August 14, 2020
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Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report August 14, 2020 Quotation of the day “If you're doing moonshine in a bathtub, you can't be selling the stuff.” Premier Doug Ford reacts to illegal pot grow-ops after the OPP performed a raid on one in Jordan Station Thursday. Today at Queen’s Park Written by Sabrina Nanji On the schedule The house reconvenes on Monday, September 14. In the park A rally for tougher penalties for impaired and dangerous drivers is scheduled to take place on the legislature's lawn Sunday afternoon. The event was organized in support of Karolina Ciasullo's family, the mother who tragically died along with her three young daughters Klara, Lilianna and Mila in a car crash in Brampton in June. A bail hearing for the perpetrator is slated for next week. Premier watch Doug Ford's summer road trip doubled back to the Windsor-Essex area on Thursday (where he also got his first haircut of the pandemic last month). Ford was in town to highlight $30 million for municipalities to build, repair and retrofit local roads and bridges via the Connecting Links program. The premier toured the Ford engine plant in Windsor, which had retooled to make face shields early in the pandemic. During a stop at a Catholic church, he met with members of the Lebanese community to show support in the wake of the Beirut explosion. He also hobnobbed with a fleet of local mayors to discuss the region’s move into Stage 3 on Wednesday. Last stop: the Chatham Children’s Treatment Centre, where he thanked front-line staff. Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca's own summer tour was also in Windsor to discuss back-to-school plans and he challenged Ford to "stop campaigning" and instead join in on his education roundtable. Ford's spokesperson Ivana Yelich shot back, saying she found the "irony" astonishing. Province unlocks $500M "rainy day" fund for schools as unions contend plan violates health and safety act Ontario four big teacher unions are alleging the Ford government's back-to-school plan violates the Occupational Health and Safety Act and are demanding a meeting with Labour Minister Monte McNaughton to discuss the matter by next Friday. Their letter to the minister was released moments before an announcement from Education Minister Stephen Lecce allocating more funding for ventilation systems and online learning, and allowing school boards greater access to $496 million of their reserve funding to hire more staff and create more distancing, including by leasing out extra spaces for classrooms. There will be $50 million to upgrade ventilation and $18 million to help facilitate online learning. School boards will also be able to access two per cent of their "rainy day" reserve funding. That's more than the one per cent they were directed to use before accessing the $30 million previously earmarked for hiring additional staff earlier this month. Lecce said the province will provide $11 million to top up four boards that do not have money stores. However, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario says it's closer to 40 boards. The TDSB, which has $131 million in contingency cash set aside for things like health benefits and ongoing projects, said using up the funds would create "future financial risks" for the board. "It would not be prudent or good financial management if we were to use a large amount of reserve funds to cover the entire cost of smaller class sizes," it said. Top doc defends plan as safe under current Covid conditions The unions — ETFO, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens, and Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association — argue that the back-to-school plan does not take every reasonable step to protect teachers and education workers as required by law. They noted a lack of scientific consensus on how COVID-19 impacts children and their rate of transmission. "The Direction does not meet basic and essential health and safety requirements and exposes our members to risks that threaten not just their own health and lives, but also, at a minimum, the health and lives of their students and their family members," their letter reads. But chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams stood by the plan, saying he wouldn't have signed off on reopening schools if those risks existed, which he doesn't see at the moment with case counts trending down. That said, Williams noted he'll be keeping a close eye on the situation. Lecce accused the unions of "obstructing" the return to school. Opposition critics wanted to know why Lecce waited until four weeks before the school year begins to open up the reserves. "Now with just weeks to go boards are expected to upgrade their ventilations systems, and find adequate spaces that are safe for our children to learn," said Green Leader Mike Schreiner. NDP Health critic France Gélinas said the announcement "offers absolutely no comfort at all to parents, school staff and students who are anxious and afraid about sending their children back to crowded classrooms in September." Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said allowing boards to tap into their own reserves "is not a plan. It's a half-baked attempt to get a homework assignment in after the deadline." Today’s events August 14 at 10:30 a.m. – Watford Randy Pettapiece, parliamentary assistant for agriculture, food and rural affairs, will make an announcement alongside PC MPPs Monte McNaughton and Bob Bailey. August 14 at 1 p.m. – Ontario Premier Doug Ford will hold his daily briefing on the road or at Queen's Park. Topics of conversation ● There was a big asterisk next to Ontario's daily Covid case count of 78 yesterday. ○ Because Toronto Public Health data wasn't available, 78 is an "underestimation," however, top doc David Williams said the actual number is still likely below 100. ○ No new deaths were reported. ● Meanwhile, Williams warned people are getting "casual" about public health measures, which fuelled an outbreak at Deerhurst resort in Muskoka. The local public health unit reported that a group of 30 visited cottage country and since then, 11 have tested positive for the virus. ○ A Huntsville restaurant also had to close its doors after an infected person dined there. ○ Williams also warned people are partying with international visitors who aren't quarantining for the required 14 days. ● Tourism Minister Lisa MacLeod is once again under police protection after receiving "threatening" emails and a "mischievous incident" involving her vehicle soon after she spoke out against harassment of women politicians on the radio. ○ MacLeod got a show of support from across the aisle. "The recent string of attacks and harassing behaviour against [federal] Minister Catherine McKenna, Minister Lisa MacLeod and Ottawa Deputy Mayor Laura Dudas is a disturbing reminder that women leaders in every sector are still subjected far too often to violent, abusive behaviour," NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said. ○ It isn't the first time MacLeod has needed a police detail; last year a mother of an autisitc boy pled guilty after sending harassing and threatening emails to the minister when she was in charge of the file. ● Caesars Windsor and other casinos might get lucky when it comes to easing the 50-person limit on indoor gatherings, which they say is not viable for their reopening. Premier Doug Ford said the issue came up at the cabinet table this week. "Let's take sections of the casino and let 50 go in, and another 50 in another section. It's critical, there's a lot of jobs over there," he told reporters from Windsor. "Hopefully, very very shortly, we'll have an announcement that we're going to get the casinos going too." ○ The PC’s March mini-budget projected OLG revenues would drop majorly this year, mostly because of shuttered casinos. ○ The province has already eased the cap for movie theatres, allowing 50 people per screen, instead of the entire cinema. ● Word on how $1 billion in transit cash should be spent in Hamilton is expected in the fall, once a review of the review conducted by the special task force wraps up. The PCs put $1 billion back on the table after pulling the plug on the LRT project, citing higher-than-expected costs that have since come into question. The government then struck a special task force to study alternatives, which recommended an LRT or rapid bus transit. Those recommendations are currently undergoing a "technical review" by IBI Group, according to the Spec. ● Ontario Power Generation reported a 30 per cent increase in its net income in the second quarter, compared with last year. Thanks to higher electricity generation and a previously approved rate hike, the company garnered $458 million in Q2, up from $351 million during the same period in 2019. ● The Goldilocks effect: A fresh Angus Reid poll suggests most Ontarians — 53 per cent — think the government's restrictions to keep the coronavirus in check are just right. Another 30 per cent say restrictions don't go far enough, while 18 per cent say they go overboard. News briefs Province launches consultation on digital privacy laws ● The government is on the hunt for advice on how to improve its privacy protection laws, Government Services Minister Lisa Thompson announced Thursday. ○ A number of potential moves are up for consideration, including increasing the privacy watchdog’s enforcement powers when it comes to businesses that break the law; giving consumers the right to request online information about them be deleted; and requiring tech firms to ensure users “opt-in” when their data is being used for secondary purposes.