Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report November 29, 2019 Quotation of the day “The conservative circus comes to town.” The NDP fundraises off of Monday’s Council of the Federation all-premiers’ meeting, painting Doug Ford as the “poster boy” for a “new, troubling form of conservatism” with a “harmful ​ agenda spreading coast to coast.” Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The house is adjourned until Monday, December 2. Thursday’s debates and proceedings The government’s time-allocation motion for Bill 116, Foundations for Promoting and Protecting ​ ​ ​ Mental Health and Addictions Services Act, was debated in the morning and passed after ​ question period (Ayes 59; Nays 34). PC MPP Kaleed Rasheed retabled his anti-cyberbullying private member’s bill. Instead of ​ ​ proclaiming the first Friday of June each year as an awareness day, Bill 154 designates the ​ ​ third Friday of every June. Two bills and a motion were debated in the afternoon: ● PC MPP Lorne Coe and Green Leader Mike Schreiner’s co-sponsored Bill 123, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Reserved Parking for Electric Vehicles Act, is now off to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills after clearing second reading. ○ The bill would make it a fineable offence to leave a vehicle unattended and unplugged at an EV charging space. ● PC MPP Jane McKenna’s Bill 152, the latest iteration of her private member’s bill ​ ​ ​ ​ proclaiming a workplace health and safety day on the first Tuesday each May, will be scrutinized by the social policy committee. ○ New Democrats were heated during the debate, pointing out McKenna’s original version, Bill 143, proclaimed April 28 as “health and safety at work day.” April 28 ​ ​ is already recognized as the National Day of Mourning, which honours those who died on the job. ○ The NDP accused the PCs of “political posturing” and trying to “whitewash” the history of injured workers. ● NDP MPP Sara Singh’s motion calling on the government to commit to an independent ​ ​ investigation into allegations of anti-Black racism at the Peel District School Board was shot down. Premier watch Premier Doug Ford hosted Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball at his office ​ ​ ​ ​ Thursday afternoon, ahead of Monday’s first ministers’ meeting. “Let’s make no mistake about it, when a group of premiers — all 13 are showing up — we’re going to have disagreements, but I think that’s healthy,” Ford told reporters later, likening next week’s COF meeting to family gathering. He reiterated the need to put up a united front to show stability to the business world. In the park The recurring Fridays for Future climate protest will be held on the legislature’s lawn today. High school teachers threaten one-day strike if no deal is reached by next week Ontario’s high school teachers are set to walk off the job on Wednesday for a one-day strike if a deal with the province and school boards can’t be reached. Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, provided an ​ update on the latest job action Thursday, saying it’s clear that this week’s work-to-rule campaign “is having no impact on the tone or substance of negotiations.” High school teachers began a work-to-rule campaign earlier this week, alongside elementary teachers, that the unions said would not impact students. Bargaining with both unions took place this week. Education Minister Stephen Lecce called OSSTF’s move “deeply troubling.” He called on the ​ ​ union to remain at the bargaining table and in mediation until the strike deadline and pointed to “reasonable” offers from the government, such as walking back the planned increase in class sizes and number of mandatory online credits. “Our government has demonstrated consistently it is reasonable and student-centric by making major moves that have not been matched or reciprocated by the teachers’ unions,” he said. Lecce said more bargaining dates have been offered to the union; Bischof disputed that. ​ ​ NDP Education critic Marit Stiles blamed the government for the breakdown in contract talks. ​ ​ “Instead of picking a fight with educators and forcing them to fight to protect public education in Ontario, Doug Ford should listen to parents who say that schools need more caring adults in ​ ​ classrooms, not less.” Rickford addresses climate change denial after taking heat from critics After facing questions over his beliefs about climate change for several days, Energy Minister Greg Rickford was unequivocal on Thursday. ​ “I believe in climate change and I believe it’s as a consequence of human activity,” Rickford told reporters after question period. The minister took one question and quickly exited the scrum. Moments earlier during question period the minister refused to explicitly answer the NDP’s critic, Peter Tabuns, who repeatedly asked point-blank if Rickford believed climate change is real and ​ a result of human action. Rickford said he believes in climate change but didn’t address the part about people causing it. “Climate change is real, Mr. Speaker. There’s no dispute about that anywhere in this place, I’m pretty sure of that. The question is, how do we develop a clean, affordable energy system here in Ontario?” he told the legislature, before launching criticism over Liberal-era hydro policies. Tabuns did not appear sated. “I guess the answer to my last question was a no,” he fired back. The minister has been hammered by the Opposition this week for citing a climate change denial publication when pumping up the government’s energy policies. Premier Doug Ford was asked if he still has confidence in his energy minister and if Rickford ​ ​ should apologize for using Climate Change Dispatch to prop up his arguments. ​ ​ “Actions speak louder than words,” Ford said and boasted about the government’s energy policy. When asked about human-made climate change, the premier said: “I don’t doubt it and neither does he.” Today’s events November 29 at 7:30 a.m. – Mississauga ​ Premier Doug Ford will deliver a breakfast speech to the Mississauga Board of Trade at the ​ ​ Courtyard Marriott Hotel. November 29 at 9:15 a.m. – Toronto ​ Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy will make an announcement in the Queen’s Park ​ ​ media studio. November 29 at 10 a.m. – Mississauga ​ Kinga Surma, associate minister of transportation, will make an announcement alongside the ​ PC’s Mississauga caucus at the corner of Highway 401 and Creditview Road. November 29 at 10 a.m. – Toronto ​ NDP Education critic Marit Stiles will be in the media studio to discuss a motion calling on the ​ ​ province to make menstrual products available for free in public school washrooms. November 29 at 10:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ Energy Minister Greg Rickford will make an announcement about medical isotopes alongside ​ ​ representatives from Ontario Power Generation and Nordion at the MaRS building. ● OPG is holding a roundtable discussion later in the afternoon at the Darlington complex in Courtice. November 29 at 11:30 a.m. – Oshawa ​ Health Minister Christine Elliott will announce another Ontario Health Team, part of the ​ ​ previously announced first wave of 24, at Grandview Children’s Centre. November 29 – Montreal ​ Premier Doug Ford will meet with Quebec Premier François Legault. No further details about ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ the meeting have been released. Topics of conversation ● Ex-OPP interim commissioner Brad Blair is back in the courts fighting the Ford ​ ​ government. This time, Blair and his lawyer Julian Falconer are challenging the Crown ​ ​ ​ Liability and Proceedings Act, which requires would-be plaintiffs to first prove that their ​ case has a reasonable shot of succeeding and bars lawsuits alleging government negligence. Critics, including Falconer, have said the law is a way for the powers-that-be to duck accountability. The Globe and Mail has the story. ​ ​ ​ ● Kory Teneycke, head of Ford’s 2018 campaign and on the PC’s 2022 re-election ​ committee, and Jeff Ballingall, founder of meme group Ontario Proud, have teamed up ​ ​ to form a new non-profit to push for Andrew Scheer’s ouster, the Globe reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ Asked about his former campaign chief’s new campaign, Premier Doug Ford ​ said he’s not involved. “The federal Conservative Party are going to have to decide that and it’s up to Andrew Scheer to show Conservatives across the country that he’s going to lead them into the next election.” ○ For his part, Teneycke told the Globe, “It is absolutely clear that [Scheer] doesn’t ​ ​ command the respect, or the support, of the majority of the membership.” ○ The new group has dubbed itself “Conservative Victory.” ● TVO host Steve Paikin’s got the skinny on Brian Mulroney’s low-key pep talk at a ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ recent PC caucus meeting in which the former PM reportedly talked about “how the PC government got out of the gates rather badly in 2018 but has been noticeably growing in maturity ever since [Dean] French’s departure.” ​ ​ News briefs — governmental Special adviser makes 66 recommendations to mitigate flood damage, but government won’t commit to implementing them ● Doug McNeil, the Ford government’s special adviser on flooding, has made 66 ​ ​ recommendations for mitigating damage caused by high water levels, which many parts ​ of the province experienced last spring. ○ McNeil recommends consultation with conservation authorities on their approach to flood management, updating floodplain mapping guidelines, and establishing a working group alongside municipalities to develop a multi-year approach, among other things. ○ Natural Resources Minister