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| For Immediate Release LEGISLATURE PROROGUES EARLY, BILL NOT PASSED QUEEN’S PARK – Last night the McGuinty government prorogued the Ontario Legislature a day early blocking Ernie Hardeman’s final attempt to move the Hawkins Gignac Act forward to save lives and avoid more needless tragedies. “I introduced this bill after a Woodstock family – OPP officer Laurie Hawkins, her husband Richard and their two children Cassandra and Jordan were tragically killed by carbon monoxide,” said Ernie Hardeman, Oxford MPP. “The government had the opportunity to pass this legislation to save lives but it appears they thought it was more important to duck the last question period.” The Hawkins Gignac Act would require functioning carbon monoxide detectors in all Ontario homes. Currently they are only required in homes built after August 2001. According to the Canada Safety Council, carbon monoxide (CO) is the leading cause of fatal poisonings in North America. Detectors are required because the gas is coulourless, odourless and has no taste. Hardeman wrote to the Premier on May 9 to urge him to pass the bill before the end of the session. On May 26, Ben and Donna Gignac, Laurie’s parents, sent the Premier a letter adding their own pleas for the legislation to be passed before the summer break. “Earlier this week we informed the government house leader that if the bill was not brought forward for third reading by Thursday June 2 that I would take the unusual step of requesting unanimous consent myself to ensure that it would not be lost when we recessed for the summer,” said Hardeman. “She could have taken any number of steps to ensure the bill passed but instead she just let it die.” The Hawkins Gignac Act was introduced in December 2008 following the tragic deaths of the Hawkins family in Woodstock. It passed second reading unanimously on April 2009 but died when the Legislature prorogued. Hardeman reintroduced the bill in May 2010 and it passed second reading unanimously again in December 2010. “I am disappointed both that this lifesaving bill was not passed and in the McGuinty government’s behaviour,” said Hardeman. “I urge people not to let this setback stop them from protecting themselves and their loved ones by ensuring that they have a functioning carbon monoxide detector in their home.” - 30 - For more information, contact:
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