Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report September 23, 2019

Quotation of the day

“In her second term, plowed deeper into debt; ​ ​ increased taxes on everything from wine to income … By the time she was finished, only well-connected insiders were getting ahead. Now, Justin ​ Trudeau has put Kathleen Wynne’s team to work in Ottawa. If he is reelected, ​ will do to Canada what Kathleen Wynne did to Ontario.”

The federal Conservatives lean into the campaign trend of tying provincial politicians to their counterparts in Ottawa with a new election ad. ​ ​

Today at Queen’s Park

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

Premier watch Fresh off a business trip to Ohio, spent the last weekend of summer on the ​ ​ community barbecue circuit in the 905. The premier hit up a “summer end party” put on by ​ ​ Mississauga East—Cooksville MPP and a festival in Richmond Hill hosted by ​ ​ ​ ​ Deputy Mayor Carmine Perrelli on Saturday. ​ ​

Ford digs in against U.S. protectionism on Ohio trade mission On a trade mission to Ohio, Premier Doug Ford pumped up pipelines and the province’s ​ ​ economic potential while pushing back against protectionist trade policies.

The premier made the remarks Friday during a fireside chat alongside Premier Jason ​ Kenney in the state capital of Columbus, as part of the North American Strategy for ​ Competitiveness conference. Ford also participated in a roundtable discussion with businesses and met with Republican Governor Mike DeWine. ​ ​

“God bless the president,” Ford said, referencing contentious U.S. President . ​ ​ Last year, Ford said “there was not a doubt in [his] mind” he would have voted for Trump, the ​ Star pointed out. ​ ​

“Full disclosure — I’m a big Republican. I’m a supporter, conservative-minded … But this protectionism is just not going to work,” he told the business-minded crowd.

Ford urged an end to “protectionism mentality,” saying the policy risks hurting Canada and the United States’ economic competitiveness.

“Canada is different … We’re your largest trading partner, closest ally, largest unprotected border in the world. Canadians look at the United States as their big brother,” he went on to say. “I would love to see an exemption for Ontario.”

Ford has previously come out swinging against Buy American policies, which have ramped up under Trump. Ford has pushed for an exemption for Ontario companies restricted from bidding on certain federal U.S. government contracts for infrastructure projects, which under Buy American provisions must meet high thresholds of U.S. content.

When it comes to pipeline politics, Ford said the federal Liberal government doesn’t always “see eye to eye” with the first ministers, noting Tory governments have come out on top in recent provincial elections. It’s “a clean sweep right across the country,” he said. (While conservative parties have done well in recent provincial elections, Newfoundland re-elected Liberal Premier Dwight Ball in May.) ​

Energy Minister was also in tow and toured the BP-Husky Energy refinery in ​ ​ Toledo alongside Kenney. Rickford echoed both premiers’ support for Enbridge’s Line 5, which ​ ​ stretches into Sarnia, saying the more than 60-year-old pipeline directly supports almost 5,000 jobs in the province. In June, Michigan’s Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a ​ ​ ​ lawsuit to decommission the pipeline, arguing it threatens the health of the Great Lakes.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder [with] Alberta in our support for the oil and gas industry and critical infrastructure like Enbridge’s Line 5,” the energy minister tweeted. ​ ​

Today’s events

September 23 at 1 p.m. — ​ Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark and Toronto Mayor will make an ​ ​ ​ ​ announcement at the Toronto Community Housing headquarters.

September 23 at 2 p.m. — Thunder Bay ​ Natural Resources and Forestry Minister will mark National Forest Week with ​ ​ a tour and speech at Lakehead University.

September 23 at 3 p.m. — Owen Sound ​

Long-Term Care Minister will make an announcement at the Maple View ​ ​ nursing home. Fullerton’s parliamentary assistant and area MPP Bill ​ ​ ​ Walker will be on hand. ​

September 23 at 4:30 p.m. — Timmins ​ Energy, Northern Development and Mines Minister Greg Rickford will make an announcement ​ ​ at the Centre Culturel La Ronde.

Topics of conversation

● Hundreds of General Motors workers in St. Catharines and Oshawa have been ​ ​ ​ ​ temporarily laid off as the auto workers’ strike in the U.S. rolls into week two, bringing some production lines in the province to a halt.

● Families and advocates of youth with physical and developmental disabilities rallied on the Queen’s Park lawn on Friday to call on the Ford government to make up “ocean-sized gaps” for government funding and resources. ○ The digs into the story of Dante Wellington, a 15-year-old living ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ with quadriplegic spastic cerebral palsy who wants to be able to transfer himself in and out of his wheelchair independently, but requires therapy to learn to do it. ○ The Ontario Disability Coalition, which organized Friday’s demonstration, also met with Children and Social Services Minister . While no concrete ​ ​ promises were made, the group called it a “great first step.”

● Kathleen Wynne said Justin Trudeau’s blackface scandal “is a real problem” for the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ country’s reputation. “The Liberal brand, Canada’s brand, internationally, has got a mark against it now,” the former premier said in an interview with City News. ​ ​ ○ Wynne said the real impact will be felt on election day in October — but she did ​ acknowledge the potential political “danger” of Trudeau’s popularity taking a hit among younger voters, because they feel “disheartened.” ○ “I’m hearing that people are really upset … I know of people who are taking down their signs, but they’re going to vote Liberal because I don’t believe there’s anyone who really believes that Justin Trudeau is a racist,” Wynne went on to say. People believe Trudeau did a “stupid thing” and “he shouldn’t have done it,” she said.

● Meanwhile, Premier Doug Ford says there aren’t any images out there of him in ​ ​ blackface. “I wouldn’t be that stupid,” Ford reportedly said on AM640. ​ ​

● Agriculture Minister has a few low-key consultations on the go, ​ ​ according to media reports. Hardeman told CBC he is in talks with the Ministry of Natural ​ ​ Resources on a strategy for selling Crown land in to farmers.

○ Hardeman is also meeting with stakeholders on potential new legislation that would protect farmers from animal rights activists who trespass on their property, per . ​

● The Professional Engineers of Ontario is looking into complaints alleging PC MPP (Don Valley North) may have made improper claims he was an engineer. ​ According to the , the professional regulatory body received three ​ ​ ​ grievances following the newspaper’s earlier story about Ke, who was reportedly ordered to stop using the title after he was elected last year.

Appointments and employments Sussex Strategy Group ● Shawn McCarthy, most recently ’s national business correspondent ​ ​ ​ on the energy beat, has joined Sussex as senior counsel. ​ ​

News briefs — governmental Ministry of Long-Term Care ● The PCs are walking back changes to long-term care funding after consulting with stakeholders, Minister Merrilee Fullerton announced Friday. ​ ​ ○ The province planned to end two funding streams that subsidized long-term care facilities, the High Wage Transition Fund and the Structural Compliance Fund, on October 1. Instead, the former, which helped long-term care homes pay wages, will be extended until December 31, 2020. The latter, a fund to help facilities renovate to current standards, will remain in place until March 31, 2020. ○ In the meantime, Fullerton said her ministry is working on “developing new programs to improve how long-term care is delivered in Ontario.” ○ In August, NDP Long-Term Care critic wrote to Fullerton ​ ​ asking her to stop the cuts, noting non-profits and municipalities that operate homes would be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. ○ “Cuts of this magnitude will only result in fewer frontline workers on each shift, taking the amount of personal care time each resident receives from woefully inadequate to even worse, and potentially dangerous,” Armstrong wrote at the time. ○ Both funds were created in the 1990s.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry ● Ontario is proposing a slew of changes to the way aggregate resources are managed. ​ ​ That includes creating a “more robust application process” for existing water-taking operators that would allow for “increased public engagement” and enable “municipalities and others to officially object to an application and provide the opportunity to have their concerns heard by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.”

○ Other proposed amendments would streamline reporting requirements, such as allowing certain low-risk activities to proceed without a licence; clarifying jurisdiction over Crown land when it comes to municipal zoning bylaws; and approving haul routes without requiring agreements between municipalities and producers. ○ Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski said the goal is to reduce the ​ ​ regulatory burden for businesses while ensuring the environment is protected. ○ The public has until November 4 to weigh in. ○ The government said it’s not currently planning changes to aggregate fees but invited public feedback on the matter.

Ministry of Government and Consumer Services ● The Ford government kicked off the next phase of public consultations for a new Data Strategy with the second of three discussion papers released Friday. ​ ​ ○ This round’s theme centres on economic benefits; the deadline for input is October 9.

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

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