July 29, 2020

Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report July 29, 2020

Quotation of the day

“Windsor Hum.”

A mysterious low-frequency noise that plagued Windsor for a decade has gone quiet after a steel factory nearby neighbouring Detroit shut down.

Today at Queen’s Park

Written by Sabrina Nanji

On the schedule The house is adjourned until Monday, September 14.

The PCs are expected to announce long-awaited details of the independent commission into long-term care and whether Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex can move into Stage 3 today.

Premier watch Premier Doug Ford's summer tour stopped in Pickering, Ajax, Bowmanville and Oshawa on Tuesday to highlight speedy construction of up to 320 new long-term care beds at the Lakeridge Health site by 2021. It's part of the accelerated construction program announced last Tuesday.

Opposition parties say the PCs should be focused on fixing staffing problems in current homes before fast-tracking new ones. Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton is expected to release the staffing study from her expert panel by the end of the week.

FAO: Spending clocks in at $3.5B less than planned The Ford government spent billions less than was budgeted for the 2019-20 fiscal year.

That's the upshot from the Financial Accountability Office's latest quarterly spending report for the year ending March 31 that was released on Tuesday.

In it, budget watchdog Peter Weltman noted that despite boosting the 2019 spring budget plan by an extra $2.6 billion last winter, the PCs actually spent $3.5 billion, or 2.2 per cent, less than planned.

Interest on debt accounted for the biggest underspending, coming in at $1 billion below budget, while health-care spending was $466 million less than planned and capital investments in public transit were $375 million under.

Weltman suggested the government could have reallocated some of the money last year to prepare for the looming pandemic.

"We kind of knew there was a pandemic in the air as early as Christmas in 2019," the watchdog told reporters. "Arguably, there might have been time to not only spend that money but to move money from other programs into health in anticipation of something."

The FAO also re-crunched the numbers to project a slightly lower deficit for 2019-20. Instead of the $9.2 billion laid out in the Tories’ March mini-budget, the watchdog now pegs the estimated shortfall at $8.7 billion, a $500-million improvement.

In May, Weltman forecasted that figure would skyrocket to $41 billion this fiscal year, thanks to the pandemic. That's double the $20.5-billion deficit the PCs anticipate for 2020-21.

Finance Minister Rod Phillips is expected to table an interim fiscal update by the next legal deadline on August 15, and a full-fledged budget with longer-term projections is due out before November 15. Consolidated financial statements for the year will be out in the Public Accounts later this year.

Weltman weighs merits of tracking data on bankruptcies, jurisdictional funding Meanwhile, Weltman recently offered some insight on the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs' request that his office track bankruptcies and the proportion of provincial and federal investments during the pandemic.

Weltman was skeptical that bankruptcy information can provide an accurate snapshot of individual and businesses' financial hardship because it's a "lagging indicator" and "bankruptcies tend to happen eight months to a year-and-a-half out" from a recession.

However, he told Queen’s Park Today there is value in helping MPPs on the committee and the public understand the jurisdictional investments, not least because the feds collect more tax revenue and have stronger borrowing power than the provinces.

"The cynical side is that, okay, well how much is the province really putting up. But the other side is, the province has a different set of responsibilities than the federal government. Frankly, the pandemic is really hitting home on provincial responsibilities," Weltman said.

Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter requested the reports from the FAO, backed up by the PC-majority committee.

What's on, off and en route now that state of emergency is over Ontario's state of emergency may have expired last Friday, but thanks to Bill 195, which was enshrined in law just in time, some of the current emergency orders may live on in some form for up to the next two years.

That's despite criticism from the opposition parties — and, according to PC sources who spoke to Queen's Park Today, at least a dozen other Tories besides defector Belinda Karahalios — who call the new law an overreach of power and a muzzle on MPPs.

But the Ford government maintains it's necessary to manage the pandemic response, and that its accountability mechanisms, such as a new select committee on emergency management oversight, stand up to the test.

Moreover, Bill 195 only allows cabinet to change the existing emergency orders if it's in accordance with public health advice or related to limiting public and private establishments and gatherings, or redeploying staff.

Of the dozens of emergency orders, the law lays out just 14 that will live on unamended — though they may be extended — including:

● Bypassing collective agreements for public-sector staff redeployments to long-term care and retirement homes; ● Giving police and first responders access to a database of people who test Covid positive; ● Patio expansions; ● Pandemic pay bump for certain front-line workers; ● Switching to lowest-peak time-of-use electricity pricing; ● Exempting certain requirements to spur construction of temporary health or residential facilities; ● Allowing the chief and local medical officers of health and the coroner greater access to electronic health records; ● Changes to municipal drinking water systems and sewage works; ● Allowing registered nurses to complete and sign death certificates; ● Virtual signatures for wills and powers of attorney; and ● Enforcement mechanisms (forcing people to give police and bylaw enforcement officers personal information when asked a.k.a. carding).

As for the rest of the orders, they may be amended and extended in 30-day intervals over the next year. That includes making the orders "more onerous" or retroactive or applying them to different geographic hot spots. After that, the government can ask the legislature to give it those powers for another year.

Orders that have already been revoked or expired include: ● Restrictions on public gatherings and certain establishments — with new rules laid out in specific orders for Stage 1, 2 and 3 of reopening — as well as recreational camping on public land; ● The ban on shuttered daycares charging parents fees; ● Private cannabis delivery (after some confusion); ● The ability for non-police designates to restrict highway travel to different parts of the province; and ● Global adjustment charge deferrals for certain industrial and commercial hydro ratepayers.

Today’s events

July 29 at 10 a.m. – Toronto Associate Women and Children's Minister Jill Dunlop will make an announcement at the Native Child and Family Services of Toronto alongside its director Dr. Jeff Schiffer and Nicole Bonnie, CEO of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies.

July 29 at 1 p.m. – Toronto Premier Doug Ford will hold his daily briefing at Queen's Park.

July 29 at 1 p.m. – Thorold Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark will make an announcement with Liberal MP Adam Vaughan, the parliamentary secretary for families, children and social development.

Upcoming events

August 17 to 19 – Online The annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference goes digital this year, and will feature keynote addresses from Premier Doug Ford, official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca and Green Leader Mike Schreiner. ● Cabinet ministers will get grilled by municipal leaders as part of the "bear pit" Q-and-A forum, of which there will be three this year. Mayors, councillors, regional chairs and reeves will zero in on a slew of subjects including COVID-19, economic recovery, long-term care, broadband internet access, diversity in leadership, Indigenous relations, transitioning waste management responsibility to producers, 911 services and more.

Topics of conversation

● There were 111 newly recorded Covid cases and four new deaths in Tuesday's report. Nearly 70 per cent of new patients are under 40. Both Toronto and Peel saw less than 10 new cases — the hotter spots may get the green light to move forward to Stage 3 later today. Meanwhile, Ottawa saw 25 new cases; local health officials blame private parties for the recent uptick. Hard-hit Windsor-Essex logged 22 new cases. ○ Following the usual weekend lag in hospital reporting, there were 14 additional admissions, bringing the tally to 96. One more person is in the ICU for 31 total, and the number of people on ventilators is unchanged at 18. ○ Testing dropped slightly, with just over 17,000 completed and almost 13,000 backlogged for the latest 24-hour report. ○ Oops! There was a typo in yesterday's edition of Queen's Park Today. There were actually 119 new cases recorded Monday, not 199 as erroneously reported.

● The City of Toronto is taking tougher Covid safety precautions into its own hands as the city gets closer to entering Stage 3. The city plans to update the municipal code to require bars and restaurants take down contact info from patrons, limit capacity and table size, and require customers stay seated, except when going to the restroom. ○ Also in the works is a bylaw that would require face masks inside all apartment and condo building common areas, including elevators.

● Meanwhile, the Star has the skinny on a report from Toronto's city solicitor advising against a legal challenge to the province's Bill 184, which received royal assent last week, and which critics warn will make it easier to evict tenants without a hearing if they don't meet the terms of an agreed-upon repayment plan.

● About 55 people a week are dying from suspected overdose deaths in the province. "That's huge," according to chief coroner Dr. Dirk Huyer.

● Case of the Mondays? Don't look to the LCBO for relief. Finance Minister Rod Phillips isn't saying when the provincial booze retailer will reopen its doors on Mondays, which were set aside to do deep cleaning at the outset of the pandemic. "Like every other employer, we're looking at what can be done to safely ensure that people can return to work," Phillips told reporters Tuesday. "We did reduce the hours and that was part of wanting to make sure that additional cleaning and safety procedures could be undertaken inside what are very, very busy stores." ○ OPSEU president Warren "Smokey" Thomas, who represents the workers, has pointed out the province is losing "big money" every Monday the LCBO stays closed, while private grocery stores can still peddle booze and reap profits the province could be putting toward long-term care and hospitals. ○ Smokey has also called for a hazard pay-bump for front-line workers.

● An Ontario nurse practitioner who works as a long-term care home inspector is under investigation by her employer after sharing anti-vax and Covid conspiracies on social media, according to the CBC.

● Let your police flag fly: a controversial thin-blue-line version of the Canadian flag will continue to wave over the OPP Association’s office in Barrie. Union president Rob Jamieson says the banner is supposed to symbolize police solidarity and respect for fallen officers. However, a former OPP senior official told the CBC flying it is “thick-headed” and “tone deaf” amid Black Lives Matter protests.

● The Ontario Parent Action Network is planning a bipartisan push to demand “full funding” for a safe return to classrooms this fall. The group is organizing protests outside the constituency offices of all of Ontario’s 124 MPPs, starting with PCs Christine Elliott and Christina Mitas and NDPs Marit Stiles and Suze Morrison today.

Appointments and employments

Hydro One ● Stacey Mowbray has been appointed to Hydro One's board of directors, filling a vacancy left by ex-member Anne Giardini, who did not seek reelection at the utility's AGM this year. Mowbray was most recently president of the North American arm of Weight Watchers International and has expertise in marketing.

Office of the Premier ● Lyndsey Vanstone joined Doug Ford's office this month as executive director of branding. Vanstone was formerly executive director of the PC caucus services bureau and the face of Ontario News Now, before the quasi-partisan promotional broadcasts pivoted to focus on Tory MPPs.

Ontario Liberal Party ● John Fraser was officially acclaimed as the party’s candidate for Ottawa South. Even though the next election is not scheduled for nearly two years, Fraser is the second Grit to score a nomination; Michael Coteau was also nominated last week.

Funding announcements

Anti-hate grant makeover ● Ontario announced a redesigned Anti-Racism and Anti-Hate Grant program which will flow $1.6 million over two years toward initiatives that boost public awareness of systemic racism and its impacts.

Affordable seniors housing coming to Markham ● The provincial and federal governments are both pitching in for a new 264-bed affordable housing development for seniors. Combined the two levels of government have pledged $4.2 million through the joint Social Infrastructure Fund. The facility is expected to open in 2022.

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

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