Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report December 7, 2018 Quotation of the day “We are a long way from the beginning of the end of the 42nd Parliament, but at least we have come to the end of the beginning.” Speaker Ted Arnott invokes Winston Churchill while bidding an emotional farewell to ​ ​ ​ ​ MPPs after the last question period of 2018. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule MPPs rose Thursday afternoon, marking the end of the fall session. The House is recessed for the winter break and is scheduled to return February 19. Speaker Ted Arnott shed a few tears before wrapping up a raucous, whirlwind session. ​ ​ “For all of us in this legislature, the demands of our roles can seem relentless, the days long and hard, and the challenges insurmountable. Yet each working day, all of us on both sides of the House seek to make progress towards the goal that motivated us to run for office in the first place, that being the desire to build a better province in our time and for the generations to come,” Arnott said. “While we may differ on how to best achieve that goal, broadly speaking we all share it. We are not enemies across the aisles. We are colleagues. We are parliamentarians. That is the basis upon which we should debate the issues before us,” he said. For PCs in particular, 2018 has been a marathon since January when then-leader now-Brampton mayor Patrick Brown was ousted, prompting a snap leadership race just two ​ ​ months before the writ was drawn up for the general election. The House then sat for six weeks in the summer and reconvened a week earlier than expected in September. NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson had a cryptic explanation for why the government wanted to ​ ​ adjourn a week earlier than planned. “There are a number of things that the government has going on in the background. I have to ​ ask myself: Is part of the reason this House is not coming back next week because there may be something coming that they know and we don’t, and so that there is no House sitting at the time in order to have question period to hold them to account?” Bisson said Wednesday when speaking to the PC’s motion to break for winter. Thursday’s debates and proceedings Bill 32, Access to Natural Gas Act, passed third reading Wednesday (Ayes 68; Nays 37), and ​ was given royal assent by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell in the chamber ​ ​ Thursday afternoon. Dowdeswell signed off on several other bills, including Bill 57, Trust, Transparency and ​ ​ Accountability Act, after MPPs voted at third reading. Newly Independent MPP Amanda Simard ​ voted against the mini-budget omnibus bill, which among other things eliminates a standalone independent watchdog for French language services — the provision that prompted Simard’s defection from the PC caucus. Economic Development Minister Todd Smith tabled Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s ​ ​ ​ ​ Competitiveness Act. The omnibus bill proposes to scrap business regulations relating to toxic ​ ​ chemicals, employment standards, child care caps, safety in assembly plants, pawnbrokers, food safety testing, wireless cellphone contracts, agriculture, water extraction permits, wastewater treatment, private career colleges and more. Smith has said the province’s 380,000 regulations have harmed the province’s business climate and professed envy over British Columbia — where he says there are only 169,000 regulations. Bill 66 would amend the Planning Act to allow municipalities to pass “open-for-business” zoning ​ bylaws for new developments that will create employment. With ministerial approval, municipalities could allow construction that bypasses several laws such as the Greenbelt Act, ​ ​ Metrolinx Act and the Oak Ridges Moraine Protection Act. Smith’s bill proposes to lighten up on daycare rules by allowing home-child-care operators to look after three children under the age of two, instead of the current three, and raise the maximum number of infants and toddlers a provider can supervise at a time to six, up from four. The potential changes have already raised eyebrows in light of a 2014 damning report from the ombudsman on baby deaths in care that prompted some of the restrictions the Tories are now hoping to unravel. Two bills and one motion chugged along during the afternoon’s private members’ business: ● NDP MPP Wayne Gates’ motion calling on the government to fund three 24/7 mental ​ ​ health and addictions drop-in centres in the Niagara region passed on a voice vote. Government members spoke in favour of the motion, which is non-binding. ● PC MPP Jeremy Roberts’ Bill 59, Caregiver Recognition Act, was sent to the Standing ​ ​ ​ ​ Committee on Social Policy after clearing debate at second reading. ● NDP MPP Jill Andrew’s Bill 61, Eating Disorders Awareness Week Act; is off to the ​ ​ ​ ​ Standing Committee on General Government after second-reading debate. In the park Former Toronto councillor and TTC chair Karen Stintz was in the chamber to watch Thursday’s ​ ​ question period. MPPs on both sides of the aisle delivered statements commemorating the École Polytechnique ​ ​ massacre to mark the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Ford heads to first ministers’ meeting after all Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his fellow premiers are in Montreal for a meeting with Prime ​ ​ Minister Justin Trudeau, despite Ford’s earlier threats to bail if the agenda wasn’t changed to ​ ​ his liking. Ford’s office had said he would boycott Friday’s first ministers’ meeting unless the federal carbon tax, auto sector, cannabis, and asylum seekers were added to the docket. But the premier confirmed his attendance after meeting with Trudeau behind closed doors in Montreal Thursday. “I’m pleased to be here in Montreal … I’m glad to sit down with you, Justin, and talk about things that matter to the people of Ontario,” Ford told reporters in a joint newser with Trudeau. “I’ll tell you what matters to the people of Ontario, is the job-killing carbon tax.” Ford said he wanted to talk about GM Oshawa, US-imposed metals tariffs, and, “as I say, we may disagree on this, but, the illegal border crossers that are costing our province over $200 million.” Trudeau appeared unfazed and said he’s looking forward to “an opportunity for us to dig into a broad range of issues that matter to Ontarians,” citing support for GM Oshawa workers worried about a shutdown. On that issue at least, the pair said they would continue to “work collaboratively to come up with a solution.” On the eve of the meeting, Ford also got together with his fellow anti-carbon-tax-crusading first ministers, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, to “lay ​ ​ ​ ​ out their priorities.” Tory and Ford meet at Queen’s Park Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor John Tory say they’re on the same page when it ​ ​ ​ ​ comes to “how we can get things done for people” amid tension over the province’s cuts to city council and plans to take over responsibility of the TTC subway system. “I’m looking forward to finding as many things as we can get done, on transit, on affordable housing, on keeping the city as safe as possible,” Tory said during a brief photo-op at Queen’s Park Thursday morning. “Obviously I understand that that involves working with the government of Ontario … I’m all about wanting to do that.” It’s the first time the pair has met publicly since October’s municipal vote when Tory was re-elected to lead a provincially pared-down council. Ford said he wanted to talk about infrastructure, transit, housing and the waterfront. “As much as sometimes we may agree or disagree, we’re on the same wavelength when it comes to building transit and infrastructure and getting the city moving forward,” Ford said. The pair have butted heads previously over Ford’s move to reduce the number of wards from 47 to 25, which the City unsuccessfully challenged in court. The mayor has also expressed concerns over the controversial plan to upload the subway to the province. Today’s events December 7 – Montreal ​ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosts Canada’s premiers at a meeting in Montreal. ​ ​ December 7 at 9:30 a.m. – Belleville ​ Economic Development Minister Todd Smith will make an announcement about reducing ​ ​ regulatory burdens at the public library in his home riding. December 7 at 10:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ NDP MPP Catherine Fife will speak to the latest Statistics Canada jobs data release in the ​ ​ Queen’s Park media studio. December 7 at 11:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ Youth-focused advocacy group ClimateFast will hold a demonstration on the legislature’s lawn to raise awareness about the impact of climate change. Upcoming events December 9 at 6 p.m. – Mississauga ​ Premier Doug Ford will be the featured guest at a Christmas celebration hosted by ​ ​ controversial evangelist and Canada Christian College leader Charles McVety. The NDP have ​ ​ criticized the premier for attending his political ally’s event in light of homophobic remarks he’s made. Ford has countered he’ll be talking to taxpayers at the party and that the NDP are “anti-Christian.” Topics of conversation ● Budget nerds, mark your calendars: Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman ​ tables his fall economic and budget outlook report next Monday. The budget watchdog said earlier this year he would assess the still-new government’s spending plans and deliver his own fiscal forecast after the Tories released their Fall Economic Statement, which projected a higher-than-expected deficit. ● “An evening with the chiefs of staff” is how the Ontario Chamber of Commerce billed an invitation-only event for business leaders, according to the CBC.