Premier Dalton McGuinty will prorogue the Ontario legislature briefly, although the break isn't expected to start until after next week.

McGuinty said Tuesday he will start a new legislative session some time after the Vancouver Olympics with a speech from throne.

"There will be a throne speech, but we will not follow the federal example of an extended break before we have that throne speech," McGuinty said after touring a solar panel testing facility near Brockville, in eastern Ontario.

"That throne speech will likely come after the Olympics are over, just so you know."

He said there will be a "limited break" before the throne speech, something that is required by law in order to start a new session.

"You can't introduce a throne speech unless you have a break," he said.

But members of the legislature will head back to work next week as scheduled, he said.

It was not immediately clear when exactly their break will start or how long it will last.

There had been speculation that McGuinty was considering proroguing the legislative session in order to allow ministers who were given new portfolios in a cabinet shuffle last month more time to get up to speed on their files.

With files from The Canadian Press