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March 20, 2019 Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report March 20, 2019 Quotation of the day “What’s in the water today?” Speaker Ted Arnott plays referee during a raucous question period, where cash-for-access ​ ​ accusations were flung across the aisle. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The House convenes at 9 a.m. The government could call any of the following pieces of legislation for morning and afternoon debate: ● Bill 74, The People's Health Care Act; or ​ ● Bill 48, Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act. ​ Tuesday’s debates and proceedings MPPs continued second-reading debate of Bill 74 in the morning. ​ ​ NDP MPP Rima Berns-McGown introduced a private member’s bill entitled Bill 83, Day of ​ ​ ​ ​ Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia, which would mark the Quebec City mosque shooting each year. In the park Animal Welfare Watch Ontario is planning a protest on the south lawn calling on the government to make animal protection public when it redrafts the corresponding legislation. Tories deny ‘possible illegal’ lobbying allegations The PCs are denying allegations of illegal and unregistered lobbying by Premier Doug Ford’s ​ ​ office, which were first made Monday by Independent MPP Randy Hillier. ​ ​ “We knew that Randy was going to make some noise on his way out the door,” Government House Leader Todd Smith said of Hillier’s recent ejection from the Progressive Conservative ​ ​ caucus. “But he’s given no kind of evidence of his claims at all,” he told reporters after Tuesday’s raucous question period dominated by the allegations contained in Hillier’s bombshell open letter to constituents. The premier faced a barrage of questions from the official Opposition, which has asked the OPP to consider whether it warrants an investigation. “There’s absolutely no truth to any of the allegations,” Ford told the legislature. He responded to questions about inappropriate lobbying activity by accusing the NDP of hosting an “illegal” pay-to-play fundraiser featuring a bonus “private reception and open bar” with Andrea Horwath ​ for $800. Ford suggested the NDP broke the rules by not publicly posting notice for the March 23 event at least seven days in advance, as required by election law. “In this chamber, we know the only thing that’s going on that was illegal was sending out a letter four days prior to a fundraiser,” Ford said. (The PCs circulated a flyer for Horwath’s event on Monday and said it was advertised in a party email to “big-whig (sic) lobbyists in Downtown Toronto” on March 13.) The NDP later provided reporters with a screen grab showing the event went live on its website March 14, which follows the rules. “Clearly Doug Ford is trying to distract from his cash-for-access and allegedly illegal lobbying scandal,” NDP provincial secretary Lucy Watson said in a statement. ​ ​ Ford spokesman Simon Jefferies said the PCs stand by their assertion the event wasn’t online ​ ​ as of March 15. “The fact remains, the NDP have still failed to adequately explain their blatant ​ hypocrisy and their literal cash-for-access fundraiser,” he said in an email. After question period, Smith told reporters it was business as usual “until we see some evidence —- and there’s no evidence” regarding Hillier’s allegations. Asked explicitly by Toronto Star reporter Robert Benzie if he could categorically say that no one ​ ​ ​ ​ from the premier’s office has, for instance, ever phoned a Crown agency and asked that Crown agency to employ certain lobbyists, Smith was equivocal. “I can say that what Randy has put forward so far is categorically false,” Smith said. FAO: High service fees ‘vulnerable to a legal challenge’ Soaring service fees in Ontario could be considered an “unlawful” tax and subject to legal challenges, according to a new commentary from the Financial Accountability Office. By law, the government can charge fees at a rate that covers the cost of providing a service — any cash collected beyond cost-recovery may be subject to a legal challenge. Fees for birth, marriage and death registration, incorporations, and personal property security services have outpaced the cost of providing those services for years. In 2018-19, the FAO projects the trend to continue as revenue significantly exceeds program costs. “Given the legal requirement that service fee rates have a reasonable connection to the cost of the service provided, it is possible that these service fees may be vulnerable to a legal challenge,” the report states. Half of college, university students experience sexual harassment on campus, survey suggests Roughly half of post-secondary student respondents across the province say they experienced sexual harassment on campus, according to a hotly anticipated survey released Tuesday. Of the 116,000 university and 42,000 college kids surveyed in the Student Voices on Sexual Violence report, 63.2 per cent in university and 49.6 per cent in college said they experienced some form of harassment. Colleges and Universities Minister Merrilee Fullerton called the data “disturbing.” ​ ​ She said the government is doubling funding for the Women’s Campus Safety Grant to $6 million to help post-secondary institutions bolster support and prevention programs. Schools will have to file annual reports on how they support students experiencing sexual violence, review their sexual harassment policies by September, and create a special task force that includes “diverse student representatives” devoted to tackling the issue on campus. NDP MPP Suze Morrison said the announcement “falls woefully short” of what’s needed to ​ ​ change the culture on campus and prevent sexual violence and harassment. Meanwhile, University of Toronto students staged a silent protest for better mental health services following a suicide on campus last weekend — according to University of Toronto Students’ Union student representative Joshua Grodin, it was the third suicide to take place on ​ ​ campus so far this school year. Fedeli scoffs at Ottawa budget Ontario’s main beef with Ottawa’s federal budget may sound familiar. Finance Minister Vic Fedeli struck a familiar note Tuesday after his federal counterpart Bill ​ ​ ​ Morneau tabled the budget in the House of Commons by railing against the ​ soon-to-be-imposed federal carbon levy. It “does not address the key issue here in Ontario,” he told reporters at Queen’s Park. “We acknowledge the limited targeted supports the federal government is providing to small businesses,” Fedeli went on to say, but he’s still “disappointed” in Ottawa’s efforts to get US-imposed levies on Canadian steel and aluminum lifted. He was also “disappointed” single sports wagering wasn’t addressed, which Fedeli previously requested be allowed in writing to the feds. As for what he did like, Fedeli said if he had to choose, it would be the tax credit benefits for skills training. “They took our advice on the skills training. I like that,” he said. He conceded municipalities “will certainly enjoy” their $2.2 billion boost in infrastructure funding. Fedeli chalked up Ottawa’s fiscal blueprint to “nothing more than a reelection budget.” “There’s no sign that they’re serious about funding announcements,” he said. Asked if the ongoing conflict between Queen’s Park and Parliament Hill may hurt the province’s chances of getting what it wants from Ottawa, Fedeli said he wouldn’t back down. He said Ontario’s government has been “reasonable” in communicating with Ottawa and will “never apologize for fighting for the hardworking families and businesses in Ontario.” Check out federal budget highlights here. ​ ​ Today’s events March 20 at 9 a.m. – Innisfil ​ ​ Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark will make an announcement. ​ ​ March 20 at 9 a.m. – Toronto ​ ​ Forests Ontario will hold a news conference at Queen’s Park to release a report outlining the economic value of tree-planting in southern Ontario. March 20 at 9:30 a.m – Toronto ​ ​ NDP MPP Guy Bourgouin will be in the media studio to talk about International Francophonie ​ ​ Day, which is today. March 20 at 10 a.m – Toronto ​ ​ Law school scholars and students with disabilities will discuss the impact of the government’s tuition fee changes in the media studio. Topics of conversation ● Toronto Star columnist Martin Regg Cohn has the inside track on ousted MPP Randy ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Hillier’s beef with Premier Ford’s office. ​ ○ Of note: the alleged tension between Hillier and Ford chief of staff Dean French ​ boiled over during last spring’s election. According to Cohn, Hillier had taken concerns about PC campaign tactics to then-campaign chair French as NDP support spiked and polling day drew near. “French was seen blasting Hillier during a campaign stop in front of other candidates, prompting another eastern Ontario MPP, Steve Clark (now in Ford’s cabinet), to break up the shouting ​ ​ match before the media caught wind of it,” Cohn writes. ● Unifor is pumping the brakes on a public campaign against General Motors over the automaker’s plans to close its Oshawa plant later this year, CP reports. ​ ​ ​ ● NDP MPP Bhutila Karpoche recently got a crash course in campaign tactics from an ​ ​ organizer of U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 campaign. ​ ​ ○ Naureen Akhter, director of organizing for “AOC’s” campaign, was in Toronto to ​ teach Toronto New Democrats her “tools and techniques.” ● George Smitherman has joined the throng of ex-politicians working for cannabis ​ companies, as senior VP of corporate affairs at Biome Grow. ​ ​ Question period NDP lead-off Education cuts ● NDP Leader Andrea Horwath kicked off question period asking about education ​ ​ reforms she says will see more students squeezed into classrooms when the government raises certain class size caps. ● Premier Doug Ford said the government is “modernizing the school system” and “not ​ ​ one single person will lose their job.” His education minister has said there won’t be any “involuntary” job losses, and she’s waiting to hear from school boards in charge of hiring and firing on how many educators would be lost through attrition (retirements, etc.).
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