Giles Gherson dishes on Toronto's New Deal
Also: The real reason Shamji backed Bonnie, Massoudi down but not out, PCs hunt for Kitchener candidate, senior staff shakeup drags on, affordable housing bill hits the Clerk's table and loads more
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ABOVE THE FOLD
Ahead of his “fireside chat” with the Premier, ex-Deputy Minister, now-head of the Toronto Region Board of Trade GILES GHERSON lays out his wildest civic fantasies for a cash-strapped city — but first: the inside story on why ADIL SHAMJI backed out of the Liberal leadership race, and the PCs are having trouble landing a candidate in Kitchener.
GONE GRIT — Shamji is throwing in the towel and throwing his support behind Liberal leadership heavyweight BONNIE CROMBIE.
More juicy tidbits from Global News: “The deal, sources said, was brokered over a series of dinners between the two candidates, with the final negotiations taking place in late September. In return for Shamji’s support, Crombie’s campaign will adopt his healthcare and education policy planks allowing the two to campaign together.”
The problem for Shamji, according to one source close to the rookie MPP: “He does not have the name recognition and senior support team like the other candidates. Adil’s been in politics for just over one year. Fundraising was a major, major problem.” The consolation prize: “Adil is now better known through his wider exposure. He got a lot of compliments on the debates, especially the second one.”
Why it matters: By Team Shamji’s own count, he’s signed up more than 12,000 members, who could help put Crombie over the edge for a first-ballot win under the new one-member, one-vote system.
But, and it’s a biggie: There’s no guarantee Shamji’s supporters pick Crombie as their alternative, or that they even vote at all.
According to one rival campaign source, Shamji’s supporters were blindsided, and are shopping around for other candidates besides Crombie. “Adil’s people had zero notice…like no heads up. Very mad. Not going with him. Especially his young Liberals, which were the core of his team [and who count for more points in the weighted leadership system]. Totally up for grabs. Was all very sloppy. Shockingly so,” they texted.
First in Observer — KITCHENER CONTENDER — Word on the street is MEAGHAN MARTIN — director of tour and planning to the Labour Minister and longtime staffer to outgoing MPP MONTE McNAUGHTON — is considering throwing her hat in the ring for the PCs in Kitchener Centre.
“The party is also interested in her,” said one source close to the ground. Martin is keeping mum for now.
After back-to-back byelection losses to the Grits and dwindling popularity amid the Greenbelt scandal this summer — which has led some potential high-profile candidates to rethink whether they enter the arena — the Conservatives are angling for a comeback.
Recall: Pollsters were in the field gauging whether locals would like to see Kitchener Mayor BERRY VRBANOVIC run under the Tory banner — but that seemed unlikely, not least because of his ties to the Liberals. Still, “Vrbanovic was originally interested. Then he backed out,” said another party source. Catch up.
The competition is fierce: The PCs are the only main party sans a candidate for the as-yet-uncalled byelection to replace ex-NDPer LAURA MAE LINDO. The Greens were first out of the gate in nominating city councillor AISLINN CLANCY, who they hope will repeat federal Green MP MIKE MORRICE’s historic win at the provincial level. The NDP is looking to another councillor, DEBBIE CHAPMAN, to hang on to the seat. In the Liberal corner it’s KELLY STEISS, who ran in 2022 and placed third behind Lindo and the PCs.
The Premier has until mid-January to call the byelection.
Q+A — Next week, GILES GHERSON — veteran civil servant and new head of the Toronto Region Board of Trade — will sit down with the Premier to hear what the province has in store for Toronto, which — after years of DOUG FORD decrying the gravy train and wasteful spending — is in line for a possible new funding deal.
Ahead of their chat, I asked Gherson what he’s hoping for for the cash-strapped city.
First off, how’s life on the other side? Do you miss the Ontario Public Service? I was there for 15 years, that was plenty long enough. So yeah, not really. I mean, I loved it. It was a great ride, I had a lot of different portfolios — Cabinet Office, Consumer Services, which I loved, MEDJCT I loved, Red Tape was fascinating — so it was all great. But at a certain point, you sort of feel like you’re in Grade 12 for the fourth time, and you know, time to move on [laughs]. I was really glad to move over here because I’m actually in touch with Queen’s Park all the time. I always felt the business community could be a bit more vocal and active around the policy issues and what government is trying to do on economic development, and less passivity. That’s why I came over here, I thought it’d be interesting to see if you could build coalitions to really drive economic performance.
On to the DOUG FORD-OLIVIA CHOW meeting. I got the TRBOT’s general statement about how it’s happy the pair seem to be on the same page. But real talk — was there anything concrete that came out of it? Look, they sat down, and they weren’t on the same page until they sat down, at least it sort of seemed. Ford put a big olive branch on the table with the housing funding for refugee claimants — $27 million — the mayor was thrilled with that. And I think it set the table for what appears to be a very cordial meeting. If this is gonna work, if the province and the city and hopefully the federal government at some point are really going to come together and have serious conversations about restructuring the finances of Canada’s only real mega city, a huge regional economic hub for the province and country, they’re better if they’re cordial. They’re better if they’re starting from that similar vantage point, which is, that the city has a big fiscal problem — it’s a fiscal mess — that has to be fixed. It isn’t only going to be the city that’s going to fix this mess. Other jurisdictions are going to have to shoulder some share of this — and that’s what you got.
Did anything stand out to you about the working group that was announced? It does have a relatively short timeline — the end of November. At City Hall, that’s when the real budget deliberations begin. So you’ve only got like literally two months to really see where there are some opportunities to restructure the city’s finances. And that’s good that there’s urgency attached to it and the Premier and Mayor agreed to that urgency.
Ford said no new taxes but was more wishy-washy on whether the city should get a slice of the HST. Chow said there’s a possibility of uploading a share of the costs for highways, transit and the like. What would you like to see happen? To give the mayor credit, I think she wanted to put revenue tools on the table not because she thought it was a great idea to have new taxes, but because she wanted to show the federal government and the province that the city was serious. But nobody’s under any illusion that those revenue tools are going to come close. It’s not a billion-dollar solution. That’s where the rubber is gonna really hit the road at finding a package that is going to come close to a long term sustainable financial structure for the city. We’ve heard her talk about HST…but there’s also the gas tax. Is there an opportunity to agree to give the city a bigger share of that? And even then, that’s only going to be a couple hundred million, maybe. But it’s a start. The key to this thing is getting the ball rolling. And there needs to be a sharing formula.
What’s the long game here? What would you like to see happen in terms of sustainability? We want to see the city have a more formal fiscal expenditure management system in place — like a Treasury Board function. The federal government and most of the provinces have five-year fiscal management plans and a Treasury Board that controls spending — or tries to control spending. You don’t have that at City Hall. You get a lot of horse trading — stuff comes in on the budget that Councillor XYZ wants, and Councillor ABC will support that because then they’ll get support for their proposal. These proposals don’t always get a lot of review by staff. Everybody would have more confidence in how the city spends because I don’t think we can say right now the city spends badly — but we actually don’t know.
You got to know the Premier and his top staff well. If you’re reading between the lines of the news release and joint press conference, what do you think Ontario does? What would you advise them to do on the policy front? The city has put a lot of fingers in a lot of dykes, because its needs in the areas of federal and provincial responsibility just weren’t being filled. So they threw money at the problem. That’s probably not the best solution anyway, because the city isn’t always the best placed to have the technical expertise to provide for the policy solutions to have great outcomes. You can easily have the inputs, just throw money at it — okay, but what are the outcomes? From a Board perspective — and I think the province might not be totally in agreement — it would be better for the other levels of government that actually have the capability and the technical know-how and the responsibility to more fully fund those services in the city as opposed to having the city fill the gaps. There’s a good case for the province to say — reasonably and rationally — it makes sense for us to take on these areas to provide a bit more funding for core services that we will have a direct interest in.
Is this going to be a domino effect and encourage other cities to ask for funding new deals too? It’s worth watching that. But remember, it was over a decade ago that the Liberal government passed the City of Toronto Act. There was a recognition to take Toronto out of the Municipal Act because it’s so big an different. So you’ve already had a precedent. And if I was the City of Toronto, I’d be saying I am different from every other city in Canada.
Can any of this be done without Ottawa pitching in? These kinds of deals don’t happen in two months — but they can start. It’s just a really good start. And I would say, a little bit of a surprisingly good start.
Teaser: Gherson, Ford and Infrastructure Minister KINGA SURMA will take part in a waterfront-themed “fireside chat” put on by the TRBOT on October 3 at noon. RSVP.
This interview was lightly edited for clarity and length.
HAPPENING TODAY
10 a.m.: Post-shuffle ministerial debuts continue. Long-Term Care Minister STAN CHO is in Cambridge, likely continuing the streak of new-bed announcements. At 11:30 a.m.: Cho heads to Kitchener.
10 a.m.: New Associate Housing Minister ROB FLACK is up in St. Thomas.
THE HOUSE IS OUT — We did it! Week 1 of the fall sitting is a wrap. MPPs get back at it Tuesday — recessing on Monday to observe Orange Shirt Day, which is now a paid stat holiday for the public service after a battle at arbitration. Legislative Assembly staff are also off — so pack a lunch, the cafeteria will be closed.
THURSDAY’S RUNDOWN — The NDP closed out the week with a bang and tabled a motion — to be debated Tuesday — that would strike a special Select Committee to look into the Greenbelt land swap controversy.
Meanwhile, Housing Minister PAUL CALANDRA’s promised legislation to update the definition of affordable housing hit the Clerk’s table, and Bill 131, Infrastructure Minister KINGA SURMA’s GO station makeover legislation, is off to committee.
L’Affaire Greenbelt: MARIT STILES’s Select Committee motion is a long shot, like many of the NDP’s attempts to get more accountability, because the PCs have a majority and need to give the green light — but they’ve blocked Oppo tries for a Speaker’s Warrant and to have the Standing Committees probe the matter.
Tabled: Calandra’s Bill 134, the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act, which would update the definition of affordable housing — something the government is consulting on — and empower St. Thomas to provide municipal-based incentives that were negotiated as part of the Volkswagen deal. It would also speed up hearings and decisions at the Ontario Land Tribunal and spur local procurement collaboration. Backgrounder.
Under the microscope: Bill 131 will be studied by the Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy committee, after clearing a second-reading vote.
FUNDRAISING WATCH — 11:30 a.m.: The PCs are putting on a $1,000-a-head fundraiser in Burlington. There’s no ministerial lineup disclosed, but as regular readers will know by now, that has previously meant the Premier could make a cameo. Invite.
DEBATE II — HAPPENING SUNDAY — 1 p.m.: Wannabe Grit leaders go for round two in Stratford — sans ADIL SHAMJI. It’s the second of five party-sanctioned debates. Catch up on round one. Livestream.
WATCHDOG HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING — October 5 at 9:30 a.m.: Ontario Ombudsman PAUL DUBÉ releases his annual report next Thursday.
CLIPPINGS
— MASSOUDI OUT: After the Public Accounts revealed AMIN MASSOUDI’s lobbying firm Atlas Strategic Advisors got a $237,300 payout from the PCs taxpayer-funded caucus services bureau, the Premier’s Office told the Star it’s severing all “formal” ties with DOUG FORD’s embattled right-hand man.
But sources tell me Massoudi and Ford, who go way back to their City Hall days, have been talking almost daily since the former left PO — and that’s not expected to change anytime soon.
— NO CASH FOR YOU: Don’t hold your breath for that legislation to stop future changes to the Greenbelt boundaries — Housing Minister PAUL CALANDRA says it’s still weeks away. One thing it won’t include: Compensation for developers who are now out $8.3-billion worth of (re)protected land. The legislation could also indemnify the government against a possible lawsuit. CP has more.
— VICTORY LAP: A much-needed win for a government still reeling from the Greenbelt affair: Education Minister STEPHEN LECCE was up to talk about EQAO scores that are up slightly — as well as OSSTF’s ratification vote that would avoid a strike. Lecce put out a carrot to other education unions, saying they too could get a remedy for wage-capping Bill 124, a la the high school teachers.
— LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION I: It’s official. WSIB HQ has officially moved to London, specifically 300 Tartan Drive. It’s another legacy notch in the belt for outgoing MPP and then-Labour minister MONTE McNAUGHTON, who previously announced the relocation from downtown Toronto, which was costing the province $30 million a year.
— LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION II: “With a mega private spa on provincially owned landed drawing the ire of some local politicians and members of the public, Toronto’s mayor says she has a better location in mind.” From the CBC: “OLIVIA CHOW is proposing the Therme Canada’s spa and indoor water park — currently destined to take over part of Ontario Place — be located at the Better Living Centre, part of Exhibition Place.”
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
First in Observer — STAFFING UP — JASON VANDENBEUKEL is joining Premier DOUG FORD’s office, to head up strategic comms. VandenBeukel was previously D-comms to then-Housing Minister STEVE CLARK.
ANDREW KOOLSBERGEN is making a comeback and returning from Metrolinx, as executive director of communications to Transportation Minister PRABMEET SARKARIA.
MEA CULPA! Turns out that despite the rumours, MICHELLE STOCK is sticking around as chief to Public and Business Service Delivery Minister TODD McCARTHY, who took over after KALEED RASHEED’s ouster.
MIA: As the Premier’s Office continues to release chiefs and senior staff moves in waves, many are wondering what’s happening to JENNA BENDAYAN, who was chief to Sarkaria when he was at Treasury Board. But newly appointed Minister CAROLINE MULRONEY has enlisted KAILEY VOKES, while Sarkaria’s got a temporary chief in MEGAN SKINNER. And if the whispers about Bendayan’s chats with the Premier’s chief PATRICK SACKVILLE are true, things may not bode well for her future prospects.
BEYOND THE BUBBLE — ARIELLA KIMMEL, who previously worked for ex-Labour minister MONTE McNAUGHTON and, before that, Cabinet Office, is now vice president of strategic communications and development at public affairs firm Winston Wilmont.
QUESTION PERIOD
After a raucous start to the session, MPPs are settling into their groove, making for a relatively subdued debate that centred on — what else? — the Greenbelt saga.
SPOTTED in the House: Ex-PC captain, now Ontario Real Estate Association head TIM HUDAK.
THE HIGHLIGHTS: “What’s the hold up” on the Greenbelt-protecting legislation? — “Why did the Premier go to such extreme lengths to keep his change in government policy a secret?” — “Why did your staff delete emails?” — “Why does Mr. [PHIL] VERSTER still have a job?” — “Did the Premier or any of his staff make a decision to avoid leaving evidence” re: Greenbelt? — “Nurses represented by ONA from Hastings Prince Edward Public Health have been on strike for over a month” — “Say yes to an independent public inquiry” — Apologize to intimate partner violence survivors who will never receive justice because government failed to fix the courts — “Can the Attorney General explain to Ontarians why he spent his summer setting up and awarding King’s council honorific titles to PC insiders instead of fixing our collapsing courtrooms?” — “Tell Ottawa that we must take stock and get critical services back on track before welcoming more people” — Bargain a fair and equitable deal with striking Electrical Safety Authority workers — With ACTRA on strike, stop using “scab” workers from ad agencies to film government commercials — Why hasn’t the government started building on the 59,000 hectares available right now?
LOBBYING DISPATCH
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
Benjamin Menka, Capital Hill Group: Fujitsu North America, Inc
Karl Baldauf, McMillan Vantage: Ontario Medical Association
Jean-Guy Fréchette, Grande-Ourse Consulting Inc./ Ursa Consulting: Association des directions et des directions adjointes des écoles franco-ontariennes
Andres Martinez, StrategyCorp: Arch Capital Corporation
Benjamin Lamb, Wellington Advocacy: Red Bull Canada
Rayna Naik, Enterprise Canada: Conceivable Dreams
Scott Munnoch, Temple Scott Associates: Canadian Franchise Association, Scleroderma Society of Ontario
Ben Levitt, Stosic & Associates: Waste Management of Canada Corporation
Michael Rudderham, MCR Public Affairs: LifeLabs, Algonquin Park Residents Association
Chris Holz, Campbell Strategies: Teach For Canada–Gakinaamaage
Jan O'Driscoll, Rubicon Strategy: LaSalle Agri
Daniel Pascucci, Rubicon Strategy: Dell Products L.P.
In-house organizations: Labatt Breweries of Canada — Ontario Hospital Association — York University — Sustainable Forestry Initiative — Mechanical Contractors Association of Ontario — Triple P Parenting Canada — Biogen Canada — Motion Picture Association — Investment Industry Association of Canada.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Labour Minister DAVID PICCINI (Northumberland-Peterborough South)…Ex-Tory MP STELLA AMBLER.
🍽️ ON THE MENU: Wondering whether to pick up or pack a lunch? On special in the Quorum Cafe’s basement cafeteria: blackened salmon with dirty rice and salad.
⌛ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 64 days until the Liberal leadership contest…106 days until the Premier has to call a byelection in Kitchener Centre.