Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report September 19, 2019

Quotation of the day

“For Cressida it’s an honour to meet any leader of any party. And she’s been very fortunate so far to be exposed to a lot of political people of all different stripes … I am a Tory, but you know, you represent your riding as well, and Canada is made up of all different types of people.”

PC MPP Christina Mitas’s daughter was the subject of an impromptu cross-partisan photo-op ​ ​ ​ with federal NDP Leader and Queen’s Park alumni Jagmeet Singh at the Plowing Match earlier ​ ​ this week. There may soon be more babies to kiss on the campaign trail — Mitas confirmed she’s expecting her second child and Singh said he’s “totally having baby fever.”

Today at Queen’s Park

On the schedule The House is in extended summer recess until Monday, October 28.

Health minister bolsters hospital reporting requirements for vaping-related respiratory illnesses Health Minister on Wednesday ordered all public hospitals to report data on ​ ​ vaping-related instances of severe pulmonary disease.

The directive was issued the same day that a young person in London was diagnosed with the ​ ​ first known respiratory illness linked to vaping in the country.

Elliott said she’s become increasingly concerned about the possible health consequences of vaping, particularly among youth.

However, the minister said “it has become abundantly clear that we do not have access to sufficient data and information to understand the potential scope of this issue.”

Hospitals will now be required to provide the chief medical officer of health with non-identifying statistical information about cases of vaping-related severe pulmonary disease, which Elliott said will help inform whatever policy solutions the government may come up with.

“This information, not previously available to the Ministry of Health, will be critical as we continue to engage with leading experts to identify evidence-based solutions that protect our youth from the potential dangers of vaping,” she added in a statement.

Earlier this month, the Ford government signed onto a joint statement from all 13 provinces and territories calling for Ottawa to crack down on the advertising of vaping products, with an eye to reducing vaping among youth.

Days after coming into office last summer, the Ford government halted incoming Kathleen ​ Wynne-era changes to the Smoke Free Act that would have regulated the use and sale ​ ​ ​ of e-cigarettes. The move opened the door to vaping advertisements, which have become ubiquitous in Ontario but are banned in other Canadian provinces. At the time, the premier’s office said it was pausing the regulatory reform to allow the new government time to review it.

Today’s events

September 19 at 10 a.m. — Uxbridge ​ Health Minister Christine Elliott will make an announcement at the Markham Stouffville ​ ​ Hospital’s Uxbridge campus, alongside Treasury Board President , who ​ ​ represents the area.

Upcoming events

September 25 — ​ The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s annual general meeting takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Board chair Elizabeth Witmer and president and CEO Tom ​ ​ ​ Teahen will announce the WSIB’s premium rates for 2020. ​

Topics of conversation

● The Ford government is looking to bolster training for public appointees and has put out a contract tender for an e-learning module that includes short video clips and online quizzes. The tender notes the province has over 3,000 appointees who are “often leaders in their communities / professions.” ○ The public appointments secretariat has handled the training since 2015 “to ensure they understand the responsibilities and expectations related to being an appointee of the Government of Ontario,” a spokesperson for Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy’s office explained. ​ ​ ○ “The appointee training is currently under review to modernize the delivery, update the content and enhance the learning experience,” Hayden Kenez told ​ ​

Queen’s Park Today by email. “As the new program rolls out, all current and new ​ appointees will be expected to complete it.” ○ The tender follows through on past recommendations from the auditor general to improve the public appointments process.

● A day after Premier vowed to fix the government’s anti-carbon tax gas-pump ​ ​ stickers that aren’t sticky enough, Energy Minister ’s office was ​ ​ noncommittal on the replacements, the Toronto Star reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ Questions were also raised about another comment Ford made Tuesday suggesting media outlets have refused to report on polling that skews positively. Ford cited “three independent polls” and said that if the federal Conservatives boasted the same numbers, they would win if the election was held today. However, the most recent polling on Ford’s reign was done by Campaign Research and reported in the Toronto Star on September 10. That poll showed ​ ​ ​ ​ the PCs leading the by four points and the NDP by five. It also showed Ford’s approval rating climbed by seven points since June, when it hit a low of 18 per cent, to 25 per cent.

● A mediator has imposed a media blackout around ongoing contract negotiations between CUPE, which represents school support staff, and the provincial government, according to the Globe and Mail. ​ ​

● Hundreds of General Motors workers in Oshawa were told to stay home this week after a strike by about 48,000 auto workers in the United States brought the truck assembly line ​ to a halt, which counts for half of the production at the Oshawa plant. ​

● Toronto Mayor John Tory called out Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown for suggesting ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ “416 gang activity” is behind violence in Peel, saying Brown’s comment misses the fact that street violence is a “regional problem.” ○ Brown tweeted the remarks along with a complaint that the provincial ​ ​ government, run by his PC predecessor Doug Ford, hasn’t provided Brampton ​ ​ with adequate funding to address gang violence relative to Toronto and Ottawa.

● The provincial government and First Nations now have a formal process to ease ​ ​ transfers and provide a set amount of tuition funding for students living near a reserve to attend school there, and for those on reserve to attend a public school in a neighbouring community. The joint agreement framework, known as the “Reciprocal Education Approach” is retroactive to September 1.

● “I Love Oil and Gas” t-shirts are not welcome in the public galleries of the Ontario legislature. That’s the message from Sergeant-at-Arms Jackie Gordon who told the ​ ​ ​ Canadian Press the legislature is reviewing its security policies after two incidents where ​ ​

visitors were banned from touring the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa while wearing so-called partisan garb. ○ Until a new policy is in place, legislature visitors will be issued a plain white t-shirt to wear in the building if their clothing is considered too political.

● Transportation Minister introduced her father, former Tory prime ​ ​ minister Brian Mulroney, at the opening ceremony for his namesake institute of ​ ​ government at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. ○ Per the Globe, the younger Mulroney told the crowd her family wanted to create ​ ​ ​ something that would “arm the Brian Mulroneys of the future” with the tools they need, and joked about her dad forgiving her for not attending his alma mater (she attended Harvard).

Funding announcements

Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility ● Seniors Minister and Long-Term Care Minister ​ ​ ​ announced $600,000 for the Alzheimer Society’s “Finding Your Way” campaign, which helps people living with dementia and their families and caregivers prepare for the risk of going missing. ○ The NDP jumped in to accuse the Ford government of slashing $34 million from the long-term care sector, which the Opposition says has forced long-term care homes to lay off staff, putting seniors with dementia at greater risk.

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport ● Minister Lisa MacLeod highlighted funding to support future Olympic and Paralympic ​ ​ ​ athletes on Wednesday, with $8.2 million going to the Canadian Sport Institute of Ontario over two years and $1.1 million for the Coaches Association of Ontario this year.

Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines ● Four manufacturing companies in Timmins are getting a slice of $780,000 in government funding to come up with innovative ways to improve operations. ​ ​

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

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