The elephant in the convention room
And Ford's cringey comments
ABOVE THE FOLD
It’s been a wild 24 hours in Liberal land. Meanwhile, DOUG FORD made a slip about the timing of the next election. And the government has dropped fresh health care regulations. Let’s get to it.
First in Observer — KILLED ON THE CONVENTION FLOOR — Controversial changes to the Ontario Liberal constitution that would allow BONNIE CROMBIE to avoid a leadership review in certain scenarios are kaput.
It comes after a major behind-the-scenes push from Crombie’s camp, which is distancing itself from the now-moot proposal.
Here’s what happened: Last week, the Liberals released a thick stack of proposed amendments to the party constitution, which will be voted on at this weekend’s convention in London. It included a controversial change that would trigger a leadership review only if the party did not form a majority government, and if they lost 15 per cent of the seats they held at the time of the writ. It meant that Crombie would dodge a leadership review by the party faithful if she lost seats.
Cue blowback. Insiders promptly pounced in the Sun, accusing Crombie of “trying to turn the Liberal Party into the Bonnie Crombie Party” and “planning ahead for a scenario where she only wins 9-12 seats and trying to avoid having to answer for that result.”
Officially: The party says Crombie never asked for the change and doesn’t support it.
Unofficially: A senior source on Crombie’s team tells me she was “blindsided” by the proposal and privately pushed to have it killed before it got to the convention floor. If that didn’t work, Crombie was prepared to have one of her reps speak out against it during the vote.
“We never asked for this and we don’t want it. We think our review process right now is more than fine,” the source said, noting the leader automatically faces a review within two years of an election.
But that didn’t need to happen after all — the leadership amendment has now been removed. The committee in charge of drafting the proposals chalked it up to a “drafting error.”
Now, a leadership review is the default after an election — except when they score a majority, and their seat count in that majority was not reduced by more than 15 per cent. It’s a long-shot scenario, and one that wouldn’t be possible in the next election (Crombie can’t go from 9 seats to majority government and lose 15 per cent of those seats at the same time).
Why it matters: Crombie has had her work cut out for her uniting the Liberals ever since she won the hotly contested leadership last December. Despite talking a big game, Crombie eked out a win on the third ballot — and it’s not lost on some insiders that MILTON CHAN, who ran rival contender YASIR NAQVI’s leadership bid, chaired the committee in charge of drafting the constitutional amendments.
“I think you can read between the lines of what the intent might have been to put this out, but this 100 per cent did not come from the leader,” said one source.
“Milton still has it out for Bonnie,” charged another.
Chan denies those accusations. He said the amendments were drafted independently from Crombie’s team and were based on feedback and discussions with card-carrying Grits over the years. He acknowledged it caused “a fair bit of confusion” and maintained there was “no ill-will” on his part.
“A drafting error was brought to our attention soon after the proposal was published…The proposal is part of a HUGE package that aims to refresh our entire Constitution to make it simpler and more user friendly. There are dozens of moving pieces,” Chan said in an email. “As the committee chair and the person with carriage of the entire package, I take full responsibility for this…I believe I have made great strides in making the process more transparent, more accessible, and more collaborative in the time I chaired the committee.”
Chan is also the party’s lawyer but his committee work was done on a volunteer basis.
Awkward! While the leadership kerfuffle seems to have been short-lived, the Grit-on-Grit drama could still make for awkward vibes at the party’s convention, which kicks off Friday in London.
FORD SAYS — The Premier continues his stump-style summer tour, this time, he was in Windsor to drop cash for workers. Highlights:
— On the Financial Accountability Office probing the decision to expand alcohol sales early, to the tune of at least $225 million: “It’s a great deal,” he insisted, then took the opportunity to bash BONNIE CROMBIE. “She just wants to add to the cost of a bottle of beer, a bottle of wine, some coolers. She wants to increase taxes, I don’t believe in that.”
Pre-game read: The FAO’s terms of reference, courtesy of the Grits’ Finance critic STEPHANIE BOWMAN, who asked the budget watchdog to look into what her party calls a “billion-dollar boozedoggle.”
— On the timing of the next election: While introducing local rep ANDREW DOWIE, Ford mixed up the date of the next election — which of course got my fellow snap-vote-speculators’ spidey senses tingling. “We look forward to getting you re-elected one more time, well a few more times, in 20, uh, 24. I’m sorry, 2024 — that was a slip, ok? There’s no election in 2024 [laughs]. And the next election: 2026.”
— The actual announcement: $9 million to train about 2,300 manufacturing and construction workers, including a new training facility for electrical workers, via the Skills Development Fund’s capital stream. Also: Ford was on hand for a $15-million donation for the new Windsor Essex Acute Care Hospital, which the Premier said could be constructed earlier than planned.
— Bonus: Ford lauded Windsor reporters for, ahem, doing their jobs and asking local questions their readers care about — not like us “twerps” in the Press Gallery. “This is the first time you’ve stuck to the topic…Maybe I can ask the Minister of Labour: Do we have a fund that we can bring all the Toronto media down here for a training session?…I will pay for it.” Cringe!
HAPPENING TODAY
10 a.m.: NDPers JAMIE WEST and TERENCE KERNAGHAN are in the Media Studio to re-up their call on the government to bring in anti-scab legislation, pointing to the ongoing strike at Western University. Also on hand: CHRIS YATES, a campus electrician and VP of CUPE Local 2361.
11 a.m.: Multi-faith leaders are up next, to raise concerns about the PCs much-maligned move to shutter drug consumption sites in favour of treatment hubs. They’ll also deliver a letter that urges policy reversal to Premier DOUG FORD and Health Minister SYLVIA JONES.
1 p.m.: The PCs continue to make it rain goodies for Belleville, on the eve of Thursday’s byelection in Bay of Quinte. Long-Term Care Minister NATALIA KUSENDOVA delivers the latest.
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 5:30 p.m.: The PCs are shilling for $1,000-a-head in North York. There’s no ministerial lineup listed, which devoted readers will know means DOUG FORD could show up. Invite.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT
3 p.m.: Another day reviewing Estimates. SCOFEA will dig into this year’s Labour Ministry spending starting with Minister DAVID PICCINI. Bureaucrats will follow. Livestream.
COCKTAIL CHATTER
4 p.m.: Global Public Affairs is hosting a “sunset on summer” party at their new office digs at Chefs Hall.
6 p.m.: Sussex Strategy is putting on an end-of-summer shindig at the gardens of Casa Loma.
CLIPPINGS
— HIGHWAYS, HIGHWAYS, HIGHWAYS: “DOUG FORD plans to focus on Toronto’s grinding gridlock in a round of upcoming legislation that promises to be ‘game-changing’ for drivers…The premier said he was planning to bring big changes to two particular routes, the Gardiner Expressway and Highway 401.” Global susses out what might be coming.
— BIG PHARMA: The Canadian Press digs into the Ford government’s latest move to further expand pharmacists’ scope of practice, including sore throat, calluses and corns, mild headaches, shingles, minor sleep disorders, nail infections, swimmers’ ear, head lice, nasal congestion, dandruff, ringworm, jock itch, warts and dry eye.
The idea is to make a dent in hallway health care, which isn’t going away. But doctors are raising concerns about patient safety.
Allow me to toot my own horn: I had the scoop in last week’s Regulatory Roundup — and read on for the latest, including expanding the scope of practice for nurse practitioners.
— POWER MOVE: “A new agreement between Ontario Power Generation and the Independent Electricity System Operator will keep the Atikokan Generating Station running for the next five years.” CBC reports.
— MOVING LIKE MOLASSES: “Ford’s government helped speed development on this parcel of GTA land. So why have no houses been built yet?” The Star digs in.
— HEALTH CHECK: To mark Prostate Cancer Awareness month, NDPer WAYNE GATES is re-upping his longstanding proposal to get OHIP coverage for prostate-specific antigen testing for early detection. Gates has been re-tabling the motion since 2019 with no support from the majority-enjoying PCs. “This is a common-sense, simple solution that will save our province millions of dollars, and more importantly, save lives,” said Gates. “Let’s come together across party lines and do the right thing by passing this motion.”
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
STAFFING UP — FRAZER SNOWDON is following Minister JILL DUNLOP to Education, where he’s a senior adviser on digital comms. (For eagle-eyed readers: Snowdon was initially hired at Colleges and Universities on the cusp of the shuffle that saw Dunlop go to Education.)
PROMOTION — BHAVKIRAT GILL is now a senior policy adviser to Transportation Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA.
COMMS CREW — After two years outside the bubble, DARREN ELIAS is back as D-comms to the Greens.
MEET THE PRESS — Focus Ontario has a new host: Global’s bureau chief COLIN D’MELLO (otherwise known as el presidente to the Press Gallery).
REGULATORY ROUNDUP
Every Tuesday, we sum up the government’s latest proposals on the Regulatory Registry — where the nitty-gritty of policymaking is hammered out.
NURSE! — The proposal: Fine print to expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, which was announced back in June. That includes allowing NPs to order defibrillators, complete blood tests, certify deaths and more. Deadline for public feedback: October 25.
IN LTC — Proposal: The Ministry of Health is looking to tweak registration rules for personal support workers, among other things. Specifically: It “would allow personal support workers to work in long-term care if:
They are registered in the class of personal support workers with the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority; or
They meet one of the HSPCOA registration pathways; or
They meet one of the current long-term care specific exemptions proposed to be maintained in the regulation (for example, for nurses, nursing students, or current personal support worker students).
Under this approach, long-term care home licensees could decide whether registration with the HSPCOA is compulsory to work as a personal support worker in their home.”
Deadline: October 11.
CONDO CHANGES — Proposal: The government wants to enact certain aspects of the Condo Act that are not yet in force. That includes: “Status certificates; disclosure statements; cancellation of purchase agreements (material changes); developer turnover meetings; condo performance audits; and waiving remedies against developers.” Deadline: October 27.
SPOTTED:
Hobbits do second breakfast in the capital….OPP goes old school in a 1989 Chevy.
🥳 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (+1): CAROLINE MULRONEY and husband ANDREW LAPHAM, celebrating 24 years together. Cute pic.
🍽️ ON THE MENU: Beef lasagna with vegetables and garlic bread is on tap for lunch.
⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 2 days until the byelection in Bay of Quinte…3 days until the Liberal convention in London…14 days until the Plowing Match in Lindsay…34 days until the House reconvenes.