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Quotation of the day
“This is not a serious concern.”
Health Minister Christine Elliott says the difficulties parents have encountered booking simultaneous Covid vaccine appointments for multiple children can be solved by picking up a phone.
Today at Queen’s Park
Written by Alan S. Hale
On the schedule
Today will begin with a continuation of debate on the throne speech. About five of the requisite 12 hours of debate on the speech have been completed so far.
In the afternoon, the house will debate NDP MPPs Jessica Bell, Doly Begum and Bhutila Karpoche’s private members’ Bill 54, Protecting Vulnerable Road Users Act.
The social policy committee held clause-by-clause on Bill 27, Working for Workers Act, Tuesday, which will likely be reported back to the house today.
Opposition committee members attempted to get through a suite of amendments on the bill — including setting out fines for scofflaw temp recruiters in the legislation rather than later through regulation, allowing a broader swath of gig workers to use business’ bathrooms and scrapping WSIB surplus payouts to corporations — but were shut down.
Over at the legislative assembly committee, discussion on Bill 37, the PC’s long-term care reform legislation, opens up to a long list of public witnesses today.
Tuesday's debates and proceedings
MPPs resumed debate on the government’s motion to extend the province’s emergency pandemic powers until March 28, which continued throughout the day. It carried on division.
With no other government business on the docket, the house held second-reading debate on NDP MPPs Peggy Sattler, Jill Andrew, Doly Begum and Sara Singh’s Bill 8, Stay Home If You Are Sick Act.
Earlier in the day, the NDP held a press conference in which it framed the debate as an effort to “reignite” the discussion over paid sick days in Ontario, with the Opposition party gunning to get the PCs to reinstitute permanent paid sick leave. The NDP wants at least 10 paid sick days for every worker in Ontario.
“We watched as the pandemic ripped through particular communities. We watched as the government stood by and refused to put those paid sick days in place, and that just allowed the virus to continue to wreak havoc, illness and death,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath on Tuesday morning.
During question period, Premier Doug Ford argued the province has done enough already. The current program, which requires employers to provide staff $200 for up to three days if they can’t work due to Covid, is set to expire December 31.
“From the start of this pandemic, our government has said yes to protecting workers. We were the first to introduce unlimited job-protected leave so that nobody had to choose between their job and their health,” Ford declared. “So I think we did a pretty good job.”
MPPs also debated second reading of NDP MPP Teresa Armstrong’s private member’s Bill 14, Time to Care Act, which would guarantee long-term care residents four hours of daily care swifter than the PCs are promising.
Recorded votes on both private members’ bills were deferred until today.
Premier watch
Premier Doug Ford sent his well-wishes to PC MPP Jim McDonell who announced that he will retire from provincial politics at the end of his term, meaning the PCs will have to pick a new candidate for Stormont—Dundas— South Glengarry.
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with you Jim and I wish you and your family all the best,” tweeted Ford.
McDonell has been the MPP for the riding since 2011 — when he flipped it from the Liberals to the PCs — and has enjoyed broad support there ever since, attracting more that half of the popular vote in every election afterwards.
“I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish locally and across Ontario under the leadership of Doug Ford with a great team at Queen’s Park. However, the time has come to pass the torch and to enjoy the next chapter of my life closer to home,” said McDonell in a statement.
McDonell, who was the mayor of South Stormont before entering provincial politics, says he will continue to be “very active” in the community after his retirement.
He joins PCs Amy Fee, Randy Pettapiece, Norm Miller and Gila Martow who also aren’t running again.
Notwithstanding the notwithstanding clause: court hears arguments to strike down Bill 307
Ontario Superior Court Justice Ed Morgan heard arguments this week to strike down the PC’s third-party advertising rules contained in Bill 307, Protecting Elections and Defending Democracy Act, despite the government invoking the notwithstanding clause when it was passed during the last session.
The lawsuit was launched by the Working Families Coalition, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, among others. The court heard submissions from those plaintiffs on Monday and Tuesday, along with interveners such as Democracy Watch, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University.
ETFO’s lawyers argued that although the province maintains the aim of the legislation is to promote “an egalitarian model of elections,” its true purpose is unconstitutional “partisan self-dealing.” They asked the court to strike down the law immediately, with next June’s election looming.
Bill 307, which was sped through the legislature and received royal assent in June, extends limits on third-party advertising from six to 12 months before an election call.
Incidentally, Justice Morgan is the same judge who ruled those provisions, as contained in Bill 254, were unconstitutional, prompting Bill 307 and its inclusion of the notwithstanding clause.
“The lifeblood of our democracy, free flow of information, right to be informed, the engagement and legitimate political discourse, has been stifled — chilled — by the provisions of Bill 307 and without there even being a pretense that it has been done to meet a carefully tailored, or carefully considered, legitimate objective,” ETFO counsel Howard Goldblatt told the virtual courtroom.
The government will have its opportunity to present arguments for keeping the law today.
The unions are asking the court for a declaration that the government explain its justification of the spending limitations. Lawyers for the attorney general have argued there would be no purpose to such a declaration.
Democracy Watch lawyer Crawford Smith said Tuesday that “limits on third-party interest group ad spending between elections can be constitutional if the limits are democratic, established democratically, and based on the actual cost of reaching voters through advertising on any issue.” But Bill 307 falls short because it allows wealthy individuals to spend the same amount of money as citizen groups, which may have thousands of members, Smith posited.
“These limits need to account for fundamental differences between third parties,” said Smith. “Bill 307 exacerbated the ability of wealthy individuals to influence elections.”
Morgan’s decision is likely weeks away.
More organizations register as third parties
Meanwhile, many organizations impacted by the spending limitations appear to still be holding off on registering as third parties amid the expanded pre-election period.
When Queen’s Park Today last reported on the number of registrations in September, there were only 13 organizations listed as registered third parties by Elections Ontario, just two of which had registered since Bill 307 passed. Now, there are 21 listed online:
- Peaceful Parks registered on August 6 (one of the groups Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark filed a complaint about);
- Daily Bread Food Bank on August 10;
- Feed Ontario on September 9;
- The Ontario Real Estate Corporation on September 18;
- The Ontario Association of Optometrists on October 14 (two weeks after eye doctors began their service withdrawal to pressure the province on OHIP fees);
- Charles McVety Report Inc. — which is run by its namesake, evangelist and Doug Ford ally Charles McVety — on November 4; and
- The Elementary Teachers of Toronto also registered on November 4, as did the Ontario Autism Coalition.
In contrast, 59 third-party groups registered to advertise ahead of the 2018 general election
— although a large batch of them waited until close to the official campaign period to do so.
Despite the recent registrations, there have been only a handful of new ad spends by third parties.
During their standoff with the province over OHIP fees, the Ontario Association of Optometrists spent just over $20,000 on CP24 television ads in September, and almost $39,000 with strategic communications firm Wellington Advocacy Inc. in September and October. It has spent roughly nine per cent of its pre-election spending limit under the law.
CUPE Local 966, which represents 3,500 community and municipal workers in Peel Region, spent $18,500 on an ad campaign with Joe Hill Communications on September 8. This is just under three per cent of the union’s spending limit.
The Ontario Real Estate Association spent roughly $20,200 with JAW Advertising in October, representing just 3.2 per cent of its limit.
Today’s events
November 24 at 8:50 a.m. — Cambridge
Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli will make an announcement.
November 24 at 9:30 a.m. — Whitby
Labour Minister Monte McNaughton and Education Minister Stephen Lecce will make an announcement about careers for young people.
November 24 at 9:30 a.m. — Queen’s Park
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner will announce the reintroduction of legislation to protect the Paris Galt Moraine.
November 24 at 11:30 a.m. — Thunder Bay
Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford will make an announcement.
November 24 at 11:30 a.m. — Mississauga
Education Minister Stephen Lecce and PC MPP Natalia Kusendova will make an announcement.
Topics of conversation
- The province confirmed 613 new Covid cases on Tuesday, as well as 282 patients in hospital (up 146) and 134 in ICU with a Covid-related illness (up one).
- Nine more deaths were added to the provincial toll, while three were removed due to data cleaning, putting it at 9,974.
- There were 277 new school cases confirmed on Tuesday, 247 of which were among students.
- Meanwhile, 11,096 vaccine doses were administered on Monday.
- The OPP and Sûreté du Québec have arrested two people suspected of hacking into the province’s Covid vaccine booking system, which led to people receiving spam emails after scheduling appointments. It took five days to locate the suspects. Solicitor General Sylvia Jones praised the police for their “swift and thorough investigation.” She also noted the investigation had “confirmed that no personal health information had been accessed.”
- One of the people charged was a 21-year-old employee in the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services’ vaccine contact centre. He has since been fired and charged with unauthorized use of a computer.
- The Liberals are once again calling for the ouster of Dr. Matt Strauss, the controversial interim medical officer in Haldimand-Norfolk, pointing to remarks he made to a local newspaper suggesting the benefit of children being vaccinated may not outweigh the risks.
- Uber Eats announced this week it has partnered with cannabis retailer Tokyo Smoke. For now, users who order weed through the app will have to pick it up from a storefront themselves, but with the PCs poised to make cannabis delivery a permanent option via Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act, there is potential that game plan will evolve.
- The Ontario Public Sector Employees Union is “greatly concerned” about a government plan to shift employment services at Ontario’s 24 public colleges to private companies. The process began in 2020, the union says, with Labour Minister Monte McNaughton’s decision to create “service system managers” to oversee employment services in pilot regions and to introduce a competitive process to award the contracts, which the union believes favours private companies.
- “Our public colleges are the experts with decades of experience and contacts in the community,” noted OPSEU president Smokey Thomas. “Shifting employment services to other providers makes no sense whatsoever.”
- Constance Lake First Nation has declared a state of emergency because of a contagious, deadly lung infection called blastomycosis, which had infected 11 people as of Monday. Several people have been transported from the community 40 kilometres west of Hearst to hospitals in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay and Ottawa.
News briefs
Liberals promise the return of a smaller EV rebate
- Liberal Party Leader Steven Del Duca held a press conference Tuesday to announce one plank of the Liberals’ still unreleased climate change platform: bringing back the rebate for purchasing electric vehicles.
- Del Duca’s proposed rebate ($8,000 for buying an EV and up to $1,500 for installing a charger) is smaller than the version the PCs repealed in 2018. He said that’s because Ottawa is now also offering a $5,000 rebate, bringing the total to $13,000. “That's about $1,000 less than the previous provincial incentive, but I felt that was a very strong signal,” Del Duca said.
- Del Duca also sought to deflect PC criticism that the rebate would mostly benefit wealthy Ontarians purchasing luxury cars by saying his plan will mirror the feds’ eligibility criteria, which generally excludes very expensive EVs (although Teslas and BMWs are still on the list).
- When asked during question period whether the province will support the Liberals’ effort, Environment Minister David Piccini claimed PC’s policies have already led to “a 210 per cent increase in EV sales year over year from Q2 2020 to Q2 2021.”
- Both the Greens and NDP have also pledged EV rebates, should they form government.
Talk about hot wheels
- The province has two new mobile units that will be hitting the road to provide local fire departments with live training. The first of the 16-metre-long units were set up in Bradford yesterday for use by departments in central and southern Ontario. When construction on the second is completed in December, it will head up into northern Ontario.
- The training units were first announced when the solicitor general ministry revealed it was shutting down the Ontario Fire College in Gravenhurst earlier this year. It had been training firefighters for over 70 years but was impacted by the pandemic.
Funding announcements
Money for new child care spaces and schools
- Education Minister Stephen Lecce was in Mississauga yesterday to detail the $600 million in capital funding the province plans to spend to create 26 new schools and undertake 20 renovations, along with 32 renovations to child care centres, that is expected to create 1,500 new licensed child care spaces.
- The announcement comes as the province is feeling the pressure to sign a subsidized child care deal with Ottawa. When asked whether a pact will be inked and implemented by January, Lecce wouldn’t commit but reiterated the province was meeting with Ottawa on the matter that day.
Money for automotive parts manufacturer
- The province is providing ArcelorMittal Tailored Blanks with $1.5 million to help support the auto parts company’s investment in new equipment and improvements to its Woodstock plant, where it manufactures car door parts.
New education centre at humane society
- Ontario is spending $250,000 to help the Humane Society Hastings Prince Edward construct a new community and education centre for use for outreach programs and events.
Appointment and employments
Committee to create standards for voting technology
- Chief electoral officer Greg Essensa has established a new committee that will be tasked with developing standards for voting technologies used in provincial elections, as required by the PC’s Protecting Ontario Elections Act, which passed in the spring. Three members were appointed by Essensa:
- Jean-Pierre Kingsley, former chief electoral officer of Canada (chair);
- Mkabi Walcott, vice-president of standards and international relations at the Standards Council of Canada; and
- Nicole Goodman, associate professor of political science at Brock University.
- The PCs selected two members:
- Michael Crase, executive director for the PC Party; and
- Dan Duncan, the party’s director of infrastructure.
- The Grits picked:
- Christine McMillan, the OLP’s campaign director; and
- Milton Chan, the party’s chief legal counsel.
- The NDP selected:
- Don Eady, a “union-side” labour lawyer; and
- Karla Webber-Gallagher, the NDP’s principal secretary.
- For the Greens, it’s:
- Craig Cantin, a former federal and provincial Green Party staffer.
Question Period
NDP lead-off
Problems with kids’ vaccine registrations
- NDP MPP Catherine Fife noted parents signing up their children to be vaccinated have not been able to book multiple children for the same appointment, and are sometimes forced to book multiple appointments on different days in different regions.
- “Why do they keep messing up vaccines in the province of Ontario?” she said of the PCs.
- Health Minister Christine Elliott responded that the province’s adult vaccination program has been successful and that she’s “sure that the vaccinations for children will go equally as well.”
- “This is not a serious concern,” Elliott said while urging parents to call the province’s hotline if they have the problem Fife called out.
Highway 11 and 17 closures
- With winter snow arriving, NDP MPP John Vanthof asked whether the province will designate Highways 11 and 17 in northern Ontario class-1 roads (those that require inspections thrice a week) for winter maintenance purposes.
- Government house leader Paul Calandra said that the government has increased its investment in winter road maintenance in northern Ontario but didn’t sign off on Vanthof’s idea, instead accusing his party of voting against all of the PC’s bills.
‘Predatory’ renovictions
- NDP MPP Monique Taylor called on the government to ban landlords from using renovations as a means to evict tenants from their properties.
- “Will the premier acknowledge that renovictions are predatory, and will he commit to stopping this practice immediately?” asked Taylor.
- Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark took the same tack as Calandra, accusing Taylor of opposing a government bill that increased fines under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Independent questions
Discrimination against unvaccinated students
- Independent MPP Roman Baber argued that unvaccinated post-secondary students are being barred from classes and losing their tuition for not being vaccinated and called on the province to ensure that they are at least able to attend virtually.
- Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop said those decisions are outside the province’s purview and noted that vaccination rates in post-secondaries are at 96 per cent for students and 95 per cent for faculty.
- “Universities, colleges and private career colleges are autonomous legal entities who are responsible for making their own academic and administrative decisions,” she said.
PC questions
PCs promise their own program to fight Islamophobia
- Faced with the imminent introduction of a bi-partisan Our London Families Act to combat Islamophobia, PC MPP Michael Parsa asked Multiculturalism Minister Parm Gill what the province is doing to fight anti-Muslim attacks as well.
- Gill said he met with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (which worked with the NDP to design the Our London Families Act) the day prior and is working with the group to develop an “anti-racism anti-hate program.”
- “Our government will continue to listen to and work with communities right across this great province and fight Islamophobia, racism and hate in all of its forms.”
PC backbenchers also asked their party colleagues softball questions about supporting nuclear power.
Oops!
Yesterday’s newsletter erroneously stated that New Blue MPP Belinda Karahalios last attended Queen’s Park on Thursday prior to her Covid diagnosis the following day. She actually last appeared in the house Tuesday. Her office clarified she first tested positive for Covid on Wednesday evening, which was confirmed by a further PCR test Friday.
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