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Quotation of the day
“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the legislature.”
NDP deputy leader Sara Singh says the NDP won’t reveal whether it will support Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, until it comes up for a vote.
The Liberals are also playing coy about their potential support, with house leader John Fraser saying what was left out of the bill is just as important as what’s in it.
Today at Queen’s Park
Written by Alan S. Hale
On the schedule
Throne speech debate will continue today, as well as the second-reading debate on Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act, in the afternoon.
During private members’ time, MPPs will begin second reading on Green Leader Mike Schreiner’s new Bill 32, Carbon Budget Accountability Act.
Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips is expected to introduce legislation he teased earlier this week that will beef up the inspection regime for LTC homes.
Wednesday’s debates and proceedings
In the morning, MPPs resumed debate on the throne speech, which requires 12 hours of discussion before it is put to a vote.
In the afternoon, the house continued second-reading debate on Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act.
PC MPP Vincent Ke reintroduced Bill 34, Anti-Asian Racism Education Month Act, and Liberal MPP Lucille Collard reintroduced Bill 35, Equity Education for Young Ontarians Act, both of which were previously tabled last session.
PC MPP Natalia Kusendova’s (non-binding) private members’ motion calling for more bilingual LTC staff carried by voice vote.
Premier watch
Premier Doug Ford was in the chamber on Wednesday but avoided answering any question period queries, even as the opposition accused him of “sowing doubt” with his comments the day prior.
During a press conference in Ottawa, Ford said he would leave it up to parents to decide whether they should get their young children vaccinated once Health Canada’s approval comes through. He added he understood if some parents did not want to.
Opposition parties accused Ford of undermining the province’s message on the safety, effectiveness and necessity of vaccinations. Liberal house leader John Fraser said it was the latest in a long string of instances where Ford and his party’s reticence to upset a segment of the PC base has stifled timely decision-making on pandemic response.
“They are worried because of what they saw in the federal election and are now concerned about their own electoral fortunes,” said Fraser. “Their people who might bleed off to the right are people who are anti-vax and anti-public health … there’s no other logical explanation.”
On Tuesday evening, the Ontario science table released a new brief putting forward “evidence-based strategies” for the rollout of vaccinations in children. The brief does not explicitly call for COVID-19 immunizations to be made mandatory for school admission, but it cites evidence from other youth vaccination programs to show school-based distribution programs are “a high-impact and effective approach for increasing uptake that address many practical issues ... and social processes.”
NDP Education critic Marit Stiles took that as further evidence that vaccines should be mandatory for students.
“Vaccination for COVID-19 should be just like any other childhood vaccination, so it should be added to that mandatory list,” said Stiles.
Health Minister Christine Elliott reiterated that part of the province’s youth vaccination plan will include school-based vaccine clinics, but they are likely to be run after school hours.
She also defended Ford’s comment, arguing the sentiment was in line with the province’s messaging, adding she is not worried about the potential for hesitancy on the part of parents.
“In fact, I’ve been hearing the opposite. Families want to make sure that the entire family can be vaccinated and protected,” she said.
In other Ford news, the premier issued a video statement via Twitter yesterday to mark Dress Purple Day in support of children’s aid societies and programs for vulnerable children.
Nick Kouvalis’ wife appointed to Ontario Trillium Foundation board
An order-in-council signed by the PC cabinet on October 7 appointed Amber Kouvalis to the board of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the province’s biggest grant-giving agency for non-profit organizations.
Amber is the wife of Nick Kouvalis, Premier Doug Ford’s advisor and owner of polling firm Campaign Research, where Amber works as a call centre manager. She will remain on the Trillium Foundation board through 2024, per the OIC.
“Given the connection of this individual with a close advisor to the premier, it fits with the pattern of Doug Ford doing another favour for another one of his buddies,” charged NDP Ethics critic Taras Natyshak.
The official Opposition has railed against the numerous patronage appointments the PCs made to the Trillium board over the past three years. These include Ford’s former campaign strategist Michael Diamond (who stepped down earlier this fall), his former deputy chief of staff Matt Bondy, ex-Barrie PC MPP Rod Jackson, and failed 2018 PC candidates Mary Henein Thorn and Gary Bennett.
While it is a volunteer position, board members get reimbursed for travel, hospitality and meals, and have final approval over grants after they are vetted by regional review teams.
The Ontario Nonprofit Network has warned the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which saw its funding cut by $15 million by the PCs, is overprescribed and receives five times as many applications as it has grants to disburse.
Meanwhile, an ex-PC candidate who publicly challenged government policy had her posting on the Trillium board rescinded the same day as Kouvalis’ appointment — although she says she stepped down on her own accord.
In May, Maureen Comuzzi withdrew her Thunder Bay—Atikokan PC nomination in protest of the government’s decision to make the Northern Ontario School of Medicine into a standalone university, which is fiercely opposed by Lakehead and local municipal and business leaders in Thunder Bay.
As previously reported by Queen’s Park Today, Kouvalis’ Campaign Research — which conducts internal polling on the PC’s behalf — received more than $616,741 in contracts from the party’s caucus services bureau in 2020-21, up from around $121,000 the year before.
PCs make progress on perception of pandemic handling, but NDP closes in
With Covid infection rates seemingly under control and Ontario approaching its goal of 90 per cent vaccination, a new Angus Reid poll shows the PC government is making headway on turning around the perception it has mishandled the pandemic.
But this has not stopped the NDP from surging from third place into a statistical tie with the PCs in voter intention, with the governing party sitting at 34 per cent support and the official Opposition at 32 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Liberals and Greens lag behind with 25 and five per cent of voter intention, respectively, per the Angus Reid survey released yesterday. (These horse race results are quite a bit different than what a Leger poll found earlier this month: PCs 35, Libs 30, NDP 25.)
According to Angus Reid, 45 per cent of Ontarians believe the province is doing a “good job” handling the COVID-19 pandemic, marking a jump of 11 points from a similar survey in June. But even with that increase, the Ontario government remains the third-lowest rated in the country when it comes to local perceptions of the provincial pandemic response.
The PCs are effectively tied with the Manitoba government, which also saw a more than 10-point jump in its pandemic approval from June. But that comes after the increasingly unpopular Brian Pallister stepped down as premier in August.
Other ideological allies of Premier Doug Ford’s government are faring far worse. Jason Kenney’s United Conservative government in Alberta has just 20 per cent approval for its pandemic response, down 13 points since June. Saksatchewan plunged 29 points down to 32 per cent approval in the same time period.
Despite support for the PC’s pandemic response sitting below 50 per cent, it’s actually the file with the most positive feedback for the government from Ontarians.
Its approach to transportation infrastructure, which the party is making a centrepiece issue of its election campaign, has 42 per cent approval. The PC’s handling of the economy, another hot-button issue ahead of the June vote, has 31 per cent approval — down from 57 per cent this time last year.
The government’s handling of the environment file sits at 21 per cent approval, child care at 20 per cent, seniors care at 13 per cent, and housing affordability the lowest rated at nine per cent.
Today’s events
October 28 at 9 a.m. — Toronto
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner and deputy leaders Dianne Saxe and Abhijeet Manay will make a “major announcement” ahead of the June election.
October 28 at 9:30 a.m. — Hamilton
Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and PC MPP Donna Skelly will make an announcement.
October 28 at 9:30 a.m. — Prince Edward County
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will make five stops in “The County” to tour local businesses, meet the chamber of commerce and call for a tourism tax credit.
October 28 at noon — Peterborough
Associate Mental Health and Addictions Minister Michael Tibollo will make an announcement.
Topics of conversation
- There were 321 new Covid cases confirmed on Wednesday. The province also reported 215 patients in hospital (down 18), as well as 134 in ICU with a Covid-related illness (down four). There were nine new deaths and one from more than a month ago added, putting the provincial toll at 9,862.
- There were 90 new Covid cases in schools confirmed on Tuesday, 85 of which were among students.
- There were 21,761 vaccine doses administered on Tuesday.
- The NDP accused Education Minister Stephen Lecce of fabricating a claim, made on Tuesday, that a vaccine mandate for education workers “would mean that we would potentially be terminating 50,000 workers in the education space.” Lecce has said that that figure includes teachers and other school staff, including custodians.
- “This is just a number that comes out of thin air,” said NDP Education critic Marit Stiles.
- The Toronto District School Board announced yesterday it is pushing back the deadline for its staff to be fully vaccinated from November 1 to mid-December to ensure “the appropriate number of staff are in place to address any shortfalls.”
- One area where vaccine mandates have caused staffing shortages, however, is at the Toronto Transit Commission, which said yesterday it will have to adjust its service levels in November because there have been so many holdouts.
- In more transit worker news, the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents public transportation employees in Toronto and across the province, said its members should get the legal right to use washrooms at businesses — a measure proposed in Bill 27, Working for Workers Act. The exclusion of transit workers, the union argued, is “a slap in the face.”
- “There is no reason why transit workers should have been left out of this legislation,” union president John Di Nino said. “Access to bathrooms is a health and safety problem for all those in the transport sector.”
- The University of Toronto announced on Wednesday it would divest its endowments and pension funds of any investments in fossil fuel companies.
- “Universities have both an economic imperative and a moral obligation to manage these assets in ways that encourage carbon emission-reducing behaviour in the wider economy,” said U of T president Meric Gertler in an open letter published yesterday.
News briefs
NDP reveals its own electric vehicles strategy
- The NDP and PCs are going head-to-head with competing promises to make Ontario a major centre for electric vehicle production in North America..
- The NDP proposal, which is part of its Green New Democratic Deal platform, includes a target of 100 per cent of car sales to be EVs by 2035, backed by purchasing incentives, such as $600 grants for home charging stations. It also pledges to electrify provincial and municipal government vehicle fleets by 2040.
- “Being a leader on zero emissions vehicles will create thousands of great jobs, make life more affordable for families, and help deliver the future our kids and grandkids deserve,” said Horwath.
Horwath vows to save Carruthers Creek from development
- If elected, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath promised to add the Carruthers Creek Headwaters near Ajax to the Greenbelt, in order to halt development and the potential destruction of the wetlands there.
- In recent months, the PCs have added many urban river valleys to the Greenbelt, but not Carruthers Creek, where developers are currently donating land for a new hospital that critics think will be a pathway to more development — and flood risks. The Narwhal’s Emma McIntosh has an in-depth look at the issue.
- The NDP also circulated a video revealing that in 2018, Ajax MPP Rod Phillips also supported adding the headwaters to the Greenbelt to prevent flooding in the town, saying he didn’t understand why it had not been included before.
Funding announcements
Tuition support for LTC workers looking to upgrade skills
- The province is spending up to $100 million to add 2,000 more nurses to the long-term care sector by 2024-25 — the same year it is pledging residents will get four hours of daily care. The money will help PSWs and RPNs pay for tuition so they can upgrade their skills.
- Ontario Long-Term Care Association CEO Donna Duncan called it an “historic step forward to build a stronger long-term care system.”
Money for agri-food research
- The province and Ottawa are providing $2.76 million to 21 research and innovation projects in the agri-food sector. The projects will focus on issues such as reducing food waste, improving worker training and enhancing the detection of plant viruses.
Money for Parry Sound businesses
- The province is providing $840,000 to 43 businesses in the Parry Sound area to help them adapt to public health guidelines through new online marketing tools, facility expansions and PPE purchases.
Question period
NDP lead-off
What’s the holdup on LTC fines?
- If the PCs had proclaimed a Liberal-era amendment to the Long-Term Care Homes Act laying out fines for LTC homes, NDP deputy leader Sara Singh said, negligent homes could have been penalized throughout the pandemic.
- “This government had three years to act, and they did nothing,” she charged. “They could have proclaimed these laws on day one, but they chose not to.”
- Neither Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips nor government house leader Paul Calandra provided a specific reason for the delay, but Phillips said the government’s new enforcement bill for nursing homes is coming Thursday.
$10-per-day child care, yes or no?
- NDP Jeff Burch called on the government to “stop the theatrics” and sign a deal with Ottawa to bring $10-per-day child-care, accusing it of “ideological dithering.”
- Education Minister Stephen Lecce scoffed, reiterating the PCs are trying to negotiate the best deal, something the opposition parties would not be capable of doing.
- “Thank goodness the New Democrats or the Liberals are not in the driver’s seat in this negotiation. They would have caved to the federal Liberals immediately,” said Lecce.
The Facedrive facepalm
- NDP MPP Peter Tabuns all but accused the PCs of corruption by giving a grant to Toronto-based company Facedrive, which was promised $2.5 million from the province to develop devices for contact tracing. Despite being touted as a “made in Ontario solution,” the company simply bought devices from a Chinese manufacturer.
- “But that’s not all: Facedrive’s executive vice-president kicked thousands of dollars into the PC coffers last year just after the government gave the company millions in public dollars,” said Tabuns.
- (The most recent PC donation from Facedrive’s executive vice-president Mujir Muneeruddin Queen’s Park Today could identify was in 2018.)
- Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli defended the grant, noting the application process through the Ontario Together Fund “was assessed by ministry officials using internal experts as well as external, independent and third-party institutions.”
- He said the ministry can take action if the investment isn’t spent “in accordance with the funding agreement.”
Paying off someone else’s mortgage
- NDP MPP Jessica Bell said too many homes are bought as investment properties by a small group of property owners, to be rented to people who would rather own homes themselves. Under the PCs, affordability has “gone from bad to worse,” per the tenants’ Rights critic.
- “People want to pay off their own mortgage. They don't want to pay off someone else's mortgage,” said Bell. “Our housing sector very clearly is now catering to investors’ intent on profit over first-time homebuyers.”
- Calandra said the answer to this, and rising rents, is to build more housing. He accused the NDP of opposing the province’s investments to make that happen.
One thousand days after the Onley Report
- NDP MPP Joel Harden blasted the government for not implementing recommendations from former lieutenant-governor David Onley’s review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which was completed in January 2019. It concluded “Ontario is not a place of opportunity but one of countless, dispiriting, soul-crushing barriers.”
- “The government has let this report collect dust on the shelf,” accused Harden.
- The province is still working on it, according to the government house leader. “It's not really a partisan issue,” said Calandra after blaming the previous Liberal government for the delays. “It’s something we have to work on together as a legislature, and it has to involve partnerships with our friends at the municipal level, as well as the federal level.”
- Harden was unsatisfied with that answer and lodged a complaint with the Speaker, leading to further debate in the afternoon.
Independent questions
Ontario at COP26
- Green Leader Mike Schreiner asked if the province is planning to send a representative to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (also known as COP26) taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, starting October 31.
- “Pivotal climate negotiations begin next week, and it’s vital that Canada’s largest province show leadership,” said Schreiner.
- PC MPP Andrea Khanjin did not indicate whether a provincial representative would be at COP26, instead defending the PC’s approach to environmental policy.
PC questions
PC backbenchers asked their party colleagues softball questions about the flu vaccine rollout, Dress Purple Day and overcoming vaccine hesitancy.
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