The Ontario Trillium Protection Act (also known as Bill 184) of 2009 is an amendment to the Floral Emblem Act of Ontario, Canada proposed as a private member's bill by Liberal politician Jeff Leal.
The Act, if approved, would prohibit the picking of trilliums in Ontario. Having not received final approval, the act remains unapproved.
Since 1937, [1] trilliums have been the official flower of Ontario. [2] They are easily damaged by picking, and picking them is illegal in British Columbia, [3] leading people to commonly believe that is also illegal in Ontario. [2] [3]
Jeff Leal is a Canadian municipal and provincial politician who previously worked as the Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. [2]
The Ontario Trillium Protection Act is a private members bill introduced to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by Liberal politician Jeff Leal in 2009. The Act, if passed, will forbid picking trilliums in public spaces, but permit picking by landowners and public workers. [4] If would introduce a minimum $500 penalty for breaches of the act. [5]
The Act passed its first reading in the Ontario Legislature but did not get full approval, and is therefore still awaiting royal assent. [2] The absence of full approval leaves trillium picking unregulated in Ontario, [2] except within provincial parks [6] and protected conservation areas. [4]
Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause, sometimes referred to as the override power, and it allows Parliament or provincial legislatures to temporarily override sections 2 and 7–15 of the Charter.
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Ontario to become law. Together, the Legislative Assembly and Lieutenant Governor make up the unicameral Legislature of Ontario or Parliament of Ontario. The assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto.
Joseph N. Tascona is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario representing the ridings of Barrie—Simcoe—Bradford and Simcoe Centre from 1995 to 2007. He also served as an alderman for Barrie City Council from 1991 to 1995. In 2010 he ran for mayor of Barrie but lost to Jeff Lehman.
John Jeffrey Leal is a Canadian politician who serves as the 63rd and current mayor of Peterborough. Previously, he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2018 who represented the riding of Peterborough. He served in the cabinet of Kathleen Wynne. On October 24, 2022 he was elected mayor of Peterborough.
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