Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report November 3, 2020

Quotation of the day

“I appreciate the compliment. I think I'm a little too overweight to join the Leafs, but maybe I'll try out this year.”

Premier flips the script on a reporter who accused him of deftly skating around ​ ​ questions about the data used to justify Covid restrictions.

Today at Queen’s Park

Written by Sabrina Nanji

On the schedule When the house reconvenes at 9 a.m., MPPs are expected to continue third reading of Bill 202, ​ ​ Soldiers' Aid Commission Act — which shakes up the commission's operations and reporting requirements.

In the afternoon, Bill 207, Moving Family Law Forward Act — which aligns provincial ​ ​ law with federal changes — is up for third-reading debate.

Later on, Liberal MPP will move second reading of her private member's Bill ​ ​ ​ 172, Education Statute Law Amendment Act (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder). Wynne's bill ​ would require school boards to develop policies and guidelines regarding FASD and establish related training for teachers and early childhood educators.

The government could also call second reading of Bill 213, Better for People, Smarter for ​ ​ Business Act — the controversial red-tape reduction legislation that gives Charles McVety's ​ ​ university status and degree-granting authority.

Monday's debates and proceedings The government's legally required post-emergency report has landed on the clerk's table. Solicitor General tabled the report on behalf of the premier, explaining the ​ ​ ​ ​ rationale for keeping the state of emergency going during the hot pandemic summer.

NDP MPP 's Bill 164, Protecting Vulnerable Persons in Supportive Living ​ ​ ​ ​ Accommodation Act, was sent to be studied by the general government committee following a morning voice vote. Burch's backbench bill would establish a licensing system for operators of supportive living settings such as nursing homes and youth residences.

A new PMB from NDP co-deputy leader aims to end biases against Down ​ ​ syndrome pregnancies by ensuring expectant parents receive up-to-date and evidenced-based information during diagnoses. That's Bill 225, Harvey and Gurvir's Law. ​ ​

MPPs also kicked off third-reading debate on Bill 202. ​ ​

In the park NDP Indigenous Relations critic and Neskantaga First Nation members will ​ ​ stage a multi-day sit-in at Queen's Park to call on the Ford government to bring running water back to the community, near Thunder Bay. Residents were evacuated earlier this month after water testing detected high levels of hydrocarbons; the community has the country's longest-running boil water advisory at 25 years.

PCs eye top doc changes; Ontario Health creates new chief medical officer role With Ontario top doc David Williams' five-year term set to expire in February, the government ​ ​ is eyeing potential changes to "strengthen" that role.

Health Minister said the government is "considering" revamping the chief ​ ​ medical officer of health (CMOH) role to better "align" the province’s 35 local medical officers with the CMOH and Public Health Ontario.

That could require legislative changes, but at this point, "nothing is carved in stone," Elliott said. (The top doc role is set out in the Health Protection and Promotion Act.) ​ ​

Meanwhile, Ontario Health is on the hunt for another chief medical officer (CMO), which is a newly created position under the superagency.

The job ad from recruiting firm Odgers Berndtson is fairly vague. It says the new CMO will "provide medical leadership and clinical expertise" to Ontario Health "on emerging and current health system issues and critical health care priorities."

The new CMO will lead a team of medical directors and advisers and co-lead Ontario Health's clinical advisory committee. They will also "nurture and maintain important relationships with key health stakeholders and partners." The deadline to apply is November 9.

PCs set an average of four hours of care per LTC resident by 2024-25

The Ford government is heeding calls from many advocates and its independent commission into long-term care by establishing an average of four hours of care per resident every day.

Premier Doug Ford confirmed Thursday's budget will lay out a funding plan to increase the ​ ​ current average of 2.75 hours to four hours by 2024-25. That could potentially require "thousands" more personal support workers, Ford said.

"We know such a change will take time to recruit and train the necessary staff, but we start that work in earnest right now," Ford said at Monday's presser in Mississauga.

Advocates have long demanded the government bankroll a minimum of four hours of daily direct care, instead of just an average. There was no price tag attached to the announcement; details are expected in the budget later this week.

Top priority for the PC’s fiscal plan will be "protecting" the health of Ontarians, said Finance Minister Rod Phillips, adding that "no issue is more pressing" than LTC. (He may have also ​ ​ scooped new branding for the budget.) ​ ​

However, Ontario Health Coalition CEO Natalie Mehra accused the PCs of being more ​ ​ concerned with PR than concrete measures.

“We are happy that the minimum care standard is finally, belatedly, adopted as policy, but we cannot allow this to be the way that this government tries to shut down the legitimate criticism about their inadequate response,” Mehra said. “We desperately need staff in the homes now.”

SEIU, which represents personal support workers, recently told the government’s long-term care commission there are 30 per cent fewer PSWs in homes now than there were in March. The dearth of PSWs has led to multiple hospital takeovers of homes in recent weeks.

LTC Minister said a staffing strategy to deal with chronic shortages in the ​ ​ sector is coming in December. (It comes after the NDP accused Fullerton of telling opposition leaders at a closed-door briefing last week that the plan wouldn't be ready to go until next year; ​ ​ Fullerton denied that happened.)

Today’s events

November 3 at 9 a.m. – Online ​ Colleges and Universities Minister will deliver opening remarks at the Centre for ​ ​ Innovation in Campus Mental Health's annual conference.

November 3 at 1 p.m. – ​ Premier Doug Ford will hold his daily press conference at Queen's Park. ​ ​

Topics of conversation

● Ontario confirmed another 948 Covid cases and seven more deaths on Thursday, after roughly 27,000 tests were processed. Four more long-term care homes are in outbreak, bringing the active total to 78, while schools logged 69 new infections. ○ Associate CMOH Dr. Barbara Yaffe clarified her comments from last week that ​ ​ 30 to 40 per cent of outbreaks were linked to indoor dining and gyms, saying she was referring to community spread, which doesn't include settings like LTC.

● Premier Doug Ford struck an optimistic note Monday, saying he hopes to have "better ​ ​ news" for Covid hotspots after hearing the command table's plan to ease out of a modified Stage Two yesterday afternoon. Sources told CTV the government will unveil a ​ ​ "tiered" system today, with clear criteria for imposing tougher measures in order to give public health units and businesses some level of predictability (the Windsor-Essex public health unit rolled out a colour-coded risk status system last weekend, a measure the premier dubbed too confusing when it was floated in the summer). ○ Ford also made a point to congratulate on reining in its daily counts. There were 64 new cases in the capital on Monday, down from 130 new cases the day prior.

● Premier Ford seemed to blame Rexall for "overbooking" flu shot tests after the drug ​ ​ store giant turned people away and hit pause on its vaccination program, citing supply issues. “Don't overbook people … You knew exactly how many flu shots you had, so don't overbook," Ford tsk-tsked the pharmacy chain.

● With flu season looming large and a second-wave surge of Covid cases expected on the horizon, the CBC crunches the data to show that acute care wards at a dozen major ​ ​ hospitals are already running at 95 per cent of their funded capacity.

● Developers connected to controversial Ministerial Zoning Orders fast-tracking their projects and bypassing local planning processes and public consultations have been lining the PC’s pockets. Per the Toronto Star, West Don Lands developers collectively ​ ​ ​ donated more than $25,000 over the past two years. ○ Meanwhile, Green Leader pointed out that Durham Live ​ ​ developer Steve Apostolopoulos is also a recent PC donor (Apostolopoulos ​ ​ also donated to the Liberals, according to disclosures). The Durham Live casino project is linked to another MZO recently issued in Pickering, which critics say overrides wetland protections.

● The online gambling industry is hoping Thursday’s budget makes good on Premier Doug ​ Ford’s promise to allow private operators into the online betting market. Bloomberg has ​ ​ ​ the details. ​

Question period

NDP lead-off Hallway health care at pre-pandemic risk levels ● Official Opposition Leader kicked off the debate with a question about ​ ​ a warning from Ontario Hospital Association CEO Anthony Dale, who says hospitals are ​ ​ ​ ​ "walking a tightrope right now" and the province is "back to where we were pre-Covid with the risk of hallway health care."

● Health Minister Christine Elliott explained acute care wards are running near capacity ​ ​ because they're dealing with Covid cases at the same time that they're trying to catch up on the surgery backlog.

Ministers spotted at McVety's birthday bash ● NDP Ethics critic asked about a new revelation in the Charles McVety ​ ​ ​ affair: that PC cabinet ministers Rod Phillips and and MPP ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ attended the pastor's 60th birthday bash last November, as seen in now-deleted photos. ​ ​ The NDP also pointed out Michael Diamond, a key member of Ford campaigns and ​ ​ current lobbyist, attended the shindig. ○ Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford made McVety a special video greeting against a ​ ​ Queen's Park backdrop that is very similar to his past holiday messages to the public.

● Natyshak charged McVety had "unrestricted access" to cabinet ministers and wanted to know if they were unofficially lobbied about legislation granting university status and degree-granting powers for McVety's Canada Christian College. "Nobody can know for sure what was said at McVety's birthday bash, but I don't think anyone would believe that government business never came up," he said.

● Natyshak has a knack for visibly getting under Ford's skin, but Ford hasn't been in the ​ chamber to face questions. (Natyshak is also one of the legislature's cheekier orators ​ and did not disappoint on Monday, referring to McVety's college as "Trump University North.")

● Colleges and Universities Minister Ross Romano took the response, saying there are ​ ​ multiple avenues to accrediting a new university. In the case of Canada Christian College, the government chose to "blend ministerial consent and a legislative process," Romano said.

In addition to hammering the PCs on LTC and the McVety affair, New Democrats also asked about dwindling student enrolment and a corresponding drop in education funding; access to flu shots; and sending pandemic resources to hard-hit neighbourhoods in the 416 and 905.

Independent questions ● Liberal MPP John Fraser had to withdraw an unparliamentary remark during his ​ ​ question about the McVety controversy. Fraser suggested the government is "returning favours" and about to give McVety a "special deal" via degree-granting legislation — but imputing motive is a no-no, Speaker reminded him. ​ ​

● Fraser's benchmate asked about an update she received from ​ ​ administrators of for-profit LTC homes in her riding of Ottawa—Vanier. Collard said the letters are meant to be "reassuring," but "it's really easy to read between the lines." ○ "They are trying to tell us that everything is under control … [but] I have heard from family members and caregivers, and there are still delays in getting tested and getting results while the virus continues to spread," Collard told the house.

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

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