2011 Elections Report Card
Content
PROVINCIAL ELECTION 2011 REPORT CARD
Progressive Conservative Party Liberal Party New Democratic Party
Human Rights Education Relationship Recognition Healthcare Employment Equity Social Services Housing and Shelter The Administration of Justice
F F F F F F F F
D D F B F D C F
B B F D D D C C
NOTE: As much as we would have liked to, the Green Party of Ontario was not included in this edition of the Report Card because no Party candidates were elected in the 2007 provincial election. This has prevented us from being able to document and analyze the party’s performance, as we have done for the other parties.
A Party has taken all the necessary action. Achievement exceeds expectations. B Party has taken most of the necessary actions. Achievement meets expectations. C Party has taken some of the necessary actions. Achievement approaches expectations. D Party has taken few of the necessary actions. Achievement falls significantly below expectations. F Party has not taken any necessary actions. Achievement fails even the most minimal expectations and/or has been detrimental to Ontario’s LGBTQ* communities.
* From hereon-in, “LGBTQ” will refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, two-spirited, queer, pansexual, polyamorous, and kinky persons; and all other individuals who are marginalized for their sexual or gender differences.
NOTE: This summary covers issues that reflect some of the major concerns of LGBTQ communities in Ontario and is not meant to be exhaustive. It is based on the performance of the three parties to date. It does not necessary reflect platforms being put forward for the 2011 provincial election. Individual MPPs and candidates may disagree with their party’s position on certain issues.
HumAN RIgHTs
Toby’s Act – or more recently, Bill 70 – was sponsored three times since 2007 by National Democratic Party (NDP) MPP Cheri DiNovo. It would have added “gender identity” to the list of protected grounds in the Ontario Human Rights Code.
– Attorney General and Liberal MPP Chris Bentley dismissed the bill upon its reintroduction in November of 2010, arguing that such protections already existed in the Ontario Human Rights Code under ‘sex’ and ‘disability.’
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
In June of 2008, the Liberal government relisted sex-reassignment surgery as a service covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) after it was de-listed in 1998 by Former Health Minister and Progressive Conservative (PC) MPP Elizabeth Witmer. The accessibility of the program is limited, given that eligible persons are to have completed the Gender identity Program available only at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and are to have been approved for surgery by the Clinic. Only eight to ten individuals are expected to be approved per year.
EDuCATION
Former Minister of Education and Liberal MPP Kathleen Wynne introduced an Equality and Inclusive Education Strategy in 2009, which was to develop ways to ensure that students are accepted in their schools, that they are reflected in their curriculum, and that diversity is honoured and respected accordingly. It called on the Ministry of Education “to provide direction, support, and guidance to the education sector, so that every student has a positive learning environment;” for each School Board to develop and implement an equity and inclusive education policy; and for each school to “create a positive school climate that fosters and promotes equity, inclusive education, and diversity.” The enforcement of this policy has been questionable. A revised Health and Physical Activity curriculum was made public in April of 2010. It would have taught elementary school students about the diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the hardships faced by LGBTQ people in Canada and abroad because of ‘homophobic’ and ‘sexist’ assumptions. It would have also started discussions about puberty in Grade 4; the reproduction system in Grade 5; plus sexually transmitted infections and safer sex practices in Grades 7 and 8.
– Buckling under pressure from right-wing religious and parental groups, Premier Dalton McGuinty sent the curriculum back to the Ministry of Education, stating that it would set up consultations with parents to review the details. – NDP MPP Rosario Marchese asked Leona Dombrowsky (the new Education Minister, as of January 2010) about the status of these consultations during Question Period on March 3, 2011. It was revealed that no consultations had taken place since the public uproar. No news of consultations has emerged since then. – The Progressive Conservatives have stated that sexual and health education is “best handled” by parents, not schools. – The NDP supported the goals of the new curriculum and has been critical about the Liberal government’s response to the public uproar.
PAGE 2
The Ministry of Education under Liberal MPP Kathleen Wynne also introduced Policy/Program Memorandum No. 145 (“Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour”) for use by school administrators across the province. It instructs administrators to support students engaging in anti-discrimination and anti-violence efforts, including those “who wish to participate in gay-straight alliances and other student-led activities…”
– Following the barriers that were placed against gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in the Halton and Peel Catholic School Districts, NDP Education Critic Rosario Marchese questioned Premier Dalton McGuinty about the enforcement of the Policy during Question Period on March 21, 2011. McGuinty responded by saying that “boards can find different ways to ensure that they adhere to those policies.” – In a speech given to Toronto Pride marshals in June of 2011, Liberal MPP Glen Murray spoke on behalf of McGuinty, revealing that “The choice to have an LGBTQ group will be the choice of students, not the choice of principals and school boards.” – On September 1, 2011, following this new position, Catholic students in Mississauga again requested that a GSA be formed in their school. This was followed with rejection and threats of ‘disciplinary action’ from school administrators if they continued with their demands. The Liberal government has yet to step forward and make a statement about this incident or to re-iterate its new student-led policy.
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
RELATIONsHIP RECOgNITION
Currently, LGBTQ individuals in Ontario are able to form legally recognized common law relationships under the Ontario Family Law Act (R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER F.3); to marry under the Marriage Act (R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER M.3); and to divorce under the revised Divorce Act. Adoption in Ontario is open to any resident of Ontario over the age of 18, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation, be they single, married or common law. Parental Leave is currently available to any new parent who works for an employer that is covered by the Employment Standards Act, and was employed for at least 13 weeks before commencing the parental leave. ‘Parent,’ in this case, is defined as a birth parent; an adoptive parent (whether or not the adoption has been legally finalized); or a person who is in a relationship of some permanence with a parent of the child and who plans to treat the child as their own. This includes same-sex couples. To this extent, then, LGBTQ individuals have the same marital and parental rights as heterosexual and cisgender Ontarians. The legal recognition of polyamorous relationships banned in Canada under Sections 293 (Polygamy) and 290 (Bigamy) of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes individuals who “practise or enter into any form of polygamy… or any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time.”1 No distinction is made in law between consensual and negotiated relationships and the more coercive, religious, or authoritarian ones most people associate with ‘polygamy.’ This places individuals in consensual, negotiated relationships at a great disadvantage since law threatens offenders with 4-year prison terms and prevents them from extending benefits to their partners.
– None of the major parties mention polyamorous relationships in their platforms; and past actions against ‘polygamous marriages’ fail to show a logical differentiation between negotiated multi-partner relationship and their authoritarian counterparts. – On June 2, 2008, Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod requested an investigation into polygamous marriages in Ontario, specifically following the declarations of Toronto Imam Aly Hindy, who claimed to have officiated more than 30 polygamous marriages.2
PAGE 3
– In response, Attorney General Chris Bentley told the legislature that police will conduct investigations and will contact prosecutors if they feel there is reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed.3
HEALTHCARE
None of the major parties have outlined a comprehensive approach to LGBTQ health care needs in their respective election platforms. A problem with the platforms of the parties is the focus on The Family – particularly a heteronormative, nuclear Family – without considering other living arrangements or life situations. This includes a lack of recognition for individuals in non-familial arrangements; those who are single; and those who are unemployed, underemployed, or lack extended health and dental coverage. It was under the provincial Liberals that in 2007 the Ministry of Health and LongTerm Care provided a grant to fund Rainbow Health Ontario, with Sherbourne Health Centre serving as the host organization and the Rainbow Health Network acting in an advisory role. This came after the end of Ontario Rainbow Health Partnership Project, which had been funded by the Federal Primary Care Transitions Fund in 20054 The Progressive Conservatives mention mental health in their platform as follows: “It’s especially true for people who have a mental illness who too often get lost in the system. The conservatives plan to introduce a series of patient-centred reforms that make the patient...the focus of our health care system.”5 For the NDP, the focus is on cutting emergency room wait times, scrapping Local Health Integration Networks, and rescinding the health tax. This will ensure that all Ontarians have a family physician and that the needs of an aging population are met.6
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
EmPLOymENT EquITy
Employment equity is not mentioned in any of the parties’ platforms. In 2009, when discussing Bill 152 (the Poverty Reduction Act), NDP MPP Michael Prue argued for the establishment of “an anti-racism and employment equity directorate…that can comment on the reduction of poverty.”7 In 2009, NDP MPP Peter Kormos also recognized that the lack of provincial employment equity legislation directly contributes to poverty for vulnerable populations such as the disabled.8
sOCIAL sERVICEs
After a ruling by the Ontario Human Rights Commission that found that the administration of the Ontario Disability Support Program’s Special Diet Allowance violated the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Liberal government scrapped the Special Diet Allowance program from its budget in March of 2010. The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty calculates that ending the allowance works out to a 3% cut to social service funding across the board – the deepest cut to services since Mike Harris’s government in 1995.
PAGE 4
PC Leader Tim Hudak told the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in August of 2011 that while a PC government would honour existing uploading agreements for the cost of social services between the province and municipalities, he would not commit to maintaining such agreements in the future. Bill 152, the Poverty Reduction Act, was passed unanimously into law in May of 2009. Devoted to reducing childhood poverty by 25% in five years, the Liberal government had had great difficulty in reaching its goals. According to the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction’s pre-budget briefing, “As we near the mid-way point, Ontario requires decisive, timely initiatives to accelerate the provincial government’s poverty reduction promise. The window of opportunity is narrowing.” Two months later, the Network stated outright that “the 2011 Ontario budget is disappointing for low income people”.
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
HOusINg AND sHELTER
Bill 140, the Strong Communities Through Affordable Housing Act, was introduced by the Liberal government and received royal assent on May 4, 2011.
– The Liberals argue that this bill is a long-term strategy toward making housing affordable for all Ontarians. – NDP Housing critic Cheri DiNovo observed during debate that no amendments recommended by housing advocates and the former UN special rapporteur on adequate housing were included in the final bill.9 – PC Government Services Critic, John O’Toole, argued in debate that the bill constituted “downloading by stealth” from the province to municipalities.10
In 2009, NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo introduced Bill 198 – a bill to amend zoning legislation for inclusionary housing. The bill stalled in committee after the second reading. On Aug. 26, 2011, the Toronto Star reported that $481 million in a bilateral federalprovincial agreement to help homelessness and those struggling with affordable housing was being held up in the face of the upcoming election.11
ADmINIsTRATION OF JusTICE
Ahead of the G20 Summit in Toronto, the Liberal cabinet passed Regulation 233/10 under the Public Works Protection Act – a “secret law” which was reported to have given police unprecedented powers during the Summit, but which was actually only applicable within the designated security zone.
– Former Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, appointed by the Liberals to conduct an independent inquiry into the G20 debacle, concluded that the secrecy and vagueness of the law suggested that “the potential for abuse is beyond troubling, to say the least.” – Conditions in the G20 detention centre were notoriously bad, and many queer and transidentified detainees (as well as those believed by the police to be LGBT) were segregated and subject to homophobic and transphobic harassment. – McGuinty has rejected calls for a public inquiry into the issues surrounding the G20, insisting that the responsibility ultimately rested with the federal Conservatives. – The provincial PC position is to reject the need for a public inquiry but to blame McGuinty for the secret law. – The NDP supports a public inquiry into the planning and execution of police powers.
PAGE 5
NOTES 1. 2. Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s.293. Online: Department of Justice Canada http://laws.justice.gc.ca. [August 28, 2011] MacLeod, Lisa. “Liberals keep passing polygamy hot potato.” June 2, 2008. (Online). Available: http://www.lisamacleod.com/addedit-news-items/251-liberals-keep-passing-polygamy-hot-potatomacleod- [August 28, 2011] Leslie, Keith. “Tory MPP pushes for Ontario polygamy probe.” Canadian Press. June 02, 2008. (Online) Available: http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/435797 [August 28, 2011] Rainbow Health Ontario. “Who We Are”. (Online) Available: http://www.rainbowhealthontario.ca/about/ whoWeAre.cfm [August 28, 2011] Ontario PC Party. “Health Care.” (Online) Available: http://www.ontariopc.com/issues/health-care/ [August 28, 2011] Ontario NDP. “The Plan for Affordable Change.” pp.28-39. (Online pdf). Available: http://ontariondp.com/en/ wp-content/uploads/2011/06/NDP-Platform-2011-OUTLINE-small.pdf [August 28, 2011] Prue, Michael. “Third reading debate: Poverty reduction act, 2009.” In Ontario. Legislative Assembly. Legislative Debates (Hansard). 39th Parl., 1st Sess. (May 6, 2009) (Online) Available: http://www.ontla. on.ca/hansard/hansardindex.htm [Aug. 28, 2011] Kormos, Peter. “Motion for second reading: Poverty reduction act, 2009.” In Ontario. Legislative Assembly. Legislative Debates (Hansard). 39th Parl., 1st Sess. (March 4, 2009) (Online) Available: http://www.ontla. on.ca/hansard/hansardindex.htm [Aug. 28, 2011] DiNovo, Cheri. “Third reading debate: Strong communities through affordable housing act, 2011.” In Ontario. Legislative Assembly. Legislative Debates (Hansard). 39th Parl., 2nd Sess. (Apr. 18, 2011) (Online) Available: http://www.ontla.on.ca/hansard/hansardindex.htm [Aug. 28, 2011]
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
8.
9.
10. O’Toole, John. Ibid. 11. Monsebraaten, Laurie. “Politics holding up $481M for affordable housing.” Toronto Star. 26 Aug 2011. (Online) Available: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1045580–politics-holding-up-481m-for-affordablehousing?bn=1 [28 August 2011]
queerontario.org info@ queerontario.org TWITTER @ queerontario FACEBOOK Queer Ontario MAIL Box 822, Station A, Toronto, Ontario M5W 1G3
VISIT EMAIL
PAGE 6
Progressive Conservative Party Liberal Party New Democratic Party
Human Rights Education Relationship Recognition Healthcare Employment Equity Social Services Housing and Shelter The Administration of Justice
F F F F F F F F
D D F B F D C F
B B F D D D C C
NOTE: As much as we would have liked to, the Green Party of Ontario was not included in this edition of the Report Card because no Party candidates were elected in the 2007 provincial election. This has prevented us from being able to document and analyze the party’s performance, as we have done for the other parties.
A Party has taken all the necessary action. Achievement exceeds expectations. B Party has taken most of the necessary actions. Achievement meets expectations. C Party has taken some of the necessary actions. Achievement approaches expectations. D Party has taken few of the necessary actions. Achievement falls significantly below expectations. F Party has not taken any necessary actions. Achievement fails even the most minimal expectations and/or has been detrimental to Ontario’s LGBTQ* communities.
* From hereon-in, “LGBTQ” will refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, two-spirited, queer, pansexual, polyamorous, and kinky persons; and all other individuals who are marginalized for their sexual or gender differences.
NOTE: This summary covers issues that reflect some of the major concerns of LGBTQ communities in Ontario and is not meant to be exhaustive. It is based on the performance of the three parties to date. It does not necessary reflect platforms being put forward for the 2011 provincial election. Individual MPPs and candidates may disagree with their party’s position on certain issues.
HumAN RIgHTs
Toby’s Act – or more recently, Bill 70 – was sponsored three times since 2007 by National Democratic Party (NDP) MPP Cheri DiNovo. It would have added “gender identity” to the list of protected grounds in the Ontario Human Rights Code.
– Attorney General and Liberal MPP Chris Bentley dismissed the bill upon its reintroduction in November of 2010, arguing that such protections already existed in the Ontario Human Rights Code under ‘sex’ and ‘disability.’
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
In June of 2008, the Liberal government relisted sex-reassignment surgery as a service covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) after it was de-listed in 1998 by Former Health Minister and Progressive Conservative (PC) MPP Elizabeth Witmer. The accessibility of the program is limited, given that eligible persons are to have completed the Gender identity Program available only at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and are to have been approved for surgery by the Clinic. Only eight to ten individuals are expected to be approved per year.
EDuCATION
Former Minister of Education and Liberal MPP Kathleen Wynne introduced an Equality and Inclusive Education Strategy in 2009, which was to develop ways to ensure that students are accepted in their schools, that they are reflected in their curriculum, and that diversity is honoured and respected accordingly. It called on the Ministry of Education “to provide direction, support, and guidance to the education sector, so that every student has a positive learning environment;” for each School Board to develop and implement an equity and inclusive education policy; and for each school to “create a positive school climate that fosters and promotes equity, inclusive education, and diversity.” The enforcement of this policy has been questionable. A revised Health and Physical Activity curriculum was made public in April of 2010. It would have taught elementary school students about the diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity, and the hardships faced by LGBTQ people in Canada and abroad because of ‘homophobic’ and ‘sexist’ assumptions. It would have also started discussions about puberty in Grade 4; the reproduction system in Grade 5; plus sexually transmitted infections and safer sex practices in Grades 7 and 8.
– Buckling under pressure from right-wing religious and parental groups, Premier Dalton McGuinty sent the curriculum back to the Ministry of Education, stating that it would set up consultations with parents to review the details. – NDP MPP Rosario Marchese asked Leona Dombrowsky (the new Education Minister, as of January 2010) about the status of these consultations during Question Period on March 3, 2011. It was revealed that no consultations had taken place since the public uproar. No news of consultations has emerged since then. – The Progressive Conservatives have stated that sexual and health education is “best handled” by parents, not schools. – The NDP supported the goals of the new curriculum and has been critical about the Liberal government’s response to the public uproar.
PAGE 2
The Ministry of Education under Liberal MPP Kathleen Wynne also introduced Policy/Program Memorandum No. 145 (“Progressive Discipline and Promoting Positive Student Behaviour”) for use by school administrators across the province. It instructs administrators to support students engaging in anti-discrimination and anti-violence efforts, including those “who wish to participate in gay-straight alliances and other student-led activities…”
– Following the barriers that were placed against gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in the Halton and Peel Catholic School Districts, NDP Education Critic Rosario Marchese questioned Premier Dalton McGuinty about the enforcement of the Policy during Question Period on March 21, 2011. McGuinty responded by saying that “boards can find different ways to ensure that they adhere to those policies.” – In a speech given to Toronto Pride marshals in June of 2011, Liberal MPP Glen Murray spoke on behalf of McGuinty, revealing that “The choice to have an LGBTQ group will be the choice of students, not the choice of principals and school boards.” – On September 1, 2011, following this new position, Catholic students in Mississauga again requested that a GSA be formed in their school. This was followed with rejection and threats of ‘disciplinary action’ from school administrators if they continued with their demands. The Liberal government has yet to step forward and make a statement about this incident or to re-iterate its new student-led policy.
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
RELATIONsHIP RECOgNITION
Currently, LGBTQ individuals in Ontario are able to form legally recognized common law relationships under the Ontario Family Law Act (R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER F.3); to marry under the Marriage Act (R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER M.3); and to divorce under the revised Divorce Act. Adoption in Ontario is open to any resident of Ontario over the age of 18, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation, be they single, married or common law. Parental Leave is currently available to any new parent who works for an employer that is covered by the Employment Standards Act, and was employed for at least 13 weeks before commencing the parental leave. ‘Parent,’ in this case, is defined as a birth parent; an adoptive parent (whether or not the adoption has been legally finalized); or a person who is in a relationship of some permanence with a parent of the child and who plans to treat the child as their own. This includes same-sex couples. To this extent, then, LGBTQ individuals have the same marital and parental rights as heterosexual and cisgender Ontarians. The legal recognition of polyamorous relationships banned in Canada under Sections 293 (Polygamy) and 290 (Bigamy) of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes individuals who “practise or enter into any form of polygamy… or any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time.”1 No distinction is made in law between consensual and negotiated relationships and the more coercive, religious, or authoritarian ones most people associate with ‘polygamy.’ This places individuals in consensual, negotiated relationships at a great disadvantage since law threatens offenders with 4-year prison terms and prevents them from extending benefits to their partners.
– None of the major parties mention polyamorous relationships in their platforms; and past actions against ‘polygamous marriages’ fail to show a logical differentiation between negotiated multi-partner relationship and their authoritarian counterparts. – On June 2, 2008, Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod requested an investigation into polygamous marriages in Ontario, specifically following the declarations of Toronto Imam Aly Hindy, who claimed to have officiated more than 30 polygamous marriages.2
PAGE 3
– In response, Attorney General Chris Bentley told the legislature that police will conduct investigations and will contact prosecutors if they feel there is reasonable grounds to believe an offence has been committed.3
HEALTHCARE
None of the major parties have outlined a comprehensive approach to LGBTQ health care needs in their respective election platforms. A problem with the platforms of the parties is the focus on The Family – particularly a heteronormative, nuclear Family – without considering other living arrangements or life situations. This includes a lack of recognition for individuals in non-familial arrangements; those who are single; and those who are unemployed, underemployed, or lack extended health and dental coverage. It was under the provincial Liberals that in 2007 the Ministry of Health and LongTerm Care provided a grant to fund Rainbow Health Ontario, with Sherbourne Health Centre serving as the host organization and the Rainbow Health Network acting in an advisory role. This came after the end of Ontario Rainbow Health Partnership Project, which had been funded by the Federal Primary Care Transitions Fund in 20054 The Progressive Conservatives mention mental health in their platform as follows: “It’s especially true for people who have a mental illness who too often get lost in the system. The conservatives plan to introduce a series of patient-centred reforms that make the patient...the focus of our health care system.”5 For the NDP, the focus is on cutting emergency room wait times, scrapping Local Health Integration Networks, and rescinding the health tax. This will ensure that all Ontarians have a family physician and that the needs of an aging population are met.6
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
EmPLOymENT EquITy
Employment equity is not mentioned in any of the parties’ platforms. In 2009, when discussing Bill 152 (the Poverty Reduction Act), NDP MPP Michael Prue argued for the establishment of “an anti-racism and employment equity directorate…that can comment on the reduction of poverty.”7 In 2009, NDP MPP Peter Kormos also recognized that the lack of provincial employment equity legislation directly contributes to poverty for vulnerable populations such as the disabled.8
sOCIAL sERVICEs
After a ruling by the Ontario Human Rights Commission that found that the administration of the Ontario Disability Support Program’s Special Diet Allowance violated the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Liberal government scrapped the Special Diet Allowance program from its budget in March of 2010. The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty calculates that ending the allowance works out to a 3% cut to social service funding across the board – the deepest cut to services since Mike Harris’s government in 1995.
PAGE 4
PC Leader Tim Hudak told the Association of Municipalities of Ontario in August of 2011 that while a PC government would honour existing uploading agreements for the cost of social services between the province and municipalities, he would not commit to maintaining such agreements in the future. Bill 152, the Poverty Reduction Act, was passed unanimously into law in May of 2009. Devoted to reducing childhood poverty by 25% in five years, the Liberal government had had great difficulty in reaching its goals. According to the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction’s pre-budget briefing, “As we near the mid-way point, Ontario requires decisive, timely initiatives to accelerate the provincial government’s poverty reduction promise. The window of opportunity is narrowing.” Two months later, the Network stated outright that “the 2011 Ontario budget is disappointing for low income people”.
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
HOusINg AND sHELTER
Bill 140, the Strong Communities Through Affordable Housing Act, was introduced by the Liberal government and received royal assent on May 4, 2011.
– The Liberals argue that this bill is a long-term strategy toward making housing affordable for all Ontarians. – NDP Housing critic Cheri DiNovo observed during debate that no amendments recommended by housing advocates and the former UN special rapporteur on adequate housing were included in the final bill.9 – PC Government Services Critic, John O’Toole, argued in debate that the bill constituted “downloading by stealth” from the province to municipalities.10
In 2009, NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo introduced Bill 198 – a bill to amend zoning legislation for inclusionary housing. The bill stalled in committee after the second reading. On Aug. 26, 2011, the Toronto Star reported that $481 million in a bilateral federalprovincial agreement to help homelessness and those struggling with affordable housing was being held up in the face of the upcoming election.11
ADmINIsTRATION OF JusTICE
Ahead of the G20 Summit in Toronto, the Liberal cabinet passed Regulation 233/10 under the Public Works Protection Act – a “secret law” which was reported to have given police unprecedented powers during the Summit, but which was actually only applicable within the designated security zone.
– Former Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, appointed by the Liberals to conduct an independent inquiry into the G20 debacle, concluded that the secrecy and vagueness of the law suggested that “the potential for abuse is beyond troubling, to say the least.” – Conditions in the G20 detention centre were notoriously bad, and many queer and transidentified detainees (as well as those believed by the police to be LGBT) were segregated and subject to homophobic and transphobic harassment. – McGuinty has rejected calls for a public inquiry into the issues surrounding the G20, insisting that the responsibility ultimately rested with the federal Conservatives. – The provincial PC position is to reject the need for a public inquiry but to blame McGuinty for the secret law. – The NDP supports a public inquiry into the planning and execution of police powers.
PAGE 5
NOTES 1. 2. Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, s.293. Online: Department of Justice Canada http://laws.justice.gc.ca. [August 28, 2011] MacLeod, Lisa. “Liberals keep passing polygamy hot potato.” June 2, 2008. (Online). Available: http://www.lisamacleod.com/addedit-news-items/251-liberals-keep-passing-polygamy-hot-potatomacleod- [August 28, 2011] Leslie, Keith. “Tory MPP pushes for Ontario polygamy probe.” Canadian Press. June 02, 2008. (Online) Available: http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/435797 [August 28, 2011] Rainbow Health Ontario. “Who We Are”. (Online) Available: http://www.rainbowhealthontario.ca/about/ whoWeAre.cfm [August 28, 2011] Ontario PC Party. “Health Care.” (Online) Available: http://www.ontariopc.com/issues/health-care/ [August 28, 2011] Ontario NDP. “The Plan for Affordable Change.” pp.28-39. (Online pdf). Available: http://ontariondp.com/en/ wp-content/uploads/2011/06/NDP-Platform-2011-OUTLINE-small.pdf [August 28, 2011] Prue, Michael. “Third reading debate: Poverty reduction act, 2009.” In Ontario. Legislative Assembly. Legislative Debates (Hansard). 39th Parl., 1st Sess. (May 6, 2009) (Online) Available: http://www.ontla. on.ca/hansard/hansardindex.htm [Aug. 28, 2011] Kormos, Peter. “Motion for second reading: Poverty reduction act, 2009.” In Ontario. Legislative Assembly. Legislative Debates (Hansard). 39th Parl., 1st Sess. (March 4, 2009) (Online) Available: http://www.ontla. on.ca/hansard/hansardindex.htm [Aug. 28, 2011] DiNovo, Cheri. “Third reading debate: Strong communities through affordable housing act, 2011.” In Ontario. Legislative Assembly. Legislative Debates (Hansard). 39th Parl., 2nd Sess. (Apr. 18, 2011) (Online) Available: http://www.ontla.on.ca/hansard/hansardindex.htm [Aug. 28, 2011]
3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 2011 REPORT CARD
8.
9.
10. O’Toole, John. Ibid. 11. Monsebraaten, Laurie. “Politics holding up $481M for affordable housing.” Toronto Star. 26 Aug 2011. (Online) Available: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1045580–politics-holding-up-481m-for-affordablehousing?bn=1 [28 August 2011]
queerontario.org info@ queerontario.org TWITTER @ queerontario FACEBOOK Queer Ontario MAIL Box 822, Station A, Toronto, Ontario M5W 1G3
VISIT EMAIL
PAGE 6
