction himself, Parm Gill. 

On Thursday, they'll focus on Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop's Bill 26, the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, which would give colleges and universities more tools to protect students against sexual misconduct from faculty or staff and formalize the name change for Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly known as Ryerson University.

Private members' business coming up (Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, 2022)

Andrew Dowie — That, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should consider integrating the Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve with adjacent lands under the management of Parks Canada to facilitate the creation of Ojibway National Urban Park as part of an overall strategy to protect local endangered species and natural heritage areas, aid flood mitigation efforts, create publicly accessible green space and further encourage ecotourism in Windsor-Essex.

Effie J. Triantafilopoulos — That, in the opinion of this House, the Government of Ontario should consult with the public and its partners in the family court system to promote and ensure the availability of continuing education seminars for professionals in Ontario’s family court system, such as judges, justices of the peace, crown attorneys, custody assessors, and social workers, on matters related to intimate partner violence and coercive control in intimate partner and family relationships.

Second reading of NDP MPP John Vanthof's Bill 27, the Protecting Agricultural Land Act, which would mandate that agricultural land cannot be rezoned, and the uses permitted on the land cannot be changed, unless an Agricultural Impact Assessment has been carried out.

Committees (Nov. 28 - Dec. 1, 2022)

Bill 26, the Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, will be before the Standing Committee on Social Policy for clause-by-clause consideration.

The Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy will hold public hearings on Housing Minister Steve Clark's Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, which would expand new "strong mayor" powers to also allow mayors to pass bylaws that the provincial government deems aligned with provincial priorities.

The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs will hold clause-by-clause consideration on Bill 36, the Progress on the Plan to Build Act (Budget Measures). It was introduced by Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy and would enact changes the government announced in its fall economic statement (FES), including making slight adjustments to some tax credits and program payments, as well as suspending part of the fuel and gas taxes until the end of 2023.

Bills last week (Nov. 21-24, 2022)

Clark's Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, was referred back to the house from committee and debated at third reading. The government moved for closure and a deferred vote on that is set for Monday. It's an omnibus housing bill that would make significant changes to how homes are approved in Ontario, where they can be built, and what kind of homes can be built where.

Clark's Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, was debated and referred to the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy.

Bill 14, the No Time to Waste Act, from NDP MPPs Peter Tabuns and Bhutila Karpoche, would have required the government to more actively monitor and prepare for climate change, but it was lost on division at second reading.

NDP health critic France Gélinas's Bill 24, the Health Care is Not for Sale Act (Addressing Unfair Fees Charged to Patients), was defeated at second reading. It would have introduced penalties for charging patients unfair fees, empowered health-care professions' regulatory colleges to issue fines and suspensions for unfairly charging patients, and created new accountability measures for for-profit clinics.

The NDP's house leader Peggy Sattler's Bill 4, the Stay Home If You Are Sick Act, was debated at second reading and a deferred vote is set for Monday. It would provide workers 10 permanent paid sick days, plus an additional 14 days in the case of an infectious disease emergency.

Several private members' bills were introduced:

• Bill 43, the Making Northern Ontario Highways Safer Act, from the NDP's Guy Bourgouin would set standards for road maintenance in winter.
• Bill 44, the Building More Homes by Ending Exclusionary Zoning Act, from Green Leader Mike Schreiner would require official plans to contain policies authorizing the use of up to four residential units in a detached house, semi-detached house or row house as well as multi-unit residential buildings of up to four stories.
• Bill 45, the Building More Homes on Major Streets and Transit Corridors Act, also came from Schreiner, and it would require official plans to contain policies that authorize mid-rise housing developments ranging from six to 11 stories on major streets, including along transit corridors.
• Bill 47, the Protecting Human Rights in an Emergency Act, from four NDP MPPs, would require landlords and corporations, respectively, to ensure buildings have emergency power generators.
• Bill 48, the Rent Control for All Tenants Act, from the same four MPPs, would end rent control exemptions.