Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report May 15, 2019

Quotation of the day

“You’re welcome.”

Former premier ’s message to Environment Minister Rod Phillips after he ​ ​ ​ ​ boasted ’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 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 ’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 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 — 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 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 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 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 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 , 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 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 ; 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 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.

● Mulroney punted the question to Solicitor General , who seemed to ​ ​ suggest she did not believe it was inappropriate for political staff to attempt to direct police operations. ○ “The NDP might not get it, but I think the vast majority of Ontario residents understand that our goal is to … ensure that our families and our communities are safe,” Jones said.

Anti-racism budget ● NDP MPP wanted to know what $1,000 can do to combat racism, ​ ​ which is how much the PCs earmarked for anti-racism initiatives in 2019-20, according to the estimates.

● Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said those numbers “have no basis in fact” and that the ​ ​ Ford government is committed to combating racism.

○ Jones later told reporters the anti-racism directorate’s overall budget decreased by $200,000 — as the office did not spend that amount last year — rounding out at just over $4.9 million this year.

The NDP also asked about the state of emergency declared by the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug community in Big Trout Lake, a $16 million cut to the labour ministry’s workplace injury prevention program, and slashing funding to the Poverty Reduction Strategy by half to $7.5 million.

Independent questions Climate emergency ● Liberal MPP Kathleen Wynne was heckled hard for her question about the NDP’s ​ ​ motion to declare a climate emergency (which the government blocked earlier this week). As has become typical when the former premier speaks in the chamber, the PC benches erupted when she said much of the work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario, which the PCs boasted about during the debate on the motion, is thanks to her previous Liberal government. ○ “The fact that the minister of the environment can stand in his place and claim confidently that Ontario is on track to meet its targets is because another government — our government — did the heavy lifting. Coal plants are shut down, cap-and-trade was in place, there are more electric vehicles on the road, buildings were being retrofitted,” Wynne said. “Everything we undertook was based on evidence and science and so, to the Minister of the Environment, I say, ‘You’re welcome.’”

● Speaker gave special warning to the Tory benches about heckling Wynne. ​ ​ ○ “The member for Don Valley West is an elected member of this House and has every right to ask a question just like any other member of this House,” he said. “I need to be able to hear her. This is twice that the government side, in huge numbers, has shouted her down. It’s not acceptable behaviour.”

Women’s shelter funding ● Ousted-PC-turned-Independent MPP revealed the government is reducing ​ ​ funding for programs to help survivors of domestic violence by $17 million, according to the 2019-20 expenditure estimates. ○ Hillier pointed out that, last year, the Liberals earmarked about $172 million compared to $155 million this year. He called out his former benchmates for leaving women’s shelters out of the loop. “In opposition, we both were very critical of government for leaving agencies and organizations in the dark on their funding, yet we still have today these shelters operating in uncertainty,” Hillier said.

● Children Services Minister Lisa MacLeod said the “perceived reductions are due to the ​ ​ elimination of unfunded and unallocated resources from the Liberal campaign budget.” ○ “Many of us in the social services types of portfolios have had to contend with a fictitious budget that was written on the back of a napkin,” she said.

PC friendly questions The government asked itself about infrastructure funding, support for domestic violence survivors, the new housing plan and federal carbon pricing.

Funding announcements Ministry of Natural Resources ● The province is giving $100,000 to a “hats for hides” program operated by BRT ​ ​ Provisioners, a Peterborough-based company that offers hunters baseball caps and crests in exchange for deer and moose hides that can be turned into leather and other goods to be sold. The idea is to use the entire hunted animal to encourage responsible hunting practices, according to a release. BRT then sells the hides to Indigenous artisans.

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

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