SCOOP: Another Liberal letter
Also: Meet the newest chief of staff, upselling reveal, Oppo Day motion 1, door-knocking in Hamilton Centre, Scuttlebutt Lodge and much more
ABOVE THE FOLD
Breaking last night — LIBERAL LETTER 2.0 — Another Liberal letter is making the rounds — and ruffling feathers.
This time, NATALIE HART, one of three candidates for party president, and more than two dozen executive members and candidates, have written to outgoing prez BRIAN JOHNS asking for more time to vote at this weekend’s annual general meeting.
Queen’s Park Observer got its hands on the letter.
“We do wish to raise serious concerns regarding the proposed AGM agenda. In short, we feel it does not allow sufficient time for voting and we urge that more hours for voting be added to the program,” it reads.
“Many will be new to our party and attending their first AGM. It’s incumbent on all of us to ensure they have the best convention experience possible. This includes giving them every opportunity to cast their ballots freely and conveniently.”
The AGM schedule, first published in this newsletter, provides three hours of voting on Saturday night and two hours on Sunday morning. It’s not enough, according to Hart and her fellow signatories.
“We need to recognize that not everyone will be able to stay from Friday night through Sunday midday. Not everyone can afford two nights in a hotel, to drive in three times, or to miss more time from work. Many will have personal and family commitments. We, as a party, need to accept and value the time they are willing to give us,” they went on to say.
They want the schedule changed so that speeches are moved up and voting takes place between 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, along with the two-hour block on Sunday. “Longer drop-in voting will mean shorter lines and less disruption with concurrent program items.”
While the group of Grits say their request is all about “transparency, accessibility and democracy” — some others aren’t buying it.
One theory from a Liberal insider: Hart’s team has signed up a big number of “instant delegates” — which our source describes as “folks who get signed up, have their fees paid for, go to the vote and go home; they don’t actually participate in the convention.”
“I think they were worried that they weren’t going to be able to entertain those people that they signed up as instant delegates for long enough that they’d stick around to vote for them. So they wanted to move voting up,” said the Grit insider, who’s worked on leadership campaigns.
Card-carrying Grits gather in Hamilton from March 3 to 5. Among other things, they’ll vote for a new party executive, including president, and lay out the rules for the leadership contest, including timelines, rules of entry, and whether it will be one-member-one-vote or a delegated contest.
More to come on this story, including reaction.
HAPPENING TODAY
DOUG FORD’S MONDAY — 1:10 p.m.: The Premier is in Mississauga for an announcement alongside Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU. Also on hand: Health Minister SYLVIA JONES and Trade Minister VIC FEDELI.
— 9:45 a.m.: The Ontario Health Coalition is in the Media Studio along with patients to “reveal thousands of dollars in charges from private, for-profit clinics; the same clinics that the Ford Government is looking to give funding and expansions to under Bill 60, Your Health Act.”
ON THE ORDER PAPER
First up: MPPs get back at it earlier than usual for a Monday, kicking off the morning debate at 9 a.m. with second reading of Bill 63, Housing Minister STEVE CLARK’s proposed changes to the boundary between St. Thomas and Central Elgin.
Question Period goes down around 10:30 a.m.
Later on, it’s the first Oppo Day Motion debate of the year — and MARIT STILES will move her first as leader, on health care. It calls on the government “to fund and fully utilize public operating rooms instead of further privatizing hospital operating room services.
Reminder: Motions are non-binding but have symbolic value. That said, Stiles’s calls out the PCs handling of health care and will likely be shot down by their majority.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT — 9 a.m.: Public Accounts is winding up for its study of select chapters of the Auditor General’s report. The committee goes in-camera to hear from AG BONNIE LYSYK, then opens its doors to hear from top staffers in her office. Lineup.
AROUND THE PRECINCT — To mark Black history month, there’s an MPP networking event aimed at inspiring youth politically.
IN OTHER NEWS…
— SPA DAZE: NDP MPPs have joined activists’ call and requested a value-for-money audit on the revitalization project at Ontario Place. More from the Sun: “Critics of the Doug Ford government’s plans to redo the iconic waterfront park zeroed in on a decision to lease a portion of the grounds to Therme Group, a private Austrian company planning to build a large spa-themed facility.”
— SCHOOLED: “An Ontario school board director received a salary increase of almost 25 per cent just weeks before the academic year began, a raise that arrived during a wage freeze for public-sector executives. Trustees at the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board in Peterborough approved a salary of $257,600 for their director of education, RITA RUSSO, effective this past August, according to documents obtained through an access-to-information request.” The Globe and Mail has the scoop.
— DOUBLING INSPECTORS: “The Ontario government says it has doubled the number of its long-term care inspectors…the hiring of 193 new long-term care inspection staff, including 156 inspectors, is part of a three-year $72.3 million investment.” Details from the Canadian Press.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
First in Queen’s Park Observer — EXIT — DAVID DIPAUL is no longer chief of staff to Citizenship and Multiculturalism Minister MICHAEL FORD. DiPaul has long worked for the Ford government, doing stints as Infrastructure Minister KINGA SURMA’s chief adviser, as chief of staff to the Government and Consumer Services Minister and in the Premier’s Office. Prior to that, he worked for ex-Toronto Mayor JOHN TORY.
NEW CHIEF — JONATHAN KENT takes up the mantle from DiPaul as chief of staff. Kent was previously Ford’s director of policy and stakeholder relations.
PROMOTIONS — More moves in Ford’s office: Director of policy JAMES YOUSIF has now added stakeholder relations to his title. DAKOTA MONIZ, previously Ford’s executive assistant, is now his comms adviser.
SPOTTED:
Veteran Grit political operative PATRICIA SORBARA poking holes in MPP STEPHEN BLAIS’s now-moot motion to block MIKE SCHREINER from running for leader…Door-knocking in Hamilton Centre: Liberal MP and wannabe provincial leader NATE ERSKINE-SMITH and PC Party president MICHAEL DIAMOND…Liberal byelection candidate DEIRDRE PIKE eating beets with musician TOM WILSON of Lee Harvey Osmond for a good cause…Ex-MPP RANDY HILLIER’s new series “Scuttlebutt Lodge,” his Lanark cottage that’s also available to rent…Premier DOUG FORD and MPPs of all stripes at the Ukraine mega march…Hundreds rallying at the Welcome Back Doug Ford protest party.
LOBBYING DISPATCH
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations since Friday:
Robert Manseau, Commerce Management Group: Northeast Community Network
Lesa MacDonald, Koskie Minsky LLP: Teamsters Canadian Pension Plan
Chris Benedetti, Sussex Strategy Group: Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, Agnico Eagle Mines, Peak Power
David Huynh, Bousfields: Singma Properties
In-house organizations: Ontario Chamber of Commerce — ALS Society of Canada — CAA Club Group — Trillium Automobile Dealers Association — Beckton Dickinson Canada.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Ex-MPP AMANDA SIMARD…UTILIA AMARAL, lobbyist and wife to Steven Del Duca…DAVID VALENTIN, political consultant and principal at Liaison Strategies.
⌛ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 4 days until the Liberal Party convention…17 days until the byelection in Hamilton Centre…24 days until the budget drops…119 days until Toronto’s mayoral byelection.