Welcome back to the Inside Ontario blog, where every Monday we recap some important stories from around Ontario.

This week: public sector lobbying; KFC’s Double Down comes to Canada; a state of emergency is declared in a remote Northern Ontario community; Sudbury grapples with the limits of freedom of speech during its municipal election; and 11-term Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion loses the support of the local newspaper.

 
Public sector lobbying was in the news again last week. Earlier this month, the Ontario NDP questioned the Dalton McGuinty government for days over Ontario hospitals, colleges, universities, and municipalities spending more than $1 million to lobby the provincial government. 

On Wednesday, Auditor General Jim McCarter released a report on the use of consultants – including lobbyists – in Ontario hospitals and LHINs (local health integration networks). The Auditor found that eight of the 16 hospitals that he studied hired lobbyists to influence the government. McCarter concluded that while the amount of money used by hospitals to lobby the government was small, this was still a questionable use of funds. 

As a result, the McGuinty government introduced new legislation that will apply to all organizations that receive more than $10 million of provincial government funding per year. The new rules will: broaden the number of agencies subject to freedom of information legislation; require senior executives to post their expenses online; and require these organizations to annually report their use of consultants. 

Last Thursday The Agenda with Steve Paikin hosted a discussion on the issues behind public sector lobbying.

KFC’s Double Down was at the centre of much discussion last week. The Double Down, which is new to Canada, is a cheese and bacon sandwich that substitutes fried chicken for bread. It has 540 calories, 1,740 milligrams of sodium, and 30 grams of fat (that’s more than an adult’s daily recommended intake of sodium and half of the recommended daily intake of fat).

On Tuesday, Minister of Health Promotion Margaret Best was speaking to reporters when the Double Down was brought up. Best said, “It’s not something that we have discussed but it’s certainly something we may look at and review.”

Afterwards, the Ministry of Health Promotion quickly emailed the following quote from Best to the Queen’s Park Press Gallery,

"I wish to reiterate that there are no plans to review the availability of any food products in Ontario. Consumers have the right to choose the food they wish to purchase.”

However, that did not stem the outrage. Brian Lilley challenged government bans in the Toronto Sun, culminating with the line, “they can have my Double Down when they pry it from my cold dead fingers.” 

Chris Selley of the National Post noted that there are food options that are unhealthier than the Double Down (even on KFC’s menu). For Selley, the Double Down debate is another sign that, “Food has become a constant riddle. We’re more afraid of it than ever.”

However, Mark Schatzker, author of, Steak: One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef, put how unhealthy the Double Down is into some context. He claims that,

“A single Double Down, if burned efficiently, could heat a small bucket of ice-cold water to the point of boiling. If the ‘sandwich’ were renewable, it would put Exxon out of business.”

Schatzker also did something few others who opined on the Double Down did: he reviewed its taste (he is unlikely to buy another Double Down).

While the pundits weighed-in, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had some fun with the issue. Referring to the possibility of a government review of the Double Down, he told the media, “There is not a colonel of truth [to that].” McGuinty recently joined Twitter and he responded to a Double Down related comment from recent Agenda guest Donald Blair, with the following: “@donaldblair Never heard of the double down until I heard I was investigating it. Then I heard I wasn't. Man, politics is fun! :-)”

Fort Hope, an Eabametoong First Nation community of 1,200 people located 200 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, has declared a state of emergency after a rash of youth crime.

Since January there have been three homicides in the community. There have also been nearly 50 incidents of arson, with targets including the school and various houses (causing some residents to sleep with fire extinguishers). A break-in at the local water-treatment facility resulted in the water system being shut down for five days due to fear of contamination. Animal mutilations have also been reported.  

Fort Hope Chief Lewis Nate blames the situation on the abuse of prescription drugs, alcohol, and other intoxicants, such as gasoline. He says unemployment rates and children growing up in abusive environments are also factors.  
 

 
Sudbury is grappling with the limits of free speech during its municipal election. The city has been deliberated on whether to allow controversial mayoral candidate David Popescu to participate in the mayoral debates. Popescu, who has run in federal and provincial election campaigns, is described by the Sudbury Star as a “fringe religious candidate” During his 2006 federal election campaign, Popescu told a group of high school students that homosexuals should be executed. This incident resulted in Popescu being convicted of hate crimes in 2009.

Mayoral candidate Marianne Matichuk wanted Popescu banned from Sudbury’s mayoral debates. Ultimately, Popescu was able to participate in the debates, but his participation caused rifts in the camps of the city’s mayoral hopefuls. 

 
Hazel McCallion is widely expected to win a 12th term as mayor of the City of Mississauga, but last week she lost the support of the local newspaper, the Mississauga News. The paper is supporting former city councillor Dave Cook for mayor instead.

Although the local paper praised McCallion’s past successes, it argued that,

“McCallion is becoming a lame duck mayor who won’t work with anyone who challenges her authority. After an illustrious career, it is time for McCallion to vacate her office.” 

Royson James of the Toronto Star reports that McCallion is campaigning hard to unseat seven councillors, led by former Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish, who challenged her leadership in the previous city council term.

The readership of the Mississauga News has not fully supported the paper’s editorial stance. As Sarah Chandler wrote in a letter to the editor of the Mississauga News,

“As a publication that has been supportive of Mayor McCallion for years, your cruel anti-Hazel message is not only disrespectful to the mayor, but also to your readers.”

Remember that today is municipal election day across Ontario, so get out and vote.

To learn about Ontario provincial politics visit TVO’s Civics 101 microsite.