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Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report August 20, 2020 Quotation of the day “They demanded — under duress — that we stop supporting Belinda [Karahalios]. We are appalled at this bullying and abuse ​ ​ ​ of power. It is a direct attack on our democracy!” The now-derecognized PC riding association in Cambridge sends out flyers attacking Premier Doug Ford and the PC Party over alleged "intimidation tactics." ​ Today at Queen’s Park Written by Sabrina Nanji On the schedule The house reconvenes on Monday, September 14. The roster for the Select Committee on Emergency Management Oversight — which will scrutinize ongoing extensions of emergency orders via Bill 195 — has been named. The ​ ​ majority-enjoying PC side will feature Bob Bailey, Christine Hogarth, Daryl Kramp, Robin ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Martin, Sam Oosterhoff, Lindsey Park and Effie Triantafilopoulos. The New Democrat ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ members are Gilles Bisson, Sara Singh and Tom Rakocevic; Liberal MPP John Fraser will ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ take up the Independent spot. The committee was struck as an accountability measure because the PCs empowered themselves to amend or extend the emergency orders for up to the next two years, without requiring a vote or debate in the legislature. Bill 195, the enabling law, also requires the premier ​ ​ or a designate of his choosing to appear at the special committee to justify any changes to the sweeping emergency orders. Premier watch An RFP for the next leg of the Eglinton Crosstown tunnelling project will be issued today. Premier Doug Ford announced the move in Mississauga Tuesday alongside cabinet’s ​ ​ transportation overseers Caroline Mulroney and Kinga Surma. ​ ​ ​ ​ Three construction consortiums have already been shortlisted and are now able to present their detailed costing plans to Infrastructure Ontario. A contract will be awarded next year. Mulroney reiterated that the province remains committed to building transit; Surma chimed in that the PCs are still on the lookout for federal cash to make it happen. The premier’s summer tour heads to Simcoe County today. Post-Karahalios dispute leaves the Cambridge PC riding association ‘derecognized’ The Ontario PC riding association in Cambridge is fighting back after being "derecognized" by the party in the wake of Belinda Karahalios’s ouster from caucus. ​ ​ ​ ​ The riding association’s board authorized an anti-Doug Ford flyer to be sent Monday to "every ​ ​ household" in Cambridge and Etobicoke North — the heart of Ford Nation. Tim Cross — who sits on the riding association’s board and was trying to solidify his position as ​ president (more on this below) — told Queen's Park Today the flyer explains the board’s ​ ​ “concern with the removal of MPP Karahalios from caucus.” ​ ​ The flyer — obtained by Queen’s Park Today — also alleges PC party brass "said that Belinda ​ ​ ​ ​ will not be allowed to run in a PC nomination" in the next election or be invited back to the Tory benches. Premier Doug Ford turfed Karahalios from the PC caucus in July after she voted against third ​ ​ and final reading of Bill 195 — the political-hot-potato legislation that enables the government to ​ ​ ​ ​ extend and amend sweeping emergency orders for up to two years without debate or a vote in the legislature. At the time, Karahalios called it an "unnecessary overreach" on parliamentary democracy. Cross said the board wanted to point out "the weeks of poor treatment members of the board have been subject to at the hands of PC Party staff" since then. PC Party organizer warned riding association to move on from Karahalios In emails to the association's prior president sent last month, Gareth Neilson, the PC's director ​ ​ of organization, warned the riding association to stop operating in the interests of Karahalios, now that she was no longer a member of the caucus. “The PC Party expects the riding association to support the PC Party and PC Party activities. The PC Party will not accept a riding supporting the activities of other provincial political parties or independents,” Neilson wrote in an email dated July 27. The Cambridge board, which includes Karahalios’s husband Jim, didn’t appear to heed the ​ ​ advice, and last Thursday, was informed it had been "derecognized" by the party and a new president would be appointed. "This action means that you are no longer a board affiliated with the PC Party of Ontario and are not authorized to conduct any business on behalf of the Cambridge PC Riding Association," Neilson said in an August 13 email. "Conducting business includes but is not limited to holding meetings, sending public communications, using Party IT infrastructure or undertaking or attempting to undertake any banking or financial transactions related or connected to the Cambridge Riding Association credit or banking facilities," Neilson went on to say. That prompted a complaint to Elections Ontario. The riding association claimed the elections agency erroneously denied Cross's application for the role of president because the PCs advised they had "derecognized this association." A PC party source said Hayden Faus, another member of the executive, has already been ​ ​ appointed the next president and the local association has been re-registered. The board also alleged the former president resigned "as a result of threats, bullying and intimidation tactics made against him" by Neilson, and contends PC Party headquarters interfered with the selection of a new president. Christina Wramhed, spokesperson for the Ontario PCs, said the party "does not comment on ​ internal party matters." None of the allegations mentioned in this story have been tested. Jim Karahalios — a frequent thorn in the side of the party — still has an outstanding lawsuit ​ against the PCs alleging the last executive election that vaunted Brian Patterson to the role of ​ ​ party president was rigged against him. Today’s events August 20 at 9 a.m. – Online ​ Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman will release a report on Ontario's borrowing ​ ​ authority, including the process for how borrowing occurs and the related reporting responsibilities of the government. August 20 at 9 a.m. – Scarborough ​ Labour Minister Monte McNaughton will make an announcement about employment training ​ ​ for veterans and laid-off workers at the local legion. August 20 at 9:45 a.m. – Hamilton ​ Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca will meet with parents at Shoeless Joe's and make an ​ ​ education announcement. August 20 at 10 a.m. – Rutherglen ​ Natural Resources Minister John Yakabuski and his parliamentary assistant Mike Harris Jr. ​ ​ ​ will make an announcement at Columbia Forest Products. August 20 at 10:10 a.m. – Sault Ste. Marie ​ Tourism Minister Lisa MacLeod and local MPP Ross Romano will make an announcement at ​ ​ ​ ​ the Sault Ste. Marie Museum. August 20 at 1 p.m. – Lindsay ​ Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman and Infrastructure Minister Laurie Scott will make an ​ ​ ​ ​ announcement about agricultural and horticultural societies at the Lindsay Fairgrounds. August 20 at 1 p.m. – Simcoe County ​ Premier Doug Ford will hold his afternoon briefing in Simcoe County. ​ ​ August 20 at 3 p.m. – Toronto ​ Chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams and associate CMOH Dr. Barbara Yaffe will ​ ​ ​ ​ provide their regular update in the media studio. Topics of conversation ● Covid cases continue to hover in the triple digits with 102 new infections and one more death announced Wednesday. Notably, Huron Perth reported an uptick of 17 new cases. There were also another 33 in Toronto, 18 in Ottawa and 18 in Peel. ● Barring a "miracle," the TDSB says it's unlikely thousands of its students will be back ​ ​ learning on September 8. ○ The York District School Board announced late yesterday that it is planning a “staggered entry” for back to school. ● Ottawa is poised to announce funding for two safe supply programs in Toronto, which will provide opioid addictions with safe pharmaceutical-grade opioids in an effort to curb overdose deaths amid a tainted street drug supply. ○ A similar program was rolled out in Vancouver in March, and the B.C. government created guidelines for how the safe drugs would be dispensed. ○ Four federal Liberal MPs will be in Toronto today to make the announcement. ● Ontario's urban-rural divide persists when it comes to Covid's impact on small businesses. A new survey from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business shows companies in urban centres have been harder hit compared to their rural counterparts, namely because of a lack of office workers and tourists. ○ While 38 per cent of businesses in rural areas reported making normal sales for this time of year, only 20 per cent of big city firms could say the same. ​ ​ ● With the next federal Conservative leader poised to claim the title Sunday, PC house leader Paul Calandra is the latest Ontario MPP to come out in support of reported ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ frontrunner Peter MacKay, joining a majority of PC caucus members who have a horse ​ ​ in the race. Check out Queen's Park Today's roundup of who's backing whom for CPC ​ ​ captain here. ​ ​ ● The Greenbelt Council is speaking out against the PC’s move to speed up the environmental assessment process for the GTA West highway. In a letter to Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark, council chair David Crombie said the planned 400-series ​ ​ ​ ​ highway “compromises the protection” of the Greenbelt, which it will run through, and suggested the PCs listen to a 2017 panel report that pitched congestion pricing and cheaper trucking tolls on the 407 as alternatives. ○ Crombie also slammed the province’s proposal to allow “early work” on the highway to begin before the environmental assessment is complete. News briefs Treasury Board launches new review of provincial agencies ● Provincial agencies like the Ontario Food Terminal Board, Ontario Parks Board and TVOntario will soon be evaluated on how well they deliver services to Ontarians, with an eye to amping up digital delivery amid the pandemic.

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