SCOOP: The people vs. Milton Chan
Also: TikTok ban under review, Grits eye AGM vote change, environmental assessment changes, Mitzie for Mayor, wedding RSVPs, bureaucrats on the move, regulatory roundup, hoop dreams, big birthdays
ABOVE THE FOLD
First in Queen’s Park Observer — OLP ACCUSED OF BLOCKING DELEGATES: Lots of drama brewing ahead of this weekend’s Liberal party convention. Yesterday, we told you about the push to expand voting access (read on for an update). Today, it’s all about changes for delegates, which could block upwards of 250 folks from voting — something the party denies.
The Ontario Liberal Party’s annual general meeting is shaping up to be its biggest in two decades, with the largest number of Grits expected to attend.
But hundreds of delegates who show up to the convention in Hamilton will be told they’re not able to vote.
That’s thanks to a move that’s causing concern among many Grit activists about who is and who isn’t going to be allowed to cast a ballot in the party’s executive races and on potential changes to the party’s constitution.
I spoke with more than a dozen sources for this story, including current and former MPPs, candidates, executive members, staffers and high-level organizers. I agreed to grant them anonymity so they could speak freely about internal machinations.
Chief returning officer and party counsel MILTON CHAN is under fire for creating what party activists call a new policy that would bar delegates from getting “backfilled” into another riding, when there’s no space in their home riding.
Here’s how it works: There’s a certain number of delegate slots for each of the 124 ridings. Those delegates go to convention with the power to vote. If your home riding is full-up, the party has allowed you to be “backfilled” as a voting delegate for another riding with space.
What’s changing: In a February 23 memo obtained by Queen’s Park Observer, Chan, in his capacity as returning officer, laid out that delegates “will NOT be accredited to another region which they have no connection with.”
“This means, no, attendees cannot just show up to the convention on Friday/Saturday and be accredited as voting delegates.” He called the process “labour intensive” and a “courtesy being offered, not an entitlement.”
Indeed, I’ve also obtained emails shedding light on accreditation. In them, Chan grills would-be delegates on their connections to ridings beyond their home base, which they had applied to because their own ridings were already full.
The party denies that there was a rule change — but my sources say it goes against past party practice.
“This is the greatest disenfranchisement of the membership in party history,” said one veteran Grit operative. “It’s just so blatant.”
They peg the number of delegates who will have their voting rights stripped away at 250 — and counting. Multiple sources raised concerns that the move could skew the results of the executive council races and whether the party swaps out a delegated leadership convention for one-member, one-vote.
But the party maintains the delegate process is nothing new. According to spokesman CARTER BROWNLEE, the party’s 2021 AGM used the same system. “The Chief Returning Officer discussed this process at a meeting of the Executive Council dated December 2, 2022, and received general concurrence.” It was also communicated to riding associations late last year, he said.
Still, it’s a surprise to many card-carrying Grits. “The question is, why are the rules being changed arbitrarily?” said another source.
It’s not the first time Chan has found himself in hot water with the party faithful. As this reporter previously scooped, he was also accused of discouraging BIPOC candidates from running in elections and making anti-Black statements on Facebook.
The deadline to sign up as a delegate is tomorrow, March 1 at 5 p.m.
GRITS EYE VOTING HOUR CHANGE — Meanwhile, the party executive is considering whether to extend the voting hours to pick the new exec. It’s something presidential candidate NATALIE HART has been pushing for, in the name of accessibility.
Our sources say VITO TOTINO, who sits on the current exec, put forward a motion at last night’s meeting to extend the voting hours at convention. But they weren’t able to vote on changing the schedule because it put the current executive in a conflict-of-interest. So they dropped off the call and lost quorum.
While one Grit insider had raised an eyebrow at the 200-plus “instant delegates” Hart signed up — folks whose fees are paid for and who are essentially just there to vote — others are taking issue with that characterization.
“Single mothers, people with disabilities, those with kids and other commitments — these are not instant delegates, they are people with busy lives. It is outrageous and insane that they are being called instant delegates because they want some semblance of fairness and accessibility,” said one senior Liberal organizer.
Catch up with yesterday’s edition.
The Liberal AGM goes down in Hamilton March 3 to 5.
TICK TOCK — Ontario is mulling a ban on TikTok.
Premier DOUG FORD’s office tells me it’s considering following federal footsteps and banning the Chinese-based app from government devices.
“It is something we are reviewing,” said spokeswoman CAITLIN CLARK.
TikTok has long been criticized for its use of personal information and ties to the Chinese government. Canada’s ban comes amid reports of Chinese election interference — and just days after the European Commission announced a similar ban on the app.
It could be bad news for at least one MPP: PC GOLDIE GHAMARI, whose prolific use of the app has garnered more than 282K followers.
MAYOR OR BUST — MITZIE HUNTER isn’t gunning for Ontario Liberal Leader, setting her sights instead on the Mayor’s seat in Toronto.
— On bowing out of the Liberal race: “I am not seeking the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. I love my party and the party’s members and I consider them to be my second family. However, after a period of reflection I have concluded that best serving my party does not at this time include seeking its leadership,” she said in a statement.
— On running for mayor: “Many have also been asking me whether I will seek to become Mayor of Toronto in the upcoming byelection. I wish people to know that I am indeed actively considering running for mayor. Many people across the city have been reaching out to me and likewise I have been consulting with supporters. I am extremely encouraged by what I am hearing and will make an announcement soon.”
Hunter’s exploratory leadership bid taxied down the runway but never really achieved lift off. Her would-be competitors, including MPs YASIR NAQVI, NATE ERSKINE-SMITH, and MPP TED HSU are all further along in the process. It’s also not her first shot at the top Liberal job in the province — Hunter placed fourth in the 2020 race that was eventually won by STEVEN DEL DUCA.
(Catch up on our chats with Naqvi and Erskine-Smith, and stay tuned for Hsu.)
Byelection alert: Hunter would have to resign her Scarborough—Guildwood seat in order to run for mayor. That would have to happen by the time she submits her nomination papers.
MEANWHILE, ONE MORE FOR OMOV — Speaking of Hsu, he’s come out in favour of one-member-one-vote, instead of the usual delegated convention for picking the next leader.
Expect those who have been flirting with leadership bids to make it official either way after this weekend’s convention, when we’ll get more details on the contest rules, including timelines.
HAPPENING TODAY
9 a.m.: Attorney General DOUG DOWNEY makes an announcement in Toronto.
9:30 a.m.: Labour Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON and Health Minister SYLVIA JONES are in Toronto for an announcement.
10 a.m.: The Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders is in the Media Studio to share results from a national Ispos survey “showing huge obstacles — from diagnosis to treatment — faced by three million Canadians with rare diseases.”
2 p.m.: Up next is the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers indoor air quality advisory group, which published three reports on airborne Covid transmission and protective measures.
ON THE ORDER PAPER
First up: Bill 60, which expands private delivery of public health services, continues to chug through second-reading debate. It’s hit the requisite six-and-a-half-hour mark required for a vote to send it to committee, which could happen as soon as today, after the morning’s Question Period.
Later on, Bill 63, Housing Minister STEVE CLARK’s boundary rejig between St. Thomas and Central Elgin, is up for second reading.
The late show: Liberal rookie STEPHANIE BOWMAN will move second reading of her Bill 50, the Building Better Business Outcomes Act, which would require certain companies to show how they’re recruiting board members who are women, Black, Indigenous, racialized, persons with disabilities or persons who are LGBTQ+.
MONDAY’S RUNDOWN — The government’s newest bill takes on environmental impact assessments, while a backbencher is hoping to honour seniors:
Infrastructure Minister KINGA SURMA tabled Bill 69, the Reducing Inefficiencies Act, which changes the environmental impact assessment process, among other things. That includes allowing the Environment Minister of the day to alter or waive the 30-day waiting period for certain environmental assessment projects, on a case-specific basis.
PC DAWN GALLAGHER MURPHY introduced private member’s Bill 70, to proclaim June Seniors’ Month.
ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT — After touring the province to hear what stakeholders want to see in the March 23 budget, the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs settles in for a week of closed-door report writing on pre-budget consultations.
AROUND THE PRECINCT — The Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders is serving up an MPP breakfast. Skip the Dishes is hosting a lunch reception. On the evening reception circuit: the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and the Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science.
IN OTHER NEWS…
— UPSELLING: The Ontario Health Coalition “released a compilation of testimonies from patients who say they were forced to pay out of pocket for procedures that should be covered under their insurance…In some instances, patients said they were urged to get upgraded lenses, told they had to incur the costs of eye measurements, and invoiced for contrast dye needed for imaging. In others, patients were reportedly told they would have to wait longer for services covered under OHIP.” CTV News has the story.
— Speaking of Bill 60: “As Premier DOUG FORD touts his ‘bold decisions’ to offer more privately delivered medical services, Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU warns the Canada Health Act must be followed.” From the Star: “Trudeau was asked about Ford’s moves to expand privatized care to alleviate wait-lists for some surgical procedures.
‘One of the federal government’s roles around health care is to ensure that the Canada Health Act is always respected,’ the prime minister said at the Mississauga headquarters of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. ‘I can tell you over the past number of years, this government has clawed back or withheld money — or penalized a number of provinces — for not having lived up to the Canada Health Act,’ he said. ‘And we will not hesitate to do so going forward.’”
— DONG DEFENCE: HAN DONG, a former MPP and sitting MP, is playing defence along with Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU, who’s denying reports that his office was warned by CSIS to drop Dong as a candidate because he had Beijing’s support. More from Reuters.
— 413 STICKER PRICE: “Ontario has spent more than $35 million over 16 years assessing the environmental impact of the proposed Highway 413 project, according to documents obtained by the Star under freedom of information law.”
— THE KIDS AREN’T ALRIGHT: “Ontario schools are facing a mental health crisis and more supports are needed for both students and staff, a report by the non-profit People for Education suggests.”
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
First in Queen’s Park Observer — ON THE CIVIL SERVICE SIDE — MATT GLOYD, longtime bureaucrat who handles comms and issues management, is now a manager at the Ministry of Finance, where he was most recently a senior comms adviser.
— Over at the Tourism Ministry, MANUEL ALAS-SEVILLANO is now manager of issues management, media relations, correspondence, and internal comms. He was previously a senior policy adviser to the Deputy Minister.
BEYOND THE BUBBLE — COLE HOGAN, who previously worked on digital campaign ads for DOUG FORD, has joined Earnscliffe Strategies as principal of digital strategy.
SPOTTED:
Treasury Board President and baller PRABMEET SARKARIA makes a basket on the Raps court…
QUESTION PERIOD
WEDDING WOES — NDP Leader MARIT STILES kicked off the debate demanding answers on the Ontario Health Coalition’s revelations about upselling and extra-billing for OHIP-covered services.
But the real fireworks came when she turned to DOUG FORD’s daughter’s wedding guest list, which included prominent developer family, the CORTELLUCCIs. Government House Leader PAUL CALANDRA accused the NDP of anti-Italian discrimination and of sending a spy to get the wedding guest list. The NDP say they grabbed it from the wedding photographer’s website.
READ THE TRANSCRIPT. WATCH THE RECAP.
REGULATORY ROUNDUP
On Tuesdays, we sum up the government’s latest proposals on the regulatory registry — where the nitty-gritty of policymaking is hammered out.
BUILDING CODE — The Proposal: “Consultation on Ontario’s Building Code…The National consultation package includes some of the following topics:
structural design (Part 9) - lateral loads
large farm buildings
building fire safety
fire alarm and detection systems
encapsulated mass timber construction
accessibility - inclusive plumbing accommodation
environmental separation
drainage systems.”
Deadline for public feedback: April 27.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: RICHARD CLARK, the Finance Minister’s chief of staff…RYAN WHEALY, senior manager of issues and legislative affairs to the Labour Minister…HAYLEY CHAZAN, manager of media strategy at CAMH and former top comms staffer to the Health Minister…(BELATED): JAMIE TUMELTY, the CityNews cameraman and Ford-dubbed “all-star” who covered Queen’s Park solo on the ground during the pandemic and beyond.
⌛ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 3 days until the Liberal Party convention…16 days until the byelection in Hamilton Centre…23 days until the budget drops…118 days until Toronto’s mayoral byelection.