McGuinty Resigns
Parliament to be Prorogued

October 15, 2012 permalink

This evening Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty unexpectedly resigned. Most important for child protection, he has asked the lieutenant governor to prorogue the parliament. This means that all pending legislation will be dismissed, including bill 110, the bill for ombudsman oversight of children's aid societies, which just recently passed second reading and had been referred to a committee for hearings. At the next session of parliament it will be necessary to start over with legislation.

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Seven months after the release of Don Drummond’s much-hyped report on how to fix Ontario’s finances, Premier Dalton McGuinty – who commissioned the report and once acted as though it would provide all the answers to the province’s woes – has clearly lost the faith. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, right, is pictured at a news conference at Queens Park in Toronto on Friday, June 15, 2012. The premier spoke to reporters about his threat to call for an election over the Ontario budget.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty resigns

Adrian Morrow and Karen Howlett, Published Monday, Oct. 15 2012, 6:30 PM EDT, Last updated Monday, Oct. 15 2012, 6:49 PM EDT

Toronto — The Globe and Mail

In a surprise move, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty announced his resignation Monday evening.

Just one year after winning a third mandate, Mr. McGuinty called his caucus together around the dinner hour at Queen's Park. With his wife, Terri, by his side, he said he would quit the leadership of the Liberal party and the premier's office. He will hold on to his seat in the legislature, representing Ottawa South.

Mr. McGuinty, who won the leadership of his party 16 years ago, said he will stay on until a successor is chosen.

He said he will also ask the lieutenant-governor to prorogue the legislature.

First elected premier with a majority government in 2003, he won a second term in 2007 but was reduced to a minority last year.

Last month, his party missed a chance to secure a majority when it lost a by-election in Waterloo.

More to come

Source: Globe and Mail

On Facebook, Monique Taylor, the MPP who introduced bill 110, pledged to continue the effort.

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Monique Taylor Hi Yvonne, we are not sure yet if the house will proceed and in turn what happens to our Bills. I pledge to continue the fight to have the Ombudsman oversight of the children's aid society. There is too much to be done and too many risks of our most vulnerable children to stop now.

October 15, 2012

Source: Facebook, Monique Taylor

Pat Niagara captured the video of the resignation announcement on YouTube and a local copy (mp4)

Monique Taylor reacts to the death of bill 110.

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Hamilton MPP's CAS bill 'dead in the water'

Monique Taylor's bill proposed Ombudsman have authority to investigate children's aid societies

By Samantha Craggs, CBC News, Posted: Oct 15, 2012 8:54 PM ET, Last Updated: Oct 15, 2012 8:53 PM ET

Hamilton Mountain MPP Monique Taylor, left, shown at a recent rally with NDP leader Andrea Horwath, introduced a bill that would give Ontario's Ombudsman the ability to investigate decisions made by children's aid societies. With Premier Dalton McGuinty proroguing the legislature, that bill has now died.

moniquetaylormpp.ca

A Hamilton MPP says she's “devastated” that her bill allowing Ontario's Ombudsman to investigate Children's Aid Societies has died now that Premier Dalton McGuinty has prorogued the legislature.

Monique Taylor, MPP for Hamilton Mountain and the NDP's critic for the Ministry of Child and Youth Services, introduced a private member's bill that recently passed second reading. The bill would give Ontario's Ombudsman, Andre Marin, independent oversight over the societies' decisions.

But with McGuinty announcing his resignation and proroguing the legislature, the bill is “dead in the water,” Taylor told CBC Hamilton on Monday evening.

“I'm devastated for families,” she said. “We were jumping for joy when we passed second. Unfortunately, at the time I thought it was too good to be true and I wondered why. Maybe this is why.”

Children's Aid Societies already have “considerable oversight” on several levels, Dominic Verticchio, executive director of the Hamilton Children's Aid Society (CAS), told CBC Hamilton in an earlier interview.

They are accountable to courts when children are apprehended. Complaints may also be investigated internally or go to the province via the Child and Family Services Review Board.

But the Ombudsman has been asking for the ability to investigate complaints for the past 35 years. The bill has been introduced before, but Taylor's was the first to reach second reading.

“For him to prorogue, literally everything we've been doing is gone,” Taylor said.

The proroguing also signals the death of a bill that would see mandatory sprinklers in retirement homes. The bill introduced by Paul Miller, MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and NDP Seniors' Issues critic, had passed second reading.

“We're very disappointed,” Miller said.

McGuinty announced at a surprise caucus meeting Monday evening that he was stepping down as Ontario's premier and leader of the Liberal Party.

He is also proroguing the legislature to allow the government to negotiate wage-freeze agreements with public-sector workers.

Source: CBC