Magna Carta [snooze button... snooze button... snooze button] Day in Ontario
The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta is just 12 days away now. June 15 2015 is Magna Carta Day. Well, not in Ontario. A private members’ bill from Julia Monro (MPP York Simcoe) to make June 15 officially Magna Carta Day in this province is bottled up in committee and will likely languish if not die there since the legislature will rise on June 4 and won’t sit again until Sept. 14. They must be tired or something. Technically committees can meet in between so the bill could get reported out. But Third Reading must wait until fall if it ever happens.
Now I realize that private members’ bills rarely pass and it’s generally a lengthy process for those that do. Arguably it could go faster as a rule. But certainly when you’re looking at the 800th anniversary of what is widely agreed to be one of the most important events in our entire history, MPPs across party lines could have moved this particular bill along faster given that it was first introduced on July 24 of last year. Assuming they intend to move it at all.
On the plus side, we can celebrate Magna Carta even without the politicians.