Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report July 23, 2019

Quotation of the day

“Get some BBQ & A time.”

The tagline for an upcoming summer PC Party fundraiser featuring . ​ ​ ​ ​

Today at Queen’s Park

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

Dean French drops defamation suit against Dean French has abandoned his defamation lawsuit against Independent MPP Randy Hillier. ​ ​ ​

French — who resigned as Premier ’s chief of staff amid a patronage scandal last ​ ​ month — was seeking $100,000 in damages over Hillier’s tweets alleging French was involved in electoral fraud in and Alberta political leadership races.

Hillier said in a statement Monday he’s “happy to turn the page” on the matter, which he called a “distraction.”

“While Mr. French and I do not see eye-to-eye on many things, I am glad we have found something we can agree on,” said Hillier, who was expelled from the PC government benches in March.

French’s lawyer Gavin Tighe said his client is “grateful” Hillier took down the tweets in question. ​ ​ Tighe said there was little point in carrying on with expensive and time-consuming litigation as French is no longer involved with the government. He noted French had planned to donate any award to charity.

Tighe has long represented the Ford family and Doug Ford since becoming premier; he was ​ ​ appointed to chair the Public Accountants Council with a $166K annual salary last year.

The PC Party previously said it would not foot the bill for French’s lawsuit.

Meanwhile, a report in the Star, citing unnamed sources, suggests Ford was ​ ​ ​ embarrassed over the optics of a staffer suing an elected official over tweets.

None of the allegations mentioned in this story have been tested in court.

Ford highest-profile, most negatively viewed premier, poll suggests The axiom “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” may be comforting to Premier Doug Ford. ​ ​

Ninety per cent of Canadians surveyed in an Abacus Data poll released Monday said they had ​ ​ an “impression” of Ford, making him the highest-profile Canadian first minister.

Ford’s notoriety is trailed by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s, who has made an impression on ​ ​ 65 per cent of the electorate. Fourty-three per cent of respondents said they didn’t know enough about Québec Premier François Legault to have an opinion, and half said the same about B.C. ​ ​ Premier John Horgan. ​ ​

The pollster is using this data to analyze which premiers will have the biggest impact on the upcoming federal election.

Ford also takes the title for worst reputation. Of the four premiers gauged, the most respondents — 55 per cent — said they had a negative impression of Ford, with 17 per cent viewing him positively and 19 per cent staying neutral. Ten per cent didn’t know enough about him to weigh in.

In Ontario, 62 per cent of respondents have a negative view of Ford versus 23 per cent who see him in a positive light.

Kenney placed second, with 21 per cent of Canadians saying he’s got a bad reputation.

Abacus was in the field July 12 to July 17 and surveyed 1,500 Canadians aged 18 and up online. The poll is considered accurate within 2.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Today’s events

July 23 at 9:30 a.m. – Sarnia ​ ​ Housing Minister Steve Clark and area MPP will make an announcement at the ​ ​ ​ ​ Good Shepherd’s Lodge, an emergency shelter.

July 23 at 10 a.m. – Lucan ​ ​ Premier Doug Ford will make an infrastructure announcement alongside Ministers Laurie ​ ​ ​ Scott, and Monte McNaughton. It will be the first media availability Ford has ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ held in Ontario since the patronage scandal came to a head on June 21.

July 23 at 10:30 a.m. – Brampton ​ ​ Long-Term Care Minister will make an announcement with local MPPs ​ ​ ​ and at Faith Manor. ​ ​ ​

July 23 at 11:30 a.m. – St. Thomas ​ ​ Natural Resources and Forestry Minister will make a funding announcement ​ ​ at a timber production facility. Ministers , Steve Clark and will be in tow. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Upcoming events

July 24 to 25 – Victoria, British Columbia ​ ​ The Council of Education Ministers convenes on the west coast this week. Education ministers will hold special sessions on Indigenous education and reconciliation, and the future of education in the context of the changing nature of work.

July 25 at 6 p.m. – Mississauga ​ ​ Premier Doug Ford is holding a $1,000-a-ticket Peel-region leader’s reception fundraiser for the ​ ​ ​ ​ PC Party at the Capitol Banquet Centre. A similar event is scheduled in the Niagara area next ​ month. ​

Topics of conversation

● The Globe and Mail digs into how Chris Froggatt and Kory Teneycke gained the ear of ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ the most powerful person in the province. ○ The political operatives launched their own lobbying firms weeks after working on the campaign that got Doug Ford and the PCs elected last year. ​ ​ ○ As Queen’s Park Today previously reported, Froggatt and Teneycke will be back ​ ​ ​ ​ for the PCs re-election campaign in 2022.

● Leaked confidential blueprints for the Ford government’s ambitious $28.5-billion GTA transit plan show the downtown relief line, dubbed “Ontario Line,” takes a significantly different route than what was initially proposed to help ease overcrowding on the subway. The Toronto Star has the scoop. ​ ​ ​ ○ Meanwhile, the province has opened up applications for the federal government’s ​ ​ “Investing in Canada” public transit infrastructure funding program to 11 GTHA municipalities. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has spent months blaming Ontario ​ ​ for holding up $12.45 billion in combined federal-provincial cash. In a news release Monday, the PCs said they plan to ask to “further increase funding towards priority transit projects.”

● More online booze sales, home delivery, hard liquor in corner stores, 24-hour alcohol sales in airports and craft beer at farmers markets are among dozens of recommendations made in a new report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. ​ ​ ○ The PC-friendly business group wants the Ford government to make the changes as it continues to liberalize the way alcohol is sold and consumed in the province, with an eye to creating a “more equitable and competitive” marketplace. ○ The same day, a new study was published showing a spike in emergency ​ ​ hospital visits related to intoxication and alcohol use, especially among young people and women.

● Municipal Affairs Minister Steve Clark has agreed to designate the Ontario Food ​ ​ Terminal as a provincially significant employment zone, which would limit certain development and land-use planning. Clark confirmed the move in writing to his fellow PC ​ ​ MPP , who represents Etobicoke where the massive grocery ​ ​ warehouse is located. ○ Clark said the government recognized the “need for employment areas to be protected from encroachment” and said the designation will help the terminal “sustain its long-term prosperity.” ○ NDP MPP may welcome the move as she has a private ​ ​ member’s bill on the order paper to designate the land. Toronto City Hall also supported the move. ○ The PCs recently announced the terminal is staying put following a review.

● has made it official. The ex-Ontario Liberal cabinet minister is the first ​ to formally register as a candidate in the party’s upcoming leadership race. ○ Two other declared contenders, Liberal MPP and one-time ​ ​ candidate Alvin Tedjo, are expected to register soon as has ​ ​ ​ already deemed them to be official leadership candidates. ​ ○ Card-carrying Grits will pick their next captain March 7, 2020.

News briefs – governmental Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs ● Housing Minister Steve Clark kicked off a review of Ontario’s land-use planning policy, ​ ​ ​ ​ which is set out in the Provincial Policy Statement under the Planning Act. ○ The slew of draft changes are mostly aimed at spurring real estate development and would, among other things, require municipalities to fast-track certain proposals and prioritize intensification, including possible air rights development, in proximity to transit. ○ The government also says it will maintain protections for the Greenbelt. ○ The review, which was lauded by Ontario Real Estate Association CEO Tim ​ Hudak, was first announced in May with the government’s housing supply plan. ​

● The housing ministry also announced $3 million to the City of Brantford and $20.5 million to the City of Hamilton for supportive housing programs for people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming so. The municipalities can decide how they spend the funds, which will flow through the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative.

Ministry of Education ● School boards can now apply to dip into the funding envelope to build new classrooms and fix aging infrastructure. Education Minister launched the 2019-20 ​ ​ capital priorities program Monday, which boards can access to bankroll capital projects, including school-based child care spaces, to be completed by 2023-24. ○ The PCs are spending $1.4 billion on school capital projects in 2019-20 and promise to spend $13 billion over ten years. NDP Education critic ​ pointed out this is less than the ex-Liberal government’s pledge to spend $16 billion over the timeframe.

Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks ● A report from David Lindsay, the Tories’ special adviser on recycling, has landed on ​ ​ Environment Minister Jeff Yurek’s desk. It’s expected to be publicly released in the ​ ​ coming weeks. ○ Yurek said Lindsay’s recommendations will inform changes to the Blue Box ​ ​ recycling program, including “how to effectively transition the program to producer responsibility” and increasing the variety of products that can be recycled.

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

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