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| For Immediate Release McGuinty’s Ontario: Prorogation First, Safety Second TORONTO – Today Dalton McGuinty prorogued the Ontario Legislature and killed Ernie Hardeman’s (MPP for Oxford) private member’s Bill 143, Hawkins Gignac Act, which aimed to protect Ontarians from fatal carbon monoxide poisonings. “I introduced this bill in the wake of a tragedy in Woodstock, in which OPP Constable Laurie Hawkins, her husband Richard, and their two children, Cassandra and Jordan, were killed in their home by carbon monoxide poisoning,” said Hardeman in the letter to Premier McGuinty earlier this week. Hardeman asked that the McGuinty government save the bill before proroguing. When the legislature prorogues all current business, including bills and resolutions, is lost unless included in a carryover motion by the government. McGuinty has chosen to move forward government bills, but did not include the Hawkins Gignac Act. Bill 143, Hawkins Gignac Act (Carbon Monoxide Detectors), would require functioning carbon monoxide detectors in every home in Ontario. What makes Carbon Monoxide so dangerous is that it is odourless, tasteless and colourless and therefore impossible to detect without the device. “It is unfortunate that home safety is not a priority for the government and we will have to start from scratch. I firmly believe this bill will save lives, so I commit to reintroducing the Hawkins Gignac Act after the legislature resumes,” said Hardeman. The bill passed second reading unanimously on April 2, 2009. However the government House Leader refused to bring it forward for the committee review despite the fact that a simple change would make Ontario homes safer. “Today nobody would question the necessity of smoke alarms in our homes, but we tend to overlook how important it is to protect ourselves from deadly gases, such as carbon monoxide,” said Hardeman. “I urge Ontarians to take care of themselves and install carbon monoxide detectors in their homes now, not wait until the McGuinty government makes Ontario safety its priority.”
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