SCOOP: Martow spills on Calandra drama
Plus: Staying the course despite a Covid uptick and Ford hits the highway circuit
ABOVE THE FOLD
First in Queen’s Park Observer — It’s been a year since GILA MARTOW stepped foot in the chamber. The longtime MPP for Thornhill — who last week accused government House Leader PAUL CALANDRA of “bullying” in a letter to caucus — says she has no plans to return anytime soon.
Martow — who was told she couldn’t run again for the PCs and stripped of her role as Parliamentary Assistant to the Francophone Affairs Minister after throwing her hat in the federal nomination ring, ultimately losing to now-MP MELISSA LANTSMAN — explained to me that her letter was a culmination of a year of tension with Calandra.
The big point of contention: Martow says her office space — at one point shared with Calandra off campus, and then with other PAs at Queen’s Park — kept getting schlepped around to different locations with little warning. That was unprofessional, especially because she had sensitive notes in her desk that went missing, and it also left her feeling like she was not a “valuable part of the team.”
“A year ago was the last day I showed up. And I didn’t have an office, without being told, and my stuff was moved — I never did find a trace of it — and I didn’t have my [regular] desk in the Legislature, where my stuff was moved too,” Martow said.
Decisions over office space involve negotiations with the Clerks, and the House Leader decides the seating chart for the chamber. Martow perceived Calandra having a direct hand in decisions over where she ended up.
“I was told it was going to be fixed and it wasn’t — so I said I’m not coming in.”
Martow also feels her expertise hasn’t been utilized by the PCs — she’s an optometrist who speaks French and is and well-versed on the Francophone Affairs file — but says she felt like her concerns on those political hot-potato subjects were ignored.
“If I’m not needed except for my vote, I’m sorry — that’s not what I signed up for.”
A few of her colleagues privately reached out asking if she was okay following her letter, Martow says. But some Tories have noticed her absence.
It seems “she’s been checked out for like the last year,” one MPP told me.
For now, Martow is focusing on her constituency work. She says if it weren’t for Covid, she might have triggered a byelection — but because the Legislature has been quieter amid the restrictions, with no formal stakeholder receptions, cohorting in the chamber, and virtual committees, she still feels she’s able to serve her constituents.
Despite not showing up to vote with her fellow Tories, Martow has no plans to cross the aisle. “I was elected as a PC.”
The PCs may be sweating Martow’s absence more now than they would have a year ago. They’re down seven MPPs, who were either turfed or defected, but still hold a 69-seat majority, so they’ll easily secure any confidence votes.
PANDEMIC TRACKER: ONTARIO TO “STAY THE COURSE” DESPITE COVID UPTICK — Health Minister CHRISTINE ELLIOTT says the province will stick with the current state of eased-up pandemic restrictions, despite a 41 per cent jump in infections over the past 10 days.
Tightening back up is not off the table, but for now, any further restrictions will happen regionally and will be up to local medical officers of health. Elliott said the spike in cases was anticipated, with looser capacity limits and colder weather pushing people indoors, “so what we’re seeing right now are largely regional outbreaks, which we’re going to be dealing with regionally.”
Take Sudbury, which is rolling back some of the rules starting today amid a jump in cases, including capacity caps and tougher masking rules.
FORD’S WEDNESDAY — It’s another victory-lap announcement following the Fall Economic Statement. Premier DOUG FORD, Transportation Minister CAROLINE MULRONEY, and Finance Minister PETER BETHLENFALVY will make an announcement in Caledon Village at 10 a.m. A Q-and-A session with reporters will follow.
ON TUESDAY — Ford spent the day touring the Kitchener—Waterloo region with area MPP MIKE HARRIS JR. and Economic Development Minister VIC FEDELI. The crew stopped by manufacturing companies and visited the local legion’s Remembrance Day display.
HAPPENING TODAY
— 9:30 a.m.: NDP Leader ANDREA HORWATH is headed north and will hold a press conference in Shuniah to lay out a plan to help seniors age in place.
— 10:30 a.m.: Anti-lockdown MPP ROMAN BABER is up in the Media Studio alongside a pair of paramedics to talk about vaccine mandates in the workplace.
— 11 a.m.: Heritage Minister LISA MACLEOD will make an announcement about supporting veterans in Nepean. Liberal Leader STEVEN DEL DUCA will make a virtual platform announcement related to veterans. CUPE Ontario president FRED HAHN will hold a presser to call for a wealth tax.
— 12 p.m.: Municipal Affairs Minister STEVE CLARK will make an announcement in Kingston.
— 1 p.m.: Long-Term Care Minister ROD PHILLIPS is in Scarborough to highlight the government’s staffing and care overhaul.
— 3 p.m.: Dr. KIERAN MOORE briefs reporters today (instead of tomorrow as usual, due to Remembrance Day).
— 4 p.m.: Green Leader MIKE SCHREINER is also touring the Dufferin—Caledon region alongside local candidate LAURA CAMPBELL and will hold a press conference along the proposed route of Highway 413.
— Starting at 5 p.m.: Back-to-back PC fundraisers in Ford Nation, Etobicoke, for $1,000; on behalf of Transportation Minister CAROLINE MULRONEY in Toronto for $1,000; on behalf of Labour Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON in Hamilton for $1,000; and on behalf of STEPHEN CRAWFORD in Oakville for $800.
MAKING HEADLINES
— LECCE CHIDES TEACHERS: “Ontario’s education minister has some blunt words for Toronto Catholic elementary school teachers over job action that is impacting students’ report cards and parent-teacher interviews.” More from Global News: “‘It is entirely unacceptable for the local teachers union to refuse to conduct parent-teacher interviews and provide detailed report cards, after a difficult year and a half for students and parents alike…Enough is enough,’ STEPHEN LECCE said.”
— HIGHWAY TOLL: A forensic accountant does what the FES did not, and pegs the price-tag for the controversial Highway 413 and Bradford Bypass at $8.2 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively.
— EVS UP NORTH: “DOUG FORD’s hopes for Ontario’s electric vehicle industry hinge on mining its Ring of Fire.” CBC’s Mike Crawley digs in: “Progressive Conservatives want to lure the big automakers to produce electric vehicles in southern Ontario. A key part of that strategy involves opening up the so-called Ring of Fire mineral deposit, located more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay in an area home to Indigenous people. The Ring of Fire was originally promoted as a source of chromite, an important component in steel. Now the hype centres on its supply of minerals used in EV batteries and energy storage systems, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, graphite and copper.”
— PITBULL BAN: “A family dog that made headlines for being held by animal services under suspicion it was part pit bull has allegedly mauled a 13-year-old boy four days after it was released.” CTV has more.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
LG SUITE — SARAH TRUSCOTT has joined Lieutenant Governor ELIZABETH DOWDESWELL’s office as chief of staff and private secretary. Truscott was previously the chief administrative officer and an assistant deputy minister over at the Ministry of Education, where she led on a number of files including human resources, financial planning, legal services, risk management and internal audit.
2022 — New Democrats have picked their contender in Simcoe North, who will challenge PC incumbent JILL DUNLOP: ELIZABETH VAN HOUTTE, a social worker who runs a local private clinic.
SPOTTED:
Treasury Board President PRABMEET SARKARIA and JEFF YUREK, Parliamentary Assistant to the Trade Minister, addressing the economic Toronto Global Forum.
THE NEWS BULLETIN
It’s the week after the mini-budget, so that means a slew of echo announcements, including cash to support the mental health of frontline workers. Catch up here.
LOBBYING DISPATCH
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
— Jeremy Wittet, Edelman: GoodLife Fitness
— Emily McCullough, StrategyCorp: Quebecor Media Inc.
— John Penner, StrategyCorp: Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership
— Marc Kealey, Kealey & Associates: Cestar College
— Michael Diamond, Upstream Strategy Group: Ontario Monument Builders Association
— Raj Rasalinga, Protocol Plus: Ottawa Heart Imaging
— Peter Van Loan, Aird & Berlis: Vandyk Properties
— James Lin, Hill + Knowlton Strategies: Neuron Mobility
— Jonathan Telch, Cumberland Strategies: PayIt
— Christopher Froggatt, Loyalist Public Affairs : Gap Inc.
— Jill Wilson, Loyalist Public Affairs: Bruce Power Inc.
— Zahra Sultani and Nicholas Pozhke, Loyalist Public Affairs: HLS Therapeutics Inc.
— Aaron Gairdner, Rubicon Strategy: Joint Electrical Promotion Plan
— Brianna Workman, Impact Public Affairs: Canadian Thoracic Society
— Peter Zakarow, Alexynn Strategy: Solace Corporation
— Jessica Neilson, Global Public Affairs: Canada Basketball
— Andrew Retfalvi, Global Public Affairs: Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Canada
— Ryan Singh, Temple Scott Associates: Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals
— Scott Munnoch, Temple Scott Associates: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: PC MPP JEREMY ROBERTS (Ottawa West—Nepean).