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Ontario Government Policy: Legislative Assembly Proceedings (Details)

Reference Material

Chamber Proceedings

  • Legislative Business
    Portal to bills, proceedings, and Committee material. Within each category the material is organized by Parliament and by Session.  
  • House Documents
    Gateway for material produced during the course of a sitting day. Note: All of these are available in html or PDF versions. The PDF versions carry traditional page numbers and identifying information and are preferred when citation is required: 
    • Hansard Transcripts: verbatim account of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. 
    • Votes and Proceedings: Minutes of the sitting. This is, properly speaking, the official record of the session. 
    • Orders and Notices: A list of business items for which formal notice must be given and which may be taken up by the Legislative Assembly during the course of a sitting day. It is printed and distributed every morning before the Assembly meets. 

  • Bills
    All bills and their status. Organized by Parliament and Session. The following information appears for the current session. Note: Earlier sessions may not contain all the information presented for more recent sessions:
    • View Bill: Different versions of the Bill are available. The first reading version appears at a minimum. Other versions may be present if the bill underwent significant amendments during its passage. If the bill has passed, the Royal Assent version is included. 
    • Status: A simple overview of where the bill is and where it's been. Dates of readings, debates in the Legislative Assembly, dates of Committee meetings, etc. are presented in chart form. 
    • Debates: Links to the proceedings appearing under the Status tab. 
    • Acts Affected: Existing laws being amended by the bill. 

Committee Proceedings

Committee Responsibilities 
Select Committee on Financial Transparency Appointed to consider and report to the House on the report of the Independent Financial Commission of Inquiry.
Estimates 

Examine the Estimate of Ministries and Agencies on a selective basis set out in the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly:

60. (a) The Standing Committee on Estimates shall consider the Estimates of not fewer than six and not more than 12 ministries and offices.

 (b) (i) The Estimates of the ministries and offices to be considered by the Committee shall be selected in two rounds by members of the Committee such that in each round the members of the Party forming the Official Opposition shall choose first, the members of a recognized Party having the third largest membership in the House shall choose second and the members of the Party forming the government shall choose third.

 (ii) In each round, the members of each Party may choose the Estimates of one or two ministries or offices to be considered.

 (c) The Estimates of the ministries and offices shall be considered in the order in which they were selected as provided in clause (b).

 (d) The time for the consideration of the Estimates of each ministry or office shall be determined by the members of the Committee who selected such Estimates for consideration. If the members of a recognized Party choose the Estimates of one ministry or office in a round, not more than 15 hours shall be allocated to the consideration of the Estimates of that ministry or office, and if the members of a recognized Party choose two ministries or offices in a round, not more than 15 hours shall be allocated to the consideration of the Estimates of both.

 (e) No Estimates shall be considered in the Committee while any matter, including a procedural motion, relating to the same policy field is being considered in the House.

 
Finance and Economic Affairs Mandated to examine, according to the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly:

108 (e) Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs which is empowered to consider and report to the House its observations, opinions and recommendations on the fiscal and economic policies of the Province and to which all related documents shall be deemed to have been referred immediately when the said documents are tabled;
General Government

According to the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee is mandated to study and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management, organization or operation of the ministries and offices which are assigned to it as well as the agencies, boards and commissions reporting to such ministries and offices. The following are currently assigned to the Committee: 

  1. Management Board of Cabinet
  2. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
  3. Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
  4. Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines
  5. Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks
  6. Ministry of Finance Ministry of Infrastructure
  7. Ministry of Intergovernmental Affairs
  8. Ministry of Labour
  9. Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
  10. Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
  11. Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
  12. Ministry of Transportation
  13. Office of the Premier and Cabinet Office
  14. Treasury Board Secretariat
Government Agencies As per 108 (f) of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee is mandated to look at Agencies, Boards, Commissions, and Crown Corporations when directed to do so.
Justice Policy

As per 108 (a) of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee oversees the following: 

  1. Ministry of the Attorney General
  2. Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
  3. Ministry of Government and Consumer Services
  4. Ministry of Indigenous Affairs
  5. Ministry of Francophone Affairs
  6. Ministry Responsible for Women’s Issues
Public Accounts As per 108 (h) of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee is mandated to examine Auditor General Reports and the Public Accounts
Regulations and Private Bills As per 108 (i) of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee is mandated to examine Private Legislation. It is also mandated to examine Regulations  to ensure they are written in clear, unambiguous language, do not overstep their authority as granted by Statute, and so on. 
Social Policy

As per 108 (a) of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee oversees the following: 

  1. Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
  2. Ministry of Education
  3. Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
  4. Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility
  5. Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
Legislative Assembly As per 108 (g) of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly, the Committee oversees the operations of the Legislative Assembly and makes recommendations to the Speaker or the Board of Internal Economy as required. 

How to Videos

Tracing Provincial Legislation Videos

Part 1: Getting Started. This video covers the types of bills, how they are numbered, and the difference between short and long titles.

Part 2: Legislative Process in Ontario. In this video, you will be introduced to the legislative process in Ontario. We'll look at the way a bill normally passes in the Legislative Assembly. 

Part 3: Tracing a Bill. This video will take you through the process of tracing a bill using the Legislative Assembly website.