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 . ​ ​

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 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 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 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 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 , 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 has also indicated his intent to run, while Liberal MPPs Mitzie ​ ​ ​ Hunter and 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 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 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 is hosting a $1,600-a-head “evening of ​ ​ ​ relaxation and conversation” fundraiser for his PC riding association alongside Transportation ​ Minister 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 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 's NDP at 27 per cent each, according to the ​ ​ survey. The -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. ○ OPP spokesperson Carolle Dionne told QPT questions should be directed to ​ ​ ​ ​ Toronto Police Service (TPS) which has jurisdiction. TPS told CTV it did not ​ ​ receive a complaint. ○ Several people who attended the protest told QPT they did not see an effigy or ​ ​ likeness of the premier at the May Day rally, let alone a decapitation. ○ Government sources say individuals who attended alerted their staff about the decapitation and Ford’s office forwarded images of the faux guillotine to an OPP security detail, which is standard practice when it comes to possible threats against ministers. ○ Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Treasury Board President ​ acknowledged soliciting political donations on this particular matter “doesn’t sound like the way to go,” but noted the PCs are following the rules. ○ Premier Doug Ford had said the demonstration went a “little too far” and ​ ​ MacLeod said it amounted to a “credible threat,” but it appears to be within legal bounds, according to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. ​ ​ ○ Former NDP premier Bob Rae said he had a different reaction when citizens set ​ ​ his likeness ablaze in protest. “I was burned in effigy (more than once) and never called the OPP. Dissent and free speech (even in poor taste) is protected under the Charter,” he said on Twitter.

● The Clamshell-Pink Palace battle continued Tuesday with Toronto Mayor John Tory ​ saying provincial funding cuts will punch a budget hole “well north” of $100 million this year. “The cuts are real and unless the province changes course they will affect real people,” Tory said after meeting with Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, who is chair of the ​ ​ Large Urban Mayor’s Caucus of Ontario and has also come out swinging against the changes to municipal funding agreements and allocations. ○ Guthrie echoed the sentiment, saying municipalities can’t absorb the “straight up cuts,” particularly because their 2019 budgets have already been approved. ○ Premier Doug Ford took a personal shot at Tory and reiterated the city should ​ ​ seek out cost savings. “If John Tory spent as much time going through the city’s finances as he does worrying about the colour of the Toronto sign, he would be

able to find some efficiencies and deliver some value for taxpayers’ dollars,” Ford said in a statement.

● The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care says municipalities are facing an $80-million hole in provincial child care funding. The advocacy group says it crunched the numbers and the allocation reduction could be far greater, even “twice as much” once municipalities factor in their bigger contribution to the cost-sharing agreements. ○ “If the government doesn’t reverse course now, we will see subsidies frozen, services cut and parent fees go through the roof,” Carolyn Ferns, the coalition’s ​ ​ policy coordinator, told reporters at Queen’s Park Tuesday. She pointed to calculations done by Toronto city staff that suggested an $85-million loss in provincial funding this year (a $29-million chunk in direct funding with cost-sharing changes making up the rest). ○ However, Education Minister Lisa Thompson disputes the city’s figures and ​ ​ says the reduction rounds out at $27 million. She said they should look for efficiencies and how programs are administered “because municipalities across Ontario have left child care spaces on the table and that’s not acceptable.”

● The Tories have wiped out $13 million in tourism funding to Toronto and Ottawa, the ​ Canadian Press reports. ​ ​

● Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek is poised to launch a review of highway speed limits ​ ​ in London on Friday. “There are only four sections of the province where the speed limits will be changing,” Yurek said. He didn’t drop any other hints on the pilot project. ○ Yurek previously said the 400-series highways were designed to handle traffic at 120 kilometres an hour. The limit is currently 100 km/hr.

● Families of children with disabilities say they’re being shut out by the provincial ​ government as it looks to move to needs-based autism services, and are calling on the ​ PCs to create a program for kids with disabilities other than autism alongside the revamped autism program.

● Fresh public opinion data suggests the PC’s policies on class sizes, mandatory anti-carbon-tax stickers and breaking up with the Beer Store at a cost aren’t so popular. ○ According to the survey released by Corbett Communications Tuesday, nearly 60 ​ ​ per cent of respondents oppose or strongly oppose the plan to increase the average high school class from 22 students to 28. Almost half, 47 per cent, said they are against adding one student to Grade 4 classes. ○ Requiring high school students take at least four online courses to graduate got the thumbs-down from 57 per cent of respondents. ○ While Ontarians were split on the anti-carbon-tax gas-pump stickers (roughly a third are each opposed and in support), the majority don’t like the plan to fine scofflaw stations as much as $10,000 a day.

○ The poll suggests people think expanding alcohol sales may not be worth the potential cost of killing the Beer Store contract. Of those surveyed, 42 per cent backed selling beer and wine in convenience stores — but that support fell to 33 per cent when respondents were told it could potentially cost $1 billion, with 59 per cent against it. ○ Corbett also gauged Ontarians’ reaction to the revamped licence plates. About half, 48 per cent, aren’t fans, while a majority, 58 per cent, would prefer to keep the old plates.

● Ontario Nature, a conservation group, says the Ford government is misleading the public on proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act and “pandering to influential developers” with Bill 108, the North Bay Nugget reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Question period NDP lead-off, protest erupts over legal aid cuts ● NDP Leader Andrea Horwath kicked off question period asking if the premier thought it ​ ​ was more important getting beer into corner stores — at a potentially multi-million-dollar cost — than to fund vaccination and school breakfast programs.

● Before Premier Doug Ford could respond demonstrators in the public gallery broke out ​ ​ in chants of “no deportation without representation” and “refugees are welcome here” in protest of funding cuts to legal aid. It appears some protesters may have been lawyers ​ and doctors who were staging a rally. ​ ○ Attorney General raised a point of order charging the NDP ​ ​ with a coordinated effort to disrupt the debate by having their staff photographer shoot the protest. Horwath later denied the connection, and Speaker ​ reminded the House partisan shutterbugs were allowed to be there. ○ NDP House Leader also made a point of order accusing PC MPP ​ ​ of heckling a protester “please jump.” Speaker Arnott said he ​ didn’t hear it and presumes “all the members are honourable.”

● Back to Ford, who called the protesters “students” (it’s unclear why) and trumpeted his government’s efforts to create jobs.

The NDP also asked about cuts to education and municipalities.

Independent questions “Double-dip dodge” ● Liberal MPP John Fraser asked Ford if he would do away with his “double-dip dodge,” ​ ​ referring to the doubling up of debt-free leadership campaign donations to party coffers.

● Ford threw shade at the leader of the “Liberal Independent Party” by pointing out its high-priced fundraisers when in power.

Gambling addiction research ● Liberal MPP Marie-France Lalonde wanted to know why the PCs eliminated funding to ​ ​ Gambling Research Exchange Ontario, which studies problem gambling.

● Health Minister Christine Elliott explained the government wanted to redirect resources ​ ​ to the frontlines.

News briefs – Governmental Office of the Premier ● Premier Doug Ford issued a statement Tuesday morning congratulating Noront ​ ​ Resources on naming Sault Ste. Marie the home of its new ferrochrome production facility. ○ Ford thanked Northern Development and Mines Minister — a ​ ​ former board member of Noront — and his parliamentary secretary Ross ​ Romano for “their ongoing leadership” in making “Northern Ontario Open for ​ Business and Open for Jobs.”

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

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