LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO
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The 'Legislative Assembly of Ontario' (also known as ''Ontario Legislative Assembly'' or ''OntLA''), is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the Legislative Buildings at Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario.
The ''British North America Act'' section 69 stipulates "There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting of the Lieutenant-Governor and of One House, styled the Legislative Assembly of Ontario". The Legislative Assembly is unicameral, without an upper house (replacing the bicameral Legislative Assembly of Canada (lower house) and Legislative Council of Canada (upper house), with 107 seats representing ridings elected in a first-past-the-post system across the province.
The Legislative Assembly is informally known as the "Ontario Provincial Parliament". This is because unlike the other Canadian provinces, members of this assembly refer to themselves as "Members of the Provincial Parliament" ("MPPs") as opposed to "Members of the Legislative Assembly" ("MLAs"). Ontario is the only province to do so, in accordance with a resolution passed in the Assembly on April 7, 1938. However, the ''Legislative Assembly Act'', R.S.O. 1990, c. L10 refers only to "members of the Assembly".
| Contents |
| Lawmaking |
| Coat of Arms |
| Media |
| Party standings |
| List of members |
| Notes |
| See also |
| External links |
Lawmaking
In accordance with the traditions of the Westminster System, most laws originate with the cabinet (Government bills), and are passed by the legislature after stages of debate and decision-making. Although ordinary Members of the Legislature pass few laws they have introduced privately (Private Members' bills) they nonetheless play an integral role in scrutinizing, debating and amending bills presented to the legislature by cabinet.
Members are expected to be loyal to both their parliamentary party and to the interests of their ridings.
In the Ontario Legislature this confrontation provides much of the material for Oral Questions and Members' Statements. Legislative scrutiny of the executive is also at the heart of much of the work carried out by the Legislature's Standing Committees, which are made up of ordinary backbenchers.
A Member's day will typically be divided among participating in the business of the House, attending caucus and committee meetings, speaking in various debates, or returning to his or her constituency to address the concerns, problems and grievances of constituents. Depending on personal inclination and political circumstances, some Members concentrate most of their attention on House matters while others focus on constituency problems, taking on something of an ombudsman's role in the process.
Finally, it is the task of the Legislature to provide the personnel of the executive. As already noted, under responsible government, ministers of the Crown are expected to be Members of the Assembly. When a political party comes to power it will invariably place its more experienced parliamentarians into the key cabinet positions, where their parliamentary experience may be the best preparation for the rough and tumble of political life in government.
Coat of Arms
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the first legislature in Canada to have a Coat of Arms separate from the provincial coat of arms.
Green and gold are the principal colours in the shield of arms of the province. The Mace is the traditional symbol of the authority of the Speaker. Shown on the left is the current Mace. On the right is the original Mace from the time of the first parliament in 1792. The crossed Maces are joined by the shield of arms of Ontario.
The crown on the wreath represents national and provincial loyalties; its rim is studded with the provincial gemstone, the amethyst. The griffin, an ancient symbol of justice and equity, holds a calumet, which symbolizes the meeting of spirit and discussion that Ontario's First Peoples believe accompanies the use of the pipe.
The deer represent the natural riches of the province. The Loyalist coronets at their necks honour the original European settlers in Ontario who brought with them the parliamentary form of government. The Royal Crowns, left 1992, right 1792, recognize the parliamentary bicentennial and recall our heritage as a constitutional monarchy. They were granted as a special honour by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of the Governor General.
In the base, the maple leaves are for Canada, the trilliums for Ontario and the roses for York (now Toronto), the provincial capital.
The motto "'AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM'" is one of a series of Latin phrases carved in the Chamber of the Legislative Building. It challenges Members of Provincial Parliament to "Hear the Other Side."
Media
Procedings of the Legislative Assembly are broadcast to Ontario cable television subscribers as the Ontario Parliament Network.
Party standings
The Ontario Legislature Building at Queen's Park
| 'Affiliation' | 'Members' | |
| Liberal Party | 68 | |
| Progressive Conservative Party | 24 | |
| New Democratic Party | 10 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| 'Total' | '103' | |
| 'Government Majority' | '16' | |
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Seating Plan
Seating Plan (PDF)
P = Premier, LO = Leader of Opposition, L = Leader of the NDP.
List of members
★ Cabinet ministers are in bold, leaders are in italics and the Speaker of the Legislature has a dagger next to his name.
Notes
1 Vacant since appointment of Ernie Parsons as a Justice of the Peace on July 12, 2007; no byelection will be held as the 2007 provincial election is less than six months away.
See also
★ List of Ontario political parties
★ Cabinet of Ontario
★ List of Ontario general elections
★ Ontario provincial by-election, 2007
★
External links
★ Legislative Assembly of Ontario official site
★ Emporis Listing
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