For immediate release:
December 1, 2006  

Barrett halts debate in Ontario Legislature in protest
Move comes after Ontarians silenced on controversial human rights legislation

Queen’s Park—MPP Toby Barrett has twice shut down the Ontario Legislature in as many weeks, as part of a campaign to protest the Ontario Government’s decision to silence Ontarians – including the most vulnerable – on human rights legislation.

Despite promising to hold public hearings on the controversial human rights law for ‘as long as it takes,’ and despite publicizing the hearings in newspapers across the province, the Ontario government unilaterally cancelled public consultation and silenced its critics.

“Sometimes it is necessary for the government to speed up the legislative process,” Barrett said. “But the government advertised public consultations, people signed up to present, and suddenly, the whole process was cancelled.”

To protest the government’s sudden decision to cancel public hearings on Bill 107, Barrett and the Opposition Caucus brought debate in the Ontario Legislature to a grinding halt.

“Another major deficiency is this Liberal government’s lack of interest in real debate, as we have seen in recent weeks, obviously, with Bill 107,” Barrett said last Wednesday in the Ontario Legislature. “If they’re not interested in real debate, quite honestly I see no reason for us to be here this evening.”

Barrett then moved adjournment of the debate, forcing the Legislature to halt for 30 minutes for a vote. After his motion was defeated, Barrett moved adjournment of the House, halting the Legislature for another 30 minutes.

This week, to symbolize the halting of public consultations, Barrett and the Opposition Caucus halted the Ontario Legislature four more times.

“Opposition Leader John Tory offered a reasonable compromise, which would have allowed public consultations to continue, and the vote to take place at the government’s earliest convenience,” Barrett said this morning. “Human rights legislation needs a broad consensus, and sadly, the government missed its chance to bring detractors onside.”

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For more information, please contact
MPP Toby Barrett at: (519) 428-0446
or 1-800-903-8629