Here's a roundup of the Ford government's latest proposals ahead of Ontario's legislative return
CBC
Ontario's legislature is set to resume sitting Monday after a 14-week break that ended in a veritable deluge of news, partial proposals and headline-grabbing musings from Premier Doug Ford and his government.
It is a flood-the-zone strategy, opposition parties say, in an attempt to drown out criticism over a government plan to keep records of cabinet ministers and the premier — including his cellphone records — secret.
The government announced on March 13 that it would table a bill during the spring session to exempt those records, as well as those of their staff and parliamentary assistants, from freedom-of-information laws.
Stephen Crawford, minister of public and business service delivery, said the move was about bringing Ontario in line with other jurisdictions. Ford, however, also said it was about cellphone records.
"When it comes to a cabinet conversation within cabinet and on personal cellphones, that should not be FOI-able," he said Tuesday.
Existing laws already exempt any records that reveal cabinet deliberations.
The clampdown comes as Global News fights a long FOI battle for access to Ford's call records, which the information and privacy commissioner has said should be public since the premier uses his personal phone for government business. A court earlier this year threw out an attempt by the government to overrule the IPC ruling.
For that reason, the proposed new — and retroactive — law has opposition critics up in arms, setting the stage for freedom-of-information laws to be the unlikely star of the show when the first question period of the session gets underway.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles said the people of Ontario have a right to know who the premier is hearing from as he makes decisions about governing the province.
"What kind of business he was conducting on his cellphone?" she said last week. "He's fighting pretty damn hard to hide that cellphone record, and I'd like to know why."
The same day as the FOI announcement, the government also announced it would allow retail shopping on Family Day and Victoria Day, and said it would seek an injunction to block the pro-Palestinian Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto the following day. The ill-fated attempt, however, was not filed with the court until mere hours before the rally started.
In the days since, the stream of news has continued unabated. The attorney general urged the federal government to legalize pepper spray through a seemingly unprompted letter. The premier said during prepared remarks that he wanted to livestream bail hearings, a plan for which his office could offer no details.
The transportation minister announced a plan to let all drivers use high-occupancy vehicle lanes during off-peak hours, though the government does not yet know what those hours will be. The government announced it will allow bring-your-own-booze rules at outdoor festivals and farmers markets.
On Wednesday, the premier congratulated a resident for shooting an alleged home invader.
A Toronto non-profit says it's launched the province's first harm reduction program for adults with intellectual disabilities.
In Havana on Friday, Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío Domínguez argued that Canada should maintain the commercial relationship with Cuba that has made it the country's largest foreign investor after Spain.
About 100 people gathered outside the Colonial Building in St. John’s on Saturday for an anti-war rally. They were met with some counter-protesters, highlighting different views on the Iran war.
The two candidates hoping to become Quebec's next premier in less than a month took part in a first official sparring match Saturday, with Christine Fréchette accusing her opponent of having a big ego and bringing the debate over shale gas back to the forefront.
Amanda Lathlin, the first First Nations woman to be elected to the legislative assembly in Manitoba's history, has died, the provincial NDP said on Saturday.
Colten Poitras describes Indian relay as an extreme sport.
After more than 48 hours of heavy rainfall, conditions began to ease Saturday morning, but the City of Fernie, B.C., says untreated wastewater is still being released into the Elk River.
An Alberta town reeling from the loss of its rinks has advanced to the final stage of a national competition, with $250,000 on the line.
Members of the new Arctic Canada Tourism Network want to make sure their industry has a voice in conversations about the future of the Arctic.
People continue to flock to Banff National Park.
Two Toronto councillors have brought forward a motion to ban raising foreign flags at Toronto City Hall and civic centres.
Thousands of Maritime Electric customers in multiple communities across Queens County are without power Saturday morning.
Three weeks into the conflict in the Middle East, the joint U.S.-Israel onslaught has killed much of Iran's leadership, knocked out much of its ballistic missile capability, sunk nearly all of its navy and, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, has "militarily WON" the war already.