Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report December 12, 2019 Quotation of the day “The shortened fall legislative session brought a much welcome change in tone, however, the song remains the same.” Liberal Interim Leader John Fraser bids adieu to the 2019 fall session. ​ ​ Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule It’s the final sitting day before the winter recess; MPPs are slated to return February 18, 2020. The house convenes at 9 a.m. The government could call any of the following bills for second-reading debate: ● Bill 156, Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act; ​ ​ ● Bill 161, Smarter and Stronger Justice Act; and ​ ​ ​ ● Bill 167, Legislative Assembly Amendment Act. ​ ​ ​ ​ Bill 159, Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act, bypassed second reading thanks to a rarely ​ used standing order (74(a)). The Tarion reform bill will be studied by the justice committee in a closed session this afternoon and for up to five days over the winter break. Two bills and one motion are on the docket for this afternoon’s private members’ business debates: ● NDP Transportation critic Jessica Bell will put forward her (non-binding) motion calling ​ ​ on the government to match municipal funding for public transit operations and maintenance; ● NDP MPP Catherine Fife will move second reading of Bill 153, Till Death Do Us Part ​ ​ ​ ​ Act, which would enshrine the right for spouses to live together in a nursing home; and ● PC MPP Belinda Karahalios will call second reading on her bill to beef up ​ ​ accountability for political party nominations and executive elections, Bill 150, Ensuring ​ ​ Transparency and Integrity in Political Party Elections Act. ○ While PMBs from government backbenchers tend to have a better shot at making it into law compared to Opposition PMBs, the majority Tories have indicated they won’t be supporting Karahalios’ bill. NDP MPP Percy Hatfield’s Bill 6, Poet Laureate of Ontario Act (In Memory of Gord Downie), ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ will be debated at third reading. Bill 123, Reserved Parking for Electric Vehicle Charging Act, ​ ​ which is co-signed by PC MPP Lorne Coe and Green Leader Mike Schreiner, has been ​ ​ ​ ​ reported back from committee and could also be called for third reading. Wednesday’s debates and proceedings In the morning, MPPs continued second-reading debate on Bill 156, the government’s ​ ​ legislation restricting animal-rights related actions around farms. Bill 116, Foundations for Promoting and Protecting Mental Health and Addictions Services Act, ​ was debated and passed third-reading stage by unanimous voice vote. The bill authorizes the province to participate in a class-action lawsuit against opioid companies. Government house leader Paul Calandra introduced Bill 167, Legislative Assembly ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Amendment Act, to shake up how the Pink Palace operates. It expands the precinct grounds ​ ​ and enables security officers, who have peace officer status, to provide services in those expanded areas, such as Whitney Block. Cabinet would also be authorized to expand the precinct further, should they choose. The bill would also make changes to the Board of Internal Economy and how legislative assembly staff are disciplined, and enshrine an exemption for Indigenous staff members from taking the oath of office. Three private members’ bills were introduced in the afternoon. ● NDP MPP Peter Tabuns tabled Bill 165, Ontario Climate Crisis Strategy for the Public ​ ​ ​ ​ Sector Act, which would establish a strategy and reporting requirements for energy consumption in the civil service. ● PC MPP Toby Barrett introduced Bill 166, Great Lakes Protection Amendment Act, ​ ​ ​ ​ which would add the promotion of tourism and economic activity that respects ecological health to the purpose for protecting the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin. ● PC MPP Will Bouma introduced Bill 168, Combating Antisemitism Act, to tighten up the ​ ​ ​ ​ government’s definition of anti-semitism. In the park The parents of murdered Toronto woman Laura Babcock were in the house for question period ​ ​ and visited with Premier Doug Ford, who recently hand-delivered her death certificate — the ​ ​ ​ ​ closing chapter in a months-long quest to get the province to officially register her as dead. The coroner’s office wasn’t able to issue a death certificate for Babcock, who was murdered by serial killer Dellen Millard, because it couldn’t record a cause and manner of death without a ​ ​ body, which is part of the process. This week Attorney General Doug Downey announced regulatory changes to the Vital Statistics ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Act to make it easier to register someone as dead when there are no remains. ​ Teacher unions poised to launch legal challenge to Bill 124 Four major Ontario education unions are gearing up to take the Ford government’s Bill 124 to ​ ​ court. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation and Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens are expected to launch the challenge this morning at a presser at Queen’s Park. Bill 124 caps public sector pay hikes at one per cent annually for the next three years. Labour ​ groups argue it violates collective bargaining rights. The law has muddled collective bargaining with some teacher unions, which are seeking a cost-of-living increase of about two per cent. When Bill 124 passed last month, smack dab in the middle of tense contract talks, teacher ​ ​ unions put the government on notice for the challenge, saying at the time “the prospects for good faith bargaining have been all but shattered.” Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy has defended the law as a “fair and time-limited ​ ​ approach” to reining in public sector compensation, which costs about $72 billion annually. Meanwhile, Green Leader Mike Schreiner has asked Financial Accountability Officer Peter ​ ​ ​ Weltman to look into the government’s number surrounding teacher contracts. ​ In his letter, Schreiner asks Weltman to “verify the claims” made by Education Minister Stephen ​ Lecce. ​ Lecce has pegged the OSSTF’s proposal for a two-per-cent wage bump and six-per-cent increase in benefits at $1.5 billion over three years. But based on government information provided to reporters at a technical briefing this week, giving OSSTF what it wants would cost about $588 million over three years. All the figures floating around have led to “significant confusion,” Schreiner wrote. “Doubt has been cast on the minister’s claims because they appear to contradict previous statements as well as data published by the government itself,” he said. “We owe it to the public to clear it up with an independent analysis.” Elementary and high school teachers ramped up labour action this week; the former launched phase two of a work-to-rule campaign, and the latter staged a one-day walkout in nine boards. Today’s events December 12 at 9 a.m. – Toronto ​ Representatives from four of Ontario’s teacher unions will be in the media studio to announce details of their legal challenge to Bill 124. ​ ​ December 12 at 9:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will hold an end-of-session news conference at Queen’s Park. ​ ​ December 12 at 10 a.m. – Toronto ​ Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy will hold a press conference in the media studio. ​ ​ December 12 at 1:30 p.m. – Toronto ​ Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner will hold his own year-ender news conference, also at ​ ​ Queen’s Park. Topics of conversation ● New Brunswick is the latest province to launch its own carbon tax, which was given the thumbs up by federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson Wednesday. The ​ ​ maritime province initially planned to challenge Ottawa’s carbon backstop in court alongside Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, but backtracked after the federal election results affirmed many Canadians’ support for carbon pricing. Appointments and employments Office of the Premier ● Doug Ford has enlisted community organizer and author Jamil Jivani as the province’s ​ ​ ​ first-ever Advocate for Community Opportunities. Per the Star, Jivani came to Queen’s ​ ​ ​ Park this week to talk to Ford about how government can support people in disadvantaged communities — and he left with the job. ○ As part of his mandate Jivani will inform ways to help combat guns and gang violence, human trafficking and racism, and improve outcomes in education, community services, income support and access to housing. ○ In a release Ford said he named Jivani special adviser “in order to engage people from all walks of life and help us tackle some serious problems. Jamil has an impressive track record of building better communities and empowering young people to reach their full potential.” ○ Jivani is the author of the critically acclaimed 2018 book Why Young Men: Rage, ​ Race and the Crisis of Identity about growing up in an immigrant community in ​ Toronto and avoiding the pressures of gang culture and radical ideologies. Education Relations Commission ● The government has named two appointees to the commission tasked with advising cabinet about whether the academic year could be in jeopardy because of labour action by education unions. ○ Chair Bernard Fishbein was re-appointed and Johanne Cavé was newly ​ ​ ​ ​ appointed to the Education Relations Commission at the Labour Relations Board. ○ The education minister’s office said the order-in-council was issued to fill vacancies as part of due process and has nothing to do with ongoing labour action on the education front. Funding announcements Ministry of the Solicitor General ● The ministry announced $195 million in new funding for community policing grants. The majority of the cash — $188 million — will go to 89 police boards to target local priorities such as mental health and impaired driving. Another $14 million will be divvied up between a smaller number of police boards to fight gun and gang violence and human trafficking. Question Period NDP lead-off Teacher walkouts ● Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath kicked off the penultimate question period ​ ​ of 2019 on theme, with a question about high school teachers and some educational workers walking off the job as part of a one-day strike at nine boards.