Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report January 30, 2020 Quotation of the day “It cannot take us eight years to open up a frigging mine. Do I hear an amen to that?” Energy, Northern Development and Mines Minister Greg Rickford touts the government’s ​ ​ success expediting three mining projects last year and teases a new red tape reduction bill for ​ ​ the sector in a recent State of Mining address in Timmins. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The house will reconvene on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. In the park The PC cabinet held a meeting at Queen’s Park Thursday. ‘I’m a business person first’: Ford teases new U.S. trade strategy Premier Doug Ford and Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Minister Vic Fedeli ​ ​ ​ will travel to Washington next Friday to meet with state governors and other officials in hopes of promoting investment and trade. While in D.C., Ford will unveil the provincial government’s new U.S. trade strategy, which will aim to improve market access and procurement opportunities south of the border that are currently being hampered by “damaging” Buy American policies. “Once we roll this out, we have a way of possibly getting around the Buy American policy,” Ford said in a Thursday morning address to the 2020 Canada 360° Economic Summit. Specifically, Ford said his government is in talks with officials in the state of Ohio to “move forward with a new ground-breaking approach” that will promote job growth in both jurisdictions, adding that Ohio alone represents $2.5 billion in government procurement opportunities that could be available to Ontario firms. “We can’t afford to sit around and wait. We’re taking action because Buy American policies are hurting Ontario businesses and workers,” Ford said at the MaRS building. Ford will release his “made-in-Ontario solution,” which he suggested could also make it easier for American companies to bid on contracts in Ontario, at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. PC sources told CTV the strategy is to get around U.S. President Donald Trump’s federal Buy ​ ​ ​ ​ American procurement rules by having state governments treat Ontario as if it were a fellow state. Ford last travelled to Washington in early December. Province maintains $9-billion deficit, hikes spending on hydro subsidies The Ford government will post a $9-billion deficit in 2019-20, on track with projections in the Fall Economic Statement (FES). Finance Minister Rod Phillips released the third quarter financials at Queen’s Park Thursday ​ ​ — the final fiscal update before spring budget day. Last year’s spring budget forecast a $10.3-billion deficit for the year, but the PCs recalibrated that number in November. Thursday’s update projects revenues will be $3.1 billion higher than forecast in the spring budget and $1.6 billion higher than outlined in the FES, thanks to higher-than-expected personal and sales tax revenue (corporate tax revenues were $504 million less than projected in the fall). Program spending is also up. Spending in fiscal 2019-20 will be $165.3 billion — around $1.8 billion higher than the $163.4 billion outlined in last year’s budget. Phillips said the new funds were directed to “investments in health care, education and other social services” announced in FES, as well as “additional funding to help keep Ontarians’ electricity bills more stable and affordable.” To that end, the PCs allocated an additional $1.56 billion to the province’s Electricity Price Mitigation program, which subsidizes ratepayers, bringing the annual total for the program to $5.6 billion. Phillips said the added funding will keep rates “stable” and blamed high hydro prices on the former ruling Liberals’ Fair Hydro Plan. On the campaign trail, Premier Doug Ford pledged to bring hydro bills down by 12 per cent, but ​ ​ they have slowly increased since the PCs have been in power. In a year-end interview with the ​ Toronto Sun, Ford acknowledged this has been the hardest election promise for his government ​ to keep and said the PCs might have to “get creative.” NDP Energy critic Peter Tabuns slammed the spending increase. “Ontarians are paying more ​ ​ than ever for their hydro bills, and now they’re picking up an extra $1.56 billion tab, on top of that,” he said in a news release. The province is also spending an additional $5 million to modernize cyber security in the public service and $10 million on the previously announced Municipal Modernization Program. The contingency fund has been topped up by $105 million. GDP growth was 0.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2019, down slightly from the 0.8 per cent growth posted in the second quarter. Today’s events January 31 at 9 a.m. – Whitby ​ Finance Minister Rod Phillips, Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy and local PC ​ ​ ​ ​ MPPs Lorne Coe and Lindsey Park will hold a pre-budget consultation at Ontario Shores ​ ​ ​ ​ Centre for Mental Health Sciences. January 31 at 10 a.m. – Brampton ​ Premier Doug Ford will make an announcement alongside ministers Ross Romano and Monte ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ McNaughton and Associate Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria at Sheridan College’s Skilled Trades ​ ​ ​ Centre. January 31 at 10 a.m. – Guelph ​ Stan Cho, parliamentary assistant to the minister of finance, will make an announcement at ​ Meridian Credit Union. January 31 at 11:45 a.m. – Guelph ​ Labour Minister Monte McNaughton will make a jobs announcement at Conestoga College’s ​ ​ woodworking centre. January 31 at 6 p.m. – Scarborough ​ Finance Minister Rod Phillips and local PC MPPs Raymond Cho, Aris Babikian, Christina ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Mitas and Vijay Thanigasalam will hold a pre-budget consultation at the Royal Canadian ​ ​ ​ Legion, Branch 614. Weekend events February 1 at 1 p.m. – Markham ​ Liberal leadership candidates will participate in their fifth debate at the Cornell Community Centre. Candidates will also participate in a televised debate at TVO headquarters on February 19 and a final debate in Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre on February 24. Topics of conversation ● The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario will continue talks with the government and school board associations today, following two days at the bargaining table. ○ Should talks expire, elementary teachers will hold walkouts in every school board in the province twice next week. ● Meanwhile, high school teachers at 12 school boards will hold a one-day strike next Tuesday unless a deal is reached with the government. ○ Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation president Harvey Bischof said ​ ​ “a significant majority of Ontarians recognize the folly of larger classes, diminished supports, mandatory online learning, and fewer course options for the province’s students” and called on Premier Doug Ford to “acknowledge that ​ ​ Ontarians have roundly rejected his education agenda.” ○ Education Minister Stephen Lecce shot back by urging the union to put forward ​ ​ “reasonable proposals to be bargained at the table that enhance the student experience, not compensation for their members,” adding that “parents are losing patience” with the union’s “ultimatum” on wage increases. ● The Financial Accountability Office released its annual labour market report Thursday. The province netted a “strong” 210,000 new jobs in 2019, which the FAO dubbed “the largest increase in the level of employment on record.” ○ The private sector represented the bulk of the growth, 123,000 jobs. However, the rate of self-employment had its highest surge since 1997, accounting for 37 per cent of new growth, or 78,000 jobs. Job growth in the public sector was minor, just 9,000 jobs, which the FAO chalked up to “ongoing provincial government spending restraint.” ○ Overall, job creation was concentrated in the service sector, with large gains in health care and social assistance, and professional, scientific and technical services. Construction jobs grew by just 18,000 and there were 5,000 new agriculture jobs. The province lost 6,500 manufacturing jobs in 2019. ○ Overall hourly wage growth was up 3.6 per cent, hitting $28.34/hour, the highest annual increase since 2008. ● A consultation paper obtained by the Toronto Star provides a further glimpse into ​ ​ ​ Attorney General Doug Downey’s plans to reform how judicial appointments are made. ​ ​ The proposed changes, which a spokesperson for Downey called a “starting point,” would see the AG receive a full list of candidates for potential judicial appointments, rather than just the shortlist the independent judicial appointments advisory committee currently provides. ○ It would also allow Downey to order the advisory committee to reassess candidates it has deemed “not qualified.” ○ In November, Downey told the Federation of Ontario Law Associations changes ​ ​ were needed because the committee is too “subjective” in who it shortlists and many qualified applicants were not getting interviews. ○ A few days later, in question period, he said the PC’s goal is to “modernize the process” and told reporters he turned down three appointments since taking up the AG role that June because he felt they weren’t up to standard. ○ The NDP has questioned why the PCs are fixing a system that isn’t broken and warned the proposed process could lead to patronage appointments. ● Things are moving on the transit file. On Wednesday, Toronto City Council approved a status update from deputy city manager Tracey Cook on her negotiations with the ​ ​ ​ province around the Ontario Line, Scarborough Subway extension, Yonge North subway extension and the next phase of the Eglinton LRT. ○ The status update includes a promise from the province to introduce transit legislation by March 31 (and to consult with the city before it does so); the announcement of an Ontario-Toronto Executive Steering Committee that will support the design and delivery of the four priority transit projects; and a new Transit Expansion Office — a “one-window” shop that will streamline approval processes and expedite construction.