The
Legislative Assembly of Ontario (also known as
Ontario Legislative Assembly or Ontario
Legislature), is the legislature of
the Canadian
province of
Ontario
. It is located in the Ontario
Legislative Building
at Queen's Park
in Toronto
, Ontario.
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"). 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
39th
Legislative Assembly of Ontario was
elected on October 10,
2007.
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 Peoples 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
 |
|
Affiliation |
Leader of the Party
|
Leader in the Legislature
|
OntLA Status
|
valign="top" > Members
|
| |
Liberal
|
Dalton
McGuinty |
Government
|
72
|
| |
PC
|
Tim Hudak |
Official Opposition
|
25
|
| |
NDP
|
Andrea Horwath |
Third Party
|
10
|
|
Independent
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
Vacant
|
|
|
|
-
|
Total
|
107
|
Government
Majority
|
37
|
Seating plan
List of members
- Cabinet ministers are in bold, leaders are in italics and the
Speaker of the Legislature has a dagger next to his name.
Select committees
Current select committees
through the current Legislative Assembly of Ontario
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.
(quoted from the Ontario Legislative Assembly's Glossary on their web site)
- Select Committee on Mental Health and Addictions
The Select Committee on Elections completed its work on
June 30,
2009.
Standing committees
Current standing committees
through the current Legislative Assembly of Ontario
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. (As quoted from the Glossary of the Ontario
Legislative Assembly's Web Site)
- 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
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 of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Like the Parliament of Canada, the Legislature has procedural
officers:
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 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
Ombudsman of Ontario, 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
References
- CBC.ca OntarioVotes2007
External links
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