Queen's Park Highlights - November 25, 2011

The Legislature resumed on November 21 with the first minority government since 1985. Its first order of business was to elect a speaker. Four Liberal candidates put their names forward: Donna Cansfield (Etobicoke-Lakeshore), Kevin Flynn (Oakville), Dave Levac (Brant), and David Zimmer (Willowdale). Levac, a former separate school principal, was the winning candidate.

1. Speech from the Throne

Lieutenant-Governor David Onley delivered the Speech from the Throne on November 22. The speech was based on the Liberal election platform and reiterated commitments to health, education, and strong public services as well as to the plan to cut spending in other areas.

With respect to education, the speech committed the government to fully implement full-day kindergarten, continue to raise test scores and graduation rates, create 60,000 new spaces in colleges and universities, and reduce average tuition by 40 percent for families earning less than $160,000 annually.

The speech reported that the government is on track to reduce the Ontario public service by 5 percent by March 2012. An additional 2 percent reduction by 2014 will save an estimated $500 million. The government is also looking to find $200 million in savings at "major agencies" by 2014.

The speech indicated that "any new spending that is not part of your government's current plan will need to come from savings realized elsewhere."

2. Finance Minister delivers Economic Statement

On November 23, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan delivered the fall economic statement. Like the Speech from the Throne, the statement emphasized the Liberals' record on building strong health, education, and tax systems. Minister Duncan stated that the government's priorities would be the economy and job creation.

Since the Budget was presented in March, the average private sector forecast for real GDP growth has declined from 2.6 percent to 2.0 percent, a drop that translates into "hundreds of millions of dollars" and that will increase the pressure on the government with respect to overall expenditure.

Mr. Duncan indicated that the commissioned report on the economy by Don Drummond will be made available in a few weeks. He stated: "Mr. Drummond's report will help launch a thoughtful conversation and debate on the best ways to meet Ontario’s goals of eliminating the deficit while protecting schools and hospitals."

Mr. Duncan further stated that this past year, the rate of spending growth has been cut almost in half and that the government is projecting a deficit of $16 billion for this fiscal year that puts Ontario "ahead of the budget forecast despite the global economic uncertainty and volatility."

3. Premier responds to Tories' push for Public Sector Wage Freeze

The lead questions from the Tories this week focused on their call for a public sector wage freeze. On November 23, PC Leader Tim Hudak stated that 60 cents on every dollar that the government spends is on wages and benefits. (The Finance Minister later corrected that figure to 55 cents.) He asked whether the premier supported a public sector wage freeze.

Premier McGuinty replied:

"My honourable colleague will know that when it comes to negotiated settlements by broader public sector employers, we have made it clear to them that should they negotiate something beyond zero, we will not in fact be funding that. They'll have to find those monies from within. So we have, in fact, stood up for taxpayers in that regard.

"But where we think we need to move now is by way of introduction of new reforms into the way that we deliver services so that we can introduce more efficiencies and increase productivity inside government."

When asked the same question a second time, the premier pointed out the value of public sector spending:

"I'll remind my honourable colleague as well that when we put in place those 400 new schools and those 18 new hospitals, and hired those 12,000 new nurses, those 10,000 more teachers and those water inspectors and meat inspectors, not once did any member of the opposition say, 'I don't want any new schools in my riding. I don't want any new hospitals in my riding. I don't want any new meat inspectors and water inspectors in my riding.'

"The fact of the matter is, we did play some serious catch-up in improving the quality of our public services, and now, just as it was right to make those investments, it's our shared responsibility to ensure we put them on a sustainable footing, and we'll do that in a way that protects health care and protects education."

4. PC Leader accuses Liberals of being beholden to Working Families Coalition

On November 24, PC Leader Tim Hudak asked Finance Minister Dwight Duncan: "Why do you have a wage freeze for non-union, but you allow union wages to increase?"

Minister Duncan replied that the average wage of settlement in the public sector is now lower than the private sector. He also indicated that there are challenges to a wage freeze that are legal and constitutional in nature.

Finally, the minister outlined other important considerations:

"The Leader of the Opposition cannot underestimate the importance of making sure that whatever steps we take—whether it's on wages or other—respect court decisions, respect processes that are outlined and, most importantly, respect the people who are on the other side of the table, whether it's non-bargained employees or bargained employees.

'It might be doctors. I'm sure the Leader of the Opposition wants a freeze put on doctors. That's the next contract that is up for negotiation, and we'll look forward to his position on that. There are big collective agreements with teachers that are coming up as well, and I’m sure he'll apply that same sort of standard to doctors and teachers as he would to others.

"These are challenging times. We're going to work with our partners, both union and non-union, professional and non-professionals…"

In response Mr. Hudak dimissed the validity of the legal arguments and stated: "Let's just get to the bottom line here. The reason why you're not bringing in a mandatory wage freeze on the union side is because of your friends in the Working Families Coalition. I know your friends in the Working Families Coalition pull a lot of strings on decision-making over there."

5. NDP Education Critic asks Government to respond to Child Care Crisis

On November 23, NDP Education Critic Peter Tabuns asked when the government would address the current child care crisis, referring to the child care programs that have closed or are threatened by imminent closure due to financial shortfalls.

Education Minister Laurel Broten replied by outlining the government’s investment in full-day kindergarten.  She also said: "I have said on many occasions that I am very engaged in the conversation about what modern child care looks like in the face of all-day kindergarten."

In answer to a supplementary question, Minister Broten stated:

"We have provided $12 million over five years to help non-profit child care centres renovate and better serve younger learners, and since 2003 child care funding has increased from $532 million to $869 million, a 63% increase across the province."

6. NDP presses for Cuts to HST

On November 23, NDP MPP Michael Mantha introduced Bill 4, a private member's bill proposing that the HST be removed from home heating bills, a key plank in the party's election platform.

On November 24, speaking  in support of the bill, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath stated that the HST was not only the wrong tax and introduced at the wrong time, but applied to essentials that people don’t have a choice to consume.

During debate of the bill Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi argued that the NDP proposal would remove $350 million from provincial revenue at a time when the government was pressed to sustain existing programs and services.

When the bill came to a Second Reading vote, the PC and NDP voted in support; the Liberals voted against.  The vote carried 54 to 50. The bill has been referred to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy.

For more information, check the website of the Ontario Legislature:  www.ontla.on.ca