A heated debate night in the Hammer
Also: Leg makeover, jet-setting ministers, Ford's Question Period tactics, Jones's bedside manner, poll watch, a bunch of health reports and lots more
ABOVE THE FOLD
STEELTOWN SMACKDOWN — Debate night in Hamilton was a tense affair.
Last evening, the NDP’s SARAH JAMA, Liberal DEIRDRE PIKE and Green LUCIA IANNANTUONO faced off for Hamilton Centre supremacy on Cable 14, while the PCs PETE WIESNER skipped out on the local debate (as did many PCs during last spring’s campaign — more on that below).
Trash talk: The fireworks came when the candidates turned to allegations of antisemitism and racism. Pike demanded Jama apologize to the Jewish community for being associated with anti-Israel groups on social media.
“There is a problem when respectable organizations like B’nai Brith are calling you out,” Pike said. “I wonder if there’s an opportunity for you to go on further a bit, to apologize to the Jewish people.”
To wit: As first scooped in this newsletter, the Jewish advocacy group has called on NDP captain MARIT STILES to axe Jama as their candidate, acknowledging the party would almost certainly lose their long-held seat.
But Stiles and the NDP — which has faced accusations of antisemitism in their ranks before — are standing by Jama. That has ticked off some grassroots organizers:
The rebuttal: Jama flipped the script, saying she stands up for all human rights.
“And that includes the rights of everybody, whether that’s Black people in our communities, Indigenous people in our communities, or Palestinian people in our communities…Standing up for Palestinian human rights — that cannot be conflated with antisemitism.”
Jama then took aim at Pike, saying there’s “messy history” when it comes to racism. “I could point to you and ask you about your history around anti-Black racism.” Pike did not respond.
“The right loves this, that we’re all nit-picking at each other,” Iannantuono chimed in.
One rumour making the rounds: Wiesner’s absence, while not unusual for the PCs, was the centre of speculation about a concerted effort to boycott the debate over Jama’s alleged antisemitism. Rumour has it the PCs had discussed the possibility of bowing out of the debate in protest with the Greens and Liberals. The Liberals were reportedly game if the Greens were on board — but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
The big picture: Ever the political hot-potato, the Israel-Palestine situation is nuanced. When NDPer JOEL HARDEN was under fire for questionable remarks he later apologized for, then-interim leader PETER TABUNS acknowledged that criticism of Israel itself was not antisemitic, but “antisemitic statements, antisemitic stereotypes — those aren’t acceptable.”
Byelection Day is March 16.
EXTREME MAKEOVER, LEG EDITION — Pack your bags, Pink Palace! It’s sayonara to the asbestos, exposed wiring, leaky pipes and wonky heating system.
The Ford government is taking the major renovation at Queen’s Park up a notch by creating a new ministry to handle the years-long project, which is pegged at a ballpark of over $1 billion.
In case you missed it, I teed up the big renovation last summer for TVO.org. Check it.
What’s new: Legislative Affairs Minister PAUL CALANDRA — whose standalone role was also created to lead the renovations — introduced the Queen’s Park Restoration Act, which would establish a “secretariat” to oversee the project.
We’re moving, but where? Everyone who works in the 130-year-old building will have to temporarily relocate.
“We’ll ask City of Toronto, ‘What do you have?’” Calandra said, noting his criteria includes size, security and accessibility. “Our goal is to be in another building [when] the next parliament convenes” after the 2026 election.
Word on the street is that Old City Hall could be the venue.
HAPPENING TODAY
DOUG FORD’S WEDNESDAY — 10 a.m.: The Premier is in Pickering for an announcement and media avail. Also on hand: Labour Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON and Education Minister STEPHEN LECCE.
10 a.m.: Financial Accountability Officer PETER WELTMAN is in the Media Studio to talk about his new report on health care spending. Teaser from the FAO: It “discusses the Province’s plans for five priority areas: hospital capacity, long-term care and home care, surgical waitlists and wait times, emergency departments, and the health sector workforce.”
12:45 p.m.: After tabling a motion to make contraceptives available under OHIP (a la British Columbia) New Democrat JENNIE STEVENS will pump it up in the Media Studio.
ON THE ORDER PAPER
— First up: Bill 71, Mines Minister GEORGE PIRIE’s move to speed up permits, continues to chug through second-reading debate. It will likely hit the six-and-a-half-hour mark required for a vote to send it to the committee stage.
— After the morning’s Question Period, a deferred vote: On NDP JESSICA BELL’s (non-binding) motion to expand the Condo Tribunal Authority to give residents a venue for broader complaints.
— Later on, Independent MPP BOBBI ANN BRADY will kick off debate on her private member’s Bill 62, the Farmland and Arable Land Strategy Act, which would protect such land from development, aggregate mining and more.
TUESDAY’S RUNDOWN — A pair of bills landed on the Clerk’s table:
Tabled I: Bill 76, the Respecting Workers in Health Care and in Related Fields Act, from a trio of NDPers: JAMIE WEST, WAYNE GATES and FRANCE GELINAS. It would require hospitals and long-term care homes to have at least 70% of its workforce employed full-time, with another $8 per hour and benefits for personal support workers.
Tabled II: Leg Affairs Minister PAUL CALANDRA’s Bill 75, the Queen’s Park Restoration Act.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT — Committees are out until Thursday.
COCKTAIL CHATTER — A spiritual start to the day, then the spirits start flowing. Leading Influence — a prayer group for MPPs — is hosting a breakfast reception in the Dining Room. The Ontario Dairy Council is serving up lunch in Room 228, then the libations flow at the Ontario Craft Wineries Association’s reception. Later on, LiUNA takes over the Dining Room.
AROUND THE PRECINCT — Contrary to reports out there (sorry to call you out, guys) — the grub isn’t going anywhere. Food service operations are moving in-house, to be handled by the Legislative Assembly rather than Dana Hospitality. For now, hungry folks can grab a snack (and a hot rumour or two) at the Tuck Shop in the Press Gallery Lounge on the third floor of the East Wing.
IN OTHER NEWS…
— PATIENT BLAMING: SYLVIA JONES’s bedside manner may need a little work. The Health Minister flipped the script on patients and asked for compassion as the Patient Ombudsman reported a spike in the number of complaints last year. At 43 per cent more than last year, much of those complaints were about lack of sensitivity and respect in emergency rooms.
From the scrums: “No one wants to wait in an emergency department. No one wants to see an individual who is in a mental health crisis be treated inappropriately,” Jones told reporters. “But I’m also asking for people to be understanding and appreciate that these are challenging times for everyone.”
— MORE FROM MOORE: Meanwhile, top doc KIERAN MOORE released his own annual report. Highlights, via CP: “Ontario can’t let public health preparedness fall by the wayside again once COVID-19 fades from memory because the arrival of the next pandemic is not a question of if, but when.”
— POLL WATCH: “Ford’s personal connections to Greenbelt property developers have sparked negative feelings about the premier, but a new poll suggests the controversy is not impacting his government’s popularity. In fact, the Abacus Data survey exclusively provided to the Star shows Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are doing better now than they did in November’s poll. But there are warning signs for the governing party.”
More juicy tidbits: “The Tories are at 41 per cent — up from 38 per cent last fall — while the Liberals are at 28 per cent, up from 27 per cent before. The NDP has slipped to 22 per cent from 26 per cent and the Greens remain at five per cent.”
— ELGIN SURPRISE: Planning wonk and TVO scribe John Michael McGrath digs into Housing Minister STEVE CLARK’s Bill 63, which will “take hundreds of acres from Central Elgin and give them to St. Thomas — catching a local mayor ‘completely off guard.’”
— SAVE THE TREES: “Metrolinx has confirmed plans to begin cutting down upwards of 3,000 trees in the Don Valley this month as part of Ontario Line construction, a move that some environmental groups say undermines their efforts to protect the expansive urban ravine.” More from CP24.
— FULLERTON MIA: “Families of children with autism in Ontario are having a difficult time accessing consistent, reliable and transparent information about services and it doesn't help that the minister in charge has "ghosted" them, advocates said.” The Canadian Press has the story.
SPOTTED:
Jet-setting ministers, including Energy Minister TODD SMITH, who’s in Texas for the CERAWeek energy conference (we recently told you about NATALIA KUSENDOVA in Morocco, KINGA SURMA in Japan and LISA THOMPSON in Vietnam)…FORD and much of his front bench at the PDAC conference…A nostalgic throwback to Ontario Place’s glory days, courtesy of this Toronto Life photo essay…The House of Commons publicly releasing the “blues” — the first draft of Hansard (over to you, Pink Palace).
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
BEYOND THE BUBBLE — FARRAH KHAN, partner to NDP MPP KRISTYN WONG-TAM, has a new gig as the executive director of Action Canada, the Planned Parenthood on this side of the border.
QUESTION PERIOD
DOUG FORD was in the chamber, but you wouldn’t know it at first. That’s because the Premier has taken to ignoring lead questions from NDP Leader MARIT STILES, while rising to respond to the third-place, unrecognized Liberals.
Duelling theories: Some say Ford is undermining the new-ish NDP captain (he recently referred to Grit JOHN FRASER as Oppo leader, which Stiles said was sexist) — while others say it shows that the Liberals have Ford shook.
One Oppo MPP’s verdict: “It’s a little from column A, a little from column B.”
THE HIGHLIGHTS: Why is the Transportation Minister’s office stonewalling info on controversial licence suspensions? — Patient Ombudsman’s report — “Why is this government failing to invest in our kids?” — Hospital wait times — “Why is the Premier risking jobs and prosperity by breaking his promise not to open the Greenbelt for development?” — “Strengthen and improve the condo tribunal” — “Ontario Autism Program became such a failure under this government’s leadership” — “Ensure that the Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario organization receives an increase in their annual grant to at least match the rate of inflation.”
LOBBYING DISPATCH
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
Catherine Beagan, Brian Facey and Fraser Malcolm, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP: Labatt Brewing Company
Stephanie Gawur, Santis Health: Ontario Community Support Association
Michael Keegan, Michael Keegan & Associates: Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, The Ontario Greenhouse Alliance
Rebecca Grundy, Stosic & Associates: Ontario Peer Development Initiative, AccertaClaim Servicorp Inc.
Raj Rasalinga, Protocol Plus: OHC Initiatives
Fraser Macdonald, StrategyCorp: Generation PGM
Daniel Brock, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP: Voyce, Inc.
In-house organizations: Dynacare — Retail Council of Canada — Canadian Federation of Independent Business — Investment Management Corporation of Ontario — Private Career Education Council — IBT College.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: PC VIJAY THANIGASALAM (Scarborough—Rouge Park)…ex-Liberal candidate SUMIRA MALIK (Mississauga Centre).
⌛ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 8 days until the byelection in Hamilton Centre…15 days until the budget drops…110 days until Toronto’s mayoral byelection.