By MPP Toby Barrett
Looking back at 2020, by and large, life and work went on, both locally and at Queen’s Park.
The commencement of last year saw passage of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act. Ontario was the first province in Canada to introduce such a provincially-operated enforcement system.
On January 25, the first case of coronavirus was identified in Ontario.
On February 24, militants blocked the Caledonia bypass and the CN line in support of the West Coast Wet’suwet’en Coastal Gas Link pipeline protest – a tactic we have seen over the previous 14 years.
Last winter, after consultation with the NDP and independent MPPs, legislation was introduced to change the way the Ontario Legislature conducts business. I am an advocate for history and tradition; however, I have long thought the proceedings of the Legislature can always be streamlined. For instance, an MPP in a wheelchair would no longer need unanimous consent from the legislature to vote without standing, rather the Speaker would be able to grant this exception.
