The final sprint

Spotted: Premier and Prince at Nobu

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ABOVE THE FOLD

ON THE FAST TRACK (AGAIN) — With just one scheduled sitting week left in the legislative session, the Ford government is accelerating another stack of bills through Queen’s Park.

Time-allocation motions — which cap debate and set a hard timeline for passage — aren’t unheard of in the final sprint before the winter recess. Governments of all stripes have used them to make sure their legislative agendas cross the finish line, and the PCs have even opened the door to midnight sittings to get it all done.

But here’s the thing: critics say this isn’t a last-minute crunch so much as the Ford government’s standard MO. Throughout this session (and even before), the PCs have repeatedly bypassed the committee stage — the part of the process where stakeholders, experts, and the public weigh in, and where (mostly Oppo) MPPs can propose amendments to some of the government’s most contentious bills.

With a comfortable majority,…