Censure and policy reversals: Here’s what happened at Ontario’s Queen’s Park this week

The Ontario New Democratic Party had a rough week after one of its members was censured by the Progressive Conservative government and ejected from caucus.

The distraction came at a good time for Premier Doug Ford, whose party announced its second big policy reversal since the Greenbelt scandal.

Here’s what you need to know:

What’s happening with Sarah Jama

The MPP for Hamilton-Centre was censured on Monday for comments she made about the Israel-Gaza war.

After a week-long debate, the PCs pushed forward a motion that prevented Jama from being recognized by the Speaker in the House. This means she will not be able to speak during debate or ask a question during Question Period.

The motion passed 63-23, with the NDP voting against the censure and the Liberals abstaining.

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Moments before the censure passed, NDP Leader Marit Stiles ejected Jama from caucus. She said it had nothing to do with her stance on the Israel-Gaza war, but rather it had to do with a lack of trust after Jama took “unilateral actions” without notifying her party.

• Your questions answered on Sama Jama’s censure and ejection from NDP

This included sending the premier a cease-and-desist letter and publicly reading comments that differed from the message she told staff she would be reading.

Calls for NDP Leader Marit Stiles’ resignation

Since Jama’s ejection from the NDP, Stiles has received a lot of criticism from within her own party.

The Ontario NDP riding association for Kitchener Centre issued a statement late Thursday morning that alleges Stiles is “out of touch with the one million Muslims in Ontario.” They called for Stiles’ resignation.

A second riding association, this time for Jama’s riding of Hamilton-Centre, also issued a statement calling for a leadership review.

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles scrums with journalists at the Queen's Park Legislature in Toronto on Wednesday October 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

NDP MPP Jill Andrew expressed concern with the decision and some language the NDP used in their press release.

“The subsequent press release stated with support of our Ontario NDP MPPs a decision was made to remove the member,” she said in a social media post. “The release went on to conjure what I feel were stereotypical tropes often used to communicate about Black people, especially Black women, who are perceived as difficult.”

A number of other MPPs publicly threw their support behind the NDP leader, saying she was placed in a difficult position.

More policy reversal

Still reeling from the Greenbelt scandal, new Housing Minister Paul Calandra announced yet another policy reversal this week–this time in relation to changes made to official city plans.

The provincial government started making changes to multiple city plans, without much consultation, in the fall of 2022.

Legislation will soon be tabled that would reverse these changes. Calandra told reporters the process in which the original decisions were made “was one that I was just not comfortable with.”

Ontario takes feds to court again

The Doug Ford government announced this week that it would be taking the federal government to court in order to prevent environmental assessments from blocking construction on Highway 413 and Ontario Place.

The Supreme Court of Canada released an opinion earlier that found the Impact Assessment Act, under which environmental assessments take place, is unconstitutional.

Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey is hoping the courts will issue a formal decision on the matter.

New prescribing powers for midwives

A new proposal by the government hopes to expand the list of drugs that midwives can prescribe and administer to patients.

The list includes hormonal contraceptives as well as antibiotics.

The College of Midwives of Ontario told The Canadian Press that it has been working with the province for years to expand the list.

A full list of the drugs can be found here.

Teachers’ union goes to binding arbitration

It’s not a surprise–but negotiations between Ontario public high school teachers and the provincial government are moving to binding interest arbitration.

This means that from here on out, whatever happens on those outstanding issues is out of both parties' control.

Some GTA cities still have the highest child-care fees

Some parents in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area are still paying some of the highest child-care fees in the country, even with a 50 per cent reduction under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system.

A new report by the think tank Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that more than half of the 32 jurisdictions that agreed to CWELCC succeeded in reducing fees by 50 per cent.

“Hamilton didn’t quite reach the federal targets due to previous fee reductions and there were near-misses of the 50 per cent target in some of the wealthier Toronto suburbs—Oakville, Vaughan and Markham,” the report found.

Ontario could be short 8,500 registered early childhood educators as the province adds tens of thousands more child-care spaces under the national $10-a-day program, the government estimates. Children's backpacks and shoes are seen at a daycare franchise, in Langley, B.C., on May 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Advocates say that while parents are pleased to see such a significant reduction in fees, licenced operators of child-care facilities are feeling the pinch without long-term funding.

OTHER BILLS AND REGULATIONS

• Could Ontario upload the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway? Toronto’s mayor’s office says it’s being considered.
• Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell gave her final royal assent this week on a bill requiring MPPs to observe two minutes of silence on the last sessional day before Remembrance Day. Ontario’s 30th lieutenant-governor, Edith Dumont, will be formally sworn in on Nov. 14.
• Public and Business Service Delivery Minister Todd McCarthy introduced a new consumer protection bill this week. Among other things, the legislation will give people a new way to exit timeshare agreements, make it easier to get out of a gym membership, and prohibit businesses from making false claims about prize offers.