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Category: Government
Premier ‘encouraged’ by progress in contract talks with ETFO
While Kathleen Wynne and Education Minister Liz Sandals have said they're waiting for ETFO to come back to the table after it consults internally, union president Sam Hammond has said ETFO is waiting for the the governme ...
Heard: Province to support specialty crops program
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Province selling 81.1 million shares of Hydro One in IPO, expecting to raise up to $1.7 billion
The official prospectus for the Hydro One IPO was released Friday afternoon, paving the way for shares of the utility to be sold on the stock market. ...
OPSEU deal contains ‘anti-privatization’ language, union says
In a summary posted on its website, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the three-year tentative agreement includes language that would require the government to work with the union before it outsources publi ...
Happening: Public hearings on Bill 106 on Oct. 22 and 29
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Happening: WSIB president appointed as province’s advisor on auto insurance and pensions
Having already missed a deadline to reduce auto insurance by an average of 15 per cent from 2013 levels, the province has appointed a special advisor to help it keep pushing rates down — though it hasn't set a new de ...
Tory backbencher’s motion on agri-food education supported by all parties
PC MPP Lisa Thompson's motion aims to help reach 120,000-job target in Ontario's agri-food industry by 2020 ...
Labour minister ready to legislate gender wage gap closed
Government hasn't closed gender wage gap 'the way we really wanted to,' Labour Minister Flynn says ...
Seen: Province to craft alcohol strategy
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Happening: OPSEU launches radio ad campaign against expanded beer sales
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After new deal, OPSEU looks to privatization fight
Should the deal be ratified, the union will turn its attention to the line-by-line review the Treasury Board is conducting on all ministries as it looks for further savings. ...
Sousa ‘disappointed’ with U.S. Steel Canada restructuring, but silent on what it could cost province
Finance Minister says the province will stand up for employees and retirees but declined to comment on whether the province has enough cash to cover pension shortfalls. ...
Seen: Great Lakes Protection Act passes third reading
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Wynne talks climate change with Jiangsu province party secretary
Premier Kathleen Wynne signed a memorandum of understanding that touched on culture, technology and business co-operation with Luo Zhijun Wednesday. ...
TPP: Liberals waiting for new federal government to consider compensation
Premier Kathleen Wynne also defended her stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Tuesday, reminding the opposition that many details of the deal remain unknown. ...
Happening: Contract talks between ETFO, government, school boards progressing slowly
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After rocky negotiations, province and OPSEU in tentative deal
The province and OPSEU have reached a tentative three-year collective agreement, but one that does not include issues specific to corrections employees. ...
Seen: PC MPP raises more concerns with Housing Services Corp. spending
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Education minister to look into whether unlocked doors in Halton poses safety concern
OSSTF support staff members started job action in several school boards across the province today, while the province got back to the bargaining table with elementary teachers. ...
Seen: Ministry targeting large retailers for accessibility audits this fall
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Happening: 766 more licensed child-care spots in schools to be available by 2018
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C.D. Howe report warns about public pension plan underfunding
Report authors show how public pension plans can avoid underfunding and intergenerational inequity ...
Report on new university funding model expected by November
Former deputy minister Sue Herbert says there are five areas in which students, employers, post-secondary institutions were aligned on how system should be reformed ...
Seen: Conference Board and province suggest ways to make workplaces more inclusive
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Happening: ETFO, government, school boards back to contract talks Monday
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Province capping age limit at 42 for women accessing expanded in vitro fertilization services
Province announces it will spend extra $50 million a year to fund one in vitro fertilization cycle for eligible patients ...
Ontario’s economy has slipped under Liberal policies, Fraser Institute report says
Fraser Institute says 'the real problem in Ontario is the wide array of government policies that mistakenly signal that the public sector, not the private sector, is the engine of economic growth' ...
Wynne has high hopes for Pacific trade deal – but wants agriculture and auto sectors protected
Two Ontario ministers have also written their federal counterparts saying they remain 'extremely concerned' about recent reports and comments made regarding TPP ...
Sudbury byelection: Thibeault defends Lougheed campaign contribution
Liberal MPP says he won't return $1,330 donation from the man who is facing charges over the byelection scandal. 'He’s given to the NDP, he’s given to the Conservatives. He’s still got his day in court.' ...
Heard: Ontario Film Authority to begin operations Oct. 1
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Health and safety in elementary schools is main focus of education minister
Liz Sandals told reporters Wednesday she "would look at ways of taking action" in the legislature if health and safety concerns stemming from job action get out of hand. ...
Heard: Bill to amend planning and development charges acts passes second reading
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Province to hire ‘recruiters’ to help more children get adopted
The government announced Tuesday it will also help find more 'culturally appropriate' adoption placements for First Nations children and youth as well as extend funding for adoptive parents of 18 to 21 year olds who are ...
Opposition blasts government for taking $61-million loss on Ontera sale
The government also spent $6.5 million on lawyers and consultants, PC finance critic Vic Fedeli noted, less than what they got back for the sale of Ontera. ...
Hydro One at top of agenda as Wynne holds private chats with opposition leaders
Such meetings are unusual around Queen's Park, but will take place after a request from Patrick Brown, who is seeking to give his PCs a more congenial and constructive tone. ...
Province’s 2014-15 deficit a better-than-expected $10.3 billion
The Public Accounts show the deficit for the past fiscal year was $2.2 billion lower than projected in 2014 and $600 million lower than the interim projections in the 2015 budget. ...
Op-ed: Nuclear refurb plan could hike power rates: Clean Air Alliance
The Ontario Clean Air Alliance says the high costs of refurbishing Ontario's nuclear power plants should have us looking elsewhere for a better deal: Quebec hydro power ...
Happening: University of Ottawa designated French-language service provider
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Giving lip service to gender-neutral language, MPP charges
Cheri DiNovo, the New Democrats' LGBTQ critic - while supportive of Liberal MPP Glenn Thibeault's private member's bid to make government forms more inclusive - believes the motion doesn't go far enough. ...
Justice committee hears from witnesses unwilling to turn other cheek on SLAPP bill
Bill 52, the Protection of Public Participation Act, would identify lawsuits against public participation and provide a route to dismiss them earlier ...
Happening: Former ombudsman ‘unconvinced’ about carding
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Heard: Health minister urges both sides to bargain in home-care worker strike
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Job action planned over local contracts for high school teachers
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation has secured a central deal, but is still waiting on local deals, including in Halton and Greater Essex ...
Head of P3 lobby group advocates for public-private partnerships
Head of public-private partnership group says such arrangements help develop infrastructure across Canada ...
Speaker rejects NDP contempt charge over interim ombudsman appointment
The NDP had argued the Cabinet appointment circumvented the legislative assembly, but Speaker Dave Levac pointed out this has been the usual way of doing things since the ombudsman office was created in 1978. ...
Auditor general report shows 61 per cent of CCAC spending goes to patient treatment
Bonnie Lysyk's special report looking at Community Care Access Centres released Wednesday includes 16 recommendations - all of which the province says it agrees with. ...
Patients, families to learn cause of critical medical errors under proposed regulatory changes
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is proposing regulatory changes under the Quality of Care Information Protection Act that would make it mandatory for hospitals to disclose the cause of critical incidents to pat ...
Competition Bureau shelves Beer Store-LCBO ‘sweetheart deal’ complaint
Restaurants Canada asked Competition Bureau last December to investigate deal signed in 2000 between LCBO, Beer Store ...
Patient safety No. 1 for premier when considering expanding role of firefighters
Proposal could see firefighters trained to respond to emergency medical calls, starting with administering symptom-relief drugs, but no decisions have been made yet ...