SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Peggy Sattler

  • MPP
  • Member of Provincial Parliament
  • London West
  • New Democratic Party of Ontario
  • Ontario
  • Unit 101 240 Commissioners Rd. W London, ON N6J 1Y1 PSattler-CO@ndp.on.ca
  • tel: 519-657-3120
  • fax: 519-657-0368
  • PSattler-QP@ndp.on.ca

  • Government Page

I have a question for the minister about schedule 6 of this bill, which, of course, as the minister knows prohibits tolls on provincial highways unless there is an act authorizing the toll, which is currently what is in place in Ontario.

There are two acts authorizing tolls: the Highway 407 Act and the Highway 407 East Act. If the minister really cared about helping Ontarians’ pocketbooks, why did he not remove tolls off the two highways in this province that do have tolls?

84 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border

I appreciated the comments from my colleague the member for Niagara.

He talked about the fact that one of the schedules in this bill, schedule 3, reverses changes to official plans, urban boundaries, that had been forced on municipalities by this government and were later reversed. So it un-reverses a reversal that had been put in place by this government.

That was not the only reversal that we have seen in this Legislature. A number of bills have been reversed.

I wondered if the member would like to comment on this government’s track record of introducing—

98 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border

I appreciate the remarks from my colleague the member for University–Rosedale. She talked a bit about the cost-of-living pressures that people in her community and across the province are experiencing. She talked about the tolls, for example, on Highway 417. Now, this bill prohibits tolls on provincial highways that don’t have tolls. So I wondered what her opinion is on whether that provision to remove tolls from highways that don’t have tolls is going to really help Ontarians deal with the affordability crisis that we are seeing in this province.

95 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border

I appreciate the comments from the member for Kitchener Centre about the concerns that her community has raised over the changes to the official plan. I’m curious to know, as a new member of this House, what her opinion is on a process that sees the government bring forward MZOs without community consent, then brings in legislation to reverse all those MZOs, and then brings in new legislation to un-reverse some of those MZOs. Does the minister think that that is a good use of the legislative time that we have available to us in this chamber? Does it address the real concerns of the people of this province?

111 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border

I was fortunate to be here yesterday when the member for Oshawa made her presentation. She talked quite a bit about the issue of tolls, and she shared with us a motion that had just been passed, I think that day, yesterday, by the region of Durham.

I know that one of the schedules in this bill deals with tolls, with removing tolls. I wondered if the member could tell us if that schedule will do anything for the people of her community.

83 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border