Let me just thank the deputy government House leader for introducing this latest round of standing order changes, which I think continue to build on the hard work that we are doing to modernize how the assembly works.

Madam Speaker, you know that this government has been seized with ensuring that the standing orders reflect a 21st-century Legislative Assembly and the work that all members are expected to do.

One of the hallmarks, of course, of standing orders is that they are a living, breathing document that is to change in time so that we can reflect modern circumstances within an assembly.

For far too long in this place, the standing orders remained unchanged, and that certainly was the case prior to us coming into government. In fact, I’ve heard a number of members on both sides of the House remark at the speed and the number of changes to the standing orders that have occurred during our time of office, and that there were probably more standing order changes that have occurred under the last number of years than happened at any time outside of the first years since Confederation, when this place was being organized. I take great pride in having accomplished that; I think it is one of the greatest achievements that this government has made. It is part of ensuring that our democracy works better.

I have no illusion that all members will always be happy with the changes to the standing orders that we have brought forward, but I am very, very comfortable in asserting and challenging anybody who would counter that the changes that we have made and the changes that we are making will not make this a better, more representative Parliament for all parliamentarians.

I just want to take a brief moment, because I think it is quite important for us to look back at some of the other standing order changes that we have made, and I want to do this in the context of what I am sure will be a barrage of criticism that you constantly get when you do these things; it’s what you always hear. If a government brings something forward, you’re going to get the barrage of criticism. But the hallmark of good government, the hallmark of good legislation, is to really fundamentally see, in the absence of the government, what would the other parties do differently? What would they change from what you brought forward?

In that context, I want to look over some of the items that we have done on the standing orders. I have a lot of time, so I’m sure you’ll permit me to reflect back on some of these things.

Back in 2019, some of the initial changes that we brought on—you won’t remember, Madam Speaker, because you weren’t elected at that time, and, frankly, it’s good that you don’t remember these, because, in fact, our Legislature, I think, was not as democratic a place as it is today because of these changes. So those members elected in 2022 will have a much different Legislative Assembly than those who were elected in 2018.

But let me go over some of the changes. In 2019, a modification in the daily order of business to increase the profile of members’ statements by moving them from the afternoon to the morning, before question period: Now, that might seem like a little thing, but members will know, at 1 o’clock or 3 o’clock, when we’d come into the place and do members’ statements, the chamber is completely empty. Members are usually at committee meetings. It is not the time of day when the galleries are full. And we decided to elevate members’ statements—to do it at a time when the chamber is full, when galleries are full and when most of the media are here watching and when most of the attention of Ontarians is faced on question period. We would do members’ statements before question period. I ask very sincerely to members opposite, would that be something that they would remove from a future standing order change if they ever got the opportunity to do it?

You know how proud I am of being a Canadian. We returned the royal anthem to the once-a-month singing, when we do our national anthem. We returned the royal anthem. I’m a very proud monarchist and was very, very happy that we were able to do that.

We explicitly permitted—imagine this, Madam Speaker; I know you will find this amazing—the use of laptops, tablets and smart phones in a non-disruptive manner in the chamber. Imagine, a 21st-century Legislature did not allow members to use your smart phones, your laptops, your iPads in the daily functioning of your business, but that was something that was in the rules in this place. Would the members opposite remove that standing order? I highly doubt that they would, Madam Speaker.

We outlined the format for introduction of visitors in the chamber. Members will know it still goes on a little bit longer, but members will know that that would go on for a very, very, very long period of time, and members would be making speeches as opposed to introducing the visitors. So we did that. I doubt that they would change that.

We eliminated the need for a minister to verbally refer a question to a colleague during question period, which is the practice in other Canadian Legislatures—again, you will not remember, Madam Speaker, because you were elected in 2022—and we still have it. Every day a question comes, and 99% of the questions go to the Premier. Under the previous system, the Premier would have to get up in his place and refer the question to the appropriate minister, which actually kills time and means less questions for the opposition to have, and ultimately, the appropriate minister would also answer the question anyway. So it gave more time to the opposition, and it was a procedure that was used in no other Legislature in Canada and, frankly, no other Western parliamentary democracy.

We allowed the electronic distribution of background materials to reports and sessional papers that are tabled in the Legislature. Imagine that before we made this change, you were not able to electronically distribute these documents. Is this something that the opposition will take away if they ever get the opportunity to serve on this side of the House? I doubt it.

Now, we know for sure that the Liberals, the independent Liberals, who have systematically refused to accept the verdict of the people of the province of Ontario, have—

“To the Legislative Assembly of Ontario:

“Whereas the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created in 1962 as an agency of the province of Ontario, accountable to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and

“Whereas the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act last received major amendments in the 1990s and these amendments focused on formalizing the operational structure of the agency; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created robotics used in agriculture was not a technology that was even envisioned; and

“Whereas advancements in robotics for dairy farms has resulted in dairy farmers in Ontario having a competitive advantage by producing more milk with a smaller herd of cattle; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow for more research to occur in this new technology; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created genomics was not a technology that was envisioned as something that could be used in the agriculture and food industry; and

“Whereas agricultural genomics is a rich field that contributes to advances in crop development to assist Ontario farmers in producing some of the highest-quality crops available in the entire world; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow for more advanced genomic studies to occur in Ontario to ensure that Ontario farmers have access to this technology; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario was created autonomous vehicle technology did not exist and therefore was not a focus of any research in Ontario; and

“Whereas autonomous vehicle technology has seen advancements in tractors, drones, seed planting, weeding and harvesting robots and are several of the technologies currently under development that will transform agriculture and help alleviate food shortages by improving the sustainability and productivity of agricultural activities; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act will help facilitate further research in autonomous vehicle technologies in Ontario so that Ontario can get that research out of the lab and into the field more quickly; and

“Whereas in 1962 when the Agriculture Research Institute of Ontario was created, artificial intelligence was not a technology that existed; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario will be able to enhance this invaluable research into technologies that can help explore the soil health to collect insights, monitor weather conditions and recommend the appropriate application of fertilizers and pesticides to ensure maximum crop yields and reducing the amount of waste created by over-fertilizing or applying the inappropriate amount of pesticide to a crop; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act is a key component of the Grow Ontario Strategy that aims to strengthen Ontario’s agriculture and food supply chain; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act also aims to increase agri-food technology and adoption; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act also aims to attract and grow Ontario’s agri-food talent; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would further its status as a world leader in agriculture; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would help the development of the industry’s unique technologies; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would increase its competitiveness and productivity in the agriculture and food industry; and

“Whereas by modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act, Ontario would help in the development and adoption of new technologies in the agriculture and food industry in support of the key goals set out in the Grow Ontario Strategy; and

“Whereas the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario owns 14 research stations across the province that provide industry with the latest in agricultural and food-specific research; and

“Whereas Ontario needs to” act “to strengthen the agriculture industry by proposing to amend the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act by expanding the current scope of research to be more relevant today and serve the future needs of the entire agricultural and food value chain; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow research in Ontario to move at the speed of business; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would allow for the results of the research to be distributed to Ontario’s agricultural and food industries in a more accessible way; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide appropriate information directly to the fingertips of the farmers of Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on aquaculture being performed at the research institute location in Alma, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on equine, poultry and swine being performed at the research institute located in Arkell, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on vegetables being performed at the research institute located in Bradford, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in Cedar Springs, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on beef, dairy and swine being performed at the research institute located in Elora, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Elora, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Emo, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Huron, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on beef, field crops and horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in New Liskeard, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on general animal facilities and sheep being performed at the research institute located in Ponsonby, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Ridgetown, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in Simcoe, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on horticulture crops being performed at the research institute located in Vineland, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Winchester, Ontario; and

“Whereas modernizing the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would provide a direct benefit to the research focused on field crops being performed at the research institute located in Woodstock, Ontario; and

“Whereas through the Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians Act of 1993, the association can grant its members the right to the exclusive use of certain professional designations and membership requirements, including title protection, for over 4,500 registered veterinary technicians and registered veterinary technologists are currently addressed under a private statute in the act; and

“Whereas the Veterinarians Act in the current legislative framework that governs the licensing of veterinarians in Ontario, the practice of veterinary medicine, as well as the accreditation of the facilities used to practise veterinary medicine.

“The Veterinarians Act also establishes the governance framework for the regulator, the College of Veterinarians of Ontario. The college is the regulator that oversees the practice of veterinary medicine in Ontario, and oversees the licensing of over 5,000 veterinarians and is responsible for facility accreditation; and

“Whereas the Veterinarians Act has not been updated substantively since 1989. Since then, the practice of veterinary medicine has evolved significantly. Thus, modernization is needed to keep up with today’s practices and contemporary approaches to governance; and

“Whereas changes made by the government of Ontario would revise the 35-year-old legislative framework, appealing or amending a total of 12 bills to modernize legislation for veterinary professionals; and

“Whereas the Ontario government launched consultations to explore opportunities to modernize the Veterinarians Act in November 2022 and this was the government’s first substantive review in 30 years, explored amendments of the legislative framework, opening the door to a new standard of veterinary medicine in Ontario that is modern, flexible and continues access to safe and professional care for pet owners and farmers; and

“Whereas the veterinary community and the public have stated that the investigations, complaints and resolution processes need in order to be more efficient; and

“Whereas Ontario is working to ensure animals continue to receive good veterinary care as the provincial government recognizes the importance of access to professional care for animals in Ontario...; and

“Whereas updating the legislative framework would explicitly recognize the role of veterinary technicians as part of the broader animal care team in the delivery of veterinary medicine in addition to other non-veterinary animal care providers; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework will recognize the important roles veterinary technicians play in providing care; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework will move the scope of practice and delivery of care from an exclusive scope-of-practice model to a more risk-based activities approach; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework will promote the recognition that veterinary care is delivered by a team and acknowledge the roles of both veterinarians and veterinary technicians; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework will enable the regulatory college and government to define a broad scope of practice for veterinary technicians that reflects their skills and training; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework will include a list of authorized activities that describe the specific activities that make up the practice of veterinary medicine; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would enhance clarity and better enable non-veterinarians to provide care to animals using lower-risk forms of treatment without the legal uncertainty that now exists; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would not restrict low-risk animal services such as grooming, hoof trimming, physiotherapy and massage; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would remove the association’s power to grant its members the right to the exclusive use of certain professional designations, as this is granted through the Veterinary Professionals Act, 2024; and

“Whereas Ontario would continue, from the current Veterinarians Act, the exemptions for animal owners including those who care for their own animals; and

“Whereas there would be greater diversity on the governing council of the regulatory college, including a greater number of public appointees, new spaces for veterinary technicians and academic members, and ministerial oversight of the regulatory college’s governing council...; and

“Whereas the name of the regulatory college to the College of Veterinary Professionals of Ontario from the current College of Veterinarians of Ontario to reflect its new role in overseeing two categories of veterinary professionals within a single veterinary profession would be updated; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would mandate the regulatory college to develop a formal quality assurance program, which would include continuing education, to better ensure the competence of members of the profession and to further increase public trust. This aligns with the requirements for other regulated professions...; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would provide a streamlined complaints and resolutions process, which would enable disputes to be addressed more quickly, and new and updated procedures for investigations, addressing professional misconduct and a member’s fitness to practise; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would provide new legal protections for members who report professional misconduct, concerns about a member’s fitness to practise, suspected incompetence, and new requirements to report these items; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would enable a greater amount of information about a licence holder to be collected, and where appropriate, posted on the public-facing register to provide additional information to animal owners and the public; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would increase penalties to better reflect the seriousness of actions that harm animals and fines for taking actions that could foreseeably cause serious harm to an animal without being licensed by the college would be set in legislation. This would carry a fine of up to $25,000 for an individual on first offence and $50,000 for subsequent offences and $50,000 for a corporation on first offence and $200,000 for subsequent offences. There would be maximum fines for practising veterinary medicine without a licence that would increase to the same levels; and

“Whereas modernizing would provide a framework for members of the College of Chiropractors of Ontario whereby they would be able to carry out prescribed authorized activities on animals, subject to guidelines, processes, terms, conditions, limitations or prohibitions that would be set out in regulation. Chiropractors providing care to animals would remain members of the College of Chiropractors and would not have to be a member of two different regulated colleges; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would continue to allow farmers, farmer family members and employees to continue to treat and provide care for their own animals without veterinary oversight and continue to access necessary inputs without veterinary involvement; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would ensure Ontario farmers have access to modern and quality care for their livestock, a crucial component of the economic stability of Ontario’s rural communities; and

“Whereas modernizing the legislative framework would promote the maintenance of a healthy, safe and sustainable agri-food system;

“Therefore we, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows:

“To urge all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to fully support the ministry of agriculture and rural affairs initiatives to improve research in Ontario’s agri-food industry and improve the people of Ontario’s access to veterinary services by passing Bill 155, the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Amendment Act, and Bill 171, Enhancing Professional Care for Animals Act, 2024.”

I fully endorse this petition, will sign my name to it and give it to page Ahmad.

Resuming the debate adjourned on March 27, 2024, on the motion regarding amendments to the standing orders.