Talk:Government of Ontario

Relevance of Debt, Budget

I'm not seeing this in other 'Government of XXXX' pages. I believe this is more relevant to the economy than the government. More controversially, I suspect this is a politically biased addition, as Ontario political debate tends to conflate debt with performance of the governing party.

Example

Another Example

Disclosure of Bias: I'm an Ontario voter - So I'd appreciate some alternative viewpoints! Ohmnomnom (talk) 18:08, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

I wouldn't have trouble with these stats if they weren't the only ones. If they were part a bigger statistical section - revenues, employees, transfers to individuals, transfers to other bodies, etc., it could make sense. On their own, they stand out as Ohmnomnom says. Ground Zero | t 20:49, 9 July 2015 (UTC)

Recommended use of Canadian legal terms

There are problems with the paragraph below:

"The provincial government of Ontario (French: gouvernement provincial de l'Ontario), is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the Crown-in-Council; the legislature, as the Crown-in-Parliament; and the courts, as the Crown-on-the-Bench. Three institutions—the Executive Council; the Provincial Parliament (Legislative Assembly); and the judiciary, respectively—exercise the powers of the Crown. Its powers and structure are partly set out in the Constitution Act, 1982.

The term Government of Ontario (French: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) can refer to either the collective set of all three institutions, or more specifically to the executive—political ministers of the Crown (the Executive Council), appointed on the advice of the premier, and the non-partisan Ontario Public Service (whom the Executive Council directs), who staff ministries and agencies to deliver government policies, programs, and services—which corporately brands itself as the Government of Ontario, or more formally, Her Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté).[1]"

The paragraph appears to use British legal terms rather than terms used in Canadian constitutional law. Ontario legislation (link below) refers to the executive as the "Lieutenant Governor in Council", not the Crown-in-Council. The legislature is simply the "Legislature" or the legislative branch, not the "Crown-in Parliament", and the courts are not called the Crown-on-the-Bench but rather the judiciary or judicial branch.

As well, the term "Government of Ontario" refers to the executive branch and not "the collective of all three institutions" (ie. executive, legislative, and judiciary).

Here are the definitions provided in the Ontario Legislation Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F: https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/so-2006-c-21-sch-f/latest/so-2006-c-21-sch-f.html

“Lieutenant Governor” means the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, or the person administering the Government of Ontario for the time being in Her Majesty’s name, by whatever title he or she is designated; (“lieutenant-gouverneur”)"

“Lieutenant Governor in Council” means the Lieutenant Governor acting by and with the advice of the Executive Council of Ontario; (“lieutenant-gouverneur en conseil”) “Her Majesty”, “His Majesty”, “the Queen”, “the King” or “the Crown” means the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories, and Head of the Commonwealth; (“Sa Majesté”, “la Reine”, “le Roi”, “la Couronne”)"

“Legislature” means the Lieutenant Governor acting by and with the advice and consent of the Assembly; (“Législature”)"

In addition the reference to Constitution Act, 1982 is incorrect. That statute contains the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is the Constitution Act, 1867 that partly sets out the powers of the Government. See https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/PDF/CONST_TRD.pdf and https://www.ontario.ca/page/history-government.

I suggested to the author of the paragraph that Canadian legal terms be used (i.e. those set out in Ontario law), as this is an article about a government in Canada. He or she has not yet made the above changes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Greenwood10 (talk • contribs) 13:45, 2 April 2021 (UTC)

Went ahead and added some of these. Kept the Crown-in-Blank terminology because it's an academic definition, not a legal one. Per page 17 of Crown of Maples, these are also very much Canadian terms. The powers of the Crown are defined in Ontario as exercised by the LG, but can also be exercised by an administrator, another viceroy, or reserved for the governor general. Simply doesn't make sense to make a specific reference the LG when that is clearly not the only position which may exercise power. Fixed the 1982 Constitution reference and reworded the formal title however, thanks for catching that.

Also, @Greenwood10: heads up to sign your replies with four ~ marks, or a bot does it.

WildComet (talk) 21:57, 3 April 2021 (UTC)