Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report July 22, 2020 Quotation of the day “Bill 195 essentially silences every single Ontario MPP on the ​ ​ most important issue facing our legislature today." PC MPP Belinda Karahalios votes against her own government's legislation extending ​ ​ emergency-order powers, calling it an "unnecessary overreach on our parliamentary democracy." Soon after, the premier’s office declared she is no longer a member of the PC caucus. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule MPPs are heading back to their ridings after rising for the rest of summer a day earlier than planned. The house is adjourned until Monday, September 14, at 10:15 a.m. — one week after the Labour Day holiday and the same day the fall sitting had been scheduled to kick off before the pandemic. Tuesday's debates and proceedings The PCs plowed through the order paper during yesterday's late-evening debate. The following bills passed (after being time-allocated and clearing second- and third-reading debate): ● Bill 184, Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act; ​ ● Bill 195, Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act; and ​ ● Bill 197, COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act. ​ PC backbencher Belinda Karahalios voted against Bill 195 — a move that got her swiftly ​ ​ ​ ​ kicked out of caucus by the premier. The Cambridge MPP called the legislation, which allows the PCs to extend and amend the emergency orders for up to two years, an “unnecessary overreach on our parliamentary democracy” that “essentially silences every single Ontario MPP on the most important issue facing our legislature today.” It isn't the first time Karahalios — who was also parliamentary assistant to the Solicitor General — appeared to take a shot at her party in the name of accountability. Last year she introduced a backbench bill to boost transparency around political party-level elections, after her husband Jim alleged the last race for PC president was rigged against him. Bill 150 has languished at ​ ​ ​ the committee stage ever since. There are now 12 Independent members in the legislature — just enough for recognized party status, should they decide to band together. Government house leader Paul Calandra fast-tracked a handful of commemorative backbench ​ ​ bills for third reading: ● NDP Bhutila Karpoche's Bill 131, Tibetan Heritage Month Act; ​ ​ ​ ​ ● PC Kaleed Rasheed's Bill 154, Stop Cyberbullying in Ontario Day Act; ​ ​ ​ ​ ● NDP Faisal Hassan's Bill 180, Somali Heritage Week Act; and ​ ​ ​ ​ ● PC Natalia Kusendova's Bill 182, Franco-Ontarian Emblem Amendment Act. ​ ​ ​ ​ NDP MPP Wayne Gates tabled his private member's Bill 199, Travel Ontario Tax Credit Act, ​ ​ ​ ​ which is aimed at incentivizing tourism in his hard-hit riding of Niagara Falls. (According to Mayor Jim Diodati, 98 per cent of the border town's tourism workers were laid off during the ​ ​ pandemic.) Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell was in the house, masked up, to give royal assent ​ ​ to a number of bills. Premier watch Premier Doug Ford's summer road trip heads to the 905 this week, with stops in Mississauga ​ ​ on Tuesday. Ford toured Neo-Image Candlelight, which retooled to make hand sanitizer; swung by Cuchulainn's Inn, an Irish pub that was forced to shut down but still donated meals to those in need; and visited MicroElectronics, which is producing PPE. Ford was in town to announce the province is speeding up construction of two long-term care homes, which will have up to 640 new beds ready by next year. Covid cases spike back up, especially among younger people Ontario recorded the highest number of Covid cases since late June on Tuesday. Another 203 infections brings the overall count to 37,942, including at least 2,753 deaths. Health Minister Christine Elliott called the numbers "concerning" and pointed out that 57 per ​ ​ cent of the new cases were people aged 39 and under, which follows an uptick among younger folks in recent days. Premier Doug Ford was more forthright. “Don't go to a party,” he warned young folks. ​ ​ Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, who was at Ford’s long-term care newser, also said there ​ ​ ​ ​ was a "misrepresentation" in Peel's tally — instead of the 57 new cases, there were actually only 22 in the latest 24-hour report. Ontario's top doc David Williams explained his thinking behind potential outbreaks as the ​ ​ province creaks back open, saying he would prefer to tighten up certain high-risk settings as opposed to reverting back to an earlier stage of reopening. Autism services waitlist ballooned to 27,600 last year: FAO The number of children awaiting autism services grew to 27,600 last year as the Ford government changed the way it funds treatment with an eye to eliminating the waitlist. According to a report from the Financial Accountability Office released Tuesday, about 2,700 more kids were on the waitlist in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19, an increase of about 11 per cent. From 2011 to 2018, the waitlist grew at an average annual rate of 47.8 per cent. The PCs were forced to revamp the program following backlash from families and advocates last year, and a new needs-based model is set to launch in 2021. But according to budget watchdog Peter Weltman, the $600 million earmarked isn't enough to ​ ​ cover even half of the 42,000 children on the spectrum in Ontario. The funding will make a dent in the waitlist, though it will still be "significant" in length. "If you as an MPP think, 'Well, no, we really should clear the waitlist completely,' then our report says, 'OK, but that's going to cost about $1.35 billion in year one," Weltman told reporters. Depending on the child's needs, therapy can set parents back as much as $95,000 a year. With a $600-million purse and a needs-based service level providing the average family with $29,900, only 17,860 children would get support under the new program. That would see the lineup for services fall by 4,800, but still leave 22,900 languishing in wait. Today’s events July 22 at 10 a.m. – Online ​ PC MPP Bob Bailey will be on hand for a joint federal-provincial-municipal funding ​ ​ announcement for infrastructure in Amherstburg, St. Clair and Sarnia. July 22 at 1 p.m. – Toronto ​ Premier Doug Ford is expected to hold his daily briefing at Queen's Park. ​ ​ ​ July 22 at 4 p.m. – Mississauga ​ NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will chat with the media following a meeting with the Mississauga ​ ​ Board of Trade. She will then tour a local restaurant and meet with its owner. Topics of conversation ● The Canadian military was doing more than just helping out in long-term care homes when it was deployed to Ontario, according to a new report from the Ottawa Citizen. The ​ ​ army also set up a separate Precision Information Team to data mine Ontarians’ social ​ media comments about the province’s response to the pandemic in LTCs, which it later ​ turned over to the provincial government. ● Bill 184 is now the law of the land, but housing advocates are still ringing the alarm bells ​ on how it could leave tenants at risk of swift eviction if landlords do not propose viable repayment plans. ○ The concern is that landlords will provide tenants who deferred rent payments during the pandemic with repayment plans they can’t afford and then use the changes in the bill to apply for an eviction order without a hearing. The Toronto ​ Star has the details. ​ ​ ○ Green Leader Mike Schreiner — who voted against Bill 184 — said he’s worried ​ ​ ​ ​ it will create a “Wild West of unregulated private agreements that become the ​ ​ basis for evicting vulnerable tenants on social assistance and disability.” ● As the number of Covid cases south of the border continues to soar, TVO looks at how ​ ​ ​ the United States’ inability to control the virus could affect Ontario’s return to economic prosperity. ○ Of particular concern is the province’s manufacturing ties to Michigan, which is weighing whether to shut down its auto plants again as cases surge. ​ News briefs Bait and switch ● The Ministry of Natural Resources released its final bait management strategy, which will limit the movement of fishing bait throughout the province in hopes of countering invasive species and fish diseases. ○ The new system will divide Ontario into four bait management zones and ban the shipment and sale of live bait between them. The proposal is now on the environmental registry for public feedback through September. ○ The ministry says Ontario’s baitfish industry is worth an estimated $23 million per year. Appointments and employments University Pension Plan Ontario ● Barbara Zvan has been appointed the inaugural president and CEO of University ​ Pension Plan Ontario, which was established at the beginning of the year. ○ The $10-billion fund currently manages the pensions of current and former employees at the University of Toronto, Queen’s University and the University of Guelph. Question period With the premier away on his summer tour, the last question period of the summer had a bit of a silly vibe with plenty of heckling, and even the Tories got in on a few laughs. NDP lead-off Long-term care ● Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath led the debate with a reminder that the ​ ​ government promised to launch its independent commission into long-term care's Covid crisis this month, but with just over a week left, there are no details. "It seems that they've forgotten any sense of urgency whatsoever," Horwath said, noting more than 1,800 seniors have lost their lives. ● Long-term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton assured Ontarians the commission's scope, ​ ​ terms of reference and membership "is in the works and it will be announced," but she didn't scoop any of the details.