Dear Neighbour, 

I’m writing today with some updates on the legislative agenda at Queen’s Park. The government has introduced several pieces of legislation, including an omnibus bill, which have very little to do with fighting the pandemic situation. It continues a worrying trend of using COVID-19 as a cover to push forward legislation that removes accountability and tramples on rights. 

• Bill 213 legitimizes Canada Christian College, an institution with a long standing association to homophobic, transphobic, and Islamophbic activities. 
• Bill 215 eliminates the ability for the City of Toronto to regulate noise pollution that is connected to the delivery of goods to businesses. This would make permanent the temporary provision that was enacted by regulation during the pandemic.
• Bill 218 shields for-profit long-term care operators and the government from liability for the spread of COVID-19. It also removes the option for municipalities to run their local elections using a ranked ballot, launching yet another attack on local democracy. 
• New regulations propose expanded capacity limits for childcare settings and reduced requirements for RECE-licensed workers.

At a time when Ontarians are concerned about the second wave of COVID-19, the state of our local small businesses, and the crisis in long-term care, the government seems to have other priorities. I’ve included more information about each of the bills below. 

My focus at Queen’s Park continues to be fighting for our community and the measures needed from the government to make sure that everyone makes it through the pandemic and recovery. Tenants shouldn’t be faced with the prospect of eviction during the second wave. Small businesses continue to need rent relief and financial subsidies which aren’t hidden behind complicated eligibility criteria. Families should be confident that their loved ones are safe in the long-term care system. I’m committed to fighting for measures that make this a reality. 

You can find more information on the new government bills below, as well as details on other provincial announcements.

As always, wash your hands, practise physical distancing, wear a mask when needed, be kind. 

Warmly,

Bill 213 - Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2020

• Section 2 of this Bill gives Canada Christian College the right to call itself a university and award Bachelor-level degrees. CCC’s founder, Charles McVety, has a history of homophobic, transphobic, and Islamophobic bigotry and has led campaigns which target 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Legitimizing CCC undermines the integrity and credibility of our entire post-secondary education system. Canada Christian College was previously stripped of its ability to grant degrees by Premier Bill Davis in 1983.

• Eliminates the requirement that at least 25% of corporate board directors be a resident Canadian

• Dissolves the Ontario Highway Transport Board Act which serves as a quasi-judicial agency responsible for controlling market entry for the public vehicle/intercity bus industry. It takes various responsibilities for intercity transit regulation and places them with the Cabinet, leaving them to make decisions about intercity bus services and public transit without opportunities for public consultation or accountability. 

Action: Send your thoughts to the Associate Minister of Small Business & Red Tape Reduction at prabmeet.sarkaria@pc.ola.org

Bill 215 - Main Street Recovery Act, 2020

• Removes the ability for the City of Toronto, and all municipalities, to prohibit and regulate noise made in the city in connection with the delivery of goods to businesses. (Under the Reopening Ontario Act, the government is allowing 24-hour delivery of commercial goods to restaurants and grocery stores.)

• Introduces licensing requirements for ride-sharing and taxi services in all municipalities and increases the minimum fine for non-compliance from $300 to $500. 

• Increases the mandate of the Ontario Food Terminal to include “agricultural products” alongside wholesale fruit and produce. This will allow Ontario Food Terminal vendors to expand their offerings to products such as honey and preserves, which are often made on the same farms as produce, but previously had to be sold through different avenues. 

Action: Send your thoughts to the Associate Minister of Small Business & Red Tape Reduction at prabmeet.sarkaria@pc.ola.org

Bill 218 - Supporting Ontario's Recovery and Municipal Elections Act, 2020

• Includes provisions to shield for-profit long-term care operators and the government from liability for the spread of COVID-19 and lives lost to the pandemic. Only cases of “gross negligence” would be allowed to go before the courts. After hiding from accountability by voting down our caucus’ proposal for a public, independent judicial inquiry, they are stifling the ability for the families of victims to seek justice. 

• This legislation also removes the option for municipalities to run their local elections using a ranked ballot system. Ranked ballots have already been adopted by voters in London and Kingston, the former of which conducted their first successful ranked ballot election in 2018. It is puzzling why the government is mounting yet another attack on local democracy in the name of “COVID-19 recovery”. My caucus colleagues and I have committed to pushing for legislation which reinstates the option of ranked ballot voting for all Ontario municipalities. 

Action: Send your thoughts to the Attorney General and Minister of Municipal Affairs at attorneygeneral@ontario.ca and minister.mah@ontario.ca

Childcare Deregulation

• The Minister of Education is proposing to change regulations for the childcare sector to increase the RECE/staff to child ratios from 15 to 24 children per room. These proposed regulations would also see less required RECEs in every room, and would allow for non-licensed staff to fill roles which previously required RECE qualifications. 

• These regulations would also allow for infants to be integrated with toddler cohorts. Larger rooms and fewer staff is not what parents want, it’s not good for children, and it’s not recommended by experts and educators. 

Action: You can provide feedback to the government on this regulation until November 20 here. 

In consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, measures currently in place under the Reopening Ontario Act will be extended to November 21, 2020. Orders in effect under the ROA have been extended by 30 days with the following exceptions: 

• Electricity Price for Regulated Price Plan (RPP) Consumers has only been extended until October 31, 2020.  Beginning November 1, 2020, time of use customers will have the option of choosing between time of use electricity rates or tiered pricing. 

• Access to Personal Health Information by Means of the Electronic Health Record will expire on October 22, 2020 as changes to the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, that recently came into force, make the order unnecessary. 

The modified Stage 2 status for Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel regions is still expected to be reviewed after 28 days from its announcement. The extension of orders in effect under the ROA only pertains to the restrictions which define the various stages, not how long individual public health units will stay in those stages. 

The government has committed to hiring up to 600 more contact tracers and case managers. There are currently more than 2,750 case and contact management staff active across all public health units. With the addition of these 600 new recruits, as well as 600 personnel who have been redeployed from Statistics Canada, the total number of staff will rise to nearly 4,000 across the province.

As part of this increase in case and contact management staff across the province, Toronto Public Health will receive 200 new staff members.