Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report February 4, 2020 Quotation of the day “It’s a habit he’s had a hard time shaking.” Doug Ford’s spokesperson Ivana Yelich says the premier has been giving out his new phone ​ ​ ​ number after NDP MPP Taras Natyshak cast doubt on the “numerous” supportive texts Ford ​ ​ claimed to have received from teachers amid job action. Today at Queen’s Park On the schedule The house will reconvene on Tuesday, February 18 — two weeks from today. In the park The Standing Committee on General Government held hearings at Queen’s Park on Monday regarding Bill 145, the Ford government's legislation overhauling the real estate sector. ​ ​ Committee members heard from the Ontario Real Estate Association and Ontario Home Builders’ Association, among others. NDP demand investigation into Vaughan Working Families ad campaign targeting teacher unions The New Democrats are calling on Elections Ontario to investigate after mystery group Vaughan Working Families put out a newspaper ad campaign attacking teachers’ unions this weekend. In a letter to Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa on Monday, NDP Ethics critic Taras ​ ​ ​ Natyshak alleged the full-page ads — which ran in the National Post, Globe and Mail and ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Toronto Star — violate election finance law because they were published during the writ period ​ for the upcoming byelections in Ottawa—Vanier and Orleans. Natyshak also speculated over a possible connection to the Ford government because some of the language in the ads, such as a reference to students being treated as “pawns,” echoes statements from Premier Doug Ford. ​ ​ “There’s something concerning here … There are a lot of tells within this ad that point directly to that brain trust,” Natyshak charged. “If you connect the dots and follow the money, I’m sure it’ll lead somewhere that is as close to this government as you could imagine.” The PCs denied any ties to the ad blitz. “The government was not aware of the advertisements and not familiar with the group Vaughan Working Families,” said Alexandra Adamo, spokesperson to Education Minister Stephen ​ ​ ​ Lecce. ​ There is scant public information available regarding the Vaughan group. While it uses the same moniker as the labour-led “Working Families” coalition that has come out swinging against the Tories in past election ad campaigns, the groups aren’t related. As of Monday afternoon, Elections Ontario had not received any third-party registrations around the byelections, which will be held February 27. By law, third parties that spend more than $500 on ads during a campaign must register with Elections Ontario and, for byelections, are subject to a $4,000 spending cap. That concerns advertising “with respect to an issue of public policy during an election for which one or more registered political parties or candidates may also have taken a position.” Natyshak said he believes the group’s newspaper ads — which ran days after the byelections were called — would have exceeded the $4,000 threshold and urged Essensa to look into the matter. Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario president Sam Hammond weighed in on Twitter ​ ​ Sunday morning, suggesting Vaughan Working Families had “deep pockets” because the ads could cost up to $80,000. Elections Ontario did not directly respond to Queen’s Park Today’s questions about whether ​ ​ education unions that have been bankrolling ads for months amid tense contract talks and escalating job action would need to formally register for third-party status during the writ period. Instead, the elections watchdog provided criteria it uses to determine what constitutes third-party election advertising, such as “whether it is reasonable to conclude that the advertising was specifically planned to coincide with the election period of an electoral event.” The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation has spent $508,906 on Facebook advertising over the past eight months, including $11,467 from January 26 to February 1, 2020, according to the social network. (As a transparency measure, Facebook discloses how much organizations spend on ads about social issues, elections or politics.) ETFO has spent $295,847 on Facebook advertising since June and spent $11,467 last week. OSSTF spokesperson Michael Young told Queen’s Park Today the union isn’t planning any ​ ​ ​ ​ advertising in the ridings that are holding byelections. “I think the unions should brief themselves and be well versed on the Election Act if they’re ​ ​ prepared to place any ads … if it follows the rules of the Election Act … then those are ​ ​ legitimate ads” Natyshak said. Natyshak calls into question Ford’s ‘numerous’ supportive texts from teachers Meanwhile Natyshak raised an eyebrow at Premier Doug Ford’s claim on Sunday about ​ ​ ​ ​ receiving “numerous” text messages from teachers saying, “I don’t want to be doing this,” when it comes to this week’s escalating strike action. “I thought he delisted his phone number, so I would question whether he’s actually getting any texts from any common person, any person who’s affected by this,” Natyshak said. Last year Ford was forced to cancel his personal cellphone number he often gave out dating back to his days at Toronto City Hall because of a barrage of abusive messages. But the premier’s spokesperson Ivana Yelich told Queen’s Park Today Ford has had “a difficult ​ ​ ​ ​ time shaking the habit” and occasionally provides his new digits to citizens he meets. “He likes to be available and accessible,” Yelich said. The premier’s office wouldn’t provide any of the messages Ford referenced this weekend, unlike the abusive texts that were shared with reporters last fall. Oops! Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli will embark on a mining-focused trade mission to ​ ​ South America in spring, not South Africa as QPT noted yesterday based on an erroneous ​ ​ report in the Toronto Sun. Fedeli’s office wouldn’t disclose the countries and meetings on the ​ ​ agenda, saying planning is ongoing and details will be released “shortly.” Today’s events February 4 at 10 a.m. – Toronto ​ Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell and Colleges and Universities Minister Ross ​ ​ ​ Romano will be at Massey College to award the 2019 John C. Polanyi prizes to outstanding ​ post-secondary researchers and scholars. February 4 at 10 a.m. – Orillia ​ PC MPP Stan Cho, parliamentary assistant to the finance minister, will host a pre-budget ​ ​ consultation at the Rama Community Hall. February 4 at 11 a.m. – Toronto ​ NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will discuss ongoing teacher job action in the Queen’s Park ​ ​ media studio. February 4 at 1 p.m. – Mississauga ​ Finance Minister Rod Phillips and the local PC caucus will host a pre-budget consultation at ​ ​ the Carmen Corbasson Community Centre. February 4 at 4:30 p.m. – Toronto ​ Former premier Kathleen Wynne and ex-B.C. premier Christy Clark will participate in a ​ ​ ​ ​ discussion about women in politics hosted by Toronto Star columnist Martin Regg Cohn as part ​ ​ ​ ​ of the Ryerson Democracy Forum. Upcoming events February 6 at 11:30 a.m. – Toronto ​ Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney will deliver a luncheon speech billed “It’s ​ ​ Happening: Delivering Major Transit Projects Better and Faster” to the Economic Club at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Topics of conversation ● Advocacy group Ontario Place for All wants the province to go back to the drawing board ​ when it comes to redeveloping Toronto’s waterfront park, with an eye to ensuring the land remains public-focussed. In a report co-authored by real estate consulting firm HR&A Associates, the group argues that spaces designated for commercial redevelopment should be freed up for public use because private-sector-led redevelopment tends to focus on short term economic gains over longer term cultural benefits. ○ Carl Demarco, a former executive of World Wrestling Entertainment Canada, ​ recently registered to lobby the City of Toronto about the redevelopment of Ontario Place on behalf of his media entertainment firm Camillion Corp. Demarco met with Exhibition Place CEO Don Boyle and city councillor Mark Grimes on ​ ​ ​ ​ the matter last late month. ○ Last fall, Demarco’s lawyer told the Globe and Mail his client’s Ontario Place ​ ​ ​ ​ proposal does not involve wrestling, but would be a year-round "world-class, iconic development” that would attract international tourism. ● On the picket lines today: Elementary and high school teachers will continue rotating walkouts in certain boards while Catholic teachers stage a provincewide walkout. ● Saugeen Ojibway First Nation has voted against plans to bury Ontario’s nuclear waste in ​ ​ Bruce County, near Lake Huron. In 2013, Ontario Power Generation said it would not build the site without the First Nation’s approval and is now on the lookout for another host location. The Township of Ignace in northwestern Ontario is still in the running; the site selection process has been ongoing since 2010. ● Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter continued to hammer Premier Doug Ford over policies ​ ​ ​ ​ impacting women, doubling down on her call for the PCs to implement Grit-era pay transparency measures by March 8, International Women’s Day. The changes, which were aimed at closing the gender pay gap by bolstering transparency around compensation, were supposed to come into force last January. ○ “[Ford] should also proactively review his upcoming budget through a gender lens so that this will never happen again,” Hunter said in a news release, adding that his government’s cuts have “disproportionately [affected] women, children, refugees and low-income earners.” ○ Last week, Hunter called Ford “anti-women” and criticized decisions to end an anti-violence roundtable, eliminate the dedicated status of women ministry and cut funding for sexual assault centres and midwives. ● As of Monday morning, 29 people in Ontario were being tested for the novel coronavirus, the chief medical officer said during his twice-weekly update.