Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report February 25, 2020

Quotation of the day

“The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act is a massive and unprecedented peacetime non-emergency invasion of Alberta’s and other provinces’ jurisdiction.”

Alberta Justice Thomas Wakeling, along with the majority on his bench, ruled Monday that ​ ​ Ottawa’s carbon backstop is unconstitutional — the top courts in and Saskatchewan have previously sided with the federal government.

Environment Minister called the Alberta decision “good news for the provincial ​ ​ governments that have done the right thing by challenging this federal carbon tax in court.” The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearings on Ontario’s challenge to the tax next month.

Today at Queen’s Park

On the schedule The house convenes at 9 a.m. The government could call any of the following bills for debate:

● Bill 145, Trust in Real Estate Services Act (third reading); ​ ● Bill 156, Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act; ​ ● Bill 161, Smarter and Stronger Justice Act; and ​ ● Bill 171, Building Transit Faster Act. ​

Monday’s debates and proceedings In the afternoon, Transportation Minister kicked off second reading of Bill ​ ​ ​ 171, the legislation to expedite the $28.5-billion GTA transit expansion plan. ​

PC MPP introduced private member’s Bill 173, Ontario Day Act, to recognize ​ ​ ​ ​ the province every June 1.

In the park

The Council of Ontario Universities, Ontario Co-operative Association and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs are slated to host breakfast receptions this morning; the Ontario Long-Term Care Association and Economic Developers Council of Ontario will hold evening receptions.

The Greenbelt Foundation will mark the 15-year anniversary of the designation of the protected Greenbelt lands this afternoon. PC MPP and parliamentary assistant to the environment minister , NDP Environment critic , Liberal MPP ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ and Green Leader have RSVP’ed. ​ ​

On Monday, a rural support group for families of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders held an awareness day and the Tory caucus rang in the Korean Lunar New Year.

Indigenous NDP MPPs boycott God Save the Queen ​ NDP Indigenous Relations critic says the new tradition of singing God Save the ​ ​ ​ Queen is a reminder of the country’s colonial past and a step backward for reconciliation. ​

MPPs will sing the royal anthem in addition to O Canada on the first sitting Monday of the month ​ ​ as part of last year’s changes to the standing orders.

But yesterday, Mamakwa — who represents the Indigenous-majority riding of Kiiwetinoong and is a Kingfisher Lake band member — and his fellow New Democrats and Suze ​ ​ ​ Morrison, steered clear of the chamber. The trio raised the issue in a Star op-ed that ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ morning, referring to themselves as “the three Indigenous members of Ontario’s Official Opposition NDP.”

“For me, singing God Save the Queen is a celebration of a hurtful and violent colonial past,” ​ ​ Mamakwa later told the house.

Mamakwa has also been boycotting O Canada in the chamber since he was sworn in as an ​ ​ MPP in 2018. At the time, he took his oath of office in Oji-Cree and included a pledge to “honour and respect the treaties signed with Indigenous peoples.”

Government house leader said the royal anthem is a “show of respect” for the ​ ​ Queen and the decision to sing it was made with PC caucus support, though he acknowledged Liberal and Green members voiced concerns behind closed doors.

“Her Majesty, over 68 years, has had and continues to have a very special relationship with our First Nations that I’m very proud of,” Calandra said.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner said he’s still opposed to the change, but it wasn’t a hill to die on. ​ ​

“This change was part of a package of procedural changes the House introduced in the fall, which, on balance, are positive for our democracy, including fairer, more inclusive debates and special accommodations for MPPs with disabilities,” Schreiner said in a statement.

Calandra called out the NDP for not raising the matter with him before Monday, but Schreiner noted the PCs previously said the royal anthem addition was “non-negotiable.”

The NDP had bowed out of Calandra’s all-party drafting process for the standing orders in ​ protest of other contentious changes, some of which have been reversed thanks to a motion ​ from Schreiner.

Today’s events

February 25 at 9 a.m. – Toronto ​ A Jewish advocacy group will call on MPPs to reject PC backbench Bill 168, Combating ​ ​ Antisemitism Act, which would require the government to be guided by the working definition of anti-Semitism adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2016.

February 25 at 9:05 a.m. – Toronto ​ NDP Leader will address the Ontario Good Roads Association’s conference at ​ ​ the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and Liberal interim ​ ​ Leader John Fraser are also scheduled to speak. ​ ​

February 25 at 2 p.m. – Toronto ​ Health Minister will make an announcement at the Michael Garron Hospital. A ​ ​ media technical briefing will precede it.

Topics of conversation

● The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has called off its two-day-a-week rotating strikes for now, opting to increase pressure on politicians and rally public support on social media instead. ○ Starting Wednesday, ETFO will launch “phase 6” of its work-to-rule campaign that began back in November, which will see 20-minute information pickets on school grounds once a week and a letter-writing campaign to government MPPs and Education Minister . ​ ​ ○ If no deal is reached at the bargaining table by March 6, ETFO will begin “phase 7” of the job action on March 9, union president Sam Hammond said. While he ​ ​ didn’t offer any details, he isn’t ruling out a full-on strike. ○ Hammond put Lecce on notice Monday, telling reporters “the ball is now in [his] court.”

○ As part of Wednesday’s job action, ETFO members will no longer fill in for absences typically covered by substitute teachers, upload data related to assessments or use personal funds to cover classroom-related expenses. ○ Meanwhile, the union representing French teachers is set to walk off the job on Thursday and return to the bargaining table Friday. Catholic teachers also suspended rotating strikes planned for this week because negotiations with the province resumed yesterday. ○ Lecce urged ETFO to consult with school boards to ensure the job action doesn’t jeopardize student safety and reiterated the government is “squarely focused” on getting a deal that keeps kids in class.

● The OPP began arresting protestors at a rail blockade near Belleville Monday afternoon. ○ The Mohawks of the Tyendinaga, who are blockading tracks in support of the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs who oppose the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia, say they are not trespassing because the blockade is located on Tyendinaga territory, per the Simcoe deed of 1793. ○ The blockade began on February 6; Mohawk protesters say they don’t intend to leave until the RCMP vacates Wet'suwet'en territory. ○ Additionally, a blockade near Aldershot station in Hamilton halted GO train service in the region Monday evening. ○ Indigenous Affairs Minister told reporters at Queen’s Park that “in ​ ​ most instances, this was a relatively peaceful removal of the blockade.” ○ Last week, Premier called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “step ​ ​ ​ ​ up and take responsibility” for the protests, but did not order the OPP to move in on the blockade. “It is imperative that elected officials do not direct police operational decisions,” he said.

● The special task force advising the government on how to spend $1-billion for Hamilton transit — initially earmarked for the now-cancelled LRT — has been granted its request ​ for a two-week extension, until March 16. ​

● The Ford government is seeking a judicial review of a human rights tribunal ruling ordering the Ministry of Health deliver a 20 per cent pay hike, retroactive to 2011, to Ontario’s midwives. The decision stems from a 2018 pay equity case that found midwives faced gender discrimination on the job. ○ The tribunal ruled that as “sex-segregated workers” midwives are “vulnerable to the forces of gender discrimination on their compensation” and that their lower pay is inconsistent with the Ministry of Health’s “promotion of midwives as equally competent providers of low-risk maternity care, along with family physicians and obstetricians.” ○ The tribunal also ordered the government to provide a lump sum payment of $7,500 to each midwife in the province “as compensation for injury to dignity, feelings, and self-respect.”

○ NDP MPPs and France Gélinas threw the blame on the former ​ ​ ​ ​ ruling Liberals for creating a discriminatory compensation framework for midwives and wasting taxpayer funds on the legal battle — adding the PCs should immediately follow the tribunal’s order and close the gender pay gap.

● Advanced polls for Ottawa—Vanier and Orléans have seen a voter turn out of about 2.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, ahead of Thursday’s twin byelections. ○ That’s a little less than half the number of early electors who cast ballots in those ridings during the 2018 general election, according to .

● The National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg has confirmed the province’s fourth case of novel coronavirus, which was announced as a presumptive case on Sunday.

● The Ontario Teacher Candidates’ Council — newly formed in opposition to the Ford government’s mandatory math proficiency test for teachers — has filed its judicial review application against the Ministry of Education and EQAO on the grounds that the PC’s math-testing “regulations are unlawful, unfair and unreasonable.”

Appointments and employments

● PC MPPs Andrea Khanjin and have been appointed to new positions in ​ ​ ​ ​ government. Khanjin has taken over the deputy house leader role from PC MPP Amy ​ Fee, while Anand becomes special adviser on the chemical industry, reporting to the ​ energy minister.

● Longtime PC staffer Cal MacLellan announced his exit from Queen’s Park on Twitter ​ ​ Monday. MacLellan was most recently a high-level issues and communications staffer in Children, Community and Social Services Minister ’s office, and to Minister ​ ​ Lisa MacLeod before she was shuffled out of the role last summer. ​

Question period NDP lead-off Education protests ● NDP co-deputy leader led the debate with a question about Friday’s mass ​ ​ teacher protest and walkout over rocky contract negotiations with teacher unions. “Why is the premier refusing to listen to parents?” she asked.

● Premier Doug Ford countered that parents are telling him, “Keep going. Do not back ​ ​ down.”

‘Fat from the largesse of past regimes’

● Education critic asked about a report saying 2018 and 2022 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ PC campaign head Kory Teneycke recently told party members to hold their ground in ​ ​ the face of opposition, especially “those who have gotten fat from the largesse of past regimes.” Stiles called it an attack on teachers. ○ Teneycke also took a shot at the media, according to PressProgress. ​ ​ ​

● Education Minister Stephen Lecce didn’t address the specifics and addressed ​ ​ education labour negotiations instead. “We believe that investments ought to go towards our students, not towards heightening compensation.”

Licence plate fiasco ● NDP MPP Jennifer French continued her cheeky criticism over the new ​ ​ soon-to-be-reissued licence plates that are difficult to read in certain lighting. “We haven’t had a good rain yet. Are the plates going to dissolve?” she said to titters. ○ French also asked about a now-corrected CTV report, based on an unnamed source, that suggested the plates can’t be read by automated scanners at the border. However, the Canadian Border Services Agency later clarified there have been no problems.

● Government and Consumer Services Minister Lisa Thompson reiterated the new(er) ​ ​ and improved plates will be reissued in about three weeks.

Blocked question on security blocking reporter at PC policy conference ● Speaker didn’t allow NDP MPP ’s question about an ​ ​ ​ ​ incident between CBC reporter Mike Crawley and security at the PC policy conference ​ ​ in Niagara because it wasn’t related to government policy. ○ The Tory benches had heckled the Speaker to rule it out of order.

Independent questions ● Liberal MPP Kathleen Wynne accused the PCs of trying to force teacher unions into a ​ ​ strike position in order to get the political impetus for back-to-work legislation. ○ “It almost seems as though the government wants to have a full-out war so that they can then have the Education Relations Commission declare that the students’ year is at risk and then they can bring in back-to-work legislation, which should be a last resort,” Wynne said.

● Lecce fired back that “there is a little bit of irony” in her query because that’s what the Wynne-led government did in 2015. ​ ​

● Green Leader Mike Schreiner asked Premier Ford to clarify his oft-repeated claim that ​ ​ the government is spending an extra $1.2 billion in education. The CBC recently pointed out the bulk of that is for a child-care tax credit, not classrooms. “No one is buying the minister’s spin on this,” Schreiner said.

● The government stood by its numbers, saying education includes early child care.

PC friendly questions Tory backbenchers asked the premier about the government’s track record and ministers about mental health, justice and long-term care policies.

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

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