It’s a true honour to rise today to pay tribute to Ontario’s eighth legislative Clerk-in-chief, Todd Decker, for his service to the members of the Ontario Legislative Assembly and the people of Ontario, and for the leadership, Todd, you have provided for everybody who works in this building.

Prior to being appointed Clerk-in-chief in 2016, Todd served in this building for 32 years, totalling 39 years of service to the people of Ontario. He has earned our trust and our respect with his wisdom, his integrity, his non-partisan guidance and his famous poker face.

Todd has had to navigate this Legislature through extraordinary times during much of his tenure, not only during the pandemic emergency, where he played an essential role in ensuring the functioning of the parliamentary democracy in this province and the business here in the House, but also in managing an unprecedented number of independent members of the Legislature.

My election as Ontario’s first Green MPP in 2018 resulted in the first time that there was a fourth party elected to this Legislature since 1951 and, with the results that the Liberals experienced in that election, the most independent members in the Legislature since the 1940s. Let’s just say the standing orders were not written for such an unprecedented number of independent MPPs. I’ll admit that I spent much of the summer of 2018 in Todd’s office, not only learning how this place works, but also working with him to ensure the rights and privileges of independent members in this House.

Todd, I’ll be forever grateful for the wisdom, guidance and time that you took, and the patience you had to work with a team of newbies who had no idea how this place worked, and to work with us to ensure that we had the opportunity to have full participatory rights in this House. That legacy will endure. Todd, our democracy is stronger because of your service, and the people of Ontario and all members of this Legislature owe you a debt of gratitude—

Applause.