“The Tone Has to Change.”

Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report October 28, 2019 Quotation of the day “The tone has to change.” In an interview with the Toronto Star, Premier Doug Ford says his government has matured and learned from its mistakes over the five-month break. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule Welcome back. MPPs return to the legislature today for a six-week-long fall session following the extended five-month recess. There’s one constituency break on the parliamentary calendar for the week of November 11; the house is slated to rise for the winter recess on December 12. Today’s proceedings kick off with question period at 10:30 a.m. Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, is currently the only government bill on the order paper that can be put forward for debate. ● The bill would cap public sector compensation at an average of one per cent over three years; the legislation is only at first reading, but the government’s plans to hold compensation have already impacted collective bargaining with education unions. Prabmeet Sarkaria, associate minister of Small Business, is expected to table the government’s first bill of the fall session in the afternoon. Committees this week The Standing Committee on Estimates will consider the 2019-20 estimates for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care on Tuesday. The committee also convenes Wednesday to consider this year’s expenditure estimates for the education ministry. The public accounts committee meets Wednesday for a closed-session briefing by the auditor general and to draft its report on the AG’s audit of the public accounts and Ontario Works program. The legislative assembly committee convenes Wednesday afternoon to assign which standing committees will be associated with which offices and ministries (something that typically happens at the start of a new parliament or session). In the park Labour groups including the Ontario Federation of Labour, CUPE and the Ontario Network of Injured Workers will demonstrate on the lawn as part of a welcome-back protest against the Ford government’s program cuts. Inside the legislature, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada will host an evening reception. Premier watch On Sunday, Premier Doug Ford hosted New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs for a meeting at the Pink Palace. According to the Toronto Sun, the two talked national unity and looped Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe in on the meeting, via phone. Following last week’s federal election, Higgs said his PC government is now eyeing its own carbon price to replace the federally imposed backstop. Since then, Ford, Moe and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney have joined hands in recommitting to fighting Ottawa’s levy in court. Fall session look ahead: Less standing ovations, more standing order changes Here’s what the Speaker, government house leader and opposition parties are gearing up for this fall: Speaker Arnott wants to heighten decorum in the house In an interview with Queen’s Park Today, Speaker Ted Arnott said he’s “hopeful and optimistic that we can achieve a higher standard of decorum in the house in the coming sitting.” Arnott acknowledged he had to deal with a bit of a learning curve last summer. “The first few weeks of being Speaker was extremely challenging and very difficult, and I wondered if I made the right decision by allowing my name to stand quite frankly,” he said. “Maybe it was me, I wasn’t as effective at the start as I should have been, but I’ve had opportunities to reflect … and hope to do better.” Arnott sent a memo to all MPPs this past July reminding them about proper decorum. The public’s perception of question period, which can quickly turn into talking-point theatre, has taken a hit, and “the basic standard of decorum seems to be deteriorating” not only in Ontario but in other parliaments including the UK and House of Commons, he said. “If the debate deteriorates into something excessively nasty, it just drives people away,” he said. His advice to MPPs is also inscribed on a wall inside the chamber. “Hear the other side,” Arnott said. If MPPs can’t do that respectfully, they’ll get named and booted by Sergeant-at-Arms Jackie Gordon. “I would rather not have to do that, but I will again if I have to,” Arnott warned. PCs hoping to improve inter-party relations at the legislature Newly minted Government House Leader Paul Calandra is looking less at standing ovations and more at the standing-order playbook. Calandra, who was shuffled into the house leader’s role in June, said he was “rarely a stander in the past year” and attributed the gratuitous standing ovations from the government benches to genuine excitement. He brushed off reports about the premier’s office, which has since seen major staff changes, monitoring the Tories’ enthusiasm in the chamber. “A lot of the members we have on our side, and it’s not a criticism, a lot of them are brand-new, and like to be in that chamber and able to fight for what you believe in, especially after 15 years of unsuccessful attempts at getting on to the government side,” Calandra told Queen’s Park Today. “I would agree we were very, very excited on the first year, [but] it wasn’t always exuberance people appreciated,” he said. Calandra pointed to the results of last week’s federal election and echoed Premier Doug Ford’s take that it shows a “divided” country and that Ontario can lead by example. That means “taking the personal out of the debate” and sticking to policy discussions. In the spirit of cross-partisan collaboration, Calandra said he’s extending invites to the regular house leaders’ meeting to the Independent members without recognized party status. “That’s not to suggest that we aren’t going to have big huge disagreements over policy and things that we want to do — we will — but we will try to find better ways of expressing that,” Calandra said. The house leader also teased potential changes to the standing orders that he says will help facilitate more organic debate. He isn’t giving any details away, but changes could be announced as soon as Thursday after the opposition members are briefed. The PCs changed a number of standing orders last September, including wiping out a popular filibuster technique. Asked if there’s a way back into the government caucus for PC-turned-Independent Randy Hillier now that Dean French, the person Hillier accused of orchestrating his ejection, is no longer the premier’s chief of staff, Calandra said it would be “inappropriate” for the house leader to weigh in. His predecessor Todd Smith had said Hillier wasn’t a “team player.” “If somebody brings that back up at caucus, the caucus would ultimately decide … It’s always been my belief when it comes to those issues the caucus decides who should be in or out,” Calandra said. Horwath open to change but points finger at PCs for bad behaviour Opposition parties are also urging a more respectful, cooperative vibe. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath acknowledged her own caucus may be roused spontaneously during debates, but she put the blame for poor decorum on the government bench, noting the majority rulers tend to set the tone in the chamber, whether it’s “trained seals” or “heckling from cabinet ministers.” “We’re there to fight for Ontarians, to fight against the Ford government’s cuts,” Horwath told reporters last week. Green Leader Mike Schreiner gave the PCs credit for reversing course on a slew of controversial policies, saying it shows the government’s willingness to collaborate across the aisle. Schreiner called for an end to the “toxic” tone that punctuated the debate for the past year. “It only serves to divide us and we must all do better, the government, the opposition parties, to find common ground,” he said. Today’s events October 28 at 9 a.m. — Online The Financial Accountability Office will release an update on Ontario’s credit rating on its website. October 28 at 9:30 a.m. — Toronto Liberal MPPs will be in the Queen’s Park media studio to discuss their priorities for the upcoming fall session. October 28 at 10 a.m. — Toronto Ontario Federation of Labour president Chris Buckley and workers who have lost their jobs under the Ford government will speak to reporters in the media studio. October 28 at 2:15 p.m. — Toronto Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli and Associate Small Business Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria will hold a media availability in the media studio. Upcoming events November 9 — Orléans The Ontario Liberals will hold a candidate nomination meeting in Orléans on November 9. Community activist Rachel Décoste and Ottawa city councillor Stephen Blais are vying to run under the red banner in the Liberal stronghold that was just vacated by Marie-France Lalonde, who became the federal MP in the same riding (with the largest share of the votes among the federal Liberal candidates in the capital). ● Premier Doug Ford has until March 23 to call the byelection. Topics of conversation ● “Mostly aspirational hogwash.” That’s what the Globe and Mail uncovered about the $60-billion figure oft cited by politicians when evaluating the so-called mineral-rich Ring of Fire region in northern Ontario. ● Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the government’s proposed 25-student cap for high school classes (down from a planned 28) is not necessarily the “final offer” at the bargaining table with education unions, the Toronto Star reports.

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