This week we continue to profile Ministers in Premier Wynne’s Cabinet with whom OREA has been working closely on key REALTORⓇ issues. This week we look at the Attorney General, the Honourable Madeline Meilleur.
Minister Meilleur was first elected to the Ontario Legislature in 2003 as the MPP for Ottawa-Vanier. Before being appointed Attorney General in 2014 by Premier Wynne, she served as Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Minister of Culture, Minister of Community and Social Services and Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs (a position she continues to hold today).
Before become becoming a Member of Provincial Parliament, Minister Meilleur had a dedicated career in municipal politics, and has trained as a registered nurse and lawyer.
As the Attorney General, the Minister holds a unique role unlike other cabinet positions. She helps ensure that all legislative enactments are in accordance with the principles of natural justice and civil rights, and ensures the integrity of government legislation by advising on its legality and constitutionality. The Attorney General also sits on any committee struck to review legislation and regulations.
Beyond these legislative duties, the Attorney General works to provide fair and accessible justice to all Ontarians. Her office helps administer approximately 115 statutes; conduct criminal proceedings; provide legal advice and conduct litigation on behalf of government ministries, agencies, boards and tribunals; provide advice on drafting legislation and regulation; and, coordinates and administers court services in the Province of Ontario.
REALTORSⓇ and the Attorney General
Over the past year, OREA has been working closely with Minister Meilleur (and the previous Attorney General John Gerretsen) and her staff on the issue of electronic signatures and the Electronic Commerce Act. Back in 2013, OREA successfully worked with the government to remove the exclusion in the ECA for electronic agreements of purchase and sale. While the amendment still is awaiting proclamation, OREA, the Ministry and other stakeholders have been working to ensure that the law helps protect consumers, while helping REALTORSⓇ do business better by expediting the home purchase and sale process.
We look forward to continue working collaboratively with the Ministry this fall and helping move the issue forward.
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