MULRONEY AND CHOW AND BAINS, OH MY!

CAROLINE MULRONEY’s surprise departure has kicked the Queen’s Park rumour mill into overdrive — and prompted chatter about whether DOUG FORD is about to lose more than one front-bencher.

Mulroney reportedly told the Premier at his Etobicoke home on Sunday she’ll resign from cabinet and vacate her York–Simcoe seat on June 5, catching more than a few PCs off guard. It’s a blow to Ford, who’s been dealing with his fair share of bad-news headlines, but he insisted “there’s no other…anything” to her departure.

“Caroline and I were sitting at my place saying, how’s the media going to spin this?… She’s just a wonderful down-to-earth person, and I think the world of her…We were fortunate to get her to run again the third term.”

For her part, three-term MPP was teary-eyed in her farewell speech in the House, calling it “one of the hardest decisions” of her life — shaped by the passing of her father, ex-P…

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THE 17-PAGE DECISION THAT ROCKED LIBERAL LAND

While you were sleeping — It’s official: the Ontario Liberal Party’s highest-stakes internal showdown (so far this year) has seemingly reached its final act.

Late Sunday night, the OLP’s three-person arbitration committee dropped a sizzling, unanimous 17-page reality check on failed Scarborough Southwest byelection contender NATE ERSKINE-SMITH, the federal MP and would-be leadership candidate who challenged the results of the nomination contest narrowly won by businessman AHSANUL HAFIZ, a heavyweight in the local Bengali community who owns 30 Domino’s Pizzas.

The panel — chaired by lawyer and ex-cabinet minister DAVID ZIMMER, alongside party operators JENNIFER NORMAN and ADAM GOLDENBERG — completely threw out NES’s appeal over the fiercely contested nomination last month. The committee heard from Team Nate and Team Hafiz last week in Toronto at a meeting sources tell me went…

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For the second time in a row, a Liaison Strategies survey suggests DOUG FORD’s PCs are no longer comfortably ahead of the JOHN FRASER-led Liberals — they’re in a dead heat.

Fresh polling out this morning puts the PCs and Grits at 37 per cent apiece among decided and leaning voters, with MARIT STILES’s NDP at 20 per cent and MIKE SCHREINER’s Greens at four cent.

It’s the second from Liaison that showed the Liberals tracking slightly ahead of the ruling Tories (though the difference was within the margin of error).

It’s notable because, like other pollsters, the numbers suggest the Premier’s private jet reversal and hot-potato FOI changes have been dragging on his popularity — and this may be a trend rather than a one-off.

By the numbers: Ford’s approval sits at 28 per cent, with 67 per cent disapproving. Nearly two-thirds of respondents — 64 per cent — say Ontario is heading in the wrong direction. And the ballot question, at least in this poll, hi…

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As the provincial government’s legislation to take over Toronto’s island airport chugs through committee this week — including a “rough ride” for the Transportation Minister — City Hall is gearing up to ask Premier DOUG FORD to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to public sentiment.

Ford has oft pointed to internal polling (subsequently leaked) that suggests broad support for his pitch to expand Billy Bishop. While the Campaign Research survey framed the question as a matter of safety regulations, and support for that move was higher the further away from downtown Toronto respondents were, the Premier has leaned on those numbers to plow ahead with his plans.

Now, City Hall wants him to walk the talk. This week, councillors are considering a motion to ask the province to approve a referendum to gauge public opinion on the jet question. By law, referendum questions must be submitted by March 1 in order to get on the ballot by the fall election, but Ford announce…

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It’s a big night in Ontario politics for two very different reasons. In one room, the Press Gallery’s hosting its annual Spring Fling, where politicians, staff, stakeholders and reporters gather to amiably insult one another (and ourselves) under the sacred protection of “off the record.” In another, the Liberals are holding the arbitration meeting that could decide whether the messy Scarborough Southwest nomination drama is over, or revving up.

That would be the nomination fight involving NATE ERSKINE-SMITH, the federal Liberal MP and would-be provincial leadership contender, who is challenging his razor-thin loss to AHSANUL HAFIZ. Erskine-Smith lost last week’s nomination by 19 votes and has alleged serious irregularities in a notice of appeal filed with the party’s arbitration board, including concerns about voter ID procedures and discrepancies in the ballot count.

The party’s arbitration panel — headed up by ex-cabinet minister DAVID ZIMMER, along with

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Things may be quiet at the Leg, with MPPs scattered for the final constituency week of this whirlwind session — T-minus two sitting weeks until summer recess! — but the backroom chatter isn’t exactly on a break.

A quiet switch on the PC benches is fuelling perhaps the most evergreen of Queen’s Park guessing games: cabinet shuffle watch.

WILL BOUMA, the MPP for Brantford-Brant, is no longer listed as the ruling party’s caucus chair, a behind-the-scenes gig he’s held since 2022*. Taking up the mantle is PC MATTHEW RAE (Perth-Wellington), in addition to his duties as government whip.

Caucus chair may not be the flashiest role in the precinct, but it matters. They deal with internal machinations and logistics, including overseeing caucus meetings, and are a crucial conduit between the Premier’s Office and the rest of the party, especially when it comes to getting backbenchers aligned on government policy and messaging.

Which is what makes the Bouma move so interesting.

Boum…

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A BUMPY RIDE FOR FORD

Premier DOUG FORD’s jet headache isn’t going away. But first: the countdown to what is currently the most dramatic political fight in provincial politics is on.

The Liberals announced the arbitration committee, headed up by ex-minister DAVID ZIMMER, will meet to discuss NATE ERSKINE-SMITH’s appeal of the Scarborough Southwest byelection next Wednesday evening. The event isn’t open to media, but the party has promised to make the committee’s report public sometime after. (The rest of us will be at the Press Gallery’s Spring Fling that night, so if you’ve got any intel, hit me up.)

Meanwhile, plenty of ink continues to flow on the matter. Team Nate is feeling vindicated after reports that Prime Minister MARK CARNEY’s office denied endorsing Erskine-Smith on the eve of the nomination — something Premier DOUG FORD teased that even that was not enough to put him “over the finish line.”

But, and it’s a biggie: The …

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FORD PIVOTS FROM JET FALLOUT TO LIBERAL PILE-ON

Premier DOUG FORD looks to land the plane, er, as it were, by revealing the true cost of his one-eighty after a rough couple of weeks in the headlines. He also landed a few Ford-isms — and, like y’all, he had plenty to say about the latest mess in Liberal land.

The Globe and Mail’s LAURA STONE snagged a one-on-one with Ford in the halls of Queen’s Park just before PO circulated the jet receipts, and in true Ford form, it was a telling scrum.

Asked how he can justify the nearly $200K in additional costs for his plane, Ford stuck to his lines. “We listened to the people, it was the wrong time, and we sent it back. But anyways,” he said, then delivered one of the telltale signs that he’s annoyed with the line of questioning: “Next question,” he said to the sole reporter.

While $190,865 in extra costs — including legal advice, storage and maintenance — might seem like a drop in the bucke…

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NATE FLIPS THE SCRIPT

Auditor General SHELLEY SPENCE dropped a series of damning reports on how the government is handling (or not) AI, truck driver licensing, special ed and more, while Premier DOUG FORD is again pumping up Toronto as HQ for the defence bank. But first: NATE ERSKINE-SMITH has formally appealed the Liberal nomination results in Scarborough Southwest, and it’s a doozy.

BETWEEN THE LINES — Erskine-Smith’s appeal is almost certainly a long shot — and that may be the point.

Party veterans are already whispering about the fact that no nomination challenge has ever succeeded in the history of the Ontario Liberal Party.

But, no matter what happens, Erskine-Smith’s appeal reframes the story from “sore loser contests close race” into something more existential: putting the party itself on trial — especially ahead of a high-stakes leadership race in which he can paint himself as the principled guy trying to clean house.

Indeed

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LIBERALS GET LITIGIOUS

Liberal sweeps week continues, with Scarborough Southwest candidate AHSANUL HAFIZ and interim leader JOHN FRASER pushing back on failed contender NATE ERSKINE-SMITH’s contention that Saturday’s high-stakes nomination was chockfull of irregularities.

Erskine-Smith has until tonight to formally challenge the results of the Scarborough Southwest nomination, which he lost by a razor thin margin of 19 votes. He had alleged voter ID problems in the ballot-counting room, but said he needed to debrief with his war room to decide whether to file an appeal — and what it all means for his nascent leadership bid.

Team NES met yesterday to weigh their options and are “seriously considering” contesting the results, but we won’t know for sure until today.

Fraser and Hafiz aren’t sweating it at this point, insisting to reporters at Queen’s Park that the process was fair and anyone suggesting otherwise should “prove it.” (…

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THE SORE-LOSER TRAP FACING NATE ERSKINE-SMITH

Accusations of MPPs acting DONALD TRUMP-esque came full circle this weekend as NATE ERSKINE-SMITH lost the Liberal nomination in Scarborough Southwest, punching a serious blow to his bid for provincial leader. But what he does next could make or break those ambitions.

Erskine-Smith, who lost the nomination to Domino’s Pizza mogul AHSANUL HAFIZ by a slim 19 ballots, isn’t going down without a fight.

In a rainy scrum with reporters after the results — something Erskine-Smith reportedly promised to do indoors, but his staff attempted to walk him out (and got testy in the moment) — the federal MP for neighbouring Beaches-East York suggested there were irregularities like his scrutineer team had never seen before, including members who had “lost driver’s licenses or just moved to to area.”

Erskine-Smith said he would debrief with his team to decide whether he will formally challe…

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Liberals pick their Scarborough Southwest byelection candidate Saturday in a nomination race that has quickly morphed into the first real stress test of NATE ERSKINE-SMITH’s provincial leadership hopes.

Erskine-Smith is looking to beat out rivals QADIRA JACKSON, AHSANUL HAFIZ and MAHMUDA NASRIN in Saturday’s vote. But boy, it’s been a hot mess up ‘til now.

The stakes: Erskine-Smith has said he would quit his federal seat once the byelection is called, but there’s an awkward question hanging over him: if he can’t win the nomination, does he keep running for leader?

The Jackson beef: The race has been spicy from the get-go. Erskine-Smith had not-so-subtly asked Jackson and Hafiz to join his team, effectively dropping their own bids, and perhaps with some future role dangled if he becomes leader. Hard pass, said his rivals. NES has also been dealing with a ranked ballot strategy in which Jackson and Hafiz are asking their supporters to pick each other for their top choi…

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The Ford government is once again keeping MPPs at Queen’s Park late into the night to push through a pair of political hot potatoes.

Bill 101, the government’s school board overhaul, was debated into the wee hours earlier this week before clearing a third-reading vote Wednesday thanks to the PC majority. Among other things, it gives Queen’s Park more authority over school boards and the newly created CEO position, and reins in trustees. It’s awaiting Royal Assent.

Next up is Bill 100, the PCs regional governance bill, which was also debated late Wednesday and is now teed up for a third-reading vote after today’s Question Period. That bill would give the Municipal Affairs Minister of the day sweeping new powers over elected regional councils, including authority to appoint and remove heads of council.

But, the bills mark another round of late-night legislating and truncated debate and committee hearings from a government wielding its majority to move quickly on c…

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The temperature at Queen’s Park is rising.

NDP Leader MARIT STILES refused to apologize for suggesting DOUG FORD could one day face prison time over the Greenbelt scandal — and the Premier is accusing her of going full Trump mode.

He said: prison talk crosses the line. She said: That’s rich from a government under RCMP investigation.

The Trumpian charge is especially spicy because Ford has faced versions of that accusation himself for years — he regularly bashes the media, plays into the us-versus-them routine, once likened then-Oppo leader ANDREA HORWATH to “nails on a chalkboard” and did nothing to stop “lock her up” chants about ex-Premier KATHLEEN WYNNE at his election rallies in 2018.

Hot heckles: Government House Leader STEVE CLARK also flipped the script under questioning from NDP Leader MARIT STILES in the morning’s debate, accusing her of invoking “dangerous American-style Trumpian rhetoric that, quite frankly, has no place in this Legislature.”

Of course, …

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FORD FACES THE PRESS, BUT STILES STEALS THE SHOW

DOUG FORD held his first press conference after what has been a very rough couple of weeks for his government.

But it was Opposition NDP Leader MARIT STILES’s scrum that hijacked the Premier’s return to the mic.

Speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park about the government’s FOI changes, Stiles said Ford would maybe not be running in the next election because he’ll “be in prison.”

It was a wild moment. Stiles didn’t exactly stick the landing. After making the comment, she quietly said “yep” to herself, looked down and appeared to grimace, almost as if she knew how explosive her statement would be in real time. A reporter quickly jumped in with an incredulous “what?”, and Stiles doubled down.

It comes as Stiles has escalated her attacks on Ford over the government’s gutting of FOI laws and what she calls shady PC government dealings. She promised to launch a public inquiry if elected Premier.

And her “…

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DOUG FORD’S POLLING PROBLEM

After a rough run of public polls showing DOUG FORD taking on water, PC pollster NICK KOUVALIS is out with numbers that tell the PCs: yes, the Premier is sliding, but no, the roof is not caving in. At least not yet.

His latest has the PCs at 39 per cent, the Liberals at 29, the NDP at 20, the Greens at 7 and alternative parties at 5. That’s rosier than Liaison and Abacus, which have painted a much bleaker picture for Ford Nation.

But even Kouvalis’s numbers show the PCs down five points in a month — enough to make the backroom crew sweat.

Kouvalis put it this way: “Sounds bad but it will motivate everyone to work harder and do better. And there’s nothing wrong with recognizing mistakes, working hard to make things right and having a bit of heat on your bum.”

Between the lines: It’s not full-on panic mode just yet, but time to straighten up.

Ford, of course, is a master of the political pivot and there’s plenty of run…

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After laying low this past week, Premier DOUG FORD insists he’s still “in touch with the people” after days of bad-news headlines. But first: Health Minister SYLVIA JONES is hitting back at the Ontario Hospital Association in a speech that left health care CEOs stunned.

Awkward! Folks in the crowd at the OHA’s annual leadership summit say they were taken aback and that there were audible gasps when Jones wrapped up her remarks with a bit of a dig.

Jones had just finished rattling off a list of provincial funding investments — including an extra $1.1 billion in operating funding, which hospital CEOs have said isn’t enough as they dig into reserves and cut staff — when she flipped the script on the OHA.

“You will have to forgive me if I get a bit frustrated,” Jones said toward the end of her speech. “When yesterday, I saw the OHA praising the federal government with a page-and-a-half statement about a $5 billion investment — nationwide, …

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DOUG FORD is often referred to as the Teflon Premier — despite the smorgasbord of controversies over his eight-year tenure, his critics can’t seem to make it stick.

The Premier is under mounting pressure — from FOI rollbacks to “gravy plane” drama and beyond — but this isn’t the first time he’s had to weather a political storm.

From my perch in the press gallery, covering Ford often feels like watching two stories unfold at once: the chaos of the headline controversy, and the discipline of the strategy behind it. Take the jet fiasco for instance. Even when he’s in hot water, that very issue took up loads of oxygen, dominating the headlines and public attention (Ford himself couldn’t stop talking about it). At the same time, his government was moving ahead with hot-potato FOI changes under the cover of darkness (literally).

Ford may rail against the media and cast it as his “real” Official Opposition, but he also knows exactly how to play the g…

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New Democrats have named their contender in the yet-to-be-called byelection in Scarborough Southwest: FATIMA SHABAN, who beat out two other candidates for the nomination last night.

Shaban will try to hold on to the seat for the NDP after their incumbent deputy leader DOLY BEGUM defected to the federal Liberals, then bested Shaban in that race earlier this month.

Now, she’s hoping for a better result at the provincial level in the byelection that’s expected sometime this summer. “Working families in Scarborough Southwest need a fighter in their corner,” said Shaban, who works with The Salvation Army and organizes with housing advocacy group ACORN.

Before they even picked their flag-bearer, Liberals were throwing shade, pointing out that the NDP were deciding between “losers” — past failed candidates.

NDP insiders were quick to hit back: “I almost forgot that the Libs could take potshots at anyone other than each other after the mess that the…

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HOW A STOREFRONT EXPOSES THE ‘WILD WEST’ OF ELECTION LAWS

A campaign office on Toronto’s Danforth Avenue is drawing scrutiny in political circles — not because it breaks the rules, but because it exposes how much political activity can happen before the rules apply.

At issue is a little-known feature of Ontario’s election law: the period before a nomination contest is officially declared.

NATE ERSKINE-SMITH, the federal MP and provincial leadership hopeful who’s gunning for the May 9 Liberal nomination in the yet-to-be-called Scarborough Southwest byelection, cut the ribbon on his campaign office weeks before he was even green-lit as a contestant.

According to Elections Ontario, that’s A-OK — would-be nomination contestants are allowed to fundraise and spend money for their unofficial campaigns. That activity isn’t regulated by the electoral agency until the party actually calls the contest.

But, and it’s a biggie: While most contestants spend during the pre-regulated period, it tends to be relatively small potatoes — pizza for volunteers, campaign literature and flyers — however, Erskine-Smith also secured his campaign’s HQ on the Danforth, prime real estate in a housing climate where rents are sky-high.

The office itself isn’t the story. The timing is: Because the contest hadn’t officially begun, any funds used to lease or operate that space fall into the pre-regulated period and beyond the reach of disclosure requirements that would otherwise apply.

It’s entirely legal — and Team Nate insists all rules are being followed — but it’s also largely opaque.

The current rules mean that Elections Ontario’s framework, which sets donation limits, spending caps and mandatory public disclosures on who is contributing (no corporations allowed), only kicks in once the contest is called.

Until then, prospective candidates are operating outside the transparency regime. They can raise money, lease office space, build campaign infrastructure and take out pricey billboards (though this one on the riding’s border appears to be from Erskine-Smith’s federal side) — all without reporting who is paying or how much is being spent.

“We could have a longer open season of unregulated money than we have regulated money in the contest period. This isn’t a loophole. This is an underground tunnel big enough to take a transport through,” said one senior ranking Liberal who has handled campaign finances for parties and candidates.

Alas, in modern politics, organizing happens well ahead of the official paperwork. Campaigns often begin in earnest months before the formal trigger is pulled, which creates a gap between the political reality on the ground and the regulatory oversight in law. By the time a contest is officially called, significant financial and organizational advantages may already be in place, with scant visibility into how they were built.

The big question: Organizers in the hotly-contested SSW nomination, including some from rival camps, are now asking whether the rules reflect how campaigns actually operate.

“We may never know who or how this is all being paid for, but them’s the rules,” said one operative. “The most consequential part of a campaign may actually be the one that happens before anyone is required to report it.”

IN THE NDP CORNER — Meanwhile, New Democrats will pick their contender in the hopes of keeping Scarborough Southwest orange.

After losing deputy leader DOLY BEGUM to the federal Liberals, the NDP will hold their nomination contest tonight to choose the candidate for the upcoming byelection that’s expected this summer.

In the ring…

FATIMA SHABAN: Arguably the most visible name in the race after running federally in the riding earlier this month. Shaban works with The Salvation Army and organizes with housing advocacy group ACORN…

VERONICA JAVIER: A social worker at Scarborough Health Network who was the NDP candidate in neighbouring Guildwood in 2022…

KHALID AHMED: A financial analyst and another past NDP candidate across the GTA with runs dating back more than a decade.

The tension: Shaban’s recent federal result, widely noted among insiders as a weak showing, is being read two ways: critics say it’s a vulnerability, supporters say it’s proof of her ground-game readiness and name-recognition advantage.

One rival party operative put it bluntly: “The NDP will choose between the person who already lost the riding federally, the person who lost next door provincially, or the person who’s lost multiple GTA races. Where’s MARIT STILES’s star candidate?”

No matter who the parties choose to run, the stakes are high for everyone: New Democrats are looking to hold on to their seat after losing a popular incumbent, the Liberals are pretty much holding a proxy battle ahead of a leadership contest this fall, and the PCs will look to secure their majority as DOUG FORD slips in the polls (more on that below).

HAPPENING TODAY

DOUG FORD’S TUESDAY — 5:30 p.m.: The Premier is headlining a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser in Mississauga alongside local rep SHEREF SABAWY.

10 a.m.: NDPers CHRIS GLOVER, KRISTYN WONG-TAM and ALEXA GILMOUR are in the Media Studio to talk about the Ford government’s plans for the Toronto islands.

10 a.m.: Associate Forestry Minister KEVIN HOLLAND and Natural Resources Minister MIKE HARRIS JR. are making an announcement in Toronto.

11:30 a.m.: Education Minister PAUL CALANDRA is up in Kilworth.

1 p.m.: Health Minister SYLVIA JONES is in Brampton.

7 p.m.: Liberals JOHN FRASER and LUCILLE COLLARD are hosting a virtual town hall in Ottawa.

ON THE COMMITTEE CIRCUIT

9 a.m.: Housing Minister ROB FLACK kicks off (truncated) public hearings on Bill 100, his housing and transit package, at Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy. Also on the witness roster: Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Regions of Peel and Durham, City of Niagara Falls, CUPE. And the rest.

A message from Circular Materials

From Waste to Work: How Recycling Reform Is Driving $300M in Investment

Circular Materials is a national, not-for-profit, producer-governed organization in Canada that manages extended producer responsibility recycling programs. Here, CEO ALLEN LANGDON runs down the latest changes to recycling in Ontario.

Let’s start simple — what is Ontario’s new blue box system and why did the government change it? Ontario has shifted the cost and responsibility of curbside recycling away from municipalities and to producers that supply packaging and paper products to consumers. This includes the familiar brands and retailers Ontarians interact with every day. This means municipalities and taxpayers no longer pay for recycling services as this cost is now paid by producers.

It’s called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). EPR is an effective mechanism to improve recycling rates and advance a circular economy where materials are collected, recycled and returned to producers for use as recycled content in new products and packaging. The goal is straightforward: better recycling, lower taxpayer burden, and a system that drives recycling and significant diversion.

So taxpayers are off the hook? Yes. The costs of blue box recycling were previously paid in large part by municipalities, and your property taxes. Not anymore. Producers that supply packaging and paper materials in Ontario now cover 100 percent of these costs. But there’s a catch. The system needs to be designed efficiently to manage costs. Keep in mind that additional costs to businesses are typically passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Nobody wants that, so we’re working hard to ensure it doesn’t happen.

What role does Circular Materials play in the system? Circular Materials has two roles in the Ontario system. It is a national not-for-profit that helps producers meet their EPR obligations and is also responsible for administrating the recycling program on behalf of several other Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) in Ontario. Ontario has chosen a different approach than other provinces by having multiple PROs.

Let’s go back to waste diversion — how does EPR get waste out of landfills? It aligns incentives because producers of recyclable materials are responsible for their full life cycle. They have skin in the game to ensure their packaging is as easy to recycle as possible, because it keeps costs lower for them and their customers. And let me tell you, our producers are amazing. They’re actively working together on innovative and sustainable product design to achieve just this.

With all this investment in recycling and innovation, is EPR also creating jobs? The transition to EPR has seen hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Ontario. Modern recycling facilities that take advantage of the latest technology are springing up across the province alongside well-paid jobs, not to mention supply chain and construction jobs to build and service these facilities providing over $300 million in investments into the province.

Find out more here.

CLIPPINGS

— POLL WATCH: “Premier DOUG FORD’s jet fiasco is causing his Progressive Conservatives to lose altitude and giving a lift to the leaderless Liberals, a new poll suggests. The Abacus Data survey found the Tories at 37 per cent, their lowest level of support in two years, with the Liberals, who will elect a new leader on Nov. 21, at 36 per cent, MARIT STILES’ New Democrats at 17 per cent and MIKE SCHREINER’s Greens at five per cent.” The Star has the latest.

Meanwhile, the NDP, Greens and Liberals have all now written to the Auditor General asking for an investigation into the buying and reselling of Ford’s jet. No word on whether the AG will take that on specifically beyond their usual annual auditing.

— PRICKLY PREMIER: “What’s going on with DOUG FORD? The typically affable premier has been particularly prickly over the past few weeks. How will the public respond?” TVO’s Steve Paikin delves in.

— IN-OFFICE POLITICS: “Ford regularly worked from home in January, even as civil servants were ordered back to the office five days per week. A copy of the premier’s itinerary obtained by Global News using freedom of information laws shows that over five weeks from early January, Ford took many meetings at his house or virtually.”

Against the backdrop of provincewide health care protests this weekend, Ford on Monday unveiled the site of Southlake Health’s new hospital in East Gwillimbury. He also gave thoughts and prayers to the OPP officer killed in the line of duty in Cobourg.

— COMBATIVE CALANDRA: “As a legislative committee met at Queen’s Park to study a government bill that would significantly water down the role of school board trustees, Education Minister PAUL CALANDRA began grilling union leaders about his own legislation, leading to criticism that he was “rude,” “disrespectful,” and “inappropriate.” Global News reports.

Meanwhile: “A governance revamp has left trustees with limited roles. While a TDSB trustee is hesitating to run again, others say they can still be constructive.” The Star digs in.

— IN THE SAULT: “Ontario is giving Sault Ste. Marie $500,000 from its trade-impacted fund to lure foreign investment, as the city pivots from the volatile U.S. market and touts potential new port along with the steel and forestry industries.” More from CTV News.

Refer a friend

🍽️ LUNCH SPECIAL: Beef lasagna with salad and garlic bread.

⏳ COUNTDOWN: T-minus 22 days until Spring Fling…99 days until the Premier has to call a byelection in Scarborough Southwest…207 days until the Liberals name a new leader.

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