Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon did not speak about the Pearson high school parent Petition because she wasn't allowed to - rules.

News 100 blueBy Pepper Parr

October 26th, 2017

BURLINGTON, ON

 

A number of people were as upset as we were over the way the Petition made to the Ontario Legislature by parents from Lester B. Pearson high school.

The MPP who read the Petition into the record really bungled the job.

McMahon at JBH with Premier

Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon didn’t read the Pearson high school parent’s Petition into the record in the Legislature because she was not allowed to do so. She is a member of the Cabinet and as such isn’t permitted to speak. The Government Whip does that job on her behalf. McMahon would have done a better job.

Many people wanted to know why Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon didn’t read the Petition into the record.

Because she was not permitted to do so.

The rules for the Presentation of a Petition are pretty detailed

It is the responsibility of the petitioner(s) to arrange for a Member of the Legislative Assembly to present a petition.

Any Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, other than a Cabinet Minister or the Speaker of the House may present a petition.

The Chief Government Whip may present petitions on behalf of Cabinet Ministers.

If a petition meets all of the requirements for admissibility, it may be presented to the Legislature in one of two ways:

Presentation directly to the House

During any regular daytime meeting of the Legislative Assembly, MPPs are given the opportunity to present petitions by reading them aloud to the Members assembled. Such presentation will be recorded in the official record of debates (Hansard) as well as in the official record of proceedings (Votes and Proceedings).

Tabling a petition with the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly

At any time during a Parliamentary Session, an MPP may file a petition with the Clerk of the House. Such presentation will only be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings.

Steve Armstrong + Cheryl deLught - Pearson

The Pearson high school parents are leaving “no stone unturned” in their effort to keep their school open.

The Pearson high school parents worked with the Ontario Alliance Against School Closures who directed them to the MPP from St. Catharines who also happens to be the Government Whip. The Whip’s job is to make sure all the members are in the Legislature when a vote is being taken.

Once a Petition is read into the record the government is required to respond.

The rules for that are:

Within 24 sitting days of the day on which the presentation of the petition is recorded, the government is required to file a response.

The response is delivered to the Clerk of the House and to the MPP who presented the petition.

The Clerk maintains an index of all petitions that have been presented to the Legislative Assembly during a given Parliamentary Session. This index contains the following information:

A brief description of the subject of the petition
The date the petition was presented
The name of the MPP who submitted the petition
The date upon which a response to the petition was received by the Clerk.

Margaret Wilson PAR Admin Review

Margaret Wilson is the Facilitator doing the PAR Administrative Review

Assuming the Minister of Education does respond – expect her to tell us that a Facilitator has been appointed and that the Minister is waiting for that report.

It is complex and riddled with rules.

There was a time when citizens were not permitted to Petition their government.

Let’s see how this plays out.

Related article:

Pearson parents Petition the provincial government – feel they got stiffed.

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3 comments to Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon did not speak about the Pearson high school parent Petition because she wasn’t allowed to – rules.

  • Marshall

    I agree with Penny. MPPs are supposed to be astute and skilled enough to advance their constituent’s cause to the government. During the school closures Eleanor McMahon showed that she was incapable of representing the people of her riding. She was a failure.

  • Stephen White

    What about McMeekin? Couldn’t he have done it?

    Watching Bradley read the petition was painful. It was bad enough that there was hardly anyone in the Legislature at the time to hear the petition being read. Listening to Bradley was enough to put the few poor souls in the Legislature to sleep.

  • Penny

    It is the responsibility of our MPP to make certain that the person chosen to present the petition is able to do so in a convincing manner. Eleanor McMahon failed to do this.