“Out with the Old, in with the New.”

Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report October 14, 2020

Quotation of the day

“Out with the old, in with the new.”

Belinda and Jim Karahalios are starting the New Blue Party of Ontario and told Queen’s Park Today they're on their way to gaining the 1,000 signatures required for certification.

Today at Queen’s Park

Written by Sabrina Nanji

On the schedule MPPs are back in their ridings this week for a constituency break. The house reconvenes on Monday, October 19.

Committees this week Bill 207, Moving Ontario Family Law Forward Act, is being studied by the Standing Committee on Justice Policy this week. Public hearings continue today with testimony from the Ontario Association of Child Protection Lawyers; yesterday the committee heard from the Ontario Bar Association, Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies and National Self-Represented Litigants Project, among others.

The bill, which aligns provincial family law with federal changes, is up for a possible makeover at clause-by-clause consideration on Thursday.

PC MPP Jane McKenna's private member's Bill 201, Magna Carta Day Act (In Memory of Julia Munro), also goes under the microscope at the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills this week. The bill would proclaim June 15 Magna Carta Day in Ontario and is named for the late MPP for York—Simcoe, who introduced her own version during her tenure.

In the park Fitness studio owners held a workout protest on the legislature's lawn Monday after the province slapped new restrictions on the industry and forced indoor gyms in hot-spot Toronto, Peel and Ottawa to close their doors amid soaring Covid cases.

While many fitness centre owners say they are taking health and safety precautions and should be allowed to stay open, one spin studio in Hamilton has been connected to more than 60 infections in what is believed to be the country's biggest fitness-related outbreak.

Premier watch Premier Doug Ford was at Mamma Martino's restaurant on his home turf in Etobicoke yesterday to reannounce a $300-million package to help businesses deal with the latest round of pandemic restrictions: a 28-day closure of indoor dining, gyms and other settings in hot spots. Ford said the cash will go toward offsetting fixed costs such as property taxes and hydro bills.

Ford also asked third-party food delivery apps like Uber Eats to "please consider" reducing the fees charged to restaurants, which can be as high as 30 per cent of food sales.

Both the Liberals and NDP have urged the Ford government to limit those fees (Grit MPP Amanda Simard called for a cap of 15 per cent back in May) as more struggling restaurants rely on takeout and delivery. Green Leader Mike Schreiner said the premier has the power to do "more than ask Uber Eats for a favour."

"The premier can put an end to price gouging right now by capping commission fees at 15 per cent, which will give small restaurants a better chance to survive," Schreiner said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Ford chided anti-mask protesters who apparently showed up to his home over Thanksgiving weekend. His main beef is that they flew the Canadian flag upside down. "You can be a denier, you can be an anti-masker, you can be whatever. This is a democratic country," Ford told reporters. "[But] you want to disrespect our country and our flag … take off, leave."

OLP probing allegations of voter fraud in Malton nomination contest The Ontario Liberal Party is investigating allegations of "colossal voter fraud" in the Mississauga—Malton nomination contest, Queen's Park Today has learned.

Aman Gill — a community volunteer who worked for the federal MP Navdeep Bains — was nominated to run under the Liberal banner in the next election after beating out four other contestants on September 26.

But at least two rival contenders have raised concerns about "irregularities" in the voting process, some of which are "criminal in nature," according to an email the local riding association president sent to party brass, which was obtained by Queen's Park Today.

The allegation is that one of the campaigns gamed the OLP's new online voting system by impersonating voters and creating fake emails with which to fraudulently cast virtual ballots.

Generally, when people sign up to vote in a virtual Liberal nomination contest, their contact information and a copy of their ID is collected. They will then receive a PIN in their email inbox that they can use to vote, as long as they confirm their ID.

One candidate, Manu Datta, claimed at least 250 people in Malton were defrauded because a rival campaign attached fake emails to their Liberal Party memberships. Those emails were then used to obtain PINs and the campaign voted using the members’ IDs without their knowledge or consent.

"Their emails on the list are not their emails. Someone has manufactured them," riding president Jaswant Mangat said in an email to OLP's chief legal counsel Milton Chan and executive director Ian Hall.

"The OLP must not allow such criminal and radical mafia's actions to elect a candidate through illegal means," Mangat charged.

He also said there was ample time to resolve the candidates' concerns ahead of the nomination meeting, and Chan's "excuse" that "these irregularities should have been brought to the OLP's attention earlier is simply not acceptable."

"The OLP is under a legal duty to ensure a fair and democratic nomination process, not only in theory or talk but in practice," Mangat went on to say.

One senior Liberal with knowledge of the nomination process said "the situation in Malton makes clear that institutionalized cheating will be very easy for some organizers to perform, and many vulnerable community members may have their identities mined."

"Ultimately, many minority groups may be deceived into signing up to vote … The safeguards just aren't in place to protect voters," they said.

The irregularities also got some ink in an earlier story in the Canadian Punjabi Post, which was translated by Queen’s Park Today.

With more than 100 non-incumbent candidates to lock in before the next scheduled election in 2022, the Grits are taking nomination contests digital amid Covid.

Party president Brian Johns declined to comment on the specifics of the ongoing Malton appeal, but said voter PIN codes used in nominations "are the responsibility of the individual member."

"In all nomination contests, digital or otherwise, the local party returning officer receives all challenges from contestants and makes final rulings on voter eligibility. Contestants who are unsatisfied with rulings by the PLA returning officer may appeal through a party arbitration process," Johns said in a statement. He also boasted Gill as the Grits’ first candidate under 30.

The Liberals have already secured their Mississauga-area slate for 2022: ex-minister Dipika Damerla will run in Mississauga East—Cooksville; telecom business executive Imran Mian will carry the torch in Mississauga—Erin Mills; and mental health advocate Sumira Malik will vie for a seat in Mississauga Centre.

Today’s events

October 14 at 10 a.m. – Sault Ste. Marie NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will hold a virtual press conference about how her party's new platform for overhauling long-term care will help northern communities.

October 14 at 10:30 a.m. – Brantford Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca will tour Brantford and meet with the local chamber of commerce.

October 14 at 1 p.m. – Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to hold his daily press conference.

Topics of conversation

● Ontario logged 807 new Covid cases on Thanksgiving Monday (the third-highest count since the pandemic began) and another 746 on Tuesday. There were 12 more deaths in the latest 48-hour report, seven of whom were long-term care residents. ○ With scant info coming from public health, the Star used WSIB data to show where outbreaks are occurring.

● Typical households can expect to see their hydro bills go up by an extra $2.24, or 1.97 per cent, when pandemic-era flat rates come to an end on November 1. Most customers will be able to choose to revert back to time-of-use pricing or pick a tiered option. ○ Starting next month, TOU pricing will be 21.7 cents per kWh during peak times, with an off-peak rate of 10.5 cents/kWh and mid-peak rate of 15 cents/kWh. ○ Those who opt for tiered pricing will fork out 12.6 cents/kWh for the first 1,000 kWh used in a month, and 14.6 cents for any additional use after that. ○ In June, hydro rates were held to a "COVID-19 recovery rate" of 12.8 cents/kWh, up from the 10.1 cents/kWh that was established in March.

● The Canadian Red Cross has been deployed to help seven long-term care homes in Ontario cope with the second wave of Covid, though at least three homes were reportedly caught off guard. Ottawa approved the province's request last week. ○ Asked why the homes weren't prepared and needed support from the Red Cross, Premier Doug Ford said it's "all hands on deck." ○ The government's independent LTC commission has been hearing from stakeholders who say the sector was neglected compared to hospitals when it came to preparing for an influx of cases.

● Meanwhile, the NDP pitched ambitious platform planks for overhauling long-term care, including making all homes public and non-profit; building small "family-like" homes; ending the for-profit, understaffed "patchwork" of home care companies; ensuring every

home has a family or resident council; and establishing a new seniors advocate as an independent officer of the legislature. ○ “Starting in 2022, Andrea Horwath will create 50,000 new long-term care spaces, ending the wait for home care and long-term care, and within eight years will make the entire system public and not-for-profit,” the party said with an eye to the next election.

● Make way for the $11-billion Ontario Line, the "crown jewel" of the Ford government's $28.5-billion GTA transit expansion plan. Homeowners in East York received notices from Metrolinx this week saying their properties "will be needed to accomodate construction" of the project, per the Star.

● Finance Minister Rod Phillips is urging commercial insurance companies not to discriminate against businesses renewing their policies amid the pandemic. The province has been “keeping a close watch” and expects firms to “treat [their] customers fairly,” he told Globe.

● The Globe and Mail delves into the problems plaguing the infamous Thunder Bay jail, including tales of overcrowding, understaffing and violence. ○ Meanwhile, the province graduated 35 new correctional officers, nine of whom will be deployed to facilities in northern Ontario.

● Unemployment continued to tick down in September as pandemic-prompted restrictions eased up. Last month's joblessness rate was 9.5 per cent, down 1.1 percentage points from August's 10.6 per cent. ○ Statscan's report doesn't capture the recent second-wave rollbacks in hot spots.

● As Halloween creeps closer, GTHA mayors and regional chairs are demanding "one clear public health message, preferably coming from the province, by the end of this week." Ontario health officials have acknowledged their sometimes muddled messaging.

Funding announcements

Cash for Covid testing supplies, farm safety ● Mississauga-based Microbix Biosystems is getting about $1.4 million from the Ontario Together retooling fund to boost production of viral transport media, the solution used to transport a patient's test specimen for further research. Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said the viral transport media will be used in Covid sampling test kits and relieve pressure on labs while supporting Ontario's "urgent" need for testing supplies.

● The provincial and federal governments are also putting a joint $11.6-million up for grabs to curb the virus spread on farms. Agri-food producers will be able to dip into the fund for things like physical barriers to separate workers, upgrading HVAC ventilation systems and enhancing hand-washing stations.

News releases

New rest stops in the North The province is building four new rest areas in the North and repairing or expanding 11 others. Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said the investments will make highways safer, secure the supply chain and help combat human trafficking.

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

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