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

Quotation of the day

“No one has ever suggested it’s going to be a walk in the park."

In question period, Health Minister acknowledges the challenges afoot with the ​ ​ PC’s pledge to end hallway health care.

Today at Queen’s Park

On the schedule The house convenes at 9 a.m.

After question period, MPPs are expected to vote on a PC time allocation motion on Bill 124, ​ ​ Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, which caps public sector compensation at one per cent. The motion lays out one day for a public committee hearing on November 4 and sends the bill back to the house for third reading by November 7. A vote on the second reading stage of Bill 124 itself could be held. ​ ​

There are two bills and one motion on the order paper for private members’ business this afternoon:

● Liberal MPP will move second reading of Bill 133, Buy in Canada for ​ ​ ​ ​ Mass Transit, which calls for 60 per cent Canadian content and labour to be used for any new mass public transit vehicles purchased.

● PC MPP will put forward Bill 130, which would proclaim the second ​ ​ ​ ​ Tuesday in May as ’s annual litter cleanup day, for second reading. ○ The Ford government scooped itself last week when it announced with fanfare that the first litter pickup day will be held May 12, 2020; Khanjin’s bill was introduced back in June. The designation is part of the PC’s “made-in-Ontario” environment plan.

● NDP MPP will put forward a motion calling on the PC government to ​ ​ declare a public health emergency over opioid overdoses in and commit resources to tackle the problem.

○ West will tease his motion this morning in the Queen’s Park media studio. ○ Motions are non-binding but have symbolic value.

The government also could call any of the following pieces of business for debate:

● Bill 116, Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions ​ Services Act;

● Bill 132, Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, the government’s new red-tape ​ reduction legislation;

● Bill 136, Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act; or ​

● A routine motion from Treasury Board President that authorizes civil ​ ​ servant salaries to be paid, per the supply bill.

Wednesday’s debates and proceedings In the morning, MPPs debated the time-allocation motion for Bill 124; in the afternoon they ​ ​ considered the supply bill motion.

In the park The bravest staff at the legislative assembly will get a special tour of its ghosts today. While on an earlier tour, Queen’s Park Today heard reports of paranormal activity in the legislature’s attic, ​ ​ outside the Globe’s third-floor office and in the Music Room in the lieutenant-governor’s suite, ​ ​ among other spooky spots.

The Ontario arm of the Kidney Foundation of Canada will lobby MPPs at a luncheon reception.

PCs bolster appointments process in wake of cronyism controversy House Leader revealed changes to the province’s public appointments process ​ ​ in the wake of the nepotism scandal that rocked the Ford government this summer and saw the exit of the premier’s former chief of staff.

“We’re increasing transparency. We’re enhancing conflict-of-interest assessments,” Calandra said during Wednesday’s question period.

That includes extra “cooling-off provisions” for special advisers and referring some appointments to the integrity commissioner’s office.

“We’re seeking some comment from the chairs of the different boards so that we can update the skillsets of individuals we’re appointing,” he went on to say.

Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy detailed the changes, which come into force ​ ​ Friday, to the Canadian Press. ​ ​ ​

Calandra was responding to NDP Leader ’s question about the Ron Taverner ​ ​ ​ drama, which cropped up again at the Pink Palace this week. The Globe and Mail reported ​ ​ Taverner helped organize a party to honour Mario Di Tommaso, his former boss and now ​ ​ ​ ​ deputy minister to the solicitor general, who hired him to be the next provincial police captain.

Taverner’s appointment as OPP commissioner was killed amid the controversy, which included lawsuits as well as an investigation by the province’s ethics watchdog that determined the recruitment process was flawed.

While Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake recommended at the time that all parties work ​ ​ together to scrutinize the process, this summer’s tandem scandal over public appointees with connections to ex-chief of staff Dean French led Premier to announce the review by ​ ​ ​ ​ his office and the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Horwath wants an all-party legislative committee to conduct a public review of “fishy appointments” and to compel testimony from DM Di Tommaso.

“This is just one of many concerning instances where the Ford government has appointed friends and insiders to key government roles. But this is especially troubling because it concerns Ontario’s top policing job and the highest ranks of the civil service,” Horwath told the chamber.

Long-term care wait lists, hallway medicine will get worse over the next two years: FAO The Ford government’s pledge to create 15,000 new long-term care beds doesn’t measure up to the needs of the province’s aging population, says a new report from Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman. ​ ​

The report, released Wednesday, said the wait list for long-term care is projected to peak at 40,200 in fiscal 2020-21 before dropping to 36,900 by 2023-24 as new beds come into service.

Roughly half of those 15,000 beds have already been allocated, and the government must allocate the rest by March 2021 in order to get them online by the end of 2023-24.

There would also need to be an extra 55,000 beds in the system by 2033-34 in order to maintain projected wait list levels of about 37,000, the report said.

If all new beds are allocated by then, the average wait time for someone in a hospital to be transferred to long-term care is expected to decline to 140 days. But wait times will get worse before they get better, spiking to 179 days in 2020-21 from 152 days in 2018-19.

The FAO notes the “wait time for a long-term care bed placement is a significant contributor to the problem of hallway health care” and that “in the absence of other health sector changes, the problem of hallway health care will get worse over the next two years.”

PCs autism advisory panel recommends major redux The Ford government’s expert panel tasked with looking at its controversial autism treatment and funding program is recommending major changes.

The much-anticipated report released Wednesday envisions a needs-based system that focuses support and services on early intervention and challenging times such as adolescence — but makes the “hard choice” of sticking to funding caps “given the generous scope of our work within a defined budget.”

“Families told us, and the panel agreed, not to sacrifice the provision of evidence-based, clinically appropriate care at the expense of addressing the waitlist more quickly,” the report reads. “At the same time, to ensure as many children and youth as possible are served and also the long-term sustainability of the [Ontario Autism Program], annual caps on the amount of individual service received will be unavoidable in the foreseeable future.”

The panel also said it was concerned about the needs of autistic adults and urged the government to review the matter.

Meanwhile, the Globe delves into the stories of the families of nine adults on the spectrum that ​ ​ ​ are taking the provincial government to court after their funding was cut.

Builders trumped homeowners at Tarion: AG special report Tarion, Ontario’s enforcer of new home warranties, has “favoured the interests of builders at the expense of homebuyers,” according to Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk. ​ ​

“In cases where builders do not honour their warranties, it was often difficult and time-consuming for homeowners to navigate Tarion’s processes,” Lysyk said after tabling the damning report Wednesday.

As a result, the corporation dismissed about 9,700 requests for help from people hoping to resolve disputes with developers between 2014 and 2018.

Some builders with poor home warranty records were routinely given licences and continued to build, even after they failed to honour prior warranties and forced Tarion to fix the problem or compensate homeowners.

Top brass were also given bonuses totalling 30 to 60 per cent of their annual salaries for boosting Tarion profits and minimizing payouts to homeowners.

Such an approach “would appear better suited to a private-sector for-profit company than to a government-delegated not-for-profit corporation with a consumer-protection mandate,” the AG said.

In a statement, Tarion’s CEO Howard Bogach accepted the AG’s recommendations and said ​ ​ he will begin working on their implementation.

“The purchase of a new home is the most important investment that many Ontarians will make, which is why we’re constantly listening to consumers, builders, and other experts to explore improvements,” said Bogach.

The PC government previously announced reforms at Tarion, including the establishment of a separate new regulator for the homebuilding sector’s warranty program to break up Tarion’s monopoly and disclosing board compensation on its website, which has now been posted for ​ 2018. ​

Today’s events

October 31 at 9 a.m. — Toronto ​ Environment Minister hops on Associate Small Business Minister Prabmeet ​ ​ ​ Sarkaria’s red-tape reduction tour with an announcement at Tommy Thompson Park. ​

October 31 at 11:30 a.m — Toronto ​ Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod will deliver a luncheon speech to ​ ​ the Economic Club of Canada at the Fairmont.

October 31 at 1:15 p.m. — Toronto ​ Education Minister , Labour Minister Monte McNaughton and Associate ​ ​ ​ ​ Minister for Children and Women’s Issues will make an announcement at George ​ ​ Brown College’s Casa Loma campus.

Topics of conversation

● On the sticker beat: The Ford government has filed its defence of the mandatory ​ ​ anti-carbon tax decals for gas pumps in response to the constitutional challenge ​ launched by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA). ​ ○ In it, the government argues its controversial sticker law does not “compel anyone to express political speech.”

○ “The salutary effects of promoting informed consumer choice and transparency … on the price of gasoline sold in Ontario are not disproportionate to any deleterious effect on gasoline retailers,” the statement of defence reads. ○ Michael Bryant, executive director at the CCLA, disagrees. “Forcing gas owners ​ to stick ‘em up or pay up” is unconstitutional compelled speech “because it uses the power of the state to propagate government propaganda, using the powerful legal threat of fining dissenters,” he said.

● Prominent lawyer Michael Spratt has a fresh batch of FOIs revealing how the ​ ​ government fielded calls from people requesting legal aid based on Doug Ford’s radio ​ ​ guarantee that anyone who called his office will get the help they need. ○ According to documents posted on Spratt’s blog, the premier’s office discussed ​ ​ how to respond to Toronto Star reporter Rob Benzie’s questions clarifying Ford’s ​ ​ ​ ​ remarks on AM640, including “deep background” information that the premier misspoke. ○ “What the Premier meant to say was ‘If anyone needs support on legal aid, feel free to call my office. You will — I will guarantee you that you will have access to ​ the folks at legal aid Ontario,’” reads the email, with emphasis, issues ​ ​ ​ management director Cody Welton sent to former press secretary Simon ​ ​ ​ Jefferies (Jefferies has since left to work for Conservative Leader Andrew ​ ​ Scheer). ​ ○ Spratt’s been on a quest to get Ford to make good on his legal aid guarantee since he made it public in April. His earlier FOIs show Ford’s office responded to ​ ​ help requests from the public by referring them to the attorney general’s office, which then told people Legal Aid Ontario is an arm’s-length agency that makes decisions independent of government.

● Constitutional experts are poking holes in a lawsuit launched by an anti-vax group and five mothers who claim Ontario’s child vaccination laws violate parents’ rights. Per the ​ Canadian Press, the group alleges the law infringes on constitutionally enshrined ​ freedoms including conscience and religion, but legal experts say there are strong grounds for the province to argue it’s designed to protect all students.

News briefs — governmental Dead agency walking: PCs wrap review of 191 bodies ● Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy signalled changes to the province’s 191 ​ ​ agencies, including some closures and mergers based on recommendations from a special task force. ○ Some agencies that are considered dormant or redundant will be shuttered, such as the agriculture ministry-appointed Board of Negotiation that the government says hasn’t been active in more than 20 years.

○ Other changes include streamlining services and going digital, such as allowing the Labour Relations Board to do videoconferencing for hearings and enabling the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal to accept online applications. ○ In order to strengthen their sustainability, the Ontario Science Centre and Science North have been directed to find ways to drive attendance. ○ , parliamentary assistant to the minister of finance, said the overhaul ​ will save costs and provide better governance and customer experience for Ontarians. “Governments should measure their success not just by the number of dollars spent but by the outcomes produced,” he said in a news release.

Flu season campaign gets a shot in the arm ● Health Minister Christine Elliott got her flu shot at the pharmacy in the Women’s ​ ​ College Hospital to launch the government’s awareness campaign.

Question period NDP lead-off Hallway health care ● Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath began the debate by asking Premier Doug Ford ​ ​ ​ about his comment at this summer’s Council of the Federation all-premiers’ meeting, where he vowed no one would be treated in hospital hallways within a year.

● At the time Health Minister Christine Elliott walked back Ford’s remark, and the premier ​ ​ seemed to invoke that in his response. ○ “We’re working hard to end hallway health care. As the minister of health has mentioned numerous, numerous times, one of the avenues — and there are many avenues — of ending hallway health care is making sure that we have long-term care beds,” Ford said, before boasting the pledge to create 15,000 new beds over five years.

Autism treatment funding ● NDP MPP , the longtime vocal critic for the autism file, asked about the ​ ​ PC’s plan to revamp its funding and treatment model based on the needs of each child and ensure none languish on a wait list for services.

● Children Services Minister thanked the expert advisory panel for its report ​ ​ that was released that morning and said the government is still reviewing the recommendations. ○ “I know that the community is going to want to provide input. There are a lot of great strides that have been made thanks to the work of this expert panel. I know they’re waiting for us to implement this as soon as we possibly can,” Smith said.

The New Democrats devoted several questions to long-term care, and also asked about the public appointments drama and lapsed funding for a quantum computing institute in Waterloo. ​ ​

Independent question Vaccine hesitancy ● Liberal MPP wanted to know if the government will bolster its strategy ​ ​ to address vaccine hesitancy, as recently recommended by the Toronto Board of Health as well as Premier Ford’s council on improving health care.

● Health Minister Elliott reiterated her concern about slumping vaccination rates and patted herself on the back for getting her flu shot that morning.

PC friendly questions PC backbenchers asked their ministers about spurring job creation, the newly tabled PAWS Act, the 15,000-bed pledge in long-term care, the ambitious GTA transit expansion plan and previously announced infrastructure projects.

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

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