The final legislative stretch

Plus: "Billion-dollar boondoggle" fallout, Budget Bill gets a late-night makeover at committee, more candidates join the ticket for 2022

ABOVE THE FOLD

These halls are about to get real quiet. Photo: Getty

MPPs are closing out the penultimate sitting week of the fall session — a truncated affair thanks to prorogation, in which the PCs lost a couple more backbenchers, tabled sweeping legislation reforming labour and long-term care, and shut down Opposition proposals on affordable housing and to lower the cost of living.

— What passed: This week saw the passage of the Ford government’s omnibus labour legislation and latest red-tape reduction package.

— What’s left: Major agenda items the government wants to pass next week — and may sit into the wee hours to do it — include Bill 37, the long-term care legislation aimed at boosting accountability and transparency, and the omnibus Budget Bill, which implements measures laid out in the Fall Economic Statement.

— Who to expect next week (or not): Don’t hold your breath for vax-pass defying MPPs like BELINDA KARAHALIOS and RANDY HILLIER. While Hillier doesn’t agree with the Spe…