Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report March 9, 2020 Quotation of the day “Steven Del Duca is the safe choice, but no one is ​ ​ passionate about him.” A longtime Liberal operative who asked not to be named tells Queen’s Park Today this ​ ​ weekend’s leadership convention was anticlimactic. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The house convenes at 10:15 a.m. for question period. In the afternoon, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will move the first Opposition Day motion of the ​ ​ year, calling on the government to reverse the planned cancellation of the double-fare transit discount, which shaves off $1.50 for commuters transferring between GO transit or the UP Express to the TTC. It also demands the PCs restore the 50-50 transit operating funding formula for municipalities. Horwath and Transportation critic Jessica Bell will tease the motion ​ ​ in the Queen’s Park media studio this morning. Motions are non-binding but have symbolic value. That said, it’s unlikely the majority-enjoying PCs will support Horwath’s motion denouncing their own policies. The government is also expected to call second-reading debate on Bill 175, Connecting People ​ ​ to Home and Community Care Act. The bill could also be put to a vote. Committees this week Eleanor Fritz, a former compliance director at the Toronto Stock Exchange, and Cheryl ​ ​ ​ ​ Brownlee, a former government relations operative at the Ontario Mining Association and ​ current advisor for mining firm Newmont, are slated to testify at the government agencies committee Tuesday morning, regarding appointments to the University of Guelph’s board of governors, and the government’s Species At Risk advisory committee, respectively. The Standing Committee on Social Policy will begin scrutinizing the PC’s legislation to speed up the $28.5-billion GTA transportation expansion plan, Bill 171, Building Transit Faster Act, on ​ ​ Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning, the public accounts committee convenes for a closed-session briefing from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s office regarding its 2019 report on the province’s plan to ​ ​ reduce greenhouse gas emissions, then opens its doors in the afternoon to hear from environment ministry bureaucrats. In the park The Ontario Chamber of Commerce, Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors and Merit Ontario are slated to hold their lobby days and receptions today. Premier watch Premier Doug Ford spent Friday at the Heddle Shipyards docks in St. Catharines and attended ​ ​ the Toronto Police Service’s annual communion breakfast event. Del Duca clinches Liberal leadership with first-ballot victory It’s official. About a month after he dominated the Liberals’ delegate-level elections, Steven Del ​ Duca was dubbed party leader at the two-day convention in Mississauga over the weekend. ​ Del Duca — who cruised into the convention backed by about 56 per cent of the 2,000-plus elected delegates — handily secured the first ballot with 58.8 per cent support. He far outflanked the rival campaigns; runner-up Michael Coteau ranked a distant second with 17 per ​ ​ ​ ​ cent of the ballot. “The work begins in earnest Monday. We have 26 months until the next election,” Del Duca said Saturday. Del Duca to run party without seat in the legislature, possibly no salary The former Liberal cabinet minister, whose strong organizational and fundraising skills appeal to many Liberals, said he’s planning to build up the Grits’ arsenal from outside the legislature in the lead-up to 2022. He won’t seek a seat in the house before then unless a spot opens up in his home riding of Vaughan, currently represented by Associate Mental Health Minister Michael ​ Tibollo. In the meantime, it isn’t clear whether the party will pay the newly minted leader a salary; Del Duca said those discussions haven’t happened yet, but his family is prepared for any scenario. Del Duca’s lack of seat doesn’t appear to be a major concern for the party faithful, in part because the Liberals remain four MPPs short of recognized party status and all the added resources that comes with it. Liberal strategist Andrew Steele told Queen’s Park Today the 2018 election in which the Grits ​ ​ ​ ​ were trounced was “humbling,” but because they lack party status they aren’t able to hold the government accountable as effectively as the official Opposition can, in question period for example. “Maybe I’m being a bit cynical, but I dont think being in the legislature is the best training for being premier. Having a leader who is in the house is a good thing, but it’s not the critical determining factor of how the next election is going to play out,” said Steele, who is currently vice-president at StrategyCorp. “Let’s look at recent history. Doug Ford had never stepped foot in the legislature before he was ​ ​ premier of Ontario. It’s not exactly the biggest vulnerability for a leader going into the next election,” Steele went on to say. The new leader has also promised gender parity for the 124-candidate slate in 2022, while ensuring 30 contenders are under the age of 30. Though the next election is more than two years out, Del Duca wants to start recruiting no later than July 1, 2020 “so that Liberal candidates have adequate time to introduce themselves to voters.” (That process could begin at the OLP AGM in June with the selection of a nomination committee, according to party president Brian Johns.) ​ ​ Parties trade barbs before coronation is complete At the convention, Del Duca attacked Premier Doug Ford’s record on education and ​ ​ environmental policy, among other things, referring to him as a “climate change dinosaur.” Del Duca also said the Opposition NDP is not up to snuff when it comes to holding the PCs accountable. On the flip side, opposition parties are already tying the former cabinet minister to ex-leader Kathleen Wynne and dredging up his political baggage, particularly over the location of the ​ Kirby GO station in his riding that the auditor general determined he improperly influenced as transportation minister. The PCs have sent out at least two fundraising email blasts in as many days and have called Del Duca Wynne’s “right-hand man.” House leader Paul Calandra crashed the weekend ​ ​ convention with pool floaties as a prop, slamming Del Duca over a negative headline regarding ​ ​ ​ ​ the construction of an outdoor pool in his backyard that violated local planning rules. Calandra told reporters the PCs aren’t taking anything for granted ahead of the 2022 vote, but said Del Duca’s proposals are a redux of Wynne’s. “It’s like he learned nothing from the 2018 election,” he said. For the NDP’s part, Del Duca is the opposite — too “right-leaning.” The NDP jumped the gun, briefly releasing an attack video framing Del Duca as “not progressive” before delegates had ​ ​ finished casting ballots. NDP Ethics critic Taras Natyshak said Del Duca had not learned from ​ ​ the “sins of his past.” Premier Doug Ford chimed in on Friday, ahead of the results: “I don’t care who they pick. They ​ ​ destroyed our province.” The Liberal Party jabbed back with a parody of the old licence plates to which the PCs will be returning until the revamped white plates are ready March 16, according to the Star. “A Plate To ​ ​ ​ ​ Re-Discover,” read the tagline for the old blue-on-white plates the Grits printed out for reporters at the convention. Today’s events March 9 at 10 a.m. – Kitchener ​ Premier Doug Ford will participate in a fireside chat at the Communitech Hub. ​ ​ ● Ford’s former deputy chief of staff Matt Bondy recently joined Communitech after ​ ​ leaving the premier’s office last fall. March 9 at 10 a.m. – Ingersoll ​ Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman will make an announcement about high-speed internet ​ ​ services at Wolthaven Farms. March 9 at 10:15 a.m. – Minden ​ Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski and Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott will make ​ ​ ​ ​ an announcement about flood preparedness. March 9 at 10:15 a.m. – Toronto ​ Newly elected Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca will be at the legislature for question period and ​ ​ speak to reporters later. March 9 at 10:30 a.m. – Orillia ​ Solicitor General Sylvia Jones and OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique will make an ​ ​ ​ ​ announcement at the provincial police force headquarters. March 9 at 11 a.m. – Sudbury ​ Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney and Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger will make an ​ ​ ​ ​ announcement at the local Transit and Fleet Centre. March 9 at 3 p.m. – Toronto ​ Chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams will provide a regular briefing on the ​ ​ response to the novel coronavirus in the media studio. ● There have been 31 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario, four of which have been resolved, health officials said over the weekend. In a statement, Tourism Minister Lisa ​ MacLeod has said she is working with the federal government “to ensure a coordinated ​ response to tourism impacts” stemming from the virus. Upcoming events March 25 at 5 p.m. – Toronto ​ Legislative assembly staff can toast Budget Day at Speaker Ted Arnott’s annual craft beer ​ ​ tasting event at the Pink Palace. People will be able to vote for their choice brews, and the winners will be served in the legislative dining room. Topics of conversation ● Premier Doug Ford teased a plan to end time-of-use electricity pricing, due out “over the ​ ​ next few weeks,” in a bid to lower hydro rates. ○ Speaking to reporters at an unrelated announcement in St. Catharines on Friday, the premier doubled down on his campaign pledge to reduce hydro bills by an extra 12 per cent, which he previously admitted was the most challenging campaign promise for his government to keep in a year-end interview with the Toronto Sun.