Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report May 15, 2019 Quotation of the day “You’re welcome.” Former premier Kathleen Wynne’s message to Environment Minister Rod Phillips after he ​ ​ ​ ​ boasted Ontario’s progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, most of which occurred under her previous government. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The House convenes at 9 a.m. The government could call any of the following pieces of business in the morning and afternoon: ● The government’s time-allocation motion on Bill 107; ​ ​ ● Bill 107, Getting Ontario Moving Act; ​ ● Bill 108, More Homes, More Choice Act; and ​ ● Bill 100, Protecting What Matters Most Act (the budget measures act). ​ Tuesday’s debates and proceedings In the morning MPPs debated the time-allocation motion for Bill 107; in the afternoon Bill 108 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ was debated at second reading. In the park A rally in protest of the government’s changes to social assistance will take place around noon. ​ ​ The Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Association of Ontario is scheduled to hold its lobby day and an evening reception. Toronto city manager warns of a ‘second tax bill’ for homeowners due to Ford government cuts Death of services and more taxes — those are the options weighing on Toronto City Hall as it grapples with a nearly $180-million budget hole created by funding cuts made by the Ford government. On Tuesday, city council passed Toronto Mayor John Tory’s motion formally calling on the ​ ​ province to reverse the cuts, and directing City Manager Chris Murray to report on potential ​ ​ “service cuts and tax changes that may be required” to fill gaps in the already-approved 2019 budget. The city will also launch a public awareness campaign on the impact of the provincial funding cuts, including notices at entrances of City-owned buildings, ads on bus shelters and street furniture, and social media. The areas hit most by provincial changes include funding for public health, child care, and emergency services, while gas tax revenues passed on to the city have also been cut. “We’re finding ourselves between a rock and a rock,” Murray told councillors. He isn’t ruling out a “second tax bill” and said balancing the 2019 budget “will not be achieved through efficiencies without scaling back services.” City of Toronto spokesperson Brad Ross told CBC News in a statement that "mailing an ​ ​ amended tax bill is one option that may be considered" if council elects to reopen this year’s municipal budget. Ford’s nephew, Ward 1 Councillor Michael Ford, was the lone vote against Tory’s motion. ​ ​ Murray also reported an additional $20 million funding cut to Toronto Public Health in fiscal 2020-21, which board chair Councillor Joe Cressy said was characterized as an “administrative ​ ​ efficient cut” by the province. Today’s events May 15 at 9 a.m. – Toronto ​ ​ The Toronto District of the National Congress of Italian Canadians will discuss Italian Heritage Month in the Queen’s Park media studio. May 15 at 10 a.m. – Toronto ​ ​ The Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association will be in the media studio to call for changes to federal Bill C-69, Impact ​ ​ Assessment Act. Bill C-69 is currently before the Senate’s energy committee, where 130 ​ ​ potential amendments have been tabled on the controversial environmental assessment legislation. Topics of conversation ● Opposition critics say there’s an “ethics problem” in the premier’s office, after iPolitics ​ ​ revealed the $270K Ontario Cannabis Store job created for Toronto Police ​ Superintendent Ron Taverner was never filled after he turned it down. ​ ​ ○ Earlier this year, Taverner — a longtime family friend of Doug Ford — bowed out ​ ​ of his appointment to be OPP commissioner following allegations Ford’s office intervened in his selection (the integrity commissioner found Ford broke no rules). ○ Green Leader Mike Schreiner said not filling the position “suggests the ​ ​ Premier’s Office is creating positions out of thin air just to bring more Ford friends into the fold.” He acknowledged all powers-that-be tend to make some patronage appointments, “but this Premier feels entitled to put his friends in power even if it means blurring the lines of appropriate behaviour.” ○ NDP Leader Andrea Horwath noted a pattern of partisan appointments. “This is ​ ​ what Mr. Ford likes to do, put his people in top positions and in fact create top positions for his people,” she told reporters, citing former PC candidate Cam ​ Montgomery’s $140K-a-year, newly full-time appointment leading the EQAO. ​ ● The Ontario Real Estate Association is calling on Ontario to establish a land ownership registry a la the U.S. and U.K., to crack down on money laundering and force property ​ ​ owners that use numbered companies and trust funds to identify themselves. British Columbia — which is currently gripped by a money laundering crisis that has led to ​ ​ sky-rocketing property prices — is poised to introduce a registry of its own. The Toronto ​ Star has the story. ​ ​ ○ Findings from a “dirty money” report commissioned by the B.C. government ​ released last week estimate $40 billion in criminal cash was laundered in Ontario from 2011 to 2015. ● The PCs are seeking feedback on potentially cancelling enhanced driver’s licences that let people cross the border into the United States using roads and waterways without a passport. ○ The deadline for public submissions is June 23. ​ ​ ● The Ford government is planning to stop elderly university and college professors from collecting a pension and salary at the same time, potentially overriding collective agreements in the process. As the Globe and Mail reports, faculty associations are now ​ ​ ​ ​ seeking legal advice after being stonewalled by the training, colleges and universities minister. ● The Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a stem cell research firm, is losing its provincial funding as of March 2020. The institute was established in 2014 with $25 million in funding, which won’t be renewed, the Star reports. ​ ​ ​ ​ ● The foreign buyers’ tax on residential real estate purchases brought in $200 million for the provincial purse between February 2018 and January 2019, according to data the ​ Globe unearthed through an FOI request. ​ ​ ● The Liberal Party of Canada will woo Ontarians on pocketbook issues rather than environmental policy ahead of October’s vote. The CBC got its hands on caucus ​ documents that shed light on the Liberal Party’s potential 2019 platform, which lists ​ personal financial security and pharmacare as top priorities, and ranks environmental issues seventh. Appointments and employments Ontario Court of Justice ● Heather-Ann Mendes, wife of PC MPP Ross Romano, was appointed to the Court of ​ ​ ​ Justice, effective May 23. Per a release, Mendes “has been in private practice in Sault ​ ​ Ste. Marie since 2005, focusing on family and child protection law.” Question period NDP lead-off Merging public health units ● NDP Leader Andrea Horwath started the debate with a question about merging public ​ ​ health units and early reports about where the new boundaries will be. ● Health Minister Christine Elliott maintained the boundaries will be finalized in ​ ​ consultation with municipalities and other stakeholders. ○ “There were some discussions that happened by phone last week with the medical officer of health upon the suggestion of boundaries, but they are only suggestions; they have not been decided upon,” she said. ○ Speaking to reporters later, Elliott said the government wants to allow “local units to be able to make decisions and concentrate on the local issues within their geographic areas.” ○ The PCs are looking to merge the 35 units into 10. TDSB funding cuts ​ ​ ● Horwath also asked about the $42.1-million hole the Toronto District School Board says it is dealing with due to cuts to provincial grants (the board says overall this year’s budget shortfall is nearly $68 million). That’s much higher than the roughly $21 million it had previously projected this year. ○ TDSB director John Malloy had presented a revised budget proposal to the ​ ​ board’s finance committee Monday afternoon. To make up the funding gap, the TDSB is considering pumping the brakes on buses for French immersion students and cutting staff, among other things. ​ ​ ○ The TDSB initially projected a $54.4-million budget hole this year but revised the deficit to $67.8 million after getting more details on provincial funding last week, Malloy said. ● However, Premier Doug Ford said the TDSB’s figures are “absolutely reckless” and ​ ​ “totally opposite” from the ministry’s numbers. He then sounded off on the board’s “out of ​ control” spending in the past. ​ ○ “It’s disheartening that they move forward with these figures without first attempting to even verify the accuracy of these numbers. It’s the old scare tactics. Political stunts like this only serve to cause anxiety with parents and with students,” the premier charged. ○ The education minister later said the cut to TDSB is closer to $21 million. ● Horwath fired back with a personal shot: “I knew the premier wanted to be the mayor of Toronto; now he wants to be the superintendent of the Toronto District School Board.” Dean French-directed police raids ● The official Opposition leader asked Attorney General Caroline Mulroney to confirm she ​ ​ was at a meeting in which staff were reprimanded for not following through on orders from the premier’s chief of staff Dean French to direct police to raid illegal cannabis ​ ​ dispensaries in order to make news clips after legalization last fall. ○ The Globe and Mail revealed more details on the ways French urged police to ​ ​ ​ raid illegal pot shops after obtaining more than 100 pages of FOI documents. ○ If Mulroney did attend the meeting, “did she actually take the time to explain to the premier how inappropriate it is for politicians and their staff to attempt to direct police?” Horwath asked.