Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report March 12, 2020

Quotation of the day

“This isn’t a time for politics. This is a time that we stick together.”

The message Premier says he’s taking to Ottawa for the first ministers’ meeting. ​ ​

Today at Queen’s Park

On the schedule The house convenes at 9 a.m.

The government is expected to move second reading of Bill 159, Rebuilding Consumer ​ ​ Confidence Act, in the morning. A vote on Bill 181, Supply Act, is expected after question ​ ​ period.

Three backbench bills are up for second reading this afternoon:

● NDP MPP Paul Miller’s Bill 174, Ditch the Switch Act, which would make daylight ​ ​ ​ ​ saving time permanent year-round;

● PC MPP ’s Bill 182, Franco-Ontarian Emblem Amendment Act; and ​ ​ ​ ​

● NDP MPP ’s Bill 177, Sikh Genocide Awareness Week. ​ ​ ​ ​ ○ The Canada Indian Foundation, an organization with close ties to the Indian government, has called on MPPs to “unanimously reject” Singh’s bill, calling it “a waste of taxpayers’ dollars” when the focus should be on trade and economic development. ○ The group went on to suggest Canadian politicians that continue to “claim the victimization of Sikhs” are deliberately ignoring India’s secular traditions.

Wednesday’s debates and proceedings

House leader ’s time-allocation motion for Bill 156, which stiffens penalties for ​ ​ ​ ​ trespassing on farms, passed after question period.

NDP Leader introduced private member’s Bill 183, Strengthening Human ​ ​ ​ ​ Rights in Act, to reaffirm and enshrine the independence of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Horwath said the bill is necessary in light of Randall Arsenault’s part-time ​ ​ appointment to the OHRC, which has been flagged as a potential conflict of interest by the integrity commissioner.

Attorney General didn’t seem keen on Horwath’s bill, saying in question period ​ ​ that he looked forward to reading it “on the off chance there’s something constructive in it.”

Downey said he’s confident the OHRC remains independent and maintained Arsenault’s “credentials are unparalleled.” He also accused the NDP of playing politics.

“Here’s the irony. The leader of the Opposition would say, ‘We want to take the politics out of it, so we’re going to politicize it.’ It makes no sense,” Downey said.

In the park The Ontario Trillium Foundation and Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario are slated to hold their lobby days and receptions.

PCs earmark $100M COVID-19 contingency fund, ‘likely’ to deploy next phase to deal with community spread The Ford government is setting aside $100 million to fight to contain the new coronavirus as the number of provincial cases continued to rise and the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic.

The government is currently in the “containment” stage of its response efforts, but Health Minister told reporters Wednesday it’s “likely” to advance to the next phase, ​ ​ which deals with community spread.

“If we move into the next stage, that is where we need to start looking at cancelling events and not having large gatherings. We’re not at that stage yet … It’s likely that we will move to the next stage,” Elliott said after a special debriefing meeting with opposition party leaders alongside Premier Doug Ford. ​ ​

Moments later, associate medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe told reporters community ​ ​ ​ ​ spread appears to be “an inevitability.”

The $100-million moneypot will mainly be used to shore up medical supplies, such as test kits and personal protective equipment, and in case more health-care workers need to be hired.

Next steps would include expanding assessment centres outside of hospitals and in-home testing. Elliott assured “our hospitals are ready” for a pandemic despite one physician arguing otherwise in a Toronto Star op ed. ​ ​ ​ ​

Team Ontario heads to Ottawa with unity message Elliott said she will discuss contingency efforts with her federal counterparts as part of the “Team Ontario” ministerial delegation headed to the capital today ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tete-a-tete with the premiers, which takes place Friday. ​

On Wednesday morning, Trudeau announced a $500-million support package to help provincial and territorial efforts.

Premier Ford said he’s bringing a message of unity. “This isn’t a time for politics. This is a time that we stick together.”

At least two premiers have cancelled, Yukon Premier Sandy Silver and Manitoba Premier ​ ​ Brian Pallister. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said he would prefer this week’s meeting ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ happens via video conference.

Ford says he didn’t come into contact with COVID-19 case at PDAC The premier is not personally concerned about the latest case in Sudbury — a man in his 50s employed with the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines who was at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre last week that was also attended by Ford, Trudeau and Energy Minister . Rickford said the ministry’s Sudbury office has been shut down. Federal Natural ​ Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan was also at PDAC and is currently in self-isolation ​ ​ awaiting COVID-19 test results.

Ford said he didn’t come into contact with the man at PDAC and that he’s in good health.

Yaffe said the Sudbury case is not considered community spread because it’s likely the man contracted the virus at the mining conference, which saw roughly 25,000 attendees from all over the globe, and the infection is therefore deemed travel-related.

Ford also froze unnecessary travel for the public service and said future requests will have to be approved, while Education Minister took part in a call with his counterparts from ​ ​ across the country regarding the impact on schools.

Concern over COVID-19 grows in health-care facilities, long-term care homes A coalition of health-care union leaders say they are concerned the government could water down guidelines regarding the level of personal protective equipment worn by front-line health-care workers and urged the province to “err on the side of caution in protecting workers” in order to keep the health-care system safe.

On Wednesday, the health minister struck expert teams, including a Command Table to act as a single point of oversight and a Collaboration Table to confer with health-care stakeholders. Workers and visitors at long-term care homes will now be screened before entry and asked about their travel histories.

A Hamilton doctor who tested positive for COVID-19 this week was in contact with 14 cancer patients at the Juravinski Cancer Centre where she works, as well as staff members, the CBC ​ reports. ​

As of Wednesday evening, Ontario had recorded 42 confirmed coronavirus cases, five of which have been resolved, while another 465 are being tested.

Today’s events

March 12 at 9 a.m. – Toronto ​ Chinese and Iranian community leaders will be in the Queen’s Park media studio to call for changes to provincial sick leave and federal Employment Insurance in response to COVID-19.

March 12 at 9:30 a.m. – Ottawa ​ Premier Doug Ford and his “Team Ontario” ministerial delegation will hold a media availability ​ ​ at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel.

March 12 at 12:20 p.m. – Ottawa ​ Treasury Board President will address the Economic Club of Canada at the ​ ​ Westin Hotel. Premier Doug Ford will be in tow; CBC Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos is ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ moderating.

March 12 at 1:30 p.m. – Brantford ​ Labour Minister Monte McNaughton will make an announcement at Six Nations Polytechnic. ​ ​

March 12 at 3 p.m. – Toronto ​ Chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams will provide an update on the response to ​ ​ COVID-19 in the media studio.

Topics of conversation

● A day after Premier Doug Ford mused about billboards being a cash cow for provincial ​ ​ coffers, the Toronto Star reports Metrolinx has issued a tender for 66 electronic ​ ​ ​ ​ billboards along GO Transit rail corridors including in Toronto, the 905, Hamilton and York region.

● Liberal MPP is setting his sights on 2022 and confirmed he will seek ​ ​ ​ ​ re-election in —Superior North. The longtime MPP and ex-northern development minister previously took time off to deal with his mental health and has largely been absent from the house since becoming one of the seven re-elected Liberals in June 2018.

News briefs - Governmental

Overwhelming support for higher highway speed limits ● Get in the fast(er) lane. The overwhelming message from the province’s consultations on higher speed limits on the 400-series highways suggests 80 per cent of Ontarians like the province’s experiment raising the speed limit from 100 km/h to 110 km/h, and 82 per cent think it should apply on more roads. ○ The two-year pilot raised max speeds on three stretches of highway, from 100 km/h to 110 km/h. The changes were implemented on a 90-km section of Highway 402 between London and Sarnia; a 32-km portion of the QEW from the St. Catharines area to Hamilton; and a 102-km stretch on Highway 417 in Ottawa to the Quebec border.

PCs announce new small-business consultations ● , associate minister for small business and red tape reduction, says ​ the province will kick off a suite of roundtables with small business owners, beginning this month. ○ The focus is helping companies develop talent and improve exports, lowering regulatory burdens, and supporting entrepreneurs who are women, minorities and people with disabilities.

News briefs - Non-governmental

FAO says PC’s cost-savings measures may not stack up in the long term ● The budget watchdog’s 30-year fiscal stress test suggests the PC’s fiscal plan could leave the province in worse shape over the long term if they aren’t able to follow through on sustainable structural changes at the same time. ○ “The success of the government’s current reforms to its core programs — health, education and social services — will have a significant impact on Ontario’s fiscal position,” Financial Accountability Officer Peter Weltman said at Queen’s Park ​ ​ Wednesday. ○ The FAO reached its conclusion by mapping out two hypothetical scenarios — in which the PCs are successful in achieving promised efficiencies, versus if they are not and instead must rely on short-term cost-cutting measures to balance the books. ○ The FAO pointed out many of the changes, such as centralizing health care under the new superagency, capping public sector compensation at one per cent, implementing increased class sizes and mandatory e-learning, would help lead to “permanent cost savings beyond 2023-24.” ○ But historically, pulling that off has been difficult. For example, the PC’s one-per-cent cap on compensation and hiring freeze is generally considered an unsustainable measure; moreover, larger class sizes and e-learning has proven difficult to establish. ○ “Given the challenge of achieving transformational changes, there is significant risk that the current fiscal plan will not provide sufficient resources to meet future ongoing demand for key public services,” the FAO said.

● Overall, the province is headed for slower economic growth over the next 30 years thanks to an aging population, per the FAO. That means provincial revenue gains will also temper while the need for public services spikes. ○ Coupled with cost-cutting measures in the short term, the government may have to play “catch up” starting in 2024 — the year after the PCs promised to balance the budget and two years after the next election — to meet built-up demand for public services. ○ That can lead governments to consider raising taxes or cutting program spending to make up the gap. ○ Both scenarios leave the deficit worse off as spending exceeds revenues, from 0.1 per cent of GDP in 2023-24 to 1.3 per cent of GDP by 2050, if the current government hits its targets. If not, the deficit would be in much worse shape, at 3.8 per cent of GDP by 2050.

Question period

NDP lead-off Elliott says doctors’ notes not required post-coronavirus

● Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath kicked off the debate asking if the government ​ ​ would change its mind about scrapping paid sick leave so that people who are ill can stay at home as health officials have advised in the wake of COVID-19. ○ The NDP dedicated a slew of questions to the coronavirus response, including protections for health-care workers, vulnerable people in shelters and Indigenous communities.

● Premier Doug Ford assured the government has detailed response plans in place, ​ ​ including out-of-hospital assessment centres and enhanced screening at long-term care homes, but did not commit to reinstating paid sick leave.

● Health Minister Christine Elliott noted doctors’ notes for employers (a labour policy also ​ ​ revived by the PCs) are not mandatory in all cases because of the virus. ○ “They can be asked for in some circumstances by employers, but employers in Ontario right now understand that we are dealing with a very unusual set of circumstances and they’re responding accordingly,” Elliott said. “Employers now have the option to require reasonable proof of the circumstances that entitle that employee to leave.”

Queen's Park Today is written by Sabrina Nanji, reporting from the Queen's Park press gallery.

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