Cross-partisan love-in
Plus: Duelling reopening plans, school speculation, western envy and Ford spotted
Good Thursday morning. This is Queen’s Park Observer.
ABOVE THE FOLD
Reaction to MICHELLE DIEMANUELE’s incoming appointment as Ontario’s topmost civil servant — Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council — pours in from all political stripes and sectors:
“An excellent choice. Had the pleasure of working closely with her when she was a Deputy Minister and as president of [Trillium Health Partners]. Her leadership and smarts will make a difference!” tweeted former Liberal finance minister CHARLES SOUSA.
GERRY BUTTS, ex-principal secretary to Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU and Queen’s Park alumni: “A top drawer pro of a public servant.”
To which former Conservative MP LISA RAITT replied: “Here’s that awkward moment when I find myself in complete agreement with you Gerry. The province is well-served with [DiEmanuele] returning to public service.”
“A great choice by the Premier. This is good news for Ontario’s Public Service, for the government and for the province:” TONY DEAN, past cabinet secretary and current senator.
“Michelle is whip smart, thoughtful and respected — the perfect type of leader to guide Ontario’s Public Service as we begin our recovery,” wrote Mississauga Mayor BONNIE CROMBIE.
Another former finance minister chimed in:
“Brilliant talent scoop. Huge win for public service,” said SEVAUN PALVETZIAN, chief communications officer at Rogers (and who’s shared stomping grounds with DiEmanuele at CivcAction).
From Premier DOUG FORD’s statement: “I could not be more thrilled to have someone of Michelle’s talent, passion and experience take the top job of Ontario’s public service. With a long list of private and public sector accomplishments, she is exactly the right leader to help our government guide Ontario out of this pandemic as we jumpstart the province’s economy to create good jobs and strong communities.”
That long-list includes: most recently serving as president and CEO of Trillium Health Partners, and before that, as an associate secretary of cabinet and Deputy Minister to the government during the DALTON MCGUINTY days from 2004 to 2008. She also did a stint as interim CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG), where she led efforts to crack down on lottery fraud. On the private sector side, she was a senior executive at CIBC and Brookfield Properties.
DiEmanuele takes up the mantle from STEVEN DAVIDSON on June 20. Davidson has helmed the OPS since February 2019, during a time of “change and challenge,” especially because of Covid, Ford said, bestowing one of his frequent accolades: “He has been an absolute champion and we will miss him greatly.”
HAPPENING TODAY
— At 9 a.m.: Long-Term Care Minister MERRILEE FULLERTON will make an announcement about air conditioning in nursing homes.
— At 10 a.m.: Labour Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON will make a virtual announcement about employment and training in the north. Also on hand: his parliamentary assistant JANE MCKENNA and Tourism Minister LISA MACLEOD.
— At 2 p.m.: an announcement from Associate Children and Women’s Issues Minister JILL DUNLOP.
— At 2:30 p.m.: Health Minister CHRISTINE ELLIOTT will present the Ontario Award for Paramedic Bravery for 2019 and 2020.
— Health officials are up in the Media Studio at 3 p.m. for their regular Covid update.
— At 6 p.m.: Premier DOUG FORD and Ministers STEVE CLARK and LISA THOMPSON will host a Zoom fundraiser for PC supporters who cough up $1,000.
— At 7 p.m.: The NDP is hosting a virtual panel discussion on what it’s like to run for office as a woman, non-binary or gender diverse person, featuring MARJORIE KNIGHT, their candidate in Cambridge, FELICIA SAMUEL, who’s running in Scarborough—Rouge Park, and MPPs JUDITH MONTEITH-FARRELL (Thunder Bay—Atikokan) and SARA SINGH (Brampton Centre).
AT COMMITTEE
— Auditor General BONNIE LYSYK goes for another round of closed-door briefings at the Public Accounts committee, this time, to discuss her 2020 value-for-money audit on blood management and safety. The afternoon’s open-session lineup features top health bureaucrats.
— The post-budget scrutiny of ministry spending continues at Estimates, which wraps up its look at Natural Resources and Forestry’s expenditures this morning, then turns an eye to Long-Term Care. Expect MPPs to dive into the latest report from Financial Accountability Officer PETER WELTMAN, which pokes holes in the Ford government’s plan to create 15,000 new LTC beds by fiscal 2023-24.
(More on that FAO report below.)
AROUND THE PRECINCT
Parental advisory: the Ontario Families Coalition is planning a rally on the south lawn to send the message that a return to schools is “an essential priority.”
SPOTTED:
Ford back on the photo-op circuit, at a vaccination pop-up in the 905.
MAKING HEADLINES
— Upshot from the FAO report: Ontario is two years behind and “well short” of its goal to create 15,000 new LTC beds, which won’t happen until 2025-26, instead of 2024. By then, only a sliver (8,251) will be up and running. The budget watchdog also put a damper on the PCs’ pledge for 30,000 new beds over a decade, forecasting that it won’t make a dent in what’s needed for a rapidly aging population.
— “A lot of hope” but not a lot of answers: Toronto’s top doc EILEEN DE VILLA wouldn’t budge when pressed by reporters to explicitly weigh in on whether she thinks schools should reopen for in-person learning as early as May 31 in some regions — a possibility her provincial counterpart Dr. DAVID WILLIAMS previously hinted at. De Villa said she’s cautiously optimistic it could happen sooner than later.
— Meanwhile, the Star parses some of those “differing opinions” on schools that Premier DOUG FORD is getting from the top docs and Science Table advisers — which is clouding cabinet’s decision-making on the matter.
— Per the Globe: “Ontario’s vaccine task force is meeting tonight to discuss a plan for rolling out second doses, but so far no details have been announced.” Shorter intervals are also on the table, supply permitting. Related op-ed from medical experts: “Older Canadians should be getting their second vaccine doses, right now.”
— POLL WATCH: Premier DOUG FORD’s pandemic popularity is still tanking. The latest public-opinion survey from Leger pegs satisfaction with his government’s handling of Covid at 42 per cent overall, down from 80 per cent this time last year.
— “Is now the time for ANDREA HORWATH to step down as NDP leader?” Bob Hepburn weighs in in the Star: “A survey of recent opinion polls shows the NDP under Horwath’s leadership has lost as much, if not more, voter support to the resurgent Liberals as the Conservatives have under Ford…For Horwath, her time appears to be up — right now!”
— Promise made, not kept: A year after Ford’s mid-heat wave promise to mandate air conditioning in all long-term care homes, the government is still working on it.
— A bright spot: With Covid infections waning, the troops are pulling out of Sunnybrook hospital.
— “Inside the scam that revealed chaos and a culture of fraud at Queen’s Park.” From Ethan Lou in Toronto Life: “SANJAY MADAN’s job was to distribute pandemic payments to Ontario families. He found an ingenious way to take millions for himself.”
— Wilder West. How Alberta and B.C.’s relatively quicker reopening plans compare to Ontario’s: “Ambitious.” More from the Science Advisory Table’s Dr. PETER JUNI on Global News: “We need to tread extremely, extremely carefully with loosening restrictions on indoor space, that’s still premature. We still have the challenge of variants that are partially escaping vaccines ahead of us.”
DUELLING REOPENING PLANS
— “Reopen and stay open”: NDP Leader ANDREA HORWATH laid out her party’s demands to help businesses stay afloat amid the fits and starts of pandemic-prompted shutdowns. That includes: a $2.2-billion package for another, broader round of the Ontario Small Business Support Grants and a $1,000 tax credit for folks who spend money at restaurants, hotels and other tourism businesses. Also: forgivable loans and tailored grants for the longest-shuttered companies including salons and bars.
CONTEXT: the CFIB’s RYAN MALLOUGH recently told me the PCs need to do more on consumer anxiety as the economy cracks open: “We’re hoping to hear the government come out and say, ‘Hey, now that this thing is open — be it retail, patios, hairdressers, gyms, whatever it is — go out and participate, go out to those places, patronize those businesses, get out and about in your community.’ That’s one of the things that’s always been missing with our reopening announcements. We really need consumer confidence — we know it’s going to take a little bit of time to recover that.”
— Another economic reopening plan, from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, launched with much fanfare and a cameo by Associate Small Biz Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA. On the OCC’s wish list: performing a cost-benefit analysis of all small business financing programs with an eye to informing “evidence-based” policy decisions — implementing a targeted loan guarantee program to help entrepreneurs rebound post Covid — piloting a tax credit to spur investments in small biz — creating a “regulatory sandbox” that allows for “controlled experimentation” with financing — carving a path to permanent residency for international graduates who purchase shares or ownership of existing companies — streamlining the application process for business supports — and creating a one-stop information portal where they can access programs.
LOBBYING DISPATCH
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
— Monika Bujalska and Daniel Bordonali, Sutherland Corporation: Cradlepoint Inc.
— Sadaf Abbasi, Stosic & Associates: Lighthouse Immersive Inc.
— Patrick Harris, Rubicon Strategy: ISBRG Corp
— Michael McCarthy, Grosso McCarthy: Belvedere Heights
— Christopher Froggatt, Loyalist Public Affairs: The Stars Group/TSG Interactive Services
— Kristina Martin, Loyalist Public Affairs: Actua
— Bart Maves, Sterlingbridge, Marketing and Communications: Mountainview Homes
— Stew Kiff, Solstice Public Affairs: Centre d'Accueil Héritage
— Troy Ross, TRM Public Affairs: Diamond Game
— Daniel Moulton, Crestview Strategy: Canadian Tire Corporation, Ltd.
— Ross Wallace, Santis Health: Canadian Biosimilars Forum
IN-HOUSE ORGANIZATIONS: Council of Ontario Universities — March of Dimes Canada — Ottawa-Carleton Association for Persons with Developmental Disabilities — Community Living Toronto — Intact Financial Corporation — Sun Life Financial — Siemens Mobility Limited.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the Liberal leader’s chief of staff NAJVA AMIN.
Are you going to be at the vaccine task force meeting? I want to hear from you, and I’ll keep you anonymous. Reach out to sabrina@qpobserver.ca, or just reply to this email.