Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report May 8, 2019 Quotation of the day “They want to cut off his head.” The subject line of a PC fundraising email alleged protesters who showed up at Queen’s Park on May Day with a mock guillotine had more nefarious intentions towards Premier Doug Ford. ​ ​ 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 87, Fixing the Hydro Mess Act; ​ ● Bill 107, Getting Ontario Moving Act; and ​ ● Bill 108, More Homes, More Choice Act. ​ Tuesday’s debates and proceedings MPPs continued third-reading debate on Bill 87 in the morning and afternoon. ​ ​ NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns re-introduced his anti-fracking private member’s bill as Bill ​ ​ ​ 110, Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Amendment Act (Anti-Fracking). ​ NDP health critic France Gélinas tabled her private member’s Bill 111, Speaking Out About ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Workplace Violence and Workplace Harassment Act, with an eye to protecting nurses and other health care workers who complain about experiencing violence in the workplace from reprisals. In the park The Ontario General Contractors Association will hold its lobby day and an evening reception featuring Canada’s celebrity contractor father-son duo Mike Holmes and Mike Holmes Jr. as ​ ​ ​ ​ speakers. TeachON — a TVO-affiliated online portal for teachers — is scheduled to host a reception in the morning. Students Say No, a consortium of students and student groups opposed to the Ford government’s proposed education reforms, will hold a protest on the lawn after school today. Investigating Ford influence in Brad Blair firing ‘tantamount to embarking on a fishing expedition’: Ethics watchdog Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake says there are insufficient grounds to investigate the ​ ​ NDP’s complaint that Premier Doug Ford broke conflict-of-interest rules when he signed off on ​ ​ former deputy OPP commissioner Brad Blair’s firing. ​ ​ Blair spoke out against Ford’s plan to appoint his friend Ron Taverner as OPP commissioner, ​ ​ and was subsequently fired in March for sharing related information (including details of the premier’s customized van request) as part of his court case to force the ombudsman to investigate possible political influence. Taverner later withdrew himself from consideration for the job amid growing criticism. Blair’s firing (also the subject of a lawsuit) prompted a fresh complaint from NDP MPP Kevin ​ ​ ​ Yarde, who alleged Ford violated the Member’s Integrity Act by approving the order-in-council. ​ Yarde sought a public inquiry, a rare undertaking for the commissioner. But Wake said “there is no indication” that the premier participated in the decision to dismiss Blair, which the solicitor general said was made by the nine bureaucrats on the Public Service Commission and approved by cabinet. Nor was there evidence to suggest the commission and cabinet were “improperly influenced by the Premier to arrive at their decision,” Wake said in the five-page report tabled Tuesday. ​ ​ Wake further concludes that “Mr. Yarde does not explain how Mr. Blair would be silenced or intimidated by the termination and in fact, one could argue that the termination would have the opposite effect.” While Ford was cleared of wrongdoing in the controversial hiring process that led to Taverner’s nomination, the integrity commissioner determined the process was “troubling” and “flawed” — not least because Ford’s chief of staff Dean French made it clear he was “rooting” for ​ ​ Taverner’s appointment. Following the Taverner controversy, the PCs appointed Thomas Carrique, who took command ​ ​ of the OPP in April. Michael Lublin considering bid for Ontario Liberal leader Michael Lublin says some Grits may consider him an unlikely contender for their next leader, ​ but that an outside perspective — even from a former supporter of conservative politicians — might be just what the party needs to come back after last year’s decimating election defeat. “The Liberal Party, those that are left in it, those that are realistic and practical … know that a new face, fresh ideas, somebody from the outside has to come in and breathe new fresh air into the party,” Lublin told Queen’s Park Today in an interview. ​ ​ The businessman and restaurateur — who says he is now focused on humanitarian work — might raise some Liberal eyebrows for his past conservative connections. Lublin has supported current Premier Doug Ford and his late brother, former Toronto mayor Rob Ford. “Forever ​ ​ ​ ​ inspired by your energy,” Lublin wrote in a February 2018 Instagram post featuring himself and ​ ​ the Ford brothers. He also ran Levetto, a pizza-pasta restaurant chain backed by former Tory premier Mike Harris, ​ ​ who reportedly calls him “Lubby.” Lublin refers to Harris as the “greatest ever” premier and his ​ ​ ​ ​ “mentor, confidante, life coach, father and friend.” But Lublin said he’s supported and donated to parties of all partisan stripes over the years, from former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne to current Liberal MPs to the Ontario Tories. He is a ​ ​ card-carrying Liberal but no longer has his PC membership. Lublin says Ontarians want a more fiscally conservative government, as evinced in the last election that brought the Liberals to the “brink of extinction” — decimated to seven seats and without recognized party status in the legislature. ​ ​ “The party had moved so far to the left that it became completely indistinguishable from the NDP” whereas, traditionally, he said, “the Liberal party position is in the centre.” “Times have changed … Ontarians have a certain amount of respect for small-C conservative fiscal responsibility and fiscal accountability. And that was lost in the last government.” Lublin also thinks Premier Ford has swung too extreme in the opposite direction since taking office. “He’s, to my surprise, too far out there on the right, and we’re seeing evidence of it by almost daily protests at Queen’s Park,” he argued. For his part, Lublin said he doesn’t “want to let the people of Ontario down” and that strengthening the education and health files would be top priority if he became premier. His potential competition includes former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Del Duca, who has ​ ​ ​ ​ also thrown his hat in the ring. On Tuesday, Del Duca put out a roundup of key Grit ​ ​ endorsements from current and former politicians and party activists, all of whom will have ex-officio status and an automatic vote at the AGM in June (so their support automatically carries weight). Liberal MPP Michael Coteau has also indicated his intent to run, while Liberal MPPs Mitzie ​ ​ ​ Hunter and Nathalie Des Rosiers are rumoured to be considering bids. ​ ​ ​ Meanwhile, French-language Ottawa radio station Unique FM is reporting that Marie-France ​ ​ ​ Lalonde, another rumoured contender for Ontario Grit captain, is instead set on vying for the ​ federal Liberal nomination to replace Andrew Leslie in her riding of Orléans. Lalonde told the ​ ​ Globe and Mail she is “seriously considering” making the leap to national politics, and told ​ ​ ​ ​ ONFR+ that she will announce her decision by Monday. ​ Today’s events May 8 at 10 a.m. – Toronto ​ ​ Liberal MPP Nathalie Des Rosiers will be in the Queen’s Park media studio to preview her ​ ​ forthcoming private member’s bill on ending solitary confinement. May 8 at 11:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ ​ Health Minister Christine Elliott and Children Services Minister Lisa MacLeod will hold a ​ ​ ​ ​ closed-door roundtable discussion with the Children Mental Health Ontario’s youth action committee at Queen’s Park. May 8 at 6 p.m. – Etobicoke ​ ​ Finance Minister Vic Fedeli will host a $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser for his PC Nippissing riding ​ ​ association at Posticino, an Italian restaurant in the heart of Ford Nation. Carmine Nigro, the ​ ​ real estate developer who was recently appointed LCBO chair, was reportedly soliciting ​ would-be donors for the event. ​ May 8 at 7 p.m. – Woodbridge ​ ​ Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Michael Tibollo is hosting a $1,600-a-head “evening of ​ ​ ​ relaxation and conversation” fundraiser for his PC riding association alongside Transportation ​ Minister Jeff Yurek and Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton at Cavallino Wine Bar. ​ ​ ​ ​ CUPE’s library workers are planning to rally outside in protest of funding cuts to library services. Topics of conversation ● Toronto mayor John Tory has crossed swords with Doug Ford in recent weeks over ​ ​ ​ ​ planned funding cuts to municipalities by the province. Now, a new poll suggests Tory — ​ ​ a former Progressive Conservative leader himself — could beat Ford if he decided to lead the premier’s Liberal opponents. ○ The public opinion poll, done for Corbett Communications, surveyed over 1,800 Ontario voters and found that up to 41 per cent would support Tory in an Ontario Liberal Party leadership contest. ○ Tory would then be slated to win a hypothetical provincial election, with the Liberals earning 32 per cent of voter support, just ahead of Ford's Progressive Conservatives and Andrea Horwath's NDP at 27 per cent each, according to the ​ ​ survey. The Mike Schreiner-led Greens would win 12 per cent of voter support. ​ ​ ○ Premier Doug Ford’s approval rating meanwhile hovers at 24 per cent, ​ ​ according to the poll. Ford appears more popular with men, 32 per cent said they approved of the job he’s doing as premier, compared to 16 per cent of women. ● The PC Party is fundraising off of a May Day protest mock guillotine over which they alerted the OPP. “They want to cut off his head,” reads the party’s latest email pitch signed by Children, Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod. ​ ​ ○ “Protesters showed up last week at Queen’s Park waving communist flags. And they brought out a guillotine. Yup. A guillotine,” the email reads before asking would-be supporters for a donation.