When Premier Doug Ford goes to Lt. Gov. Edith Dumont to dissolve the Ontario legislature, he will kill several bills introduced by his government, including proposed legislation once considered a priority.
The act of dissolving the legislature, required for an election campaign to take place, wipes the slate clean for legislation still under review or debate and ends its chances of being made law under the current administration.
Several government bills are among those that will be dropped when the legislature is dissolved, including legislation Premier Ford touted to clear encampments in towns and cities across the province.
That proposed bill — the Safer Municipalities Act — was introduced on the last day MPPs sat in the chamber before the winter break. It was set to strengthen penalties for people who repeatedly break trespass laws, adding “continuous trespassing” as an aggravating factor the courts would consider during sentencing.
It would also have allowed police and provincial offences officers to ticket or arrest people using illegal drugs in public, with penalties of up to $10,000 or six months in jail.
When the legislation was first tabled, Ford suggested it was a key pillar of his plan to clean up parks across the province.
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“These encampments are taking over public spaces, with illegal drug use happening out in the open, creating huge safety risks for people and communities,” the premier said at a press conference in December. “Enough is enough. This has to stop, and it will stop.”
That law will now be dropped — as will two other bills tabled by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra.
A proposed bill that would have finally delivered a years-old promise to overhaul municipal conduct rules and remove councillors found guilty of serious offences will not become law.
Nor will legislation proposed to transfer key services in the Region of Peel and wrap up a convoluted process that once promised to dissolve the local government altogether.
An omnibus health care bill aimed at improving governance, improving patient care and merging some local health authorities in Ontario will disappear. Another proposed law with the goal of “supporting seniors and their caregivers” also won’t pass.
Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser told Global News he didn’t think the government ever planned to pass the legislation.
“They didn’t intend to pass these bills, no,” he said. “The ones that made it to second reading could have made it to third reading. The government’s been very good at rushing legislation through.”
Fraser, who said the seniors care bill was one he would support re-tabling after the election regardless of the result, said the expiring planned legislation was a sign of how the Ford government functioned.
“Because they want to say they’re doing something, which is how this government operates,” he said. “They tell you what they’re going to do, that they’re doing something, but the reality is that often doesn’t happen.”
The Ontario NDP said the bills were a sign Ford couldn’t keep promises made during two previous election campaigns.
“Doug Ford is asking voters for a third term when he couldn’t even deliver on the promises he made in his last election,” the party said in a statement. “After 7 long years in power, his legacy is clear: fewer homes, fewer doctors and less affordable life.”
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said he was pleased the encampments legislation was “slated to die on the order paper.”
A spokesperson for the premier’s office told Global News that, if re-elected, a Progressive Conservative government would retable the expiring bills.
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