Ontario Legislature Set for Shortest Sitting in Decades
MPPs will sit for 53 days this year—the fewest in five decades when an election didn't take place.
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Ontario's legislature is poised for its shortest sitting in five decades during a non-election year, with MPPs scheduled to sit for just 53 days if the current calendar holds.
Premier Doug Ford's government will take a 21-week break after an early-June sitting of 30 days in which lawmakers passed omnibus bills, including controversial changes to freedom of information legislation and measures to take over Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport. The 53-day sitting would be the fewest in any year without an election dating back to the 1970s, compared to an average of 84 days over the past five decades.
Ford said the time away from Queen's Park will be spent on the road promoting job creation and holding trade talks. "Rather than sitting here and arguing with each other, we're actually going to get out there and talk to the people and start bringing more jobs to Ontario," he said.
Opposition MPPs have criticized the schedule as an accountability dodge. NDP official opposition leader Marit Stiles said the extended break allows the government to avoid scrutiny. "The government can't get out of this place fast enough because we are calling them to account every day," she said.
For context: in 1995, Premier Mike Harris's newly elected government sat for 40 days—the shortest on record. By 1997, Harris's government sat for 131 days as it implemented its agenda. The previous non-election low was 1994, when Bob Rae's NDP government sat for 71 days.