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Assignment 1: Creating a “Map” of Canada’s Public Administration
Maricon C. Torres
Orientation To Government and Public Sector- PPA-5003-OLA
Dr. Ted Glenn
September 14, 2023
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Introduction
In this paper, I will attempt to create a map of Ontario’s public administration using four pillars: formal-
legal foundations, legislature, Political Executive and Permanent Executive. I will analyze Ontario
Government promises and performance before and after COVID-19 Pandemic.
Formal-Legal Foundation
The two most important parts of the Constitution Act, 1967, for Ontario are 5 and Part 6. In Part 5: The
Provincial Constitution, discusses both Executive and legislative powers of Ontario. Formally, the
Governor General appoints Lieutenant Governor. Lieutenant Governors play the same role as the
Governor General in the federal level. But it is the prime minister that appoints the Lieutenant
Governor in real life. (Dodek, 2013) There is no specified timeline on how long they can stay in office,
but the Act states that Lieutenant Governors cannot be removed in the first five years of their term
except with reason. (Dodek,2013) They will get their fixed income from the Parliament of Canada. They
swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen. (section 61) They will become members of the Executive
Council, also known as the Cabinet. The Executive Council will consist of the Attorney General, Secretary
and Registrar of the Province, the Treasurer of the Province, the Commissioner of Crown Lands and the
Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works. (sections 59-63) Lieutenant Governor of Ontario will
have all the powers that they had before the Confederation and can change depending on their
legislatures. In Section 67, the federal Cabinet can appoint an Administrator to fill in for the Lieutenant
Governor. (Dodek 2013) The Legislature for Ontario is the Lieutenant Governor and the Legislative
Assembly. In Part 5, section 70, the Act states that the Legislative Assembly of Ontario will have 82
members to represent the 82 Electoral Districts. Furthermore, the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario has
the power to call into action the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. (section 82)
In Distribution of Legislative Powers, Part 6 discusses the exclusive powers of Provincial Legislatures. In
Section 92, it states that each province has the power to direct taxation to raise funds for the province,
can borrow money from the Credit of the Province, handles the management and sale of public lands
that belongs to the province, oversee prisons, oversee hospitals, oversee municipal institutions and
handle licensing. Additional functions include solemnization of marriages, railways, administering laws in
the Province. The province is also responsible for non-renewable natural resources, forestry resources
and electrical energy. (section 92A) Moreover, education is the responsibility of Ontario.
Legislature
According to Ontario’s Legislative Assembly website, it has a unicameral legislature. (one legislative
chamber) It consists of 124 elected Member of Provicial Parliament (MPPs or seats).
According to Ontario’s Legislative Assembly website, there are 9 Standing Committees of the Legislature.
Each committee has nine MPPs from the political parties as seen in the House of Commons. These
committees handle legislative activity pertaining to provincial responsibilities such as education and
healthcare. There are ‘Select Committees’ which are also made up of 9 MPPs from the political parties
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seen the House. Their main function is to examine certain bills or matters. Their examinations occur on a
specified date. Then, they report back to the legislature. Once the reporting is done, the committee gets
dismantled. Finally, there is “Committee of the Whole House. This committee consists of all the
members of the legislature and they meet in the Chamber. The Deputy Speaker runs the committee of
the Whole House. This is where MPPs debate on committee reports and make additional commentary
on before a final vote.
The first example of legislative committee work is when the Standing Committee on Finance and
Economic Affairs did their pre-Budget hearings in specific locations such as Kenora, Toronto and Barrie.
It allowed citizens, stakeholders and local government partners to talk about their social, economic and
program-related concerns and make suggestions to MPPs. The committee made 10 recommendations:
make a plan to build the important infrastructure and services, work with every level of government to
address housing, infrastructure and transit problems.
The second example of legislative committee work is when the Standing Committee made a report on
the modernization of the bail system. On December 27, 2022, Constable G. Peirzchala was shot dead
when conducting a routine roadside check. He was shot by two individuals on bail. Commissioner
Carrique argued that the murder was preventable had there been stricter parameters on who gets bail.
Committee members conducted several interviews province-wide about having centralized monitoring
and compliance on bails. The Standing Committee of Justice Policy made 12 recommendations:
immediately reverse bail if offenders are caught possessing restricted firearms, reverse bail on offenders
who pose considerable risk to public safety like repeat offenders and immediately implement
amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada.
A third example is when the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs conducted a study on
the lifespan and weaknesses of the current buildings in the Legislative Precinct. Through interviews they
found that the buildings had many deficiencies such as a lack of total fire sprinkler, obsolete steam-
supplied radiators and pipes with asbestos. They made the following recommendations: need for
restoration of the Legislative Building, plans for restoration should be reviewed by the committee and
the government and the Office of the Assembly.
A fourth example is when the Standing Committee on Public accounts conducted public hearings about
the audit of Condominium Oversight in Ontario. They made 21 recommendations, such as the Ministry
of Public and Business Service Delivery should do a better job protecting buyers by implementing
standardized purchase of sale forms.
Finally, a fifth example is when the Standing Committee on Public Accounts held public hearings on the
audit of COVID-19 Economic Response and Supports for Businesses (2021). The committee made 12
recommendations. One of the recommendations was to review the implementation of the Ontario Small
Business Support Grant and give a report to the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee so that they can
give guide as to how to design and deliver future financial aid programs for businesses.
The Ontario Legislature has the following administrative supports: Business Continuity, Financial
Services, Human Resources, Parliamentary Food Services, and Purchasing & Operations. The Executive
Director’s function is to manage all members’ salaries and expenditure, appropriations to the parties;
prepare studies and implements the estimates of the Office Assembly; creates policy decisions in the
Financial Services, Human Resources, Parliamentary Food Services and Purchasing & Operation areas.
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The Business Continuity Office is responsible for creating and examining Assembly plans, programs, and
capabilities just in case of an interruption. It also helps Assembly branches to create and examine
specific branch plans.
Financial Services supports members of the Legislative Assembly, Assembly Offices, Commissions and
the parties with different financial services such payment processing, accounts receivable invoicing and
collections, financial analysis, development, communication and advice on financial policies and
procedures.
Human Resources works the office of the Assembly Staff and Commissions reporting to the Legislature
such as staffing, payroll, and staff relations.
Parliamentary Food Services handles all food services facilities in the Legislative Precinct.
Technology Services branch handles the developing, maintaining, and securing the Assembly’s
technology infrastructure by giving a full range of information technology services and support.
In 2022-2023 session there are 86 public bills and 2 private bills.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/expenditure-estimates-volume-1-table-contents-2022-23
Political Executive
In 2018, Doug Ford and Progressive Conservative Party electoral platform is called A Plan for Ontario.
First is to put more money into the people of Ontario’s pockets. He promises to scrap the carbon tax,
minimize gas prices by 10 cents/litre and give tax relief to both the lower- and middle-class families. The
second step is to clean up the ‘hydro mess’ by getting rid of the $6 million man running Hydro One and
by decreasing hydro bills by 12%. The third step is to create good jobs. They promise to return good jobs
by decreasing taxes, stabilizing hydro bills and getting rid of red tape that decreases jobs. The fourth
step is restoring accountability and trust by recommending a line-by-line audit of government spending.
https://www.poltext.org/sites/poltext.org/files/plateformesV2/Ontario/ON_PL_2018_PC.pdf
Currently, according to ontariopc.ca, Doug Ford and Ontario PC Party have a 5-step plan to build
Ontario. The first step is to restore Ontario's economy and return good manufacturing jobs back to the
province. They will use Ontario’s Ring of Fire (mineral development region) and northern minerals to
bring about electric vehicles and batteries that fuel them. The second step will be to build highways and
vital infrastructures such as Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. They also promise to increase the
size of public transit and give Bowmanville and Londo Go train service. The third step is to get more
people into the skilled trades by funding training and increasing minimum wage. The fourth step is to
keep costs down by decreasing gas tax and getting rid of the license plate sticker fees. They also promise
to build 1.5 million new homes in the next 10 years so that more people can afford to buy a home.
Finally, the fifth step is a promise to stay open in the future. They promise to hire more healthcare
professionals, help seniors keep their independence and have a steady supply of PPE and vaccines.
https://ontariopc.ca/only-doug-ford-and-the-ontario-pc-party-will-get-it-done/
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Doug Ford’s mandate letters was surrounded by controversy. Unlike Justin Trudeau, Doug Ford did not
want to release his 2018 mandate letters. In September 2023, Global News gained unauthorized access
to all 24 mandate letters. Like Justin Trudeau’s mandate letters, Ford’s tone was authoritative using
words such ‘adamant,’ ‘determined’ and ‘I expect.’ As per his mandate letters, Ford expects all his
ministers to know his five core commitments to Ontarians by heart: to reduce taxes put more money in
Ontarians’ pockets, to fire the CEO of Hydro One, create ‘good’ jobs, audit government spending and
end hallway health care by creating 15,000 hospital beds.
Christine Elliott, the Minister of Health received a mandate letter outlining a plan to get 30,000 long-
term care beds in 10 years in anticipation of the increasing elderly population. Furthermore, Ford
intends to keep his promise to invest $3.8 billion in mental health, addictions and supportive housing. In
addition, he wants to follow through with his promise to have free dental services for seniors with low
incomes.
Lisa Thompson, the Minister of Education, received a mandate letter to renew math education, fix the
standardized testing given by the Education Quality Assessment Office and repeal Ontario’s current
inappropriate sex education curriculum with the previous one. This was not mentioned in his electoral
platform.
Vic Fedeli, the Minister of Finance, received a mandate letter to work with Minister of Energy and the
President of the Treasury Board to audit the previous administration’s accounting and find a way to
change the Fair Hydro Plan. Another order was to launch his various tax reforms such as the Ontario Tax
Reduction.
Based on Doug Ford’s mandate letters, there is a strong correlation to his electoral platform promises.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9942332/ontario-mandate-letter-2018-highlights-ford-government/
I will be examining Doug Ford’s three Throne Speeches. 2018, 2021 and 2022. All three were written by
the premier’s office and read by Lieutenant Elizabeth Dowdewell. Doug Ford’s Throne Speeches have a
stronger correlation to external circumstances than to his electoral platform and mandate letters.
In the 2018 Throne Speech, Doug Ford was able to stick to electoral promises and mandate plans. He
discussed auditing government spending. He also discussed scrapping the current sex-ed curriculum and
selling alcohol at convenience stores. He also promised to protect jobs, lower electricity bills and cut
taxes. All three matters have been present in his electoral platforms and mandate letters. It is worth
mentioning that the entire speech was read in English only and there was no mention of Indigenous
issues.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/doug-ford-speech-from-throne-ontario-lieutenant-governor-
1.4742525
In the 2021 Throne Speech, Doug Ford had a drastically different tone compared to 2018. As to be
expected, this was at the earlier part of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The first half of the speech discussed
vaccination plans. He promised to invest money in increasing hospital capacity. He went on to point out
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that the federal government failed to keep its promise to have 50-50 funding. The second half discussed
fiscal challenges Ontarians are facing, building infrastructure and indigenous matters. The pandemic
sidelined most of Ford’s electoral promises and mandate plans.
Ontario government outlines priorities in throne speech – October 4, 2021
In 2022, the Throne Speech was read both in English and French. From the introduction, Doug Ford
called to attention issues of COVID-19 and inflation challenging Ontario’s economy. He discussed his
electric vehicle production project which allows him to keep his promise to grow Ontario’s economy and
create more jobs. He also discusses Critical Minerals strategy which is in keeping with his promise to
utilize Ontario’s Ring of Fire. He also mentioned temporarily cutting the provincial gas tax rate. Again,
this echoes his electoral promise to keep money in Ontarians’ pockets.
https://www.google.com/search?
q=throne+speech+doug+ford&rlz=1C5CHFA_enCA867CA867&oq=throne+speech+doug+ford&aqs=chro
me..69i57j0i22i30.11290j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-
8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:81938c83,vid:e5M0Gti7Xik,st:0
Permanent Executive
The Ontario government has 29 Departments.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/ministries
There are 170 agencies in the government of Ontario.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/agencies-boards-and-commissions#:~:text=Ontario%20has%20over
%20170%20provincial,360%20community%20organizations%20and%20boards.
It is very difficult to find department expenditures of the Ontario Government. The best I could find is
categorical expenditures. The top five expenditures are as follows: $75 billion on Health, $32 billion on
Educataion, $18 billion on Children, Community and Social Services, $15 billion on Finance and $10
billion on Colleges & Universities.
The five lowest expenditures are as follows: $1 million on Lieutenant Governor’s Office, $2 million of
Premier’s Office, $7 million on Francophone Affairs, $42 million on Cabinet, $56 million on Citizenship &
Multiculturalism.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/summary-table-1-operating-2022-23
Doug Ford promised to audit government spending but it’s hard discern if it made any real difference.
Both Ford and Wynn spent $2 million dollars on operating the Premier’s office. Ford promised to
address issues surrounding the environment (ie. Create greener jobs). Wynne spent $522 million, and
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Ford spent $680 million. This is considerable difference. He did promise to ‘stay open in the future’
which I interpret as getting a better grip on COVID-19. The largest category he spent on is health: $75
billion. Before the pandemic, Wynne spent $50 billion which is a marked increase. Finally, Ford
promised to grow the economy. Wynne spent $1.1 billion and Doug spent $942 million. Is the decreased
spending due to limited resources because of COVID-19? Or is it evidence that he did not keep his
promise to grow the economy? I would argue that there is no one clear measure of ‘growing the
economy’ and budgeting is exceedingly difficult under the stress of COVID-19 pandemic. I would also
argue that it is hard to say whether levels of expenditure correlate with Ford’s current strategic
mandate. First, his mandate letters were not willing published. Furthermore, his platform promises were
to cut taxes and decrease hydro bills. These numbers are not found in terms of expenditure.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/summary-table-1-operating
Conclusion
It was a lot harder to find information on Ontario’s government compared to the federal government.
The Constitution Act, 1967 laid the framework of Ontario’s Government. The legislature works like a
well-oiled machinery. Everyone knows their role and their outputs are easily monitored. Examination
gets more difficult in the Political Executive and Permanent Executive. Transparency and accessibility of
information makes it difficult to hold the Ontario government accountable.
,
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References
Constitutional Act, 1867. (1867). 30 & 31 Vict., c. 3 (Can.).
Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (2023) Pre-Budget Consultation 2023
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/committees/finance-economic-affairs/parliament-43/
reports/2023-apr-3-report-pre-budget-consultation-2023-standing-committee-finance-economic-affairs
Standing Committee on Justice Policy (2023) A Report on the Modernization of the Bail System:
Strengthening Public Safety Standing Committee on Justice Policy
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/committees/justice-policy/parliament-43/reports/2023-
mar-20-a-report-modernization-bail-system-strengthening-public-safety-standing-committee-justic\
Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (2023) First Interim Report: Study of the
Rehabilitation and Restoration of the Legislative Precinct.
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/committees/procedure-house-affairs/parliament-43/
reports/2023-mar-8-first-interim-report-study-rehabilitation-restoration-legislative-precinct
Standing Committee on Public Accounts: (2023) Value-for-Money Audit: Condominium Oversight in
Ontario
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/committees/public-accounts/parliament-43/reports/2023-
feb-21-value-for-money-audit-condominium-oversight-ontario-2020-annual-report-office-auditor-ge
Standing Committee on Public Accounts: (2023) Value-for-Money Audit: COVID-19 Economic Response
and Supports for Business
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/committees/public-accounts/parliament-43/reports/2023-
feb-21-value-for-money-audit-covid-19-economic-response-supports-businesses-2021-annual-report-
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Dodek, A. (2013) The Canadian Constitution 2nd edition. Dundurn.
