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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

txlseries4 said:
Quite a story today in The Star

www.thestar.com

Hundreds of driving conviction appeals tossed after Toronto-area paralegal files ‘sham’ challenges

A judge found Adelin Mocanu’s ploy to file a raft of meritless appeals in Highway Traffic Act charges put public safety at risk and forced the court to spend “countless hours” on frivolous cases.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com

In a pair of rulings released April 9 and Aug. 14, Justice Louis P. Strezos found that GTA paralegal Adelin B. Mocanu lodged more than 220 “meritless” appeals over the past two years for charges related to speeding, disobeying traffic signs and other provincial offences under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA).

The judge found that Mocanu never had the intention of advancing the appeals, all of which were submitted after the paralegal or his Newmarket-based firm, Ticket Justice, entered guilty pleas on behalf of the defendants. Instead, Strezos determined, the goal of the ploy — flagged by city of Toronto prosecutors but which may have also been active in other jurisdictions — was to drag out proceedings until two years after the date the driver was charged. That’s the point after which provincial regulations dictate demerit points can no longer be applied to driving records.
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If one can only assign damages for the amount of time (and therefore money) each case consumed the justice system to him.

AoD
 
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'Return to the Stone Age': Ontario public servants rally against Ford's return-to-office order​


A union that represents Ontario public servants is ramping up its fight against the Ford government's decision to mandate provincial workers back to the office four days a week this fall and five days a week next year.

On Thursday, the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario (AMAPCEO) held rallies across the province in support of remote work, calling on the province to reverse what it describes as a "disruptive and unnecessary" mandate.

At one rally outside Queen's Park in Toronto, about 200 members delivered a petition opposing the mandate — which the union said had collected more than 13,000 signatures — to Secretary of Cabinet Michelle E. DiEmanuele.


AMAPCEO CEO and president Dave Bulmer said members are frustrated by the abrupt shift away from hybrid work, which has been in place since 2022.

"We've been working with hybrid fashion for three-and-a-half years. This is sort of the norm for us. And so going back to a five-day work week is going to be like the proverbial return to the Stone Age," Bulmer said, adding members have typically worked "three days in the office, two days from home."

The Ford government announced last month that employees of the Ontario Public Service (OPS), provincial agencies, boards, and commissions must increase their in-office presence from three days a week to four starting on Oct. 20. By Jan. 5 next year, staff will be mandated to be in the office full time.

AMAPCEO filed a policy dispute earlier this month, alleging the government violated its collective agreement by failing to provide enough notice before implementing the new policy,. The union is also warning that the decision could affect recruitment and retention at a time when the OPS is already facing staffing challenges.
 
evandyk said:
When "the Stone Age" is early March of 2020.
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This is truly about justifying real estate prices and the salaries of management. Forget that study after study shows greater productivity, they're going to throw the baby out with the bathwater because some backwards idiots have micromanager complexes.
 
thettctransitfanatic said:

'Return to the Stone Age': Ontario public servants rally against Ford's return-to-office order​


A union that represents Ontario public servants is ramping up its fight against the Ford government's decision to mandate provincial workers back to the office four days a week this fall and five days a week next year.

On Thursday, the Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario (AMAPCEO) held rallies across the province in support of remote work, calling on the province to reverse what it describes as a "disruptive and unnecessary" mandate.

At one rally outside Queen's Park in Toronto, about 200 members delivered a petition opposing the mandate — which the union said had collected more than 13,000 signatures — to Secretary of Cabinet Michelle E. DiEmanuele.


AMAPCEO CEO and president Dave Bulmer said members are frustrated by the abrupt shift away from hybrid work, which has been in place since 2022.

"We've been working with hybrid fashion for three-and-a-half years. This is sort of the norm for us. And so going back to a five-day work week is going to be like the proverbial return to the Stone Age," Bulmer said, adding members have typically worked "three days in the office, two days from home."

The Ford government announced last month that employees of the Ontario Public Service (OPS), provincial agencies, boards, and commissions must increase their in-office presence from three days a week to four starting on Oct. 20. By Jan. 5 next year, staff will be mandated to be in the office full time.

AMAPCEO filed a policy dispute earlier this month, alleging the government violated its collective agreement by failing to provide enough notice before implementing the new policy,. The union is also warning that the decision could affect recruitment and retention at a time when the OPS is already facing staffing challenges.
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If only they were regular readers of UT............

They would have known this was coming more than 2 years ago, when I posted that publicly here.

Irrespective of the merits, hybrid work, at-scale, was never here to stay.

Maybe one day, but not now.
 
People who are managing large enterprises generally don't agree that working from home works at scale. And their paycheques depend on the people reporting to them being more productive, so they have a vested interest. They're not going to bring people back into the office if it will cost them money for no benefit. They're not out there to make sure Cadillac Fairview is profitable. It's not just impressionistic, either - many large companies have internal data that supports this view.

Many of the "studies" that say that productivity is the same or higher rely on surveys of employees. Who of course say they are more productive working in the model they prefer. What else are they going to say?
 
evandyk said:
People who are managing large enterprises generally don't agree that working from home works at scale. And their paycheques depend on the people reporting to them being more productive, so they have a vested interest. They're not going to bring people back into the office if it will cost them money for no benefit. They're not out there to make sure Cadillac Fairview is profitable. It's not just impressionistic, either - many large companies have internal data that supports this view.

Many of the "studies" that say that productivity is the same or higher rely on surveys of employees. Who of course say they are more productive working in the model they prefer. What else are they going to say?
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Honestly, I know more than a few people who do other things while working from home.

My ex once got a full on massage down the street between meetings.
 
evandyk said:
People who are managing large enterprises generally don't agree that working from home works at scale. And their paycheques depend on the people reporting to them being more productive, so they have a vested interest.
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I'd argue their paycheques depend far more on looking like they're more productive at making their employees more productive. See; forcing AI onto employees en masse.
evandyk said:
They're not going to bring people back into the office if it will cost them money for no benefit. They're not out there to make sure Cadillac Fairview is profitable. It's not just impressionistic, either - many large companies have internal data that supports this view.
Click to expand...
evandyk said:
Many of the "studies" that say that productivity is the same or higher rely on surveys of employees.
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But if employee-led studies can be subjective, surely internal studies led by managers are subject to similar scrutiny, no? Who's going to resist a more flat corporate structure than the middle tiers?

evandyk said:
Who of course say they are more productive working in the model they prefer. What else are they going to say?
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They certainly say they're happier, and are more willing to put in extra time at work. They're glad they don't need to commute.
 
Returning to the office, the employees will do what their boss is doing...
1758293623959.png

("Need more butter and milk, on your way home.")
 
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SooToday has learned that MPP Chris Scott has been charged with assault and assault with a weapon.

“I would go to the Sault Ste. Marie Police," Ford said this morning.

"I was informed literally in the parking lot as we were going through here. Go to the Sault Ste. Marie Police. I don’t want to interfere in a police investigation.”

Scott is currently in custody. SooToday has learned his bail has been approved.
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Critics blast millions in Skills Development Fund grants given to PC-friendly companies​

A law firm, a private animal hospital and a large commercial bakery are among the recipients with ties to the PCs

From https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/politics/critics-blast-millions-in-skills-development-fund-grants-given-to-pc-friendly-companies-11234516

Ontario opposition parties are criticizing the Ford government for giving millions of dollars in grants from the Skills Development Fund to private companies run by “friends” of the Progressive Conservatives.

For the past five years, the province has solicited proposals for job training grants and awarded funds to non-profits, unions and private companies to train and upskill workers. It's one of the PC government's signature policies and, in this year's budget, the province topped up the fund to a total of $2.5 billion to pay for both job training programs and capital costs for training centres.

“That's the best investment we've ever done in the province,” Premier Doug Ford said of the program in a media scrum with reporters on Tuesday. “We've trained up over 700,000 people with multiple skills and given them the tools — literally given them tools — to have a career and have a trade that they'll have for the rest of their career lives.”

Skilled trades unions are among the biggest recipients of the cash, but it's also gone to some private companies to train their own employees, allowing them to improve or expand their operations.

Critics with Ontario's New Democratic and Liberal parties both said they support using taxpayer funds to train workers, but slammed the PC government for awarding funds to businesses run by "friends" and donors.

"Unfortunately, it follows a pattern that we've become accustomed to seeing, which is that it's a free-spending government that puts a bunch of money forward, and it somehow finds its way into the pockets of its friends and their businesses," said NDP caucus chair Jeff Burch.

"It's very clearly shown that the premier favours insiders and friends — not every company is getting access to this training fund," said Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser. "The gravy train continues. It doesn't stop running, and the only people benefiting are Doug Ford, friends, and rich insiders. It's that simple. And it's wrong."

The critics were responding to information about three Skills Development Fund (SDF) recipients provided to them by The Trillium.
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The new Metrolinx chair's law firm​

One is Pace Law, which was awarded nearly $3.3 million over two rounds of funding. A spokesperson for the company said the cash has allowed it to hire new legal assistants, paralegals, lawyers and admin workers.

"Both programs have either concluded or are still in progress," said vice-president Stefánia Szabó in a statement.

"The training is delivered through a mix of in-house resources and ecosystem partnerships to ensure a comprehensive learning experience. Outcomes primarily focus on career progression, entrepreneurship readiness, and workforce retention," she added.

Ministry of Labour documents described the first round of funding as supporting the growth of both Pace Law Firm and Pace Global Advantage, the latter of which describes itself as a "Canadian boutique immigration and investment consulting firm that has been helping high-net-worth investors around the world for over 20 years."

That round saw 252 people trained, 10 of whom obtained a promotion and 35 of whom got jobs, according to Ministry of Labour statistics.

The company's president and CEO, Nick Simone, was appointed chair of Metrolinx by the Ford government this summer.

Ford recently presented Simone with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, given to those who have made a significant contribution to Canada or a particular region, and described him as “my friend” in a video of the presentation posted by the law firm.

Pace Law has a long and generous history of political donations to both the Progressive Conservative and Liberal parties, according to Elections Ontario records. When corporate donations were legal, the firm itself donated more than $13,000 to the Liberal party when it was in power and gave $10,000 to former PC leader Patrick Brown's leadership campaign.

Personal donations matching the names of Pace founder Al Pace and Nick or Nicola Simone total more than $28,000 to the Progressive Conservatives since the party came to power in 2018, after corporate donations were banned.

"Many of us at Pace, just like any individuals or corporations in Ontario, support causes and candidates we believe in, let them be political, non-governmental or charitable organizations," Szabo said, when asked to comment on the donation records, adding that the culture at the firm is "apolitical" and "professional" so there would be no further comment.
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The upscale veterinary hospital​

Another recent recipient is the King Animal Hospital, which offers referral-only "advanced diagnostics and elective specialized surgical procedures" for horses and prides itself on having the only hyperbaric oxygen chamber for veterinary use in Ontario.

A spokesperson for the hospital said the $1.3 million grant is "addressing a critical workforce shortage requiring specific critical care skills, reducing turnover, and strengthening the province’s animal health-care system."

In an Instagram video, CEO Tracy Jones explains the veterinary hospital will use the funding on an eight-month program to train its current and new registered veterinary technicians in its emergency and critical care units.

The animal hospital was founded by Danielle and Rob Scheinberg, who are both PC donors, as is Rob Scheinberg's father, who co-founded the gambling site PokerStars. Elections Ontario records show donations matching the names of their family members to the Progressive Conservatives totalling over $80,000 since 2017.

The hospital spokesperson did not comment on the donation records.

At the hospital's ribbon-cutting event in 2024, four Ontario cabinet ministers were present along with Ford, who landed in hot water for joking that the province should send "overflow patients" to the well-equipped animal hospital for MRI and CT scans.

Fraser, the Liberal critic, recalled the controversy.

"That's a private clinic that had more ministers than a hospital opening," he said. "And then you look at the donation record, and it doesn't take a genius to draw those lines."
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