Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report May 31, 2019

Quotation of the day

“Something big is coming.”

Premier teased online followers with a vague tweet and a #ForThePeople hashtag ​ ​ ​ Thursday afternoon.

Today at Queen’s Park

On the schedule The House is adjourned but could be back in session this weekend for a rare Sunday sitting. The countdown to summer is on — there is only one sitting week before MPPs are scheduled to rise on Thursday, June 6.

The Standing Committee on Justice Policy meets Friday to hear from a fleet of witnesses on Bill ​ 108, More Homes, More Choice Act. ​ ​

Thursday’s debates and proceedings Two private members’ bills passed and a motion was killed during Thursday afternoon’s private members’ business debates:

● NDP accessibility critic ’s motion calling on the government to release a ​ ​ plan of action on meeting accessibility goals under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act was defeated (Ayes 27; Nays 52).

● PC MPP ’s Bill 88, Planning Amendment Act, will go under the ​ ​ ​ ​ microscope at the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, following a voice vote at second reading. ○ Downey’s bill proposes a slew of changes to planning rules.

● NDP MPP ’s Bill 114, Nancy Rose Act, is now off to be studied by the ​ ​ ​ ​ finance committee after an emotional debate and support from all sides of the aisle. ○ The bill, which is named for Shaw’s younger sister who passed away from ​ leukemia as a child, would require the government to develop a provincewide ​ pediatric palliative care strategy.

Finance Minister kicked off second-reading debate on Bill 115, Bringing Choice and ​ ​ ​ ​ Fairness to the People Act, which would rip up the contract with the Beer Store and expand alcohol sales in big-box, corner and more grocery stores. Second reading was delayed earlier this week because Independent MPP had tacked on a reasoned amendment. ​ ​

The government is also poised to time-allocate Bill 115 and Bill 117, Society for the ​ ​ ​ ​ Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. (The latter would enable OSPCA-affiliates to continue to enforce animal welfare laws while the government comes up with a new system.) Bill 117 was ​ ​ debated at second reading Thursday.

Per the time-allocation motion, both bills would skip committee stage and receive only one hour of debate at third reading.

MPPs were scheduled to sit until midnight Thursday. The government had several motions on the order paper to authorize evening sittings, including one slated for Sunday, June 2 from 6 p.m. to midnight, in order to get priority bills passed before rising for the summer next Thursday.

Today’s events

May 31 at 10 a.m. – Toronto ​ ​ ​ ​ Toronto councillors Josh Matlow, Kristyn Wong-Tam and Gord Perks and environmental ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ advocates will be in the Queen’s Park media studio to discuss concerns about Bill 108, More ​ ​ Homes, More Choice Act (which overhauls planning laws and brings back the old Ontario Municipal Board).

May 31 at 11:30 a.m. – Courtice ​ ​ ​ ​ Premier Doug Ford and Training, Colleges and Universities Minister will ​ ​ ​ ​ make an announcement about skilled trades and apprenticeships at the Darlington Nuclear centre.

Topics of conversation

● Finance Minister Vic Fedeli confirmed the government has “no interest” in reopening the ​ ​ controversial Highway 407 lease, after earlier being cagey on the matter. Speaking to ​ ​ reporters Thursday about Fitch’s upgrading Ontario’s credit rating outlook from negative to stable, Fedeli would not at first rule out legislation to end the deal, a la Bill 115, which ​ ​ ​ kills the contract with the Beer Store. ○ “I can tell you that we are absolutely consumed at this moment with this legislation and others that we need to pass,” Fedeli said when asked if he would revisit the Highway 407 deal.

○ Fedeli also addressed businesses’ concerns that the government of the day could legislate away potential contracts on a whim. “If you are an international company, you certainly understand ... the parliamentary system that we have in Canada and here in Ontario, that if there is a bad deal in place by a previous government, the future government can certainly reverse a bad deal,” he said. ○ Premier Doug Ford recently expressed his disdain for the Mike Harris PC ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ government’s privatization of Highway 407 in 1999.

● Ontario is slashing funding to no less than nine programs aimed at combating the spread of invasive species, to much concern from the organizers, the Toronto Star reports. The ​ ​ ​ ​ Ontario Federation of Hunters and Anglers, which administers invasive species programs, said it was “blindsided” by the cuts. ○ The move was also panned by opposition critics at Queen’s Park. In Thursday’s question period, NDP environment critic charged the PC government ​ ​ “does not care about the harm that invasive species do to landowners, farmers, gardeners and nature lovers.” ○ Green Leader said the Tories have “got it all backwards” when it ​ ​ comes to managing natural resources. “We’re harming endangered species who need protection from us, but laying out the welcome mat for invasive species that we need protection from,” Schreiner said. ○ Responding to Arthur’s question period question, Infrastructure Minister Monte ​ McNaughton defended the cuts by noting the PCs are working to trim the ​ multi-billion-dollar deficit and touting a recently announced $850,000 investment for the Invasive Species Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.

● Fighting wildfires last summer cost about twice as much as each of the last five years. According to the CBC, battling forest fires ran $142 million over budget, clocking in at ​ ​ $212 million.

● Tobacco control experts say the Ford government has cancelled the only provincewide stop-smoking program geared toward young adults. The “Leave the Pack Behind” program had been funded by the health ministry after launching on college and university campuses in 2000. ○ “The program’s cancellation means that more young adults, including many students, will either start smoking, or will continue to smoke, than would have been the case if [the program] was still in business,” Michael Perley, director of ​ ​ the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco, said in a statement Thursday.

● Infrastructure Ontario is open for foreign expertise now that the budget bill has passed. Infrastructure Ontario president and CEO Ehren Cory detailed the PC government’s ​ ​ plans to try to sell the agency’s infrastructure consulting services beyond provincial borders at a Canadian Club Toronto speech this week, the Financial Post reports. ​ ​ ​ ​

● It’s official: former Liberal MPP Yvan Baker won the federal Liberal nomination to run for ​ ​ ​ MP in Etobicoke Centre in October’s federal election.

● The province released a new, high-impact ad warning Ontario’s youth about the dangers ​ ​ of concussion in sport.

● TVO’s Steve Paikin takes a look back as the Ford government approaches its first ​ ​ ​ ​ anniversary in office, and observes that the premier’s recent about-face on retroactive cuts to municipal public-health budgets “could be the harbinger of calmer times.” ○ “The more bombastic and aggressive Ford still shows up at question period, and I wouldn’t pretend to suggest that this leopard is changing his spots,” writes Paikin. “But Ford is now keenly and clearly aware that public-opinion polls show his (and his party’s) popularity dropping like a stone. And there is a great debate in the premier’s office right now as to whether he needs to transform his ‘scorched earth’ approach to politics into a more pragmatic and basic governing style.” ○ Meanwhile, the National Post’s Matt Gurney, in a column reviewing a series of ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ policy reversals by the Ford government, writes that a PC Party insider told him “the bosses should look at the public opinion polling they’re commissioning on all these issues before they publicly stake out a position, instead of after, when they’re already three weeks into a backlash.” ○ Ford’s Progressive Conservatives placed third in a Mainstreet Poll released ​ ​ Thursday, which found the Liberals had the support of 39.9 per cent of decided and leaning voters, followed by the New Democrats at 24.2 per cent. The PCs had 22.4 per cent support, a drop of ten points since April, while the Greens had 12 per cent support.

Appointments and employments Ministry of Energy/Navigator ● Brayden Akers, most recently communications director for , Minister of ​ ​ ​ Energy, Northern Development and Mines and Indigenous Affairs, has taken on a senior ​ consultant role at PR firm Navigator. ​

Global Public Affairs ● Rick Roth, former chief of staff to Environment Minister Rod Phillips, has landed the ​ ​ ​ vice president, Ontario gig at strategy firm Global Public Affairs. ​

Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services ● Children Services Minister Lisa MacLeod on Thursday unveiled the advisory panel that ​ ​ will help inform the province’s new needs-based approach to autism treatment funding. The panel was announced earlier this year as part of a new round of consultations the

PCs launched amid public outrage over its previous changes to the autism program. Many of those critics were named to the expert advisory panel, which includes: ○ Co-chairs Marie Bountrogianni (a former Ontario Grit cabinet minister and the ​ ​ province’s only democratic renewal minister) and Margaret Spoelstra (executive ​ ​ ​ ​ director at Autism Ontario); ○ Laura Kirby-McIntosh (VP of the parent-led Ontario Autism Coalition and wife of ​ Bruce McIntosh, who worked for MacLeod’s parliamentary assistant ​ ​ before quitting in February in protest of the controversial autism policy changes); ○ Dr. Julie Koudys (a behavioural analyst and assistant professor at Brock ​ University’s applied disability studies); ○ Christie Brenchley; ​ ○ Gina Brennan; ​ ○ Dr. Jessica Brian; ​ ○ Dr. Robert Cushman; ​ ○ Matthew Jason Dever; ​ ○ Alex Echakowitz; ​ ○ Cindy Harrison; ​ ○ Anne Huot; ​ ○ Sheri Ketchabaw; ​ ○ Marie Lemaire; ​ ○ Christine Levesque; ​ ○ Dr. Janet McLaughlin; ​ ○ Anne O'Brien; ​ ○ Wendy Prieur; ​ ○ Sherri Taylor; and ​ ○ Dr. Mohammad Zubairi. ​ ○ “I’m really happy that people who have been critical of me will be part of the panel,” MacLeod told reporters at Queen’s Park. “It’s been a tense couple months, but I think we've landed in a really good space. We're going to bring everyone together, and they're going to provide us with the best possible advice.”

Question period NDP lead-off ● Official Opposition Leader kicked off question period asking if the ​ ​ government would change its mind about education cuts as school boards warn about teacher job losses and courses being cancelled. ○ City News reported that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation is ​ ​ warning 22 per cent of high school teachers could be eliminated, “one of the largest cuts to education ever made.” OSSTF also acknowledged school boards have “tremendous latitude to allocate funds from one area to another.”

● Education Minister Lisa Thompson again accused the NDP of fear-mongering and ​ ​ maintained “there are opportunities” for boards to “sharpen their pencils” and suss out cost savings.

Health spending ● Horwath asked about health spending reductions detailed in Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman’s report on the 2019-20 ministry estimates, which noted a $22 ​ ​ million cut to cancer screening services.

● Finance Minister Vic Fedeli responded by trumpeting other health-care investments in ​ ​ the 2019 budget.

Pikangikum First Nation fire ● Horwath also wanted to know how the province is addressing the state of emergency ​ declared by Pikangikum First Nation due to forest fires.

● Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford said provincial emergency services have ​ ​ already sprung into action. “It’s been a very late night and a very early morning as a joint response coordination centre, including the Provincial Emergency Operation Centre, together with the Department of National Defence, have mobilized fixed-wing aircraft from Ontario and Hercules from the Department of National Defence. As we speak, people are being evacuated,” Rickford said. ○ He also noted he and NDP MPP , who represents Kiiwetinoong, ​ ​ shared “late-night texts” on the matter and are working with Indigenous chiefs.

New Democrats also asked about the cost of breaking up with the Beer Store, scrapping part of the ticket resale law that has allowed some Raptors ticket prices to soar into the tens of thousands, and cuts to at least nine programs aimed at stopping invasive species in Ontario. ​ ​

Independent questions Autism services ● Liberal John Fraser claimed there has been no new intake of families of ​ ​ children with autism since April 1.

● Children Services Minister Lisa MacLeod denied that was the case. “First, 500 children ​ ​ have received their childhood family budget letters this week, so we’ve started to remove kids off the waitlist as of April 1,” she told the legislature. ○ Speaking to reporters later, MacLeod said “500 letters went out this week, so we are clearing the waitlist quickly,” and added, “My hope is in the next 18 months.”

PC friendly questions The Tories asked themselves about Fitch’s upgraded credit rating outlook for Ontario, stakeholder consultations on industrial electricity prices, expanding broadband access in

southwestern Ontario and the Ford government’s track record as it closes in on its first year in power.

News releases — governmental Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines ● Energy Minister Greg Rickford and Economic Development Minister ​ ​ ​ continued stakeholder consultations on industrial energy prices Thursday in Toronto. The ongoing consultation includes an online survey where people can weigh in until ​ ​ June 14. ○ “We want to hear firsthand from the manufacturing sector on how we can improve our electricity system to make businesses more competitive,” Rickford said in a release.

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing ● Ontario has activated disaster recovery assistance cash in due to flooding, including , Mississippi Mills, , Beckwith, and Drummond-North Elmsley, per a release. Residents seeking assistance for emergency expenses and the cost to repair or replace essential property can apply until September 26.

Lobbyist registrations

If you are looking for further information on any lobbying registry, it is all public and easily searchable here. ​ ​

Consultants who registered as lobbyists from May 24, 2019 – May 30, 2019

● Adam Yahn, Summa Strategies Canada ​ o Clients: Convenience Industry Council of Canada; Zillow Group ​

● Katlyn Harrison, Summa Strategies Canada Inc. ​ o Clients: Convenience Industry Council of Canada ​

● Amir Remtulla, Amir Remtulla Inc. ​ o Clients: Tribute Communities ​

● Andrew House, Claudia Feldkamp, Dana Gregoire, Daniel Brock, Fasken ​ Martineau DuMoulin LLP o Clients: Canadian Coalition for Good Governance ​

● Anne Stevenson, NATIONAL Public Relations ​ o Clients: Electricity Distributors Association ​

● Carly Luis, StrategyCorp Inc. ​ o Clients: Therme Group RHTG GmbH ​

● Caroline Pinto, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. ​ o Clients: Toyota Canada Inc. ​

● Chris Benedetti, Sussex Strategy Group ​ o Clients: Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd.; Alectra Inc.; Atlantic ​ ​ ​ Packaging Products Ltd.; General Electric Canada

● Dan Mader, Loyalist Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Bruce Power Inc.; Pfizer Canada; Algonquin Opportunity No. 2 ​ Corporation c/o the Algonquins of Ontario; Accenture Inc.; Humane Canada; Sidewalk Labs Employers, L.L.C.; Canopy Growth Corporation; Board of Trustees, Canadian Christian Schools Pension Plan

● Jared Burke, Loyalist Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Bruce Power Inc.; Humane Canada ​

● Jill Wilson, Loyalist Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Sidewalk Labs Employees, L.L.C.; Bruce Power Inc.; Pfizer ​ ​ ​ Canada; Accenture Inc.; Humane Canada

● Nicholas Pozhke, Loyalist Public Affairs ​ o Clients: Board of Trustees, Canadian Christian Schools Pension Plan; ​ Algonquin Opportunity No. 2 Corporation c/o the Algonquins of Ontario

● Daniel McIntyre, Grosso McCarthy Inc. ​ o Clients: Medavie Inc. ​

● Don Gracey, CG Management & Communications Inc. ​ o Clients: Ontario Opticians Association ​

● Edward Bartucci, EJB Consulting ​ o Clients: Ontario Real Estate Association ​

● Grant Goldberg, Crestview Strategy ​ o Clients: EDF Renewables ​

● Jeffrey Bangs, Leanna Karremans, Pathway Group Inc. ​ o Clients: Ontario Network of Victim Service Providers ​

● John Perenak, Leslie Noble, StrategyCorp Inc. ​ o Clients: Therme Group RHTG GmbH ​

● Jonathan Espie, Jonathan Espie ​ o Clients: Mitigokaa Development Corp. ​

● Julian Warrick, Maple Leaf Strategies ​ o Clients: Ontario Building Officials Association ​

● Kelly Mitchell, KW Mitchell Consulting Services Inc. ​ o Clients: Fountain Green South Inc.; AllSportsMarket; Edsembli ​

● Kenneth Boessenkool, KTG Public Affairs Partnership ​ o Clients: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment ​

● Kory Teneycke, Rubicon Strategy Inc. ​ o Clients: Cubic Transportation Systems Canada Limited; Cassels Brock & ​ Blackwell LLP; Windstream Energy LLC

● Mark Holmes, G52 ​ o Clients: GreenScience Technologies ​

● Martin Rust, Martin Rust Strategic Advisory Services ​ o Clients: ServiceNow ​

● Michael Gimelshtein, The CCS Group ​ o Clients: Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation ​

● Michael Chappell, Safety Innovations and Solutions ​ o Clients: Window cleaning Association of Ontario ​

● Nathan Scheewe, The Capital Hill Group ​ o Clients: S2E Technologies ​

● Paul Hoag, GAC International ​ o Clients: Robar Centre for Transport Training Inc. ​

● Peter Van Loan, Aird & Berlis ​ o Clients: Seaton TFPM Inc.; EIFS Council of Canada ​

● Philip Dewan, Stephanie Gawur, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. ​ o Clients: Toyota Canada Inc. ​

● Raj Rasalingam, Protocol Plus Inc. ​ o Clients: Hammerheads ​

● Rene Drolet, Rene Drolet Consulting Services ​ o Clients: SEI Industries Ltd. ​

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from May 24, 2019 – May 30, 2019

● Cement Association of Canada ● TC Energy Corporation (Formerly known as TransCanada Corporation) ● Canadian Credit Union Association ● Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board ● Canadian Beverage Association ● Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board ● Ontario Dairy Council ● The Pollution Probe Foundation ● OrganiGram Inc. ● Canadian Union of Public Employees ● Council of Ontario Construction Associations ● Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada ● Association of Ontario Chicken Processors ● Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals

Queen's Park Today is written by Sabrina Nanji, reporting from the Queen's Park press gallery.

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