September 27, 2019

Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report September 27, 2019

Quotation of the day

“You know who misled voters? Doug Ford.”

Another federal campaign stop in Ontario, another invocation of the premier from federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who in this case was skirting a question about whether his repeated mentions of Ford have become misleading.

Today at Queen’s Park

On the schedule The House is on extended recess until Monday, October 28.

Donation disclosure watch: All OLP leadership hopefuls on the board The cash is rolling in for aspirant Grit leaders. As of this week, all five currently registered contestants in the race to replace Kathleen Wynne are on the board.

Campaign contributions for Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter, the last holdout among the currently registered candidates to publicly disclose, were first posted on Elections Ontario’s website on Wednesday, 26 days after she officially signed up.

This is the first time the Liberal leadership convention will be held under recently reformed election laws. Per the new rules, once a candidate is formally registered with Elections Ontario, all campaign donations must be disclosed to the chief electoral officer within 10 business days of cashing them in. Elections Ontario will then publicly post the information to its website within two days. The data does not capture donations under $100.

Here are the standings as of Thursday afternoon:

● Since registering at the end of August, Hunter’s campaign has reported raising $10,654 from a dozen individuals.

● Disclosures for former provincial Liberal candidate Kate Graham, the newest registered entrant, also started rolling in this week. Her campaign has raked in $46,215, and boasts some heavyweight backers, including former Liberal minister and fellow Londoner Deb

Matthews, party strategist Tiffany Gooch, economist Mike Moffatt, and Navigator’s Chris Cowperthwaite, who is ex-premier Wynne’s son.

● Steven Del Duca, the former Liberal cabinet minister regarded by many as the frontrunner, tallied $156,526.

● Liberal MPP Michael Coteau’s team clocked in $85,967. ○ A campaign source said their total haul, including smaller contributions under the $100 threshold, is more than $100,000. ○ The senior Liberal source also said that, like Team Del Duca, the Coteau campaign is putting fundraising on the backburner to focus on the October 21 federal election, and expects the next batch of public disclosures will reflect a smaller amount.

● One-time provincial Grit candidate Alvin Tedjo has raised $2,639 from four individuals since registering in late August.

PC’s class size changes will see 10,000 fewer teachers over next five years, FAO says Ontario’s schools will lose almost 10,000 teachers over the next five years, due to the Ford government’s move to increase average class sizes.

That’s the upshot from Thursday’s report from the independent Financial Accountability Office, which found that by the 2023-24 academic year, there will be 9,060 fewer teaching positions in high schools and 994 fewer jobs in elementary schools.

The FAO reached those numbers by using 2018-19 student-teacher ratios (pre-PC changes) and factoring in projected increases in student enrolment and population. Its forecast is based on how many teachers would then be required for average high school classes of 22 versus 28, which is what the PCs are planning to shift to over four years.

The changes would save $2.8 billion for the provincial purse over the same period, with another $1 billion in savings for every year after that.

“It’s not a cut, it’s a cost avoidance,” budget watchdog Peter Weltman told reporters.

The PCs predict their changes will hit far fewer teaching positions — 3,475 over four years. The government also announced a $1.6-billion “job protection” fund to ensure no teachers were laid off as a result of the plan following public backlash. Weltman’s report says that’s enough cover.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce underscored that message, saying the FAO’s analysis confirms “what we’ve been saying all along: no teacher will lose their job as a result of our class size policy.”

Opposition critics accused the Tories of putting the bottom line ahead of students.

“This will hurt students in every region of our province … damage that will only get worse as our population grows over time,” NDP Education critic Marit Stiles said.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner said “it seems like the government is trying to sabotage public education.”

“Many students can’t access the courses they need now. Students with special needs aren’t getting the support they need. Taking 10,000 teachers out of the classroom will only make these challenges worse.”

Today’s events

September 27 at 10 a.m. — Jordan Station Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman and Sam Oosterhoff, who represents wine country as MPP for Niagara West, will make an announcement about “strengthening Ontario’s beverage alcohol sector” at Westcott Vineyards.

September 27 at 11 a.m. — Toronto Toronto’s iteration of the Global Climate Strike will kick-off on the Queen’s Park lawn.

Topics of conversation

● A sobering investigation from APTN delves into the Indigenous child welfare system across the province, where 102 kids in care died between 2013 and 2017. Over that same period, the three agencies in northern Ontario that cover most of the territory were underfunded by approximately $400 million, the report found. ○ When the PCs wound down the office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth earlier this year, an office in Thunder Bay devoted to advocacy for northern and Indigenous communities was shuttered.

● A Liberal organizer is calling foul in the federal nomination race in Orléans, won by the now-resigned MPP for the same riding, Marie-France Lalonde.

● Southwestern Ontario will be the exclusive testing ground for McDonald’s new plant-based burger topped with lettuce and tomato — dubbed the “P.L.T.”

Appointments and employments Aurora Strategy Group ● Former Speaker Dave Levac, the legislature’s longest-serving referee, has joined Aurora Strategy Group. Levac retired last year after deciding not to seek reelection in his long-held riding of Brant. In a statement, he said he wants to help “firms and organizations deal with government” and to “build a practice in a way that matches my interests and experience.” ○ Levac is in Grit company — in February, former cabinet minister David Zimmer took on a role at the firm, which is led by longtime political operative Marcel Wieder.

News briefs — Governmental Treasury Board Secretariat ● Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy announced Thursday that 39 municipalities and three district school boards are taking up the province’s offer to fund independent audits of their books. Bethlenfalvy said the $8.15 million his ministry is making available through the Audit and Accountability Fund will help find efficiencies so cash can be directed to vital services. ○ Reports on the reviews will start rolling in on December 31. ○ All of the municipalities and school boards that were eligible for the funding agreed to participate in the reviews.

Ministry of Labour ● Labour Minister Monte McNaughton was in Blue Mountain to launch the guidelines for a new Construction Advisory Panel that will advise his ministry on issues such as labour and employment law, the rise of new technologies, workplace health and safety, and injury prevention. ○ Once established, the panel will have 8-10 employer members representing various construction sectors, including the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional field, and one or two members from labour groups or industry associations.

Funding announcements Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry ● Forestry Minister John Yakabuski is celebrating National Forest Week with a business subsidy for Eganville-based sawmill Lavern Heideman & Sons. The company will receive $4 million over five years to help increase its production levels, which the ministry says will retain 90 jobs and create 18 new ones.

Lobbyist registrations

If you are looking for further information on any lobbying registry, it is all public and easily searchable here.

Consultants who registered as lobbyists from September 20, 2019 – September 26, 2019

● Arthur Potts, Municipal Affairs Consulting o Clients: Health Wellness Industries Inc.

● Vincent Crisanti, Vincent Crisanti o Clients: Rafat

● Stephanie Gawur, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. o Clients: Commercial Gaming Association of Ontario; Ontario Charitable Gaming Association, Algonquin Park Residents Association

● Sheila Willis, TRM Public Affairs o Clients: Romspen Mortgage Investment Fund

● Melanie Paradis, McMillan Vantage o Clients: Greyhound Canada Transportation Corporation

● Lesa MacDonald, Koskie Minsky LLP o Clients: The Board of Trustees of the Canadian Blood Services Defined Benefit Pension Plan

● Leanna Karremans, Pathway Group Inc. o Clients: Hamilton Port Authority

● Michael Mazzuca, Koskie Minsky LLP o Clients: Labourers' Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada

● Leanna Karremans, Pathway Group Inc. o Clients: Newmarket Cemetery Corporation

● Jim Burnett, Pathway Group Inc. o Clients: Parks and Recreation Ontario, Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses

● Jerry Khouri and Jim Burnett, Pathway Group Inc. o Clients: Emera Incorporated

● Andrew Brander, Crestview Strategy

o Clients: Morneau Shepell

● Aaron Scheewe, The Capital Hill Group o Clients: Access Copyright

● Vivek Prabhu, Hill+Knowlton Strategies o Clients: Harris Canada Systems, The Green Organic Dutchman

● Saad Baig, StrategyCorp Inc. o Clients: Ontario Professional Planners Institute

● Patricia Sibal, Crestview Strategy o Clients: Northeastern University

● Leonard Domino, Leonard Domino & Associates Inc. o Clients: Dietitians of Canada - Ontario, The Ontario Association of Consultants, Counsellors, Psychometrists and Psychotherapists (OACCPP)

● Caroline Pinto and Stephanie Gawur, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. o Clients: Grape Growers of Ontario

● Melissa Lantsman, Hill & Knowlton Strategies o Clients: Kids Help Phone

● Mary Langley, Hill+Knowlton Strategies o Clients: Leafly

● Harvey Nightingale, Hill+Knowlton Strategies o Clients: 3M Canada Company

● Christina Marciano, Sussex Strategy Group o Clients: NexCycle Canada Inc.

● Jeffrey Bangs, Pathway Group Inc. o Clients: Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses

● Georganne Burke, Pathway Group Inc. o Clients: Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses

● Carol Mitchell and Caroline Pinto, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. o Clients: Bayer Inc.

● Julia Tindal, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. o Clients: Commercial Gaming Association of Ontario, Ontario Charitable Gaming Association

● Jared Burke, Jill Wilson and Dan Mader, Loyalist Public Affairs o Clients: Pfizer Canada

● Dan Mader, Loyalist Public Affairs o Clients: The Stars Group, Cestar College of Business, Health and Technology

● Jill Wilson, Loyalist Public Affairs o Clients: The Stars Group

● Derrick Araneda, Stosic & Associates o Clients: Allergan Inc., OMNI Health Care

● Celine Chang, Crestview Strategy o Clients: Blackshire Capital, Northeastern University

● Joanne Dobson, Summa Strategies o Clients: Railway Association of Canada

● Fraser Malcolm, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP o Clients: Labatt Brewing Company Limited

● Peter Van Loan, Aird & Berlis o Clients: 2599587 Ontario Ltd. as ZSM Development

● Roberta Kramchynsky, StrategyCorp Inc. o Clients: Juul Labs

● Brian Facey, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP o Clients: Labatt Brewing Company Limited

● John Matheson, StrategyCorp Inc. o Clients: Ontario Professional Planners Institute

● Elizabeth Magnusson, Boston Consulting Group, Inc. o Clients: Labatt Brewing Company Limited

● Chad Rogers, Crestview Strategy o Clients: Trudell Medical Limited

● Adam Moote, Armstrong Communications Inc. o Clients: Vocational Rehabilitation Alliance of Canada, MasonryWorx

● Scott Munnoch, Temple Scott Associates Inc. o Clients: Vanguard Investments Canada Inc. / Placements Vanguard Canada Inc., Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited

● Jeffrey Bangs, Pathway Group Inc. o Clients: Emera Incorporated

● Leah Mulholland, Navigator Ltd.

o Clients: Association of Major Power Consumers in Ontario

● Chris Benedetti, Sussex Strategy Group o Clients: Invenergy LLC, Terrestrial Energy inc., TransAlta Corporation, Energy Storage Canada, Oracle Opower

● Chad Rogers, Crestview Strategy o Clients: Capital Power Corporation

● Alex Chreston, Crestview Strategy o Clients: Music Canada

● John Duffy, StrategyCorp Inc. o Clients: MTR Corporation Limited

● Amir Farahi, Blackridge Strategy o Clients: Farhi Holdings Corporation

● Michael Coates, Rubicon Strategy Inc. o Clients: Gowlings WLG

● Charles Harnick, Counsel Public Affairs Inc. o Clients: Algonquin Park Residents Association

● Nicholas Pozhke, Loyalist Public Affairs o Clients: Cestar College of Business, Health and Technology

● Christian von Donat, Impact Public Affairs o Clients: Canadian Communication Systems Alliance, Composite Panel Association, Ontario Federation of All Terrain Vehicle Clubs

● Sadaf Abbasi, Stosic & Associates o Clients: Kohl & Frisch

● Felix Wong, Public Affairs Advisors o Clients: Renewable Industries Canada

● Marion Crane, Marion E Crane o Clients: Transformational Arts International Inc.

Organizations that registered in-house lobbyists from September 20, 2019 – September 26

● Insurance Bureau of Canada ● Council of Academic Hospitals in Ontario ● Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (formerly Crohns and Colitis Foundation of Canada) ● Cystic Fibrosis Canada ● Unifor

● Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association ● Ontario Lung Association ● The Canadian Payroll Association ● Retail Council of Canada ● Canadian Red Cross ● Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association ● Ontario Chamber of Commerce ● Music Canada ● REALpac — Real Property Association of Canada ● Electricity Distributors Association ● Sidewalk Labs Employees, L.L.C. ● Hoffmann-La Roche Limited ● Alcanna Inc. ● Loblaw Companies Limited ● Stubhub ● Sun Life Financial ● Imperial Oil Limited ● Amgen Canada Inc. ● Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee Inc. ● Toyota Canada Inc.

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

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