December 2023 Newsletter
Dear Benjamin
It has been an exciting end of year in Etobicoke - Lakeshore.
Several weeks ago, we had Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles join a community roundtable to discuss the Mimico Creek Spill with Deputy Mayor Amber Morley, the Toronto Wildlife Centre, and the Mimico Residents Association.
The theme clearly emerged that our community has not been getting adequate answers about:
how this happened
Why the clean-up took so long
What is being done to prevent future accidents like this
We want to thank Marit Stiles, the Mimico Residents Association, and Deputy Mayor Amber Morley for taking the time for this important conversation to happen.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has released a limited amount of information that you can see here.
Read the report on the Mimico spill |
What’s in this Newsletter?
War in Israel and Gaza
Save the Date: January 29, 2024 Health Care Panel
Meet the real new Ontario Liberal Leader
A New Deal for Toronto
Standing up for our neighbours facing demoviction
Auditor General’s Report on the Science Centre
Happy Chanukah!
War in Gaza and Israel
The horrific attack on civilians by Hamas must be condemned.
That attack does not justify the collective punishment and war crimes being inflicted on civilians in Gaza right now.
We are proud of the leadership shown by the Federal NDP calling for peace.
The NDP called for a ceasefire in Palestine and Israel less than a week after the October 7th attack. The amount of death, suffering, and pain that the people of Palestine are experiencing is inconceivable and must be stopped. We need a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to pour in, and to allow people to access healthcare and to leave these incredibly dangerous areas.
Hamas is evil and must be removed. But their vile essence does not sanction the unlimited bombing of civilians. The Federal NDP has the boldest position of any Canadian party in calling for an International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice investigation.
The Federal NDP moved a motion in the House of Commons recently to call for a ceasefire, a move 71% of Canadians agree with. Liberal and Conservative MPs disgracefully joined forces to block this NDP motion. We especially hope to echo the words of MP Heather McPherson, the NDP’s Foreign Affairs Critic. Heather has been leading calls for a ceasefire with compassion and urgency, things we need now more than ever.
We must recognize that Ontario is seeing high rates of reported anti-semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian racism. Instead of bringing Ontarians together, Doug Ford is playing a sinister game of lies and division. He has been misrepresenting large rallies calling for peace and ceasefire, as hate rallies.
Everyone is hurting right now. If you have not been personally affected by war and conflict in your family, others close to you likely have. Our community in Etobicoke–Lakeshore already had so many neighbours living in fear of losing their family members from the war to protect Ukraine. Members of our community are grieving fresh losses right now, and we must surround them with care. We hope that you are receiving the support you need.
Some actions that you can take are signing petitions, calling your MP to demand that they work for a just and lasting peace, attending local peace demonstrations, and having conversations with your friends and family about what is happening.
Support a ceasefire |
We also want to highlight the successfully passed motion by Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles and Deputy NDP Leader Doly Begum calling on the federal government to enact special immigration measures to bring extended families of Palestinian-Canadians to safety in Canada. You can see the motion here.
Save the Date: January 29, 2024 Health Care Panel
When: 7:30 PM on Monday, January 29, 2024
Topic: Ontario's Health system--Where's the prescription?
How did we get here!? Clogged ERs, inadequate home care, poor PSW staffing conditions, medical staff shortages, poverty and health, privatization sucking away our public medical care
with panelists
· NDP MPP France Gélinas, Health Critic;
· Natalie Mehra, Executive Director, Ontario Health Coalition and
· Kingsley Kwok - President of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 575
Moderator: Clare Hacksel
Where: Online — link coming soon
Meet the real new Ontario Liberal leader
The Ontario Liberals have elected a new leader: Bonnie Crombie. A congratulations is in order.
So is a proper accounting of her record and platform.
Is Bonnie Crombie really any different from Doug Ford?
?Her donor base is the same developers who conbribute to Doug Ford.
?Her competitor Yasir Naqvi called her “Doug Ford lite”.
?When announcing how she would govern Ontario she said “We govern from right of centre”
You can find out more at meetbonnie.ca
Meet the real Bonnie Crombie |
A New Deal for Toronto
You have likely heard about the “New Deal for Toronto” that Mayor Olivia Chow struck with Doug Ford. This historic agreement will go a long way to fixing the City’s budget shortfall and making long-overdue investments in Toronto.
Mayor Chow secured new investments for transit, housing, and the unimaginable — uploading the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway to the province. The upload alone will save the city $1.2 billion in expenses over just the next three years.
Previous Mayors have not been able to get a deal like this done. It is a testament to the strength of Mayor Chow that she has secured this victory for the City.
If you would like to learn more about the New Deal for Toronto, you can read the joint press release, the full terms of reference document, and CBC’s thorough coverage.
But it wouldn’t be a week at Queen’s Park without Ford Conservatives trying to cover up their questionable dealings with controversial legislation. And so, the government tabled Bill 154, the “New Deal for Toronto Act,” the same day.
You might reasonably think that this proposed act codifies into law the recent terms of reference of the deal or the details broadly reported in the media. Alarmingly, Ford's Bill 154 confirms absolutely no new funding and makes no reference to uploading the highways.
Instead, this bill has two schedules. Schedule 1 requires that the Government of Ontario and the City of Toronto further discuss the themes of the New Deal for Toronto. It does not commit to anything, nor does it set out any agreements. You may be wondering, “Does the government need a bill passed in order to have a discussion?” The answer is, of course, no. Schedule 1 is window dressing meant to distract Ontarians from the actual point of the bill, which is Schedule 2.
Schedule 2 gives this government extraordinary powers to sidestep and even break its own laws without any consequence in order to build a private luxury spa at Ontario Place. It also gives itself the power to limit the City of Toronto’s ability to sell or make other changes to the small part of Ontario place that the city owns. This confirms what we already knew: The fight for Ontario Place has always been at Queen’s Park.
Bill 154 sets a dangerous precedent for how far Ford’s Conservatives will go to exempt themselves from provincial laws and avoid legal accountability. The bill focuses entirely on allowing Ford’s Conservatives to bypass various laws to fast-track the Ontario Place redevelopment while exempting themselves from any legal ramifications for damages they may cause.
This bill exempts Ford's Ontario Place scheme from:
Environmental Assessment Act
Ontario Heritage Act
Environmental Bill of Rights
It also prohibits lawsuits against the government with respect to anything done under this bill – including government misrepresentations, misconduct, misfeasance, bad faith, breach of trust or breach of fiduciary obligation
Bill 154 gives the Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma the ability to issue Ministerial Zoning Orders, a planning-by-fiat power currently limited to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Ontario’s NDP will be fighting this draconian and anti-democratic bill every step of the way.
Standing up for our Neighbours Facing Demoviction
Before the house recessed, MPP Bhutila Karpoche and MPP Jill Andrew helped share the stories of our neighbours on Lake Promenade facing an unjust demoviction. You can follow No Demovictions Toronto for updates on how to support them!
Auditor General Report
Yesterday, the corrupt Ford government unexpectedly adjourned the legislature for an extended winter break, effectively shutting down further debate and accountability for their many offenses. The next sessional day at Queen’s Park will not be until February 20, after Family Day, and a whopping 76 days later.
This early break coincides with the release of yet another scathing annual report from the Auditor General, which raises more concerns over this government’s many, ever-deepening scandals.
Doug Ford knew that if he and his government had to attend even one more Question Period with our strong NDP Official Opposition, he would face heavy scrutiny and be forced to answer more scorching questions about Ontario Place, his government’s underfunding of healthcare, education and preferential treatment of connected PC insiders.
We are grateful for the Auditor General’s thorough work, which paints a rich picture of a corrupt Conservative government abusing their legislative privileges to justify their deal-making schemes to enrich select insiders. Ford’s PCs are lurching from one terrible decision to another with complete disregard for the consequences. They don’t have a plan to help people who are struggling right now amid an affordability crisis.
The big takeaway from this report is that the Conservatives, like the scandal-riddled Liberals before them, keep getting caught in lies and cover-ups, forcing them to reverse course. These cover-ups and reversals have wasted a year of time and money. This behaviour is unacceptable, especially when Ontarians need a stable and solution-focused government more than ever. As the Official Opposition, we have worked hard to expose the deep rot in the Ford government. With your ongoing support, we have forced them to reverse some of their deceitful policies in a matter of weeks, including their Greenbelt grab and controversial urban boundary expansions.
The AG’s report highlights many failings and gaps from the Ford government, but the largest and most concerning are:
ER closures: between July 2022 and June 2023, there were 203 unplanned ER closures. Patient wait times to see a doctor have increased to two hours over the past decade.
Ontario Science Centre: the government failed to consult key stakeholders on the Science Centre move and made the decision based on ‘incomplete’ and insufficient information, driven by the need to justify a publicly-funded parking garage for a private luxury spa company
Northern Healthcare: 10 Northern hospitals closed their obstetrics/maternal health services between July 2022 and September 2023. Four remain closed, and three were closed for more than a year.
This government shows every day that they think they don’t need to consult with anyone or provide proper care for Ontarians as long as it makes their own wealthy insiders even richer.
Despite Ford shutting down the Legislature to hide from his horrible record of corruption and incompetence, you have my word that the Ontario NDP will keep working hard every day on the issues that will make life better and more affordable for everyone.
Happy Chanukah! !חנוכה שמח
The Etobicoke–Lakeshore NDP are wishing a very happy Hanukkah to our Jewish community members who began celebrating the Festival of Lights on Thursday, a celebration that continues until next Friday. The story of an enduring light at the darkest time of the year at the heart of this festival is something that we can all learn from to honour the survival of the Jewish people and the resilience of humanity.
Over two thousand years ago, Jews lit the Temple menorah even though they knew it couldn't possibly burn long enough. Over the next eight nights, they witnessed a miracle. We could all use a reminder of that hope and light right now. Happy Chanukah and Chag Sameach!
Seasons Greetings!
To all other community members, we wish you a Holiday Season with warmth and time with your loved ones. Please consider making a donation to the Etobicoke–Lakeshore NDP a part of your year end if you are able.