Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report January 21, 2019

Quotation of the day

“A spectacular world-class, year-round destination.”

Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Michael Tibollo lays out the Tories’ vision for ​ ​ Place and calls for expressions of interest from developers.

Today at Queen’s Park

On the schedule The House is recessed until February 19.

Premier watch This weekend Premier and former football champ Michael “Pinball” Clemons ​ ​ ​ (once rumoured to be running for the PCs) were at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate in to check ​ ​ out student engagement programs geared toward underserved youth.

On Thursday, Ford hosted the U.S. Consul General in Toronto Greg Stanford at Queen’s Park. ​ ​ The pair talked trade, tariffs, jobs and the economy, Ford said on Twitter. ​ ​

Committees this week The Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs continues its pre-budget consultation tour this week with stops in Dryden on Monday, Timmins on Tuesday, Ottawa on Wednesday, Sarnia on Thursday and Kitchener-Waterloo on Friday. Unions are organizing protests outside each of the meetings.

On Thursday, the Select Committee on Financial Transparency convenes behind closed doors at Queen’s Park for another day of report writing.

To recap: the committee’s examination of past Liberal government fiscal practices has zeroed in on the Fair Hydro Plan’s debt borrowing scheme and the accounting of assets from two jointly sponsored pension plans with unions. A final report with recommendations was expected in December but has been pushed back without a specific timeline.

Oops! The January 18 issue of Queen’s Park Today erroneously stated students enrolled in a ​ ​ post-secondary professional program would not see a tuition fee cut under the PC’s recently announced changes. In fact, the government says those students could see a reduction in tuition in excess of $1,000.

Tories seeking development proposals for The Ford government is putting out a call for private sector proposals to develop Ontario Place.

While the PCs aren’t ruling out much, such as a giant Ferris wheel or casino — which Premier Doug Ford touted as part of his downtown waterfront vision during his days at Toronto City Hall ​ — there are some caveats.

The government says it won’t consider proposals for residential uses, or those that require operating grants or capital investments for planning, design, or construction from provincial coffers. The Budweiser Stage won’t be part of the redevelopment because of a pre-existing lease deal with Live Nation and Labatt Breweries, and there won’t be any sale of the Ontario Place lands.

Everything else is up for a makeover. That includes the iconic Cinesphere and pods as well as the new Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail, which were revamped under the former Liberal government. The Tories say they intend to maintain 7.5 hectares of park space.

Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Michael Tibollo said the idea is to bring the waterfront ​ ​ theme park “back to life and make it a spectacular world-class, year-round destination to visit.”

“Our vision for Ontario Place will make it an impressive attraction that could include exciting sport and entertainment landmarks, public parks or shopping. We could also have places for recreation, for people to come together and to hear great music at the existing amphitheater,” Tibollo said Friday in a news release.

The government will begin accepting formal expressions of interest in the spring and has set up ​ a website with more information in the meantime. ​

Cue the concern from critics.

NDP MPP accused the premier of bulldozing ahead with “his casino and ​ ​ megamall dreams.”

“The NDP’s message to Doug Ford is simple: Ontario Place is not your private property. It belongs to the people,” Glover said in a release. “Backroom deals shouldn’t determine what happens to our precious waterfront. Let the people decide.”

Suzanne Kavanagh of the community advocacy group Waterfront for All said “there has been ​ some really great planning work on Ontario Place in recent years, and opening the park up for private sector bids throws all that planning out the window.”

Concerns over the future of the lakefront attraction have ramped up since the PCs passed Bill ​ 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, which dissolved Ontario Place’s ​ ​ corporation and board and gave full control of the public asset to the Crown. The government has also enlisted Conservative organizer Jim Ginou to chair the board once again. Ginou’s ​ ​ recent comments to QP Briefing suggesting Ontario Place is in disrepair and could be ​ ​ redeveloped however his friend the premier sees fit have also raised eyebrows.

Today’s events January 21 at 10:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ OPSEU President Warren “Smokey” Thomas will be in the Queen’s Park media studio to ​ ​ present a report he says shows public support for properly-funded public services.

January 21 at 11:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ The Ontario Health Coalition will release a report on violence among residents in long-term care facilities in the media studio. The OHC says the report includes the sobering statistic that over the last 5 years, there were 27 homicides in Ontario long-term care homes.

January 21 at 12 p.m. – Toronto ​ Premier Doug Ford will address the Economic Club at a luncheon speech. ​ ​ ​ ​

Upcoming events January 23 at 5 p.m. – Toronto ​ Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell will host a reception in the LG’s Suite at Queen’s ​ ​ Park to launch “Our Sustainable Future,” a photography exhibit featuring the work of high school student shutterbugs from the Greater Toronto Area, including Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park. The LG partnered with the Aga Khan Museum on the project, which focuses on the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals on social and economic issues.

Topics of conversation

● Recently announced changes to to the tuition fee framework that allow students to opt out of paying ancillary fees could spell disaster for campus newspapers and unions, the editor in chief of University of Toronto student paper The Varsity told the Huffington Post. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ The Tories’ changes to OSAP that were announced last week sparked an emergency student protest at Queen’s Park this weekend.

● According to Liberal finance critic , the OSAP rejig potentially means less ​ ​ grant money for scholars who want to attend post-secondary school beyond Ontario’s borders. It appears Hunter discovered the potential changes by experimenting with the government’s calculator for financial aid. ○ “We’ve recently learned through the OSAP calculator that Doug Ford is stacking even more debt onto students who choose to study out of province while providing them with less assistance,” Hunter said in a news release. “The Ford government must immediately explain why they did not announce this important policy change. It’s either one or the other: either the online OSAP calculator is giving students incorrect information or the government has attempted to conceal changes to OSAP that will harm students.” ○ Training, Colleges and Universities Minister ’s office did not ​ ​ immediately respond to a request for comment.

● Cat Lake First Nation’s chief and band council have declared a state of emergency over what they are calling “profoundly poor conditions of housing.” Chief Matthew ​ Keewaykapow says the state of housing has led to “needless illnesses and related ​ deaths” and called on the federal and provincial governments to provide resources to address the problem and come up with an intervention and evacuation plan for Cat Lake, a remote community about 180 km north of Sioux Lookout. ○ The declaration says an independent inspection called for the demolition of 87 homes after finding excessive mould and structural issues. The council also said Health Canada has failed to adequately respond to the community’s concerns. ○ Energy Minister said the onus for on-reserve housing falls in ​ ​ Ottawa’s court, but his office “has reached out to the community to see how the province can assist.” The minister was not specific. ○ “We urge the federal government to step up and deliver immediate relief to the Cat Lake community,” Rickford said in a statement. “We will continue to work alongside our Indigenous partners to develop community-driven solutions to move beyond crisis and towards recovery.”

● NDP MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell, who represents Thunder Bay—Atikokan, has sent ​ ​ an open letter to Community Safety Minister calling on the government to ​ ​ provide more than $1 million for the Thunder Bay police force to create a major case unit and improve anti-racism training, according to the Canadian Press. ​ ​ ​ ○ Monteith-Farrell’s letter comes on the heels of a damning report from the Office of the Independent Police Review Director that found systemic racism among the

force. The report made 44 recommendations to address and improve the relationship between officers in Thunder Bay and the Indigenous community.

● Bob Bell, who was Ontario’s deputy minister of health up until his resignation a few ​ weeks after Ford was elected premier last year, is taking to the opinion pages to weigh in ​ ​ on news reports of a big health-care shakeup. In the , Bell said rolling ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Cancer Care Ontario into what’s reportedly being called a super health agency (and would include the 14 local health integration networks) will hurt cancer patients.

Appointments and employments Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing ● Hazel McCallion has earned a few titles in her 97 years — “Hurricane Hazel,” “the ​ Queen of Sprawl,” and Mississauga’s longest-serving mayor — and can now add special adviser to the Ford administration. ● McCallion will be paid up to $150,000 a year to advise Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, the government said Friday. “This advice, combined with the input we’re receiving through the government’s housing supply consultation, will help ensure that the people of Ontario have access to the right kind of housing in the right place,” Minister Steve Clark said in a release. ​ ​ ○ McCallion endorsed both Ford and ex-Grit finance minister Charles Sousa in the ​ ​ ​ ​ June 2018 election; in 2014, she backed for premier and, ​ ​ before that, for Liberal leader. Wynne shrugged off McCallion’s support for Ford at the time last year, saying she and the former mayor disagreed when it came to unlocking the Greenbelt to urban development.

Ontario Public Service ● Steven Davidson is temporarily taking over the reins of the civil service while the search ​ ​ ​ continues to find a permanent replacement for soon-to-be-retired Cabinet Secretary Steve Orsini. In a memo to bureaucrats Orsini said Davidson, a deputy minister in ​ Cabinet Office, is well suited to the role because of his experience “in establishing and managing the government’s policy and legislative agenda.” ○ Davidson was previously a deputy minister in the tourism, culture and sport file; the DM responsible for the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games; and the DM for the anti-racism directorate up until last June. ○ Martha Greenberg will fill in for Davidson’s previous job as deputy minister of ​ policy and delivery. She was previously an ADM for economic, environmental, justice and intergovernmental policy. ○ After nearly three decades working in the civil service, Orsini hangs up his hat on January 31. Davidson takes up the post February 1.

News releases — governmental Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks ● Ontario is reviewing the Endangered Species Act for the first time since it was enshrined in 2008 as part of the PC’s “made-in-Ontario” environment plan. Environmental Minister Rod Phillips said the goal is to better balance a healthy environment with a healthy ​ economy. “During the past decade of implementing the act, we have heard what works well, and what can be improved,” Phillips said in a news release. The government says problems range from a heavy administrative burden to a lack of effectiveness and clarity. ○ There are more than 30,000 species of wildlife found in Ontario, but only 243 are listed on the Species at Risk in Ontario list, which includes certain breeds of toad, ​ ​ eel, bumble bee, turtle, snail, lizard, pelican, eagle, wolf, caribou, bear and wolverine. ○ The public consultation period closes March 4. ​ ​ ○ In 2017, Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe issued a report that found ​ ​ the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry had not once denied a development permit because of the Endangered Species Act. ○ At the time, Saxe said the province’s “rubber-stamping” of permits turned the species-protection law into a “catastrophic failure.”

Ministry of the Attorney General ● Ontario sports fans who want to buy charity raffle tickets at the game but can’t make it in person will soon be able to play remotely online, PC MPP and parliamentary assistant to the attorney general announced Friday at Scotiabank Arena, home of the ​ ​ ​ Toronto Maple Leafs. ​ ○ Park said the changes would allow more online raffle options for licensed charities and help them raise more money and benefit more people. ○ The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which oversees the process, reportedly began planning the electronic raffle system in 2017.

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

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