Ontario's most controversial bills of 2020
Legislation from Premier Doug Ford's government wasn't always related to the COVID-19 pandemic
It's been a year like no other, including within the stately stone walls of Ontario's legislature.
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed business at Queen's Park. Normally raucous question period took on a more muted tone, with limited numbers of physically distanced MPPs scattered around the chamber, their occasional heckles muffled by masks.
Premier Doug Ford's government prioritized emergency legislation during the pandemic's first wave, and the opposition parties co-operated with their unanimous consent to speed passage of six such bills. But as the year progressed, political differences re-emerged as the government pushed forward with its agenda, sometimes with legislation completed unrelated to COVID-19.
Here's a look at the most contentious bills of 2020:
1. COVID-19 lawsuit immunity
No legislation drew more heat than Bill 218, the Ford government's move to shield organizations from lawsuits over the spread of COVID-19.
The association representing Ontario's biggest long-term care homes wanted the bill, saying it would protect "institutions working in good faith on the front lines." The government insists the legislation does not stop grossly negligent homes from facing legal consequences.
But families of long-term care residents who've died as a result of COVID-19 infections fear the bill gives lawyers for every home a big loophole to fend off lawsuits by saying their clients followed public health guidelines.
Ultimately, it will be up to the courts to decide what the legislation actually does. Meanwhile, people living in long-term care continue to be the most frequent victims of the pandemic. More than 2,300 residents with COVID-19 have died, nearly 500 of those during the second wave.
2. University status for Canada Christian College
Ford won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party — paving his way to become premier — in no small part through the backing of evangelical pastor Charles McVety, president of the Whitby-based Canada Christian College.
Ford's political and personal connection to McVety put a spotlight on a small section of the government's Bill 213, entitled the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act. The legislation includes a clause to give the Bible college the status of a university and allow it to grant bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees.
The move prompted an outpouring of criticism in the wake of McVety's past comments about Islam, same-sex marriage, Ontario's sex ed curriculum and Darwin's theory of evolution.
The college's application to become a university and grant the new degrees is still before Ontario's independent Post-secondary Education Quality Assessment Board (PEQAB). Although the bill enabling the changes passed this week, the government says it will not bring the legislation into force without PEQAB approval.
WATCH| Former premier Kathleen Wynne calls Charles McVety 'the most publicly and vocally homophobic man in Ontario'
3. Weakening conservation authorities' powers
Since taking power, the Ford government had been steadily whittling away at the mandate of Ontario's 26 conservation authorities, which oversee environmental and watershed protection at the regional level. The government took a further step in November with part of its budget bill, weakening the authorities' powers to limit development projects.
The government described the legislation as streamlining and modernizing the process for development approvals. Conservation authority officials variously described it as "worse than we ever would have anticipated" and "development at any cost."
The provisions (contained in Schedule 6 of the budget bill) triggered the mass resignation of seven members of Ontario's Greenbelt Council, including its chair David Crombie.
Despite the blowback, the government stood firm, and the bill passed on Tuesday, a few hours before the PCs moved to adjourn the legislature for the rest of 2020.
WATCH| What's at stake for environmental protection after the passing of Ontario's budget bill
4. Halting ranked ballots in municipal elections
The government puzzled many observers by putting seemingly unrelated legislation about the 2022 municipal elections into its bill granting good faith immunity from COVID-19 lawsuits.
The bill bans municipalities from using ranked ballots in elections for mayor and council. London had used this system in 2018, while Kingston and Cambridge were preparing to do so in 2022, and Toronto was considering the prospect.
Ford described the ban as necessary to stop municipalities from spending tax dollars to make the switch. He defended the existing "first-past-the-post" system as the way elections have been held since Confederation in 1867.
Nearly all Canadian political parties — including the Ontario PCs — now use ranked ballots to select leaders.
Some democracy activists say such a system helps voters get more engaged in municipal elections and makes for more competitive council races.
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