Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report March 4, 2020 Quotation of the day “We will not apologize for being excited and passionate.” House leader Paul Calandra defends Premier Doug Ford’s feisty presser. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The house convenes at 9 a.m. The government could call any of the following bills for debate: ● Bill 156, Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act; ​ ● Bill 159, Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act; ​ ● Bill 161, Smarter and Stronger Justice Act; and ​ ● Bill 175, Connecting People to Home and Community Care Act. ​ Tuesday’s debates and proceedings After question period, Bill 171, Building Transit Faster Act, cleared a second-reading vote (Ayes ​ ​ 64; Nays 38) and was sent to be studied by the social policy committee. The legislation, if passed, will enable speedier construction of the $28.5-billion GTA transit expansion plan. MPPs continued second reading of Bill 175 in the morning and Bill 161 in the afternoon. ​ ​ ​ ​ In the park On today’s lobbying docket, Youth Employment Services (YES) and the Chicken Farmers of Ontario are hosting breakfast receptions, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada is holding a lunch reception. Later in the day, the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada, Heart and Stroke Foundation and Intact Insurance are hosting evening receptions. Premier watch Premier Doug Ford had lunch at the Queen’s Park dining room with one of the “all-star” ​ ​ ​ legislative pages from his home riding in Etobicoke. Ford also attended Restaurants Canada’s conference at the Enercare Centre and the convenience, gas and wash industry trade show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Tories pare down class size increases, cut mandatory e-learning Education Minister Stephen Lecce is offering major concessions to teachers’ unions ahead of ​ ​ another mass walkout planned for Thursday. At a hastily scheduled press conference Wednesday afternoon, Lecce backtracked even further on higher high school class sizes, proposing funding for an average of 23 students over the life of the three-year contract with teachers (virtually the same as the current average of 22.9). The PCs initially wanted to raise the average from 22 to 28 over four years, but watered that down to 25 amid an impasse at the bargaining table. Lecce said the government intends to push ahead with the development of a new e-learning system, but that parents will have an opt-out option. The government had previously planned four, and later two, mandatory e-learning credits for graduation. Lecce wouldn’t bite when asked if the new concessions represent the government’s final offer, instead calling it a “positive” proposal with major moves “that have not been reciprocated” on the union side. “The ball is in their court now,” he said. Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), ​ told reporters the newly proposed hike in class sizes was news to him and will still lead to well over 1,000 job losses for his members. He charged that Lecce made an “amateur” move by announcing the offer at a press conference instead of at the bargaining table. Sam Hammond, head of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said his union “does ​ not bargain in the media and we have not seen details of the Minister’s proposals at the central bargaining table.” Shortly before Lecce spoke, Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) president Liz Stuart said the union has indicated its willingness to accept the government’s offer on ​ compensation and benefits since Christmas, on the condition that it backs down from controversial class size and e-learning policies. Rémi Sabourin, president of the union representing French school board teachers echoed the ​ ​ ​ ​ sentiment: “AEFO has had enough of this government’s and of school boards’ games and spin.” NDP Education critic Marit Stiles blamed the PCs for creating “turmoil” on the education file ​ ​ before reversing policies that “never should have been in place in the first place.” “We’ve seen months of chaos and confusion with education workers forced out into the streets,” Stiles told reporters. Stiles accused Lecce of bargaining “at the podium” and burying the results of the broad-ranging education consultations, which were recently unearthed at the labour board. She said questions remain, in particular over the possibility of caps on class sizes. OECTA also told the ministry-of-labour-appointed mediator Tuesday that it would be willing to resume negotiations starting today, “if the discussions were productive.” Meanwhile, the province and OSSTF continued exploratory talks that began Sunday for the first time in more than two months. No formal bargaining dates had been announced as of Tuesday evening. The unions representing Ontario’s Catholic, French and some high school board teachers, including Toronto, will surround Queen’s Park at a second mass rally tomorrow, to coincide with more walkouts. Legislative security is bracing for 15,000 participants. Today’s events March 4 at 8:30 a.m. – Kleinburg ​ Finance Minister Rod Phillips will make an announcement at LIUNA Local 183’s training ​ ​ centre. March 4 at 9 a.m. – Online ​ The Financial Accountability Office will release its quarterly government spending report on its website. March 4 at 9 a.m. – Toronto ​ The Ontario Federation of Labour, CUPE Ontario and Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations will provide an update on their joint legal challenge to Bill 124, which ​ ​ enshrines a one-per-cent cap on public-sector compensation, in the Queen’s Park media studio. March 4 at 9:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ CUPE will release a report on ambulance shortages in Ontario in the media studio. March 4 at 12:30 p.m. – Toronto ​ Sport and Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod will make an announcement at Canada's Ballet ​ ​ Jörgen, the country’s fifth largest ballet company and the only major Canadian company to focus exclusively on original works. Topics of conversation ● Premier Doug Ford’s popularity continued to plummet in Angus Reid’s latest quarterly ​ ​ public-opinion survey. Compared to his fellow first ministers, Ford ranked third-least ​ ​ popular (leading only Liberal premiers Stephen McNeil of Nova Scotia and Dwight Ball ​ ​ ​ of Newfoundland and Labrador in approval). Only 31 per cent of respondents said they approve of the job Ford is doing, an 11-point plunge since he took office in June 2018. ○ With 71 per cent of respondents saying they dislike Donald Trump, the pollster ​ ​ says Ford’s praise of the U.S. president while in Washington last month “may not be helping” his image. Back on domestic soil, labour woes with teachers aren’t doing him any favours either. ● Not all First Nations are gung-ho on the agreement to move ahead with a Ring of Fire access road signed by Premier Ford and Webequie and Marten Falls First Nations chiefs ​ ​ this week. Chris Moonias, chief of Neskantaga First Nation, told the CBC he hasn’t ​ ​ ​ ​ been consulted since the Ford government took office in June 2018, whereas under the Liberals’ regional framework (which has since been torn up by the PCs), Moonias had a working relationship with the province. ○ “There was some regular discussion … talking about jurisdiction, the proper way of consulting the community and how to get the free, prior and informed consent, but that didn’t happen,” Moonias said. ○ The PCs scrapped the regional negotiation process initiated under the Grits with nine neighbouring communities, and instead decided to pursue individual agreements with First Nations directly. ● Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney skipped out on Toronto Councillor Josh ​ ​ ​ Matlow’s invite to his “Shop Eglinton Day,” in support of businesses hit by further ​ construction delays for the Eglinton LRT, which isn’t expected to be operational until 2022. ○ Matlow and the local Business Improvement Area have demanded compensation to help deal with the blow construction delays have delivered to shops, but Metrolinx says that’s not part of its mandate. ​ ​ ○ Mulroney’s office said it has directed Metrolinx to ease the brunt of construction, including working with the city and local businesses, but that doesn’t come with compensation. “We feel for the community and the businesses along Eglinton and we are frustrated with the prolonged construction impacts,” Mulroney’s spokesperson Christina Salituro said in an email. ​ ​ ● Health officials confirmed two more cases of COVID-19 in Ontario on Tuesday, with 45 patients being tested, bringing the provincial tally to 20. The newest cases recently travelled to Iran and Egypt and are in self-isolation. ● Beer blogger Jordan St. John says brews are more expensive thanks to Premier Doug ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Ford’s buck-a-beer policy. ​ News briefs New mental health framework, ‘no new targeted strategies to support children’ ● Health Minister Christine Elliott unveiled the province’s mental health strategy with an ​ ​ eye to improving access to care and wait times. ○ The new Mental Health and Addictions Centre of Excellence will be in charge of overseeing the government’s “Roadmap to Wellness” plan, which will develop a fresh core services framework to better address the population’s needs, including data collection. ○ Elliott also debuted a new $20-million cognitive behavioural therapy program, called Mindability, that will boost access to treatment services for anxiety and depression starting this spring. When the system is up and running, people will be able to navigate mental health services online, over text and by phone. ○ Further funding details are hazy, which prompted concern from mental health providers. ○ In a joint statement, major service providers, including the centre where Elliott made the announcement, said the new strategy has the power to transform mental health services — “however not unless it is combined with substantial and immediate investment in the 2020 Ontario Budget.” The coalition says an extra $380 million is “urgently needed” to make a dent in waitlists.