Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report September 3, 2019 Quotation of the day “We’re very happy with our current drummer, Lisa.” Billy Talent throws shade at Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod after she posted a friendly photo of ​ ​ ​ ​ their recent meeting, which the band said was a mischaracterization, and criticizes the Ford government’s cuts to the arts. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The House is adjourned until Monday, October 28. Premier watch Premier Doug Ford dropped by a community barbecue hosted by PC MPP Amarjot Sandhu ​ ​ ​ on Saturday where he was photographed with Brampton Mayor and ex-PC leader Patrick ​ ​ ​ Brown. ​ Anti-carbon-tax gas-pump sticker law comes into force The law requiring Ontario’s gas stations to plaster anti-federal-carbon-tax stickers on their pumps — or face hefty financial penalties — kicked in on Friday. The stickers have been roundly criticized as being misleading, too partisan in the run-up to a federal election, and a breach of Charter rights by a range of groups, including environmental advocates, the PC-friendly Ontario Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which is launching a lawsuit against the Ford government’s sticker law as early as this week. But Energy Minister Greg Rickford’s office says the fines (which start at $500 a day for ​ ​ first-time individual offenders and go up to $10,000 a day for repeat corporate scofflaws) won’t be levied right away. “For the first few months, inspectors are focusing on education and helping gasoline retailers come into compliance,” his spokesperson Sydney Stonier said in a statement. “After this initial ​ ​ period, inspectors could issue warnings and lay charges as they deem necessary.” Over the weekend some stickers were seen peeling off, and the government website where ​ ​ retailers can order the stickers is currently out of stock. ​ ​ The PC government has maintained the decals show the impact of the federal Liberal government’s carbon tax and are part of a broader, $30-million campaign against the carbon backstop, which includes the legal challenge that’s now headed to the Supreme Court. Last Wednesday, Environment Minister Jeff Yurek said the province had filed its appeal with ​ ​ the country’s top court in the hopes of reversing a lower provincial court decision from June that determined the federal carbon pricing program is constitutional. “We were disappointed to learn that in a split decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal did not accept our position that the federal carbon tax is unconstitutional,” Yurek said in a statement. “Despite this decision, we remain committed to using every tool at our disposal to fight against the job-killing carbon tax.” A week earlier Premier Doug Ford raised the possibility of his government abandoning its legal ​ ​ case when he suggested the fate of the Supreme Court challenge will be decided after the federal election this fall. “We’ll sit down and consult with the attorney general … We’ll be consulting with the cabinet and then we’ll move forward from there,” Ford told reporters when asked about his course of action if the federal Liberals are reelected. Meanwhile, the PC Party continued the anti-carbon-tax crusade on Labour Day Monday with a fundraising email, signed by the premier. “The cost is real,” it reads, and asks supporters to cough up $2 “to fight the next election.” “I don’t know what these people don’t understand: Politicians shouldn’t make your life more expensive. We’re taking it to the Supreme Court of Canada. You shouldn’t have to pay a federal carbon tax. Not when we have our own plan.” Today’s events September 3 at 9:30 a.m. — Toronto ​ ​ ​ ​ NDP Education critic Marit Stiles will hold a “back-to-school” themed availability with reporters ​ ​ in the Queen’s Park media studio. September 3 at 10 a.m. — Elmira ​ ​ ​ ​ Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman will make an announcement about helping producers ​ ​ diversify their markets at a cattle and poultry farm. September 3 at 10 a.m. — Toronto ​ ​ ​ ​ Former Toronto mayoral candidate and human rights lawyer Saron Gebresellassi will be in the ​ ​ media studio to call for a coroner’s inquest into the death of Samuel Brown, a 19-year-old ​ ​ student who died at Brantford’s W. Ross Macdonald School for the blind and deafblind last February. September 3 at 10:30 a.m. — Toronto ​ ​ ​ ​ Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, which represents ​ education workers, will be in the media studio to discuss the impact of the Ford government’s cuts in the classroom. Topics of conversation ● At least a dozen wannabe cannabis retailers have had their dreams of opening up shop in Ontario go up in smoke. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has disqualified 12 applicants that took part in the lottery for a chance to apply for a retail ​ licence because they failed to submit the requisite paperwork on time, while another withdrew its application. ○ The AGCO is pulling from a pool of applicants on a waitlist to replace those no longer in the running. Those lottery winners who submitted the documents will now be further vetted, including with police background checks. ○ The winning Toronto address associated with infamous illegal dispensary CAFE is listed as a numbered company on the AGCO’s website and is still in contention. ○ The second cannabis retail licence lottery was held in August for up to 42 new spaces, divvied up by region. ● Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have formally established a new subway department ​ ​ to oversee the construction of new lines in the GTA, as part of the province’s plans to upload parts of the Toronto Transit Commission. The Toronto Star has the scoop. ​ ​ ​ ● Gurratan Singh, NDP MPP for Brampton East, gave a shout-out to his older brother, ​ federal New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh, when responding to a confrontation he ​ ​ says amounted to Islamophobia at Muslim Fest in Mississauga this weekend. ○ In a video posted to social media a man later identified as National Citizens ​ ​ Alliance founder Stephen Garvey confronts Singh at the event, asking if he ​ ​ supports Shariah law and “political Islam.” Singh tells him “We don’t need that kind of racism in Canada” as security tries to escort Garvey out. ○ “My brother [Jagmeet] taught me to always confront racism,” Singh said. “I will never respond to an Islamophobe by stating, ‘I am not a Muslim.’ Instead, I will always stand with my Muslim brothers and sisters and say hate is wrong.” ● Disability advocates are raising safety concerns over the province’s proposed new e-scooter pilot project, City News reports. The Ministry of Transportation quietly opened ​ ​ up a public comment period on the government’s regulatory website last week, initially allowing only two days to weigh in on the use of the two-wheeled motorized vehicles, which are currently illegal to operate anywhere other than private property. The deadline was later extended until September 12. ○ E-scooters rideshare services, which have garnered popularity in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Nashville in recent years, operate similar to Bike Share Toronto — but without permanent docking stations, meaning the scooters can be parked randomly on sidewalks. ○ The province’s proposed pilot is five years long and would allow the vehicles, which can travel up to 32 kilometres per hour, on public roadways. Nashville’s mayor recently tried to instigate a ban on the scooters after a man was killed in June. ○ A wading pool on the grounds of the Alberta legislature was closed last week ​ after two e-scooters were dumped in the water. Edmonton and Calgary launched e-scooter pilots in August and July, respectively. ● There may still be a future for Ontario’s first-ever standalone French-language university. Francophone Affairs Minister Caroline Mulroney’s office is looking to the federal Liberal ​ ​ government to get a funding agreement in place before the October election to revive the project, which was killed last November as part of the PC’s efforts to trim the multi-billion- dollar deficit. ○ Per the CBC, Ontario is asking Ottawa to chip in $63 million for the project, which ​ ​ it estimates will round out at $126 million, including operational funding. That’s far short of the initial $83-million price tag the former Ontario Liberal government first announced for the project in 2017. ○ While Mulroney and her federal counterpart, Mélanie Joly, Minister of Official ​ ​ ​ Languages and La Francophonie, have been in talks for months, Joly’s office says it’s “still far from a concrete proposal from the province,” but “there is a lot of good will” on both sides to move it forward. ○ NDP Francophone Affairs critic Guy Bourgouin accused the PCs of dragging ​ ​ their heels and trying to turn the French-language community into a “political pawn, playing games with their education, and their constitutional rights.” ● Parkdale—High Park NDP MPP Bhutila Karpoche recently welcomed a baby boy. ​ ​ ​ ​ Appointments and employments Office of the Premier ● Jamie Wallace has taken on the premier’s chief of staff position permanently after ​ serving in the role on an interim basis since late June, when his controversial predecessor Dean French resigned suddenly amid the public appointments drama. ​ ​ ○ Wallace — previously vice-president of editorial for the Sun newspapers at ​ ​ Postmedia and a former Queen’s Park press gallery president — joined Ford’s office earlier this year as a deputy chief of staff. ○ According to the Globe and Mail’s Laura Stone, Greg Harrington has also left ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Ford’s office, where he was previously executive director of policy, for “new opportunities and challenges.” ○ As reported last month, Queen’s Park Today’s sources had said Harrington, a ​ ​ close ally to French, was on his way out.