I talked to my Member ofParliament and he said all Private members bills will die and if they arewanted will have to be passed again .
***Looks like Homeinspectors bill is dead ***
[FONT=Cambria]Death of bills with prorogation of legislature prompts disappointment[/FONT]
[FONT=Cambria]Percy Hatfield and Bruce River say they will reintroduce bills at earliestopportunity[/FONT]
DesmondBrown Posted: Mar 16, 2018 7:09 PM ET Last Updated: Mar 16,2018 7:09 PM ET
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The Poet Laureate Act, whichseeks to enshrine the name of late Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie in a lawcreating Ontario’s first poet laureate, was one of the casualties ofThursday’s prorogation of the legislature.
NDP member Percy Hatfieldintroduced the bill last December, and prior to Premier Kathleen Wynne’sannouncement, he said he was quite confident it was a go.
Wynne announced the prorogationThursday, less than a week after the opposition Progressive Conservativeselected Doug Ford as their new leader ahead of the June 7 election. Theprocedural move requires the government to briefly shut down the legislature.
Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell willoutline government’s plans in the throne speech scheduled to begin at noonMonday.
“I thought for sure it wasfinally going to happen, that we’d have a poet laureate named in Ontario justlike they have in Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island and in Ottawa for theparliament, but it was not to be,” Hatfield told CBC Toronto.
“I just think it’s somethingthat Ontario should have,” he added.
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PremierKathleen Wynne announces prorogation of legislature ahead of throne speech](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/legislature-prorogation-throne-speech-wynne-1.4577894)
Downie, who died of brain cancerin 2017 at the age of 53, was a poet, a singer and advocate for Indigenousissues.
The poet laureate would havewritten poetry, occasionally for use in the legislature, visit schools,present or arrange poet
’A critical momentin Ontario’
Hatfield said he was “disappointed” withWynne’s announcement, noting “when they do that,that gets rid of all the private members’ bills. That’s the collateraldamage of proroguing.”
But he said he intends to have the bill reintroduced atthe earliest opportunity.
“I don’t think I’ll get a chance this term. I have a90-second poem that I will read as my member statement trying to get thegovernment to reintroduce the bill themselves,” Hatfield said.
He remembers Downie fondly and the Tragically Hip’scross-country tour last summer, how “it really galvanized thenation.”
“It was like we were all bonding, it was almost asif we were invited to Gord’s wake in advance,” he said.
In the statement Thursday, Wynne noted thattoday’s changing economy means there are some hard realities that are affectingpeople’s everyday lives, and creating an unfair burden.
“We are at a critical moment in Ontario, when weknow people are dealing with a lot of uncertainty in their lives,” Wynnesaid in a statement.
’Back to groundzero’
Bruce Rivers, Executive Director Covenant House Toronto,has been one of the champions behind the Save the Girl Next Door bill, which focuseson the right of victims to be protected and their entitlement to compensation.
Bruce Rivers says his bill focuses on the right ofvictims to be protected and their entitlement to compensation. (CBC)
He had a similar reaction as Hatfield to Wynne’sannouncement.
“We’re disappointed that this bill in particular isnot going to proceed. It’s something that we consulted around. It’s also anissue about which we care deeply.”
Rivers is hopeful that the bill will factor prominentlyon the order paper when the legislature resumes.
“You have to go back to ground zero now and I thinkthe consultation has been undertaken, there’s been a great deal of work, a lotof research and I know that the province itself has really made considerableefforts to elevate the issue of human trafficking and sex trafficking inparticular,” Rivers said.
“These are two critical issues in our view thatneeded to be furthered in this province.”