Quotation of the day
“I’m not a moustache guy and probably couldn’t grow one even if I tried.”
Premier Doug Ford isn’t growing his own moustache for #Movember this year. Instead, he posted a video showcasing “some of the best ‘staches out there.”
His complete list included Lionel Richie, Yosemite Sam, Mark Twain, Eddie Murphy, Lanny McDonald, Ned Flanders, Albert Einstein, Ron Burgundy, Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott.
Today at Queen’s Park
Written by Alan S. Hale
On the schedule
MPPs will reconvene at 10:30 a.m. for question period.
This afternoon, the house will debate a motion from Solicitor General Sylvia Jones to extend the province's emergency powers under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act until March 28, 2022.
Otherwise the docket is scant, as all of the four pieces of government legislation on the order paper are currently at committee stage.
Committees this week
Clause-by-clause consideration of Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, and Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act, makes up much of this week’s schedules.
The social policy committee will conduct its review of Bill 27 on Tuesday, while the general government committee will work on Bill 13 on Friday.
Also on Tuesday, the government agencies committee will meet to consider two new appointments.
One of these would make Mark Brickell a member of the Ontario Parole Board. Brickell was the director of former Manitoba PC premier Brian Pallister’s leadership campaign in 2012 and is, apparently, a regular contributor to the Ontario PC Party.
According to Elections Ontario data, since 2018, a Mark Brickell has made yearly donations to the Ontario PCs amounting to $1,650.
Brickell does not appear to have any obvious relevant experience in the justice, law enforcement, or community service fields like many other members of the parole board do. Brickell currently runs his own consulting firm, which includes government relations services, and before that he was the CAO of the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.
He was fired from his role as CAO in 2018 following a clash with two of his board members over the firing of a manager who was also a Port Colborne regional councillor. He sued for wrongful dismissal and settled with the conservation authority for $2.3 million.
The second appointment being considered would make Alayne Crawford a member of the board of governors of Collège d'arts appliqués et de technologie La Cité collégiale. Crawford is the head of government and regulatory affairs for IBM Canada, as well as a fellow of the political management program at Carleton University.
An Alayne Crawford made a political contribution of $150 to Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod’s election campaign in 2018.
In other committee business, the public accounts committee will meet in closed session on Wednesday for another briefing from auditor general Bonnie Lysyk in the morning, and then an afternoon of writing auditor general reports.
At the park
Health-care workers and labour activists will rally on the Queen’s Park lawn this morning to pressure the government to pass the NDP’s Bill 8, Stay Home If You Are Sick Act, which would provide 10 paid sick days to all workers in Ontario.
Premier watch
Premier Doug Ford turned 57 on Saturday and received well-wishes from a handful of members of his caucus on social media, including Toby Barrett, Bob Bailey, Jim McDonell, Kaleed Rasheed, Raymond Cho, Amarjot Sandhu, Natalia Kusendova, Merrilee Fullerton, Prabmeet Sarkaria and Monte McNaughton, as well as the PC Party’s official account.
The party also sent a virtual birthday card via email to supporters to attach their names to. The goal was to get at least 5,000 signatures before it was given to Ford.
“Our leader is working incredibly hard for the people of this province. Let's show him how much we appreciate him,” read the email.
On Friday, Ford visited the Conrex Steel plant in Etobicoke with Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma.
He and several PC MPPs also donned headscarves as they attended the Sikh Spiritual Centre in Toronto for the celebration of Gurpurab, an important religious festival that commemorates the birth of Guru Nanak, the faith’s founder, in 1469.
Ford has also taken third place in Toronto Life’s list of the 100 most influential Torontonians in 2021 “because he finally listened to the scientists.”
Ford was chosen as the No. 1 most influential Torontonian in 2018, but this year that honour went to the “vax hunters,” Sabrina Craig and Andrew Young. He also placed second in 2019 and 2020; that spot went to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland this year.
He did outrank Toronto Mayor John Tory, who came in at No. 5, this time around.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce took the No. 10 spot, “because his decisions affect every school-aged kid in the province,” while Treasury President Prabmeet Sarkaria was No. 38 and was dubbed “the new face of the Ontario PC Party.”
High-profile doctors like vaccine task force member Isaac Bogoch and science table member Peter Jüni got honourable mentions.
On Sunday, Ford gave a shout out to veteran Brian Parsons, who organized a food drive for the Veterans Food Bank, and encouraged people to drop off donations at any Toronto Transit Commission location by November 30.
Hamilton council defies PCs on boundary expansion proposal
Hamilton city council opted Friday to defy the province’s insistence that it abandon plans to grow the city within its current municipal boundaries. In a 13-3 vote, councillors ruled out expanding Hamilton’s boundaries by 1,310 hectares into the surrounding agricultural “white belt.”
It was hailed as a major victory by advocates who have been pushing the city to grow its housing stock by intensifying development, rather than converting farmland outside its borders into new suburbs. But in doing so, the municipality may have put itself on a collision course with the PC government.
In the months leading up to the vote, the province’s chief planner Steve Robichaud told council in a letter keeping the current boundaries status quo until 2051 was not acceptable because it would not comply with the goals laid out in A Place to Grow: The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Specifically, Robichaud, who works within the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, said sticking to the limited space would create a deficit of nearly 60,000 housing units needed to keep up with population growth.
Instead, the ministry suggested Hamilton councillors choose another option posed by city staff that involved expanding the city’s boundaries into neighbouring farmland.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger and the majority of council, who sided against that option, refuted the province’s belief that intensification would not be able to keep up with population growth on its own.
"This is not a no-growth option. This is a where-do-we-grow option. And in my view, that where-do-we-grow option ought to exist in the current urban boundary," said Eisenberger. The city plans to reform its residential zoning laws to allow for increased housing intensification.
Other councillors bemoaned that the decision would mean single-family homes could become unaffordable for most residents in the years to come.
Environmental Defence lauded the move, calling it a “valuable template” for other GTHA municipalities who want to reconcile saving farmland and environmental considerations with the need to build more housing.
In September, Hamilton Councillor John-Paul Danko told Queen’s Park Today the ministry’s letter had been seen by many as an “ultimatum” from a government “trying to muscle us into their predetermined outcome,“ and that there was considerable speculation the province’s motive was to benefit PC-linked developers.
It remains to be seen how the province will respond. Queen’s Park Today reached out to Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark on Sunday asking what its next step will be but did not receive a response.
PCs refuse to talk about exploratory permits during promised meeting with Grassy Narrows
On the heels of a lawsuit over exploratory mining permits issued for areas the Grassy Narrows First Nation claims as its traditional territory, Chief Randy Fobister says Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development and Mining Minister Greg Rickford “refused to discuss mining issues” during a meeting with the First Nation’s leadership.
The First Nation sued the province in attempt to block the permits, prompting Dave Smith, parliamentary assistant to the northern development and mines minister, to promise last Tuesday during question period there would be a meeting between the province and Grassy Narrows leadership over the issue.
“Ontario continues to behave like a colonizer who believes that they can force anything they want on our people and our land,” said Fobister in a statement, noting his community has asked the PCs to discuss land protection issues eight times since they were elected without being taken up on the offer.
Grassy Narrows says it did get Rickford to agree to attend a community roundhouse meeting to discuss both mining and logging in their territory, but no date has been released.
“I am inviting Ontario to join us now on the path of protection, healing, and reconciliation. These mining and logging issues need to be resolved urgently so that our youth can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Fobister. “We should not have to fight again and again to protect our health, our land, and our way of life.”
Queen’s Park Today reached out to Rickford’s office on Sunday asking for comment on Fobister’s characterization of the meeting, and when the roundhouse meeting will take place, but did not hear back.
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner issued a statement about the situation on Friday, arguing that “handing out permits behind closed doors is damaging and continues the cycle of colonialism.”
Grassy Narrows has been hit hard by industrialization within its territory in the past and is still dealing with its legacy.
For instance, the community has been grappling with mercury poisoning of its members for decades, believed to have been caused by contamination from the Dryden pulp mill that operated from 1962 to 1970. The amount of cases in the small reserve community has even attracted the attention of researchers from Japan specializing in Minamata disease (mercury poisoning).
In its application to the Ontario Superior Court on November 15, Grassy Narrows highlighted this legacy as a reason why the permits should be revoked.
“Given the established Treaty 3 rights at stake, the history of direct and cumulative impacts and the need to respect Grassy Narrows' Land Declaration, Ontario was obliged to consult Grassy Narrows at the high end of the consultation spectrum and obtain Grassy Narrows' consent to the Permits,” reads the document.
In addition to quashing the recent permits, the First Nation is also asking the court to bar new ones from being issued with its territory until the conflict over land use is “resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties,” require the province to “consult and obtain the consent” of Grassy Narrows to issue any new permits, and impose a requirement to give 90 days’ notice before any permitted work can be carried out.
Pressure on the province to backtrack has been growing since the Star published a story about the situation. During question period last week, Smith defended the PC’s decision, noting the permits do not allow for any actual mining to take place.
“The exploration activity is not actually mining activity. Mining is a multi-step process that we have to go through, and it begins with the exploration permit,” said Smith. “But an exploration permit does not allow the exploration company to engage in mine development, construction or production of the mine. It is a multi-year process that we have to go through.”
On Saturday, the Star’s editorial board called on the province to ”stop the injury and insult” and “back off mining at Grassy Narrows.”
Today’s events
November 22 at 9:45 a.m. — Queen’s Park
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and National Council of Canadian Muslims CEO Mustafa Farooq will unveil a new bill to combat Islamophobia.
November 22 at 11:45 a.m. — Queen’s Park
Auditor general Bonnie Lysyk and environment commissioner Tyler Schulz will release their office’s annual environmental audits report. Environment Minister David Piccini will take questions immediately after.
November 22 at 1 p.m. — Virtual
Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson will deliver a speech at the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s annual general meeting today. Premier Doug Ford will also send his greetings via a pre-recorded video message.
Topics of conversation
- New Covid infections hovered above 700 per day throughout the weekend, with the province confirming 741 cases on Sunday. The province also reported 107 patients in hospital (down 171 since Thursday) and 135 in ICU with a Covid-related illness (up six since Thursday). As usual, the caveat that not all hospitals report their data on weekends applies.
- Twelve more deaths were added to the provincial toll since Thursday, putting it at 9,967.
- There were 109 new school cases confirmed on Friday, 101 of which were among students.
- Meanwhile, 11,404 vaccine doses were administered on Saturday. The science table is urging the millions of Ontarians who are eligible for boosters to make appointments, as pickup has been sluggish.
- On Friday, Health Canada issued its much-anticipated approval for children aged five to 11 to receive the Pfizer Covid vaccine, with the province able to start inoculations this week. Health Minister Christine Elliott and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones welcomed the news, saying Ontario is ready to distribute the doses before the holiday season and that Ottawa has promised enough supply to immunize all children in the province, although work to finalize the details is ongoing.
- “Over the coming days, parents will hear additional details from their local public health units. Vaccines will be available through familiar channels such as select doctors' offices, hospitals, pharmacies and school-based clinics,” they said in a joint statement.
- The NDP welcomed the development as well, saying it will come as “a welcome relief for families across the province,” but calling the fact parents have not been able to pre-register their children “inexcusable.”
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not get much traction on his fight against tax credits for Americans who buy U.S.-made EVs last week. He didn’t have much to say on the matter after the “three amigos” summit wrapped up in Washington D.C. last Thursday, other than highlighting his concerns with the policy to U.S. President Joe Biden, who is now “very aware” of the threat it poses to Canadian auto manufacturing.
- For his part, Biden said he’s going to wait until the measure gets through Congress before determining whether there is a compromise to be made with Trudeau.
- Last week, Premier Doug Ford timed the release of a new EV strategy with the summit in D.C.
- After months of insisting they were working on it, sources inside the provincial and federal governments told the Star the two sides are sitting down on Tuesday to hammer out a deal to bring $10-per-day child care to Ontario.
- A federal source said Ottawa still has not received a complete proposal from the PCs, but that tomorrow’s meeting is “definite progress.”
- Provincial sources said Ontario still intends to insist its $3.6-billion full-day kindergarten program be taken into consideration when deciding how much funding the province will get.
- A new poll conducted by Leger and commissioned by Postmedia shows that next year’s election is shaping up to be a race between the PCs and the Liberals. The poll found the gap in voter intention between the two parties has been narrowing. Currently, the PCs have 34 per cent support while the Grits have 31 per cent, which is within the margin of error (+/- 3.1 per cent). In March, the pollster had the PCs at 38 per cent and the Liberals in third place with 23 per cent.
- The Liberals are in a much-improved situation and will be looking to build and improve upon that as we move closer to election time,” Leger CEO Andrew Enns told the National Post. “It’ll be a close race.”
- PC donors have the opportunity to cough up for $1,000 events four days in a row this week. Tonight there is a shindig in Toronto, tomorrow funds will be raised for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill MPP Michael Parsa, Wednesday there’s a bash in Etobicoke, and Thursday Premier Doug Ford will be on hand to meet and greet donors to the Markham—Unionville riding association.
- Independent MPP Randy Hillier’s new Ontario First Party now has a website. On it, the party refers to the People’s Party of Canada as its “federal cousins;” asks supporters to join the “purple wave;” and details a mandate of reining in government overreach, promoting freedoms and fighting against “medical bureaucracies” and “social justice warriors.”
- It also asks Ontarians to get involved in the OFP’s local riding associations and “volunteer to help us win the next provincial election!”
- Ontario Senator Josée Forest-Niesing passed away from Covid. Forest-Niesing, who hailed from Sudbury, was fully vaccinated but had an autoimmune disorder that made her vulnerable to the illness.
- Ontario’s Big City Mayors met in person for the first time in a long time Friday. The group of 27 mayors voted to pass a handful of resolutions, including urging the Ministry of Finance to make good on a regulatory change that would remove the five per cent cap on annual payments in lieu of taxes that incorporated airport authorities pay their host municipalities.
News briefs
Twinning of highway from Kenora
- Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and Northern Development Minister Greg Rickford were in Kenora on Friday to announce the province will twin Highway 17, which runs from that city to the Manitoba border. No price tag was specified.
- Local leaders have been calling for Highway 17 to be twinned for many years. Because Winnipeg is the closest major city, many people in Kenora and the surrounding region travel two hours to get there to shop or seek medical treatment, rather than to Thunder Bay which is seven hours away.
Funding announcements
Money for crime victim supports
- The province is providing $2 million to the Victim Crisis Assistance Ontario Program to support its 46 branches across the province, which provide services to crime victims.
- Children, Community and Social Services Minister Jill Dunlop made the announcement, as crime victim support is one of the files that is being transferred from the attorney general to her ministry in the new year.
Appointments and employments
MNR Valour Award recipient running for the PCs
- The PCs have nominated William Foy of Kirkland Lake as their candidate for Timiskaming—Cochrane next June. Foy works for the province as a conservation officer.
- According to the Ontario Conservation Officers Association, in 2004 Foy was able to non-violently talk down and arrest a young man at Esker Lakes Provincial Park who had apparently stabbed his own mother with a knife. The teenager was taken to hospital for mental health treatment, and Foy continued on with his original plan for that day: giving a presentation to a group of junior rangers. He was later presented with the Ministry of Natural Resources Valour Award.
Simard gets her first Liberal nomination
- Amanda Simard has been nominated as the Liberal candidate for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell for the first time since she jumped ship from the PCs and eventually joined that party. It is not clear whether anyone ran against her to receive the nomination.
- The PCs hope to flip the seat back to blue by running Stéphane Sarrazin, a well-known local politician and warden of the United Counties of Prescott-Russell.
Ontario’s first ‘Gen-Z’ candidate
- The Green Party announced 21-year-old Zachary Typhair has been nominated as its candidate for Kingston and the Islands, likely making him the first member of Gen Z (people born between the late-90s and early 2010s) to run for provincial office in Ontario.
- Typhair is currently vice-president of the federal Green Party’s council. He was also a communications director and vice-president of the Ontario Green party until 2020. He has worked at McDonald’s and attended St. Lawrence College.
- “Youth are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and we need to have our voices heard. It’s our future that’s on the line,” said Typhair. “My generation is frustrated with the half measures and inaction on climate from the legacy parties. It’s time for real climate action.”
Oops!
Friday’s edition of Queen’s Park Today erroneously reported Premier Doug Ford’s birthday was on Sunday. It was actually Saturday, November 20. We regret the error.
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