The Liberal Caucus released a statement last week saying Chatham-Kent-Essex MPP Rick Nicholls and the Conservatives were delaying passage of the legislation, however Nicholls refutes the claim.
“I introduced Bill 94 back in February, which pertained to the safety of children on school buses. The Liberals have refused to include this particular Bill in Bill 65, which was their [way of] promoting safer schools. We attempted to put an amendment in so that we can get that Bill in because they weren’t calling my Bill. I only debated it for an hour [but] they’re claiming that I interfered with the progress of Bill 65. This couldn’t be further from the truth”, says Nicholls.
He says he has support from all parties.
“My initiative for school safety has support from all parties, as well as municipalities and school bus drivers. We’re all talking about safety issues so we should be working together instead of the Liberals taking cheap shots. We have a number of Liberal MPPs who actually expressed their support for this safety issue”, he says.
Nicholls says his private member’s bill, which would allow for photo or video evidence to be used against motorists who pass illegally, would go hand-in-hand with the Liberals Bill 65.