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The return of Ontario’s legislature after a lengthy break was the first chance for opposition parties to question Premier Doug Ford and his government since June 2.Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press
The Ontario Legislature returned on Tuesday after an extended 21-week break, with Premier Doug Ford facing accusations from the opposition that he has been evading accountability, rewarding insiders and ignoring the plight of everyday people.
Responding in Question Period, Mr. Ford said he has taken 500 meetings since the legislature rose for summer break and defended his government’s record during trade strife with the United States.
Mr. Ford had vowed that his focus as MPPs return would be on measures to cut red tape to boost Ontario’s economy in the face of U.S. tariffs. On Tuesday afternoon, his government unveiled an omnibus bill it says would eliminate “nearly 220,000 days’ worth of permitting processing times” by streamlining or getting rid of the need for a range of permits and environmental processes.
Among the changes is a move to make it easier to receive approval for landfills and incineration or “energy-from-waste” facilities. Provincial Environment Minister Todd McCarthy said the change was needed in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of new 50-per-cent tariffs on Canadian waste.
Mr. McCarthy said about 40 per cent of Ontario’s commercial waste is shipped to Michigan and New York and that the province has only 10 years of its own landfill capacity left. And while he said there would be “robust” public consultations and that he prefers “willing host communities,” the minister did not rule out imposing a facility over local objections.
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The return of the legislature after a lengthy break was the first chance for opposition parties to question the Premier and his government since June 2. Mr. Ford’s government had said the hiatus was necessary so as to not interfere with Monday’s municipal elections in Ontario. But the opposition accuses Mr. Ford of trying to avoid scrutiny.
The Ontario NDP and Liberals both called for the resignation of Nolan Quinn, Ontario’s Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, over concerns about how the government has handled questionable Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) payments at private career colleges.
Rising in the House, Liberal MPP Ted Hsu accused Mr. Ford of contempt in the legislature. He asked Speaker Donna Skelly to rule on whether the Premier breached his parliamentary privilege this summer when Mr. Ford said opposition requests to recall the legislature to address the tariff crisis were “gutter politics,” insisting Ontarians could just phone him instead.
“There’s a trend here that this government is making the legislature irrelevant. They just want to govern by Doug Ford’s cellphone,” Mr. Hsu told reporters after Question Period.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles accused Mr. Ford of forgetting about the people he promised to fight for, referencing his government’s purchase and hasty resale of a $28.9-million private jet last spring.
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She also questioned the promotion of Toronto MPP Stan Cho, who resigned as tourism minister in July after it was revealed he spent $16,000 on hotels in the past three years, despite representing a riding not far from Queen’s Park. Mr. Cho last week was named parliamentary assistant to Education Minister Paul Calandra, a role that comes with a $22,500 raise.
“This minister made a decision at some point when he was in a hotel to give them either his own credit card or the taxpayer’s credit card, and he chose the latter,” Ms. Stiles told reporters after Question Period. “And I think it is outrageous that the Premier has decided to actually promote this this guy. And he’s taken no responsibility ultimately for his actions.”
Mr. Cho told reporters he made a mistake but took responsibility for his actions and repaid his expenses. He said he had a baby at home and had a hip replacement earlier this year.
“I made a decision that was convenient for my family. I wasn’t thinking about people in my riding working two jobs trying to make ends meet,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ford later told reporters he fired Mr. Cho. The MPP had characterized his departure from cabinet as a resignation.
“I don’t call it a promotion. He lost his job. I got rid of him,” the Premier said.
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Also facing questions on Tuesday was Mr. Quinn, who has cut off access to student assistance for attendees of private career colleges after allegations of sweeping irregularities and skyrocketing payments at certain institutions.
Interim Liberal leader John Fraser called the government’s handling of the file “colossal mismanagement” and said the province knew about suspicious activity for years, but failed to act.
Mr. Quinn has said he brought in KPMG auditors and referred issues around the use of OSAP to the Ontario Provincial Police for a potential investigation. He was asked why the government did not act sooner, despite warnings of potential problems dating back years.
“There were multiple investigations, individual investigations,” Mr. Quinn told reporters. “And then we realized across the sector there was a more of a broad issue, and that’s why we brought in a third-party investigator, KPMG, to ensure that taxpayer dollars are respected and to ensure that there is compliance across the OSAP system.”