THUNDER BAY – Local MPPs say an apparent move by the Ford government to suspend Ontario’s legislature this week is a transparent attempt to avoid scrutiny over its handling of the pandemic.
“[The] government has informed the NDP it intends to shut down the legislature by Wednesday,” the Ontario NDP said in a statement released Sunday.
Government house leader Paul Calandra didn’t deny the government planned to suspend the legislature in a combative statement issued later in the day, saying only the legislature would continue to meet "this coming week."
However, he said the offer to suspend the legislature had been made to address COVID-19 safety concerns raised by the Official Opposition NDP.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Judith Monteith Farrell, an NDP member, said her party had been approached by the Progressive Conservative government Friday, requesting all-party support to recess.
The PC majority government is fully empowered to recess the legislature itself, Monteith-Farrell pointed out.
To get NDP support for a recess, the party said the government would need to implement paid sick days, shut down all non-essential workplaces, fully cancel a new order on police powers, and commit to new supports for businesses and workers impacted by closures.
Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa said the government was “walking deeper into a crisis with its eyes open,” pointing out medical experts have consistently advocated for paid sick days and implementing stronger restrictions sooner.
In a statement, Calandra accused the NDP of trying to score political points over the issue, and framed the potential recess as a response to requests by the opposition to move to virtual sittings.
Those requests had been rejected because “it was found that a virtual parliament would not result in any significant reduction in the number of legislative assembly staff required,” he said.
“It has become clear the NDP are only concerned with protecting politicians,” he said.
“I believe they’re making things up,” countered Monteith-Farrell. “Other jurisdictions have had virtual parliaments – the Canadian government has done it.”
Calandra also accused the NDP caucus of consistently violating public health measures in the legislature, saying the party had continued to receive catering services to its lobby, conducted in-person caucus meetings at Queen’s Park, and broken cohort agreements to limit the number of MPPs in the chamber at one time.
That amounted to twisting “partial truths” to distract from the real issues, Monteith-Farrell said. She suggested the government’s desire to suspend the legislature was more about protecting its own political fortunes after a series of unpopular decisions than the health of Queen’s Park staffers.
“I believe it’s them wanting to hide from the public,” she said. “Frankly, during the pandemic we need our democracy.”
“If we’re not there, it allows them to not listen to the public – they can just operate in their own echo chamber. That isn’t acceptable, because they’re obviously not listening to the [COVID-19 science advisory table], as evidenced by [members of the table] who have come out and said that.”
The NDP’s push to keep the legislature meeting is centred around trying to pass measures Mamakwa believes could avert thousands of deaths, he said.
“[Calandra]’s saying we’re trying to score cheap political points, but we have to understand – we’re trying to save lives,” he said. “That’s all we’re trying to do.”
As for the safety of the legislature, Monteith-Farrell said there had been COVID-19 outbreaks at Queen’s Park, but that it was essential for the work of the legislature to continue – and she didn’t see why that couldn’t happen virtually.
“Many of us as MPPs feel other people are out there doing their jobs, so we go and do our jobs,” she said. “But if you can do your work from another location, there’s also a call to do that. As much as we’re prepared to be there and do the work that needs to be done, there’s also precedent in many other jurisdictions that a virtual parliament is possible.”
