Details

Two long running appeals to Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) requesting Southlake Regional Health Centre disclose key records relating to their now abandoned plans for a new acute hospital at Bathurst in the Protected Greenbelt have ended their so-called “mediation” phase.  The appeals are to be transferred to an Adjudicator later this month who will decide whether to conduct an inquiry. 

In the mediation phase of an appeal the IPC tries to get all the parties to reach a settlement. But if that is not possible and the matter is not fully settled

“an Adjudicator may conduct an Inquiry to dispose of some or all of the issues in the Appeal.”

The Adjudicator has powers to order the release of records that have been withheld.

The IPC’s Code of Procedure which guides the process is here. 

Preliminary Concept Plan

Southlake has repeatedly refused to release its “Preliminary Concept Plan” and records showing the location of the proposed hospital and other buildings considered for construction on the Rice lands. Southlake is withholding records on the grounds that (a) information had been supplied by third parties which should not be made public, and (b) disclosure would adversely affect the economic and other interests of Ontario. (This catchall provision protects records where disclosure could allegedly damage an institution's economic or other interests.)

Southlake relies on sections 17 and 18 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The records at issue include those parts of the draft and final Southlake Land Solutions Report which was released in a heavily redacted form and Southlake’s own land solutions report, again heavily redacted, which was presented to the first meeting of the Board’s Land Acquisition Sub Committee. Also in play are various drawings.

Public Interest Override

A second appeal concerns records within the category of Southlake’s “Capital Projects” file. These records include site sketches and various email chains. Again, Southlake relies on the s17 and s18 provisions of the Act to withhold records relating to third party information and the “economic and other interests of Ontario”. 

The Adjudicator is also being asked to consider applying the “public interest override” (s23 of the Act) which would set aside the s17 and s18 exemptions.

The Act says exemption from disclosure of a record under sections 17 and 18 (and other specified sections) does not apply 

“where a compelling public interest in the disclosure of the record clearly outweighs the purpose of the exemption.” 

This is manifestly the case here. We need to know the truth of what happened.

Crisis of Conscience

Two years ago, on Tuesday 1 November 2022, the developer Michael Rice offered land for a new hospital to Southlake’s then Chief Executive, Arden Krystal. Rice bought the 2.7 sq km tract of Greenbelt land in the rural Municipality of King on 15 September 2022 for $80M.

At that meeting Rice’s presentation to Arden Krystal and Southlake’s Vice President of Capital Facilities and Business Development, John Marshman, showed a plan of the Bathurst lands with the Southlake logo straddling the Rice lands and those to the south owned by land agent and former Southlake Board member, John Dunlap. This has never been explained.

On 16 November 2022 Marshman met Rice at his Markham HQ. It is inconceivable there would have been no discussion about the hospital location.

Land Acquisition Sub Committee

On 5 December 2022 Marshman chaired the first meeting of Southlake Board’s Land Acquisition Sub Committee which again placed the proposed hospital on lands owned by Rice and Dunlap. The colour coding highlighting lands owned by Rice, prominent in the first presentation on 1 November 2022, had been removed for this meeting.

Earlier, on either 28 or 29 September 2022 at the Rice Group’s HQ, Michael Rice handed over documents, maps and plans to Ryan Amato, then Chief of Staff to Housing Minister, Steve Clark. There was no mention of a hospital on the Bathurst lands.

Rice apparently had a crisis of conscience and told the Integrity Commissioner, David Wake, that he had promised to make land available for a new hospital and he was going to stick with it. Rice did not say who was given this promise.

The RCMP's criminal investigation into “allegations associated to the decision from the Province of Ontario to open parts of the Greenbelt for development” was launched on 10 October 2023. It is ongoing.

Southlake launches new site selection process

Elsewhere...  Newmarket Today (Monday 4 November) reports that Southlake is launching a new site selection process for a new acute hospital - not on the Greenbelt or Oak Ridges Moraine. (Own 40 acres of developable land? Southlake wants to hear from you)

The hospital plans to announce the new location in Spring 2025.

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See also: Timeline

Details

What will Dawn Gallagher Murphy MPP do with the $200 “rebate” she will be getting early next year? 

She thinks the handout is a great idea.

But I am left wondering what our Progressive Conservative MPP is going to do with this unexpected windfall.

I think she should tell us. 

Everyone gets the money

The Gallagher Murphy household will be $600 better off with Ford’s “special rebate” which will go to 15M people in Ontario at a cost of $3 Billion.

I can see her celebrating with a couple of bottles of the LCBO’s Bollinger Special Cuvée Brut Champagne.

The $3 billion giveaway will go to everyone, from the worker on minimum wage (currently $17.20 per hour) to Ontario’s army of millionaires and billionaires.

It is a sobering thought that Toronto alone has roughly 106,000 individuals with liquid investable wealth of at least US$1 million last year, putting the city 13th in the global rich list.

Borrowing to pay for handout

The Ford Government is running a deficit which means borrowing money to pay for the “special rebate.”

Dawn Gallagher Murphy’s former boss, Christine Elliott, would not have been amused. 

In opposition at Queen’s Park, she spent years scolding the Liberals for spending money they didn’t have:

“Deficit financing is anathema to Conservatives” 

because that means

“we are paying more and more in interest payments” 

Last week’s Fall Economic Statement shows the projected interest payments in coming years. (See below)

It shows the Province shelling out more in debt interest payments than it spends on, say, post-secondary education.

Debt load highest

In April 2024 the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario reported that Ontario’s net debt per capita was $19,436 in 2022, the highest among the provinces and $9,997 above the rest of Canada average:

“Ontario’s higher relative net debt results from its frequent budget deficits, which have typically been larger than the average budget deficit in the rest of Canada.”

Buying Votes

The rebate is, of course, designed to buy votes in the forthcoming Provincial election, widely expected next year.

If Ford were serious about helping people on lower incomes he could change the tax code and Provincial tax rates. 

A News Release from the Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, tells us:

“Providing a $200 taxpayer rebate early next year, which would give immediate relief for Ontario families in the face of high interest rates and the federal carbon tax. This proposed $200 taxpayer rebate would be sent to all eligible adults in Ontario who have filed their 2023 Income Tax and Benefit Return by December 31, 2024. Eligible families would receive an additional $200 for each child under 18.”

So we are getting the money to offset, amongst other things, the federal carbon tax.

But, whoa!

The CBC reminds us: 

“The controversial federal carbon tax is a frequent target for Ford and his ministers, who have repeatedly called for Ottawa to get rid of the levy. A 2023 analysis found a clear majority of Canadian households receive associated rebates that are larger than the carbon taxes they pay, and that scrapping the rebates would have a disproportionate negative impact on lower-income families.”

This is an inconvenient truth for Gallagher Murphy who parrots Ford's attacks on the so-called Carbon Tax at every opportunity.

Worthy cause

I suppose Gallagher Murphy could donate her $200 rebate to Southlake or some other worthy cause. And knowing her, it would have to be done in a blaze of publicity.

$200 could buy eight hours help from a personal support worker whose average wage in Ontario is around $24 per hour.

Or two bottles of Bollinger.

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Details

At 2.59pm on Saturday 19 October 2024 the Chair of the Newmarket-Aurora Federal Liberal Association told members and supporters by email that the Association was searching for a new candidate to replace Tony Van Bynen who is retiring. 

Matt Gunning invited the riding’s Liberals to suggest suitable people to the Search Committee who would take it from there. 

He told members he was looking forward to hearing from them!

The rigorous process of selecting a candidate worthy of representing the riding in the Federal Parliament would then begin.

Acclamation

At 1.40pm on Tuesday 22 October 2024 the very same members of the Liberal Party in Newmarket-Aurora were informed that the Party’s candidate in the next Federal election would be Jennifer McLachlan. She was acclaimed.

The Search Committee didn’t have to do much searching. It was all stitched up a long time ago.

Jennifer McLauchlan apparently works from time to time in Van Bynen’s office.

McLauchlan wants to be Prime Minister

On 22 June 2022 Newmarket Today told us the Cachet Supper Club owner Jennifer McLachlan was working toward a new career or two. 

But she also has her sights set on entering the political world as a future candidate. She said she will spend more time working at Newmarket-Aurora MP Tony Van Bynen’s office once she departs Cachet. 

“I want to be prime minister. I told (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) to his face when he was here last year.”

“I said it this way: ‘I’m not saying you’re doing a bad job, and I’m not that gal. But I would like someone to mentor me because I’d like to take over when you’re done.’”

Alas, her plans may be cruelly thwarted.

The ambitious Jennifer McLachlan may not be in Parliament by the time Trudeau is done.

Corruption

The whole episode illustrates the complete corruption of Team Trudeau’s phoney “nomination process”. 

Party members are invited to help select a new candidate and 71 hours later are presented with a fait accompli.  

Not even the pretence of going through the motions.

Of course, it’s not just Team Trudeau that stitches things up.

Hand-picked

Newmarket-Aurora’s MPP, Dawn Gallagher Murphy, worked as Christine Elliott’s Constituency Office Manager before being hand-picked by Doug Ford to be the Progressive Conservative candidate at the last Provincial election in 2022.

The nomination procedures of political parties in Canada are crying out to be independently monitored and regulated.

It is not just China and India that are trying to put compliant MPs into the Ottawa Parliament.

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Update on 25 October 2024: This morning at 9.20am (Friday) I received a call from a senior, long-standing member of the Newmarket-Aurora Federal Liberal Riding Association telling me I should have “checked my facts” before posting my blog on the acclamation of Jennifer McLaughlan. He said the nomination process in Newmarket-Aurora had been lengthy.

I’ve asked him for copies of all emails and other communications to Liberal Party members and supporters in Newmarket Aurora which relate to the nomination and selection of a candidate for the upcoming Federal election. As soon as I have these to hand I shall post them in their entirety.

My blogs express my opinions. I do not post information that I know to be false or inaccurate. 

In my 23 October 2024 blog I included a link to an Andrew Coyne piece in the Globe and Mail on 26 September 2024. He writes:

“… in the last Liberal leadership race, potential voters were not even required to purchase a membership, but only to declare themselves “supporters,” severing the last remaining link in the evidentiary chain, the credit-card receipt.

Historically, party nomination and leadership races, and the shenanigans attending thereto, have mostly been a source of entertainment for the rest of us: If they tended to be crooked, that was a matter for the crooks to settle amongst themselves. But when these races are being gamed, not by colourful local fixers, but by sinister foreign dictatorships, the whole business loses its Runyonesque charm.”

Update on 29 October 2024 from the CBC: The Government's days are numbered

________________

19 October 2024:

Dear Newmarket-Aurora Federal Liberal members and supporters;

Our current Member of Parliament, Tony Van Bynen has announced his retirement from politics and his decision to not seek another term. As a result, your Federal Liberal Riding Association has formed a Candidate Search Committee, with the goal of identifying potential candidate nominees for further review by the National Candidate Search Committee and subsequently for voting on when our Candidate Nomination Meeting takes place.

We are inviting all supporters of our Newmarket-Aurora federal riding to put forward names of community members who may be interested in seeking the nomination and who you feel deserve consideration. Please send names, contact information, and a brief note about why you are recommending them for inclusion in our search process. We look forward to hearing from you!

Thanks,

Matt Gunning

Chair, Newmarket-Aurora Federal Liberal EDA

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22 October 2024:

We’re pleased to share that Jennifer McLachlan has been acclaimed as the Liberal Candidate for Newmarket--Aurora in the next federal election, and will continue building on our hard work to keep Canada moving forward.

With a strong focus on important new engagement with Canadians, the Team Trudeau nominations process helps ensure we’re ready to re-elect our dedicated Liberal team in Parliament and continue to elect even more talented, diverse, and hardworking community leaders as Liberal MPs across Canada, whenever the next campaign eventually arrives.

As we look forward to the important work ahead of us, the hope and hard work of Liberals across Canada will ensure our candidates and teams are ready to run competitive campaigns and earn another mandate from Canadians – including right here in Newmarket--Aurora.

For more information on the nomination process, please click here.

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Terry Duguid & Soraya Martinez Ferrada
National Campaign Co-Chairs
Liberal Party of Canada

Update on 24 October 2024 from Newmarket Today

Details

The Library Board agenda for tomorrow’s meeting (16 October) reports that in September 2024 the library had 22,935 members and more than a quarter -  5,830 - come from out-of-town. 

17,105 members are Newmarket residents. This is the smallest membership in a decade – perhaps longer. (Library agendas going back to 2014 are posted on-line by the Town). 

Where have all the Newmarket members gone?

Exploded

It is a different story for the out-of-towners whose numbers have exploded in recent years.

Library membership is now open to all Ontario residents.

We now have the highest number of out-of-town members in a decade. I am left wondering where they come from and what they borrow. 

Hoopla costs money but it's free to members

Borrowing movies on-line via Hoopla, for example, costs the Library money. Could our tax dollars be subsidizing movie buffs in Sarnia or Sudbury? I don’t know the answer to that one but it is a question the Board could ask at its meeting tomorrow.

Detailed statistical data on Library usage last went to the Board on 15 February 2023. It covered the 2022 calendar year. 

The full range of Library usage statistics was not collected in 2023 but we do have figures for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Selective

In March 2024 the Board considered its “Report to the Community 2023” which was then presented to Town councillors the following month. Given the format, this report was inevitably highly selective.

In the absence of comprehensive data for 2023, the Board made do with snapshots presenting data in a dramatic way but without context. In the same way, in "By the Numbers 2024" we learn that $3,400,518 was the amount saved by all library users borrowing items in the year to date (September 2024). That sounds pretty impressive to me. But we have no way of comparing it with previous years. 

We don’t have the number of items borrowed by category that would allow us to compare borrowing behaviour with earlier years and to spot trends. That’s why the Library routinely collected this information in the past.

Membership by Ward

All that being the case, we now have Library membership by ward – something that councillors have repeatedly requested. And this is a big step forward.

The figures capture Library membership in the Town’s seven wards in September 2024. The Chief Executive, Tracy Munusami, has figures for 2022 so it should be the work of moments for her to compare membership by ward between these dates and to see if the Library’s much touted outreach work is making a difference in underserved areas of Town and is being reflected in new members.

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Details

Newmarket Public Library lost 28% of its members who live in town between December 2022 and September 2024 – shrinking from 23,847 to 17,105. Over the same period there was a huge 48% increase in the number of members living out-of-town. (See Note 1 below.)

The Library – like all public facing organisations – was severely impacted by the Covid pandemic. There is no Library data from January - June 2020 due to the COVID 19 closure. The Town lifted its state of emergency in August 2021.

We do not know why the library’s membership plummeted so dramatically in 2023. The reasons have never been publicly reported and the NPL’s “Report to the Community 2023” is silent on the matter. The Library did not capture membership statistics in 2023 - only new Library members, not lapsed. (See Note 2 below)

Library membership must be renewed every two years. Perhaps membership was rolled over during the pandemic. If so, that would have been entirely reasonable. But we haven’t been given any explanation. How do we account for the post-pandemic shrinkage in membership?

Over a quarter of Library members are now from out-of-town

The Library Board reviewed its membership policy in January 2023 and membership is now free to all residents of Ontario. Previously it was restricted to residents of the Town and those from areas (such as other municipalities in York Region) that had reciprocal arrangements with Newmarket.

Our next door neighbour, Aurora, charges $80 to out-of-towners who do not live, work, attend school or own property in York Region. Other neighbouring municipalities such as Georgina charge non-resident fees.

Here in Newmarket the number of out-of-town members has more than doubled since 2018 from 2,714 to 5,830. Over a quarter of the Library membership is now from out-of-town. (See table right: 5,830 out of 22,935.)

Ontario-wide membership comes at a cost to the Town. Members can, of course, borrow on-line through Hoopla and other external providers and the library pays for this service on behalf of its members. That’s why the number of movies and other digital items borrowed every month through Hoopla or Kanopy is capped – to keep a handle on the Library’s finances.

Last year, the Library’s "Report to the Community 2023" tells us 23,421 Hoopla "digital items" were borrowed. We don't know many were borrowed by out-of-towners. The statistical data for 2023 - which I received in answer to a Freedom of Information request - says 25,381 Hoopla "ebooks and audio books" were borrowed. It is not immediately clear to me why there should be a difference in the figures. (Click "read more" to see the NPL table) 

Break down of Library membership by Ward

Ward 7 councillor Christina Bisanz has repeatedly asked for a breakdown of Library membership by ward to see which areas use the Library most heavily. She again requested this information on 8 April 2024 when the NPL’s Chief Executive, Tracy Munusami, presented the Library’s Report to the Community 2023. Cllr Bisanz was told an examination of membership by ward had been part of a strategic planning exercise in 2022 but the figures hadn’t been updated since then. The Chief Executive assured Cllr Bisanz she could find out. But six months have passed with no update. It's as if the councillor had never asked.

This information is critically important given the Library Board’s emphasis on outreach. The Council has ruled out a new library – or even a new branch – and some Board members openly scoff at the suggestion. They are determined to make do with what they’ve got.

With a small single library for 91,000 people and no replacement on the horizon the library sees its role as reaching out to areas and populations that are under-served. (The Library's Park Avenue location is shown as a red dot in map above.) 

Huge Variation 

The statistics for 2023 show a huge variation in Library membership by Ward. Ward 5 in downtown Newmarket is home to the Library and 23.7% of its residents are members. (Library members age 11 and younger can piggy-back on their parents’ or guardians’ membership.)

In fast growing Ward 7  – whose population is now estimated at over 19,000 - only 17.1% of residents have a Library card.

When the ward membership figures used in the 2022 strategic planning exercise are made available we shall at long last be able compare Library usage ward by ward and judge whether the outreach work is boosting membership in those areas where take-up is relatively low.

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Note 1: The table above right (Stats by Ward) gives statistics for September 2024. 

On 8 April 2024 the Chief Executive, Tracy Munusami, told Town councillors that Library membership figures broken down by Newmarket Ward were used in a strategic planning exercise in 2022 to identify areas of Town which were underserved by the Library. I am waiting for these figures.

Note 2: This is the exchange between Cllr Bisanz and Library Chief Executive Tracy Munusami on 8 April 2024 during the presentation on the Library’s “Report to the Community 2023”:

Councillor Christina Bisanz:  But I was just wondering if you sort of track where people who are visiting the library and have library cards actually live, where they come from within the town? Because certainly if you're planning to expand outreach horizons I think that would might give some indication of where there's an opportunity to just raise even more awareness of not only the physical library itself but the different services that you provide.

CEO Tracy Munusami: Through you Mr. Mayor…. the last time we did take a look at the ward split for library cards was when we were doing our strategic planning process and that was back in 2022. There were some wards that did have more library card users than others and so we've used that data to try to target where our outreaches are in the community. 

Councillor Christina Bisanz:  So did you note that there was a difference or is it equally spread across the town?

CEO Tracy Munusami: So I haven't done a follow up to see if the increase of the 5300 new library members this year has kind of bridged those gaps. I can find out.

Note 3: I filed a Freedom of Information request for sight of the full complement of Library Statistics for 2023, reported in the same format as in previous years (which go back for a decade and more). On 10 July 2024 I was told no membership statistics were captured in 2023.

I had asked for statistics showing the total number of NPL card holders; renewed membership; the number of Programs broken down by adult, children’s and total; program attendance broken down by adult, children’s and total attendance and borrowing showing the categories listed in the statistical data for 2021. I was told:

“Unfortunately, the requested statistics cannot be provided. Statistics such as renewed members and number of cardholders must be pulled in real-time, and no 2023 data is available. Due to changes in the software used for booking programming we cannot provide detailed breakdowns of program and program attendance only aggregates. Circulation statistics cannot be provided in detail in the same categories as there was a cataloguing error resulting in missing data when broken down into categories.”

Note 4:  On 28 February 2018 on the NPL website, the previous Library Chief Executive, Todd Kyle, gave reasons why the Town should expand its library services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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