Ontario Political Forum

The unfair treatment of Ontario election candidates is being legally challenged by Greg Vezina, leader of the None of the Above Party of Ontario (NOTA). On May 22, he filed a Notice of Application for Judicial Review with the province's Superior Court, asking for immediate action to be taken to protect the Charter right to elect and to be elected.

The legal challenge reflects the widespread opposition to the power and privilege of the parties of the establishment who refuse to modernize the electoral process by enacting laws that recognize the equality of all electors to stand as equals. Instead, with every amendment they have used their power to increase privilege in many forms. With the government itself upholding privilege through the Election Act and the Election Finances Act, the media and various organizations are given a green light to act in the same fashion.

Vezina is challenging the exclusion of candidates from all-candidates' debates and forums, including the leaders' debates. The application asks that the court issue a declaration no later than May 28 that "institutional debate organizers must accommodate all parties and candidates to avoid violating the rights of voters and candidates." Barring such a declaration, the application seeks a ruling that the expenses involved in holding exclusionary debates be treated as campaign contributions to the included candidates. If recognized as such, many contributions would be illegal, since they frequently involve corporations such as television broadcasters. In other cases, they would surpass the contribution limits.

NOTA candidates participated in 2016-17 Ontario by-elections and faced exclusion from many debates and filed several complaints with Elections Ontario. In the Ottawa-Vanier by-election, police ejected a NOTA candidate from an "All-Candidates' Forum" organized by the Lowertown Community Association. The complaint with Elections Ontario characterized this incident as a discriminatory exclusion of a candidate and "a denial of NOTA's right to access public property on grounds of political opinion." Elections Ontario responded to this and other complaints by saying there was no indication of a violation of any Act.

In the current general elections, the Guelph Chamber of Commerce held a May 22 debate excluding small party candidates. Showing how the exercise of power and privilege is sanctioned by law, the Chamber said it was merely applying the same rules set in the Elections Finances Act to determine eligibility for public financing, i.e. performance in the last election. In response to NOTA's complaint about this, Elections Ontario stated it has "no control over anyone using selection criteria that are prescribed by the [Election Finances Act] solely to decide eligibility for campaign subsidies for any other purpose."

The legal document notes that Election Ontario's responses have made no mention of its responsibility to "promote transparent and non-partisan election processes that maintain integrity and the democratic right of all electors." The document argues, "Given Elections Ontario's repeated failure to articulate for debate organizers fair rules for hosting debates, justice demands that this Court decide the matter and declare that Section 3 of the Charter protects the rights of smaller party candidates to meaningfully participate in campaigns, which includes an obligation for debate organizers to accommodate smaller parties."

In related news, Vezina has informed the registered Ontario parties that "we will be taking legal action against any candidate from any party and their party and leader for working and conspiring to keep the public from seeing us in debates, especially those on public property including public airwaves and for acting to prevent us from having a fair opportunity of obtaining the 2 per cent, 5 per cent and 10 per cent of ballots cast needed to qualify for public subsidies under the new laws that outlaw corporate and union (third party) contributions."

The notice says that regardless of the outcome of the NOTA Application for Judicial review, the party will pursue legal remedy in the form of a class action lawsuit on behalf of candidates who have been subjected to discrimination. Respondents would include the parties and candidates who, Vezina suggests, are complicit in the violation of candidate's rights. He urges the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, NDP and Green Party to "stand up for real democracy," and writes, "You have been warned for the last time. We will be serving documents regarding legal proceedings against all 124 of the candidates for the Liberal, PC, NDP and Green parties if you continue your practices.

"We formally advise you that we believe you now have a legal obligation to inform every one of your candidates of this potentially very large legal liability, that should it become successful class action legal proceeding they will share the legal obligations to pay the potentially tens of millions in damages and legal fees personally and we will seek to recover any award from each and every one of them."

Polls Biased Against "Small Party" Candidates

I was watching the news and they were talking of polls, but made no mention of ANY of the other parties. There are 28 political parties registered in this election, but we NEVER hear of them in the media or more importantly in the polls.

I contacted the IPSOS poll people and asked them to change this practice. Ontarians need to know there are more choices out there. I am now asking my friends and family on Facebook to contact IPSOS and ask them to include the other parties in their polls or do a poll with them.

This is what I sent IPSOS so you can just copy and paste, easily and simply, to make a major change in politics in Ontario.

"How come the political polls in Ontario, only reference three parties -- the Liberals, the PCs, and the NDP? There are at least 15 parties that each have at least 10 or more registered candidates. There are six parties with candidates in at least 42 ridings, which are the Liberals, PCs, NDP and Green, who have candidates in all 124 ridings, and the Libertarian and None of the Above.

"For some unjustified reason only the three parties, the Liberals, the PCs, and the NDP, who had at least one seat in the legislature are reported as the only parties in Ontario.

"A fair poll would include the other parties, or have a poll asking if people are aware of the other parties."

Mississauga Town Hall Says
"Keep Public Services Public!"

Concerned residents of Mississauga attended a town hall on Public Services and Privatization on May 22. Five panelists from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, two anti-poverty groups and the Amalgamated Transit Union in Peel Region gave examples of the deteriorating and even dangerous conditions privatization has caused in the hospitals, health care clinics and provincial jails, for snow removal on roads and highways, and for water purification.

As the government cuts services and public sector jobs, it pays private companies to do jobs that end in failure, one speaker said. The super jail built in south Etobicoke by private investors, using a U.S. design and hardware, ended up with mould growing between the walls in just over a year and a lock-up system that could be sprung simply by pouring any liquid on the electronic locks. The government so far has not required the contractors or investors to pay for the repairs to the jail. According to one speaker, the private snow removal company the province hired failed to keep the roads clear while running up huge maintenance bills with local garages and service stations. The government not only bailed them out, paying all the outstanding bills, but paid the contract in full.

A woman attending the meeting said she works for Service Ontario which has 12 offices in Mississauga and Brampton but 10 of them are privatized. When the government advertises its Service Centres, it never includes the two remaining government offices. When asked why, the workers were told it is to help out the private centres to increase their volume. The workers know they are being set up to lose their jobs when the government, one day, tells them their volume is so much lower than the private ones.

Another speaker from an anti-poverty group questioned the province's decision to hire private contractors to build and manage an LRT line from the lakeshore in Mississauga to Brampton for an estimated $1.4 billion when, according to the United Way, over 230,000 people in the area are struggling with poverty and the lack of affordable housing. People don't live in streetcars, he said. That $1.4 billion could go a long way in providing housing. This led to a lively exchange on who decides and that the people are blocked from the decision-making that affects their lives.

Two of the speakers said the government is gutting public services, including its IT experts, planners and developers and then claiming it does not have the capacity and expertise to take on major infrastructure projects, such as these billion-dollar transit projects, so it has no choice but to go to the private sector. Speakers and members of the audience disputed that private corporations with no experience in providing IT or transit services to the public can do a better job than their own local workers who have years of experience on the front lines.

Residents attending the town hall expressed their frustration in not knowing what to do to build a strong enough voice in the community to stop the steamrolling of their public services. More discussions need to take place in the community so the people are informed and can take a stand in defence of the public services that they need and demand, the participants concluded.

Barrie Injured Workers Hold Speak-Out

On May 17, the Barrie District Injured Workers' Group hosted a "Speak-Out on Matters of Concern in the Ontario Election." Such events for workers and their organizations fighting for rights are especially important at election time, to keep their bearings and not get discouraged by the promotion of what the "major" parties and their candidates are saying are the issues, organizers said.

The meeting was introduced by Christine Nugent, co-ordinator of the Barrie District Injured Workers Group, followed by Dianne Baddeley, Vice-President Central Region of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups (ONIWG) to explain the importance of ONIWG's work to end the marginalization of injured workers.

Peter Page, Executive Vice President of ONIWG, highlighted his organization's campaign to see that workers' compensation is enshrined as a right and that the underhanded methods used to unjustly deprive injured workers of their just compensation are ended. Once again, ONIWG is undertaking its Justice Bike Ride, with Peter and others travelling to northern Ontario at the end of May (see below).

Rolf Gerstenberger, past President of USW Local 1005 of the Stelco steelworkers in Hamilton recalled the experience of dealing with fraudulent bankruptcies at Stelco/U.S. Steel. He said that the workers, by regularly discussing the problems they faced, always kept their calm so that they could find solutions despite all the difficulties and pressure they faced.

Denis Nugent and Christina Chase-Nugent, teachers in the Simcoe County School Board spoke of the critical situation facing those working with at-risk and special needs youth. They described a situation in which the anti-social offensive has created a severe crisis for these youth who cannot even have their basic needs met, let alone be in any shape to absorb what they are being taught.

Anne Ritchie-Nahuis, a local milk farmer, and Elizabeth Brass Elson an Aboriginal resource technician, presented their over 20 year battle to keep the pristine water of the Alliston Aquifer which runs through Simcoe County, from being destroyed by corporations and governments.

Representatives of the South Asian Women's Rights Organization (SAWRO) spoke about their investigation into employment standards, which despite being "reformed" by the provincial government, continue to allow the violation of workers' rights.

Disgraceful Poverty Levels in Ontario Show Need
to Change the Direction of the Economy

It is estimated by Statistics Canada that over two million people (14.3%) in Ontario are living in poverty. This figure is based on a definition of poverty level established at 50 per cent of the median Canadian household income, which is called the Low-Income Measure. Among the poorest of the poor are people on social assistance. The two main social assistance programs in Ontario are Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Ontario Works is described by the Ontario government as providing income support to people requiring financial assistance to cover costs of basic needs and providing employment assistance. It is considered a punitive program which is hard to access and whose recipients are harassed and deprived of benefits when they do not participate in government employment programs. Individuals on the Ontario Works program are forced to participate irrespective of their concrete situation. The ODSP program provides financial assistance and health-related benefits to people with disabilities who need help with living expenses.

As of March 2018, there were 453,366 beneficiaries of Ontario Works benefits and 502,650 beneficiaries of ODSP benefits, a total of over 955,000 individuals. A single person on OW receives $721 a month, while a single person on ODSP receives $1,151 a month. In 2016, the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives (CCPA) did a study, based on 2014 data, on what it called the poverty gap for people on social assistance, which is the distance between the benefit income and the poverty line. They found out that the poverty gap for a single people on Ontario Works was 59 per cent (income representing 41 per cent of poverty threshold), 35 per cent for a single parent on OW, 38 per cent for a couple with two children on OW, 33 per cent for a single adult on ODSP and 11 per cent for a single parent with one child on ODSP. These two "social assistance" programs condemn recipients to living at virtually a starvation level.

This infamy has been going on for a very long time. The most dramatic attack on the poor happened in 1995 when the Conservative government of Mike Harris cut welfare rates by 21.6 per cent (the program that became Ontario Works) and froze the ODSP rates. Since then, both rates have been systematically either frozen or, when increased, not increased to match the rate of inflation. Social assistance recipients sank further into poverty. This impoverishment has been accompanied by a brutal ideological assault on the recipients of social assistance, who are some of the most vulnerable members of society. They are vilified as a drain on the economy, not human beings with rights who are part of an Ontario that must guarantee a Canadian standard of living for all, a modern society in which the social wealth produced by the workers supports social programs that allow everyone to live with dignity. This requires that decision-making power is vested in the people. The increased exploitation of the working class, which maintains and increases this level of poverty, shows clearly the need to change the direction of the economy to one which is human centred, not one which guarantees profits for private interests.

The Raise the Rates Coalition has for years been demanding changes that would improve the situation. It is putting forward demands such as the immediate increase of social assistance rates to at least 75 per cent of the poverty line, plus cost of living adjustments; a stop to cuts to benefits and supports; the elimination of punitive surveillance as part of the administration of social assistance; access to social assistance for immigrants regardless of their immigration status. The coalition is also calling for the amendment of the Employment Standards Act to ensure that the minimum wage in Ontario (scheduled to increase to $15 an hour by January 1, 2019) includes students and liquor servers.

In this election, people do not want more pledges, more studies, reports, "poverty reduction strategies" and pilot projects from political parties. Ontario requires immediate measures to alleviate the situation of people on social assistance and disability, as part of the work to provide all Ontarians with living conditions at a Canadian standard. Ontario also requires a change in the direction of the economy to make the motive of production human-centred, not geared to pay the rich.

E-Learning, an Important Matter for
Teachers, Staff and Students

In speaking to teachers and education workers in this election, I am impressed by everything they are doing to find out what is taking place at their schools and how it affects their students, parents and, of course, their own teaching conditions. A concern a number are raising is how e-learning is being implemented and what is its aim.

E-learning has emerged as very lucrative for private interests that see it as a way to make profit from the public education system. One example is the Waterloo-based company Desire 2 Learn (D2L), that has been given millions by the Ontario government in handouts to develop e-learning platforms and sell them abroad. They are also being paid through school boards across Canada and around the world who use public funds to pay for licenses. Former Premier Dalton McGuinty who was instrumental in bringing in this direction for Ontario's education system went to work for D2L, lobbying governments, after he resigned.

A major issue for teachers is that e-learning as a supplement to face-to-face classroom instruction, or what is called "blended learning" is being transformed almost completely into on-line instruction for the students and teachers. Teachers are under pressure that if they do not just accept this, their schools may be closed, funding cut and they and their colleagues could be out of jobs.

Some school boards in the province have already established whole e-learning departments and use them to recruit students from across the province and around the world and the argument being given is that school boards who haven't done the same are lagging behind and not being "competitive."

In my opinion, e-learning is itself not negative. It can be very positive if the aim is to improve the quality of education. Teachers and education workers are not afraid of this new technology and embrace its power. The issue however is who sets the aim for how and in what circumstances it will be used? The Liberal government is really pushing this direction in the name of "innovation" and other buzz words. However, these new technologies are not being developed on a public basis. Instead they are used to funnel hundreds of millions into the hands of companies like D2L, Microsoft, Google and the like. Teachers also have big concerns about how student data is used, how students and staff are tracked by these companies.

Teachers and education workers take up this concern guided by the principle that their working conditions are students' learning conditions. That is why I am running as an independent in this election. By speaking for ourselves on these matters, we can make sure that we have a say over the direction of the education system so that it serves the youth and is not another avenue for private interests to make profits and syphon public funds out of the economy.

Lessons from 2003 SARS Epidemic for Protection
of Patients and Health Care Workers

- Interview, Andy Summers, Vice-President Region 3,
Ontario Nurses Association -

April 2018 marked the 15th anniversary of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Toronto that sickened hundreds of people, killed 44 patients and resulted in 25,000 Toronto residents being quarantined. Health care providers were on the front lines and were among those most affected by the disease. According to the Ontario Nurses Association (ONA), two registered nurses gave their lives to care for their patients and many others were exposed and were critically ill for months. Many nurses and other health care workers still suffer from physical impairments and from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of that lethal outbreak. Ontario Political Forum recently interviewed Andy Summers, Vice-President, Region 3 of the Ontario Nurses Association and a long-time hospital worker in Toronto, about the SARS crisis and the situation today in terms of preventing and facing epidemics. Region 3 includes Toronto, York, Peel and the Regional Municipality of Durham.

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Ontario Political Forum: You lived through the SARS crisis in 2003. What were its main features?

Andy Summers: Fifteen years ago SARS was a new illness. It took us a while to become familiar with it and many people died. For nurses, the SARS crisis demonstrated that the health care system was not prepared for globalization. Here was a disease with which we are now becoming more and more familiar, a disease that had traveled around the world. At the time, SARS showed us that we did not have adequate protection against unfamiliar illnesses and diseases. This disease was new to us at that time. We learned about the SARS coronavirus in 2003 for the first time.[1] It was a new virus that we had not met before in Canada. This was one of the problems. At the time that we were learning about it, we did not have what has since been called the precautionary principle.[2] In other words, at that time, when we did not know much about this disease, we took risks because we did not know any better. We now know that if we don't know enough about an infection, we need to take the maximum precautions and not the minimum precautions. We now implement the precautionary principle which states that we have to take all measures and all precautions in the case of illnesses and diseases for which we do not have the full scientific facts. That is the difference between today and 15 years ago.

Unfortunately, the more things change, the more they stay the same. We still have a patriarchal employment system and medical system where the authorities appear to be willing to take risks when peoples' lives are at stake. Infection controls specialists still are not prompt to put procedures in place that are what they consider "overboard" or "excessive." We try to persuade them that when we talk about saving peoples' lives this is not excessive. We hear a lot of talk about risks and the cost-benefit of those risks. We do not agree with this way of talking about peoples' lives.

The Ontario Nurses Association estimates that we are approximately 10,000 nurses short in Ontario. We have the worst population to nurse ratio in Canada. That is the first problem when it comes to responding to these crises -- that we are seriously short of staff. Hospitals are also starved of money. They are running from deficit to deficit, they are always willing to cut money or save money. In the short term, health and safety in the hospitals costs money. The programs related to health and safety tend to be considered surplus programs. They are considered extras. In addition to the shortage of nurses, there is a shortage of funds. I would also suggest that there is a shortage of willingness to sit down with us, that many hospitals are still not willing to sit down with organizations like the ONA and say "how can we work on these problems together?" Many of these employers are still patriarchal, they think like "we are the employer, you are the employee" when, actually, we have a lot of expertise that we have built up over the last two decades. The nurses that are members of the ONA have expertise in infection control. We are ready to make use of that expertise, but the philosophy, the willingness of the employers is not there.

Today, when it comes to health and safety, and that includes violence against nurses, there is the same lack of willingness. We still have very few hospitals that are willing to sit down with us to discuss the issues. There is a lack of willingness to look at the long-term benefits of having healthy workers.

AS: Two things come to mind. There must be a meaningful conversation with the provincial government and a willingness on the part of government to commit to enforcement. I think that overall we have adequate health and safety legislation. The problem is that there is absolutely no enforcement. There is no motivation to enforce the legislation, particularly in regard to engaging workers so that they play a role in their own safety in the workplaces. Our employers are not only neglecting that role but often are actively fighting it. As far as the Ministry of Labour is concerned, it is as much of a problem. The inspectors have no authority, no right, no power and sometimes they have no motivation. The Ministry of Labour is discussing voluntary programs with employers. There is no value in voluntary programs.

What is needed is enforcement. We have to remember that if it is not a safe workplace for nurses, it is not a safe place for the public.

Notes

1. The SARS coronavirus was the cause of the severe outbreak in Toronto in 2003 which killed 44 and affected thousands. On April 16, 2003, following the outbreak of SARS in Asia and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a press release stating that the SARS coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the official cause of the outbreak in Toronto.

2. The SARS commission chaired by Ontario Justice Archie Campbell was appointed by the Ontario government in 2003 to examine how the provincial health system handled the crisis. In his final report released on January 9, 2007, Justice Campbell wrote that more could have been done to protect the safety of health care workers. "If the commission has one single take-home message, it is the precautionary principle that safety comes first, that reasonable efforts to reduce risk need not await scientific proof. Ontario needs to enshrine this principle and to enforce it throughout our entire health system... When it comes to worker safety in hospitals, we should not be driven by the scientific dogma of yesterday or even the scientific dogma of today ... Until this precautionary principle is fully recognized, mandated and enforced in Ontario hospitals, workers will continue to be at risk," the report concluded.

Four Days of Activities in Support of Injured Workers

Bike riders lead off Injured Workers' Day rally and march, June 1, 2017.

The Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups is organizing four days of activities in northeastern Ontario this weekend, May 25-28, to bring attention to their Workers' Comp Is a Right! Campaign.

On Friday, May 25, at the Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre in Elliot Lake at 1:00 pm, Janice Martell of the McIntyre Powder Project is hosting a free public seminar "Occupational Disease in Mining and McIntyre Powder Research" that will be of interest to mine workers, their families, local physicians and researchers, and the general public.

That evening, at 7:00 pm, at the same location, a reception will be held to inaugurate the fourth annual Justice for Injured Workers Bike Ride which will take place this Saturday and Sunday. The bikers will leave the Elliot Lake Miners’ Memorial Park at 7:00 am on Saturday, May 26, and ride to a 1:00 pm reception at the Massey Arena. The next day, Sunday, May 27, the bikers will continue their ride to Sudbury, finishing with a BBQ and reception at the Steel Hall on Brady at 4:00 pm.

Also at the Steel Hall at 7:00 pm on May 28, the Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups is holding a public meeting to organize a Sudbury Injured Workers' Group.

Peter Page, Executive Vice-President of the ONIWG and spokesperson for the ONIWG Bike Ride Committee, will be available for interviews to discuss these activities and the goals of the ONIWG, especially in light of the current provincial election, throughout these four days. To arrange an interview, contact Peter Page (preferred) at Email: peter_page@hotmail.com or Phone: 905-745-1003 or contact David Starbuck (alternate) at Email: david.starbuck.sudbury@gmail.com or Phone: 705-207-1133.

All are welcome to participate in any or all of these activities, see events listings below. For further information, click here. The activities culminate with Injured Workers' Day on June 1 at Queen's Park in Toronto.

Signs at the Civic Centre in Elliot Lake announce the May 25 seminar.

Elliot Lake Miners' Memorial. Nearly three hundred names on memorial commemorate some of
the many miners who were killed on the job or died as a result of long time exposure to toxic chemicals in the Elliot Lake uranium mines.

May 25-28 Events

Elliott Lake
Seminar -- Occupational Disease in Mining and
McIntyre Powder Research
Friday, May 25 -- 1:00-4:00 pm
Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre Theatre

Inaugural Reception
Friday, May 25 -- 7:00-9:00 pm
Lester B. Pearson Civic Centre Theatre

Massey
Jim Hobbs Memorial Ride & Presentation
Saturday, May 26 -- 7:00 am-3:00 pm
Ride from Elliot Lake Miners' Memorial Park on Highway 108 North
to Massey and District Arena, 455 Government St.

Sudbury
Occupational Disease: The Other Workplace Fatality
Sunday, May 27 -- 4:00 pm
USW Hall, 66 Brady St

Public Meeting to Organize a Sudbury Injured Workers' Group
Monday, May 28 -- 7:00 pm
USW Hall, 66 Brady St

Toronto
Overnight Vigil and Cultural Program
Thursday, May 31 -- 4:00 pm
Queen's Park.

Rally at Queen's Park and March
Friday, June 1 -- 11:00 am

Candidates' Townhall Meeting
Friday, June 1 -- 2:00-4:00 pm
OCAD, Auditorium -- 100 McCaul St., Room 190

Coming Events

Windsor
How to Ensure the Voice of Workers Is Heard in the Ontario Election
Round Table Meeting
Sunday, May 27 -- 1:00-4:00 pm
547 Victoria Ave.
Hosted by OSSTF District 9 Greater Essex
Facebook

Toronto
Community All-Candidates' Forum
Saturday, May 26 -- 5:00-7:00 pm
Oakridge Community Centre, 63 Pharmacy Ave
Women leaders in the community will present their concerns after
which candidates will be given time to respond.
Organized by: South Asian Women's Rights Organization
www.sawro.org

Scarborough
Town Hall on Public Services
Wednesday, May 30 -- 7:00-9:00 pm
Malvern Community Recreation Centre, 5183 Sheppard Ave E
Facebook

Mississauga
Affordable Housing Forum with MPP Candidates
Thursday, May 31 -- 6:00-7:30 pm
The Mississauga Food Bank, 3121 Universal Dr. Mississauga
For Information click here

Court Order Sought Against Exclusion of Candidates from Debates

Polls Biased Against "Small Party" Candidates

Mississauga Town Hall Says "Keep Public Services Public!"

Barrie Injured Workers Hold Speak-Out

Disgraceful Poverty Levels in Ontario Show Need to Change the Direction of the Economy

E-Learning, an Important Matter for Teachers, Staff and Students

Lessons from 2003 SARS Epidemic for Protection of Patients and Health Care Workers

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