Dear neighbour,
The Ford government is ramming through Bill 5. This alarming and controversial 229-page omnibus bill is designed to speed up mining and infrastructure projects. Bill 5 guts endangered species protections, violates Indigenous Treaty-rights, and gives Cabinet the power to create “Special Economic Zones” which will be exempt from local and provincial rules.
Bill 5 has been met with fierce resistance from thousands and thousands of Ontarians, First Nations, environmental groups, workers, and the Official Opposition.
This week, NDP MPPs pulled off a procedural win. We stalled the bill at committee for hours, forcing the process to continue into next week instead of heading straight to a final vote.
Thank you to the many of you who contacted our office, attended rallies and spoke out. It feels like a Greenbelt moment. I think the government might back down. As we enter the final week of the legislative session, I urge you to keep up the pressure.
Email Premier Ford and demand he scrap Bill 5. You can use our online action tool here.
Join me at Queen’s Park on Monday, June 2 at 12:30pm at a rally organized by First Nations leadership. More information here.
Sincerely,
Jessica Bell
MPP, University-Rosedale
In this newsletter:
- We rally at Queen’s Park for our kids and schools
- Financial watchdog confirms budget falls short on care, action, and accountability
- Ford government introduces bill to take over school boards
- Fighting back against predatory paid parking in rental buildings
- CUPE 2073 workers at Canadian Hearing Services are on strike
- Post-secondary cuts are closing the door for Ontario students
- Homes not jails: Residents rally against Ford’s attack on homeless
- Welcome change comes to the Canada Disability Benefit
- Why stop at one day? Make it easier to buy Canadian every day
- Free portable air conditioners for low income seniors, apply by June 6
- Bird-friendly campus needed at U of T
- Welcome change comes to the Canada Disability Benefit
If you'd like to reply to this update, you can do so by clicking here.
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We rally at Queen’s Park for our kids and schools
Last Saturday, I stood outside Queen’s Park alongside Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles, my colleagues MPPs Chris Glover and Kristyn Wong-Tam, students, educators, and parents to call for real investment in our public schools.
We organized this rally at Queen’s Park to draw attention to the provincial government’s failure to properly fund schools, and to call for greater investment.
Thank you to all of those who worked with us and attended the rally.
For me, one of the most powerful moments of the rally came from Jessica, a Beverley School parent and special education advocate in our community. Jessica spoke about what the cuts mean for her daughter, who has complex needs. Beverley is a specialized school in our riding that has transformed her daughter’s life. But now, the school is losing a full-time teaching position, and Jessica’s family is being told that fewer students will be admitted next year.
As Jessica put it, “Congregated schools like Beverley are not luxuries. They are lifelines. They’re communities where every child is given the chance to thrive in a space built for them, not around them. We should be expanding schools like Beverley. Instead, we’re watching them shrink under cuts from a government that claims to care about kids—while failing the ones who need them most”.
Her words are a reminder of what’s at stake.
We’ll keep fighting for properly funded public education and the dignity and support every student deserves. Sign our petition here.
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Financial watchdog releases its take on the budget
This week, Ontario’s Financial Accountability Officer (FAO) released its review of the 2025 budget.
Here’s what we noticed from the FAO’s report.
- Funding for healthcare, education, housing and post-secondary education is not keeping up with inflation and Ontario’s growing population.
- The economy is deteriorating, as a result of Trump’s tariff threat and elevated political uncertainty. Unemployment is rising, and housing starts are dropping fast.
- Ontario’s debt is set to increase to $500 Million by 2027-2028. The government has no plan to reduce Ontario’s deficit and pay off the debt.
You can read the full report here.
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Ford government introduces bill to take over school boards
On Thursday, the Ford government tabled legislation that would give the Education Minister broad new powers to take over school boards, mandate police officers in schools, control school naming decisions, and impose financial oversight measures.
This move puts more power in the Minister’s hands while doing nothing to reduce class sizes, repair crumbling schools, or support kids with special needs.
The government’s recommendations ignore the real concerns raised by students, parents, and local communities and hampers the ability for school boards to listen to their community and prioritize safety through care.
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Fighting back against predatory paid parking in rental buildings
Visitor parking should not be used by corporate landlords to make a profit. That’s why I joined to support MPP Jennie Stevens on her motion calling on the Ford government to ban paid visitor parking in multi-residential rental buildings.
This growing practice is hurting seniors, low-income tenants, and anyone who relies on support from family, friends, or home care workers. Landlords like Starlight and Homestead Land Holdings are stripping away guest parking and replacing it with meters, charging exorbitant rates for what used to be a basic service.
Milton Parissis, chair of the Summerhill Tenant Association, spoke powerfully at our press conference about the impact of this policy. At his building, Starlight has eliminated half the guest parking and started charging steep hourly fees. As a result, PSWs and even pharmacies like Shoppers Drug Mart are refusing to visit unless someone pays for parking. That means residents must cover the cost or go without the care and medication they need.
No one should have to pay to receive home care, get medication delivered, or see loved ones at their own home.
Do you live in a building with paid visitor parking? I want to hear from you. Email [email protected] or call 416-535-7206.
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CUPE 2073 workers at the Canadian Hearing Service are on strike
Workers at the Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) have been on strike since April 28. Last week, I met with some of my constituents who are part of the CUPE 2073 strike to hear their concerns, and today I joined them at the picket line.
The CHS provides services to tens of thousands of deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Ontarians who rely on their workers for daily support, and yet workers’ pay has fallen 16% behind inflation in the last decade. Considering their integral role in making Ontario accessible, this poor remuneration is unconscionable. It’s even more concerning when you consider that the salary of CHS’s CEO Julia Dumanian has nearly tripled in the same 10-year period .
CUPE 2073 CHS members want to return to work under a fair and equitable agreement. With every passing day that CHS’s leadership team refuses to meet with CUPE 2073 workers, disabled Ontarians feel the brunt. I’ve written to CEO Dumanian to urge CHS to come to the table, and this week I submitted a request for a ministerial audit of the CHS co-signed by MPP Gélinas, MPP Gretzky, and MPP Vaugeois.
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Post-secondary cuts are closing the door for Ontario students
In Ontario’s 2025 budget, post-secondary education funding is being cut by $1.2 billion. This massive cut is exacerbating the already considerable funding pressures faced by colleges and universities as a result of the government’s freeze on tuition (which we support), along with significant cuts to international student enrollment, which generated revenue for the post-secondary education sector.
Here is what these funding cuts mean to local colleges and universities.
York University is facing a $132 million budget gap and is no longer taking new admissions for 18 programs. Centennial College is suspending 49 programs, as well as combining their existing campuses and closing a whole building. Niagara College’s Toronto campus has seen their revenue drop $70 million in the last year.
Right now, there are 28,000 domestic students enrolled without proper funding. By 2030, up to 100,000 qualified students could be shut out because this government refuses to invest in post-secondary education.
I fear that many qualified Ontario high school students will not be able to go to college or university and succeed in their chosen field because of these funding cuts to post-secondary education.
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Homes not jails: Residents rally against Ford’s attack on homeless
On Thursday, I joined fellow NDP MPPs, advocates and community members at Queen’s Park to rally against Bill 6, the Ford government’s futile and expensive tough on crime approach to fine and jail people living in encampments or using illegal drugs in a public space.
Organized by the Encampment Justice Coalition, the rally featured powerful speakers from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Neighbourhood Legal Services, Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, the Harm Reduction Advocacy Collective, the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, and others.
Queen’s Park has the power to solve these tough issues. We need to invest in building affordable housing and supportive housing, and expanding our mental health and addiction treatment programs, including our consumption and treatment sites.
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MPP Sandy Shaw reintroduces motion to create Homes Ontario
On Thursday, MPP Sandy Shaw reintroduced a motion to establish Homes Ontario, a dedicated public agency that would build permanently affordable, made-in-Ontario housing and help tariff-proof our housing market.
Homes Ontario would be empowered to finance and deliver new homes at scale, use public land to serve the public good, and work with non-profit, co-op, and supportive housing providers. It would also help create good union jobs and boost Ontario’s building capacity.
Housing is essential infrastructure. With affordability worsening across the province, we’re calling on the government to get back in the business of building homes.
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Welcome change comes to the Canada Disability Benefit
Last month, we called on the Ford government to assure people living with disabilities that their provincial disability benefits weren’t at risk of being cut back. With the new Federal Canada Disability Benefit - intended as a top-up - due to begin in July, many people in our riding and across Ontario were concerned that this would mean their provincial payments would go down.
This week, the provincial government finally confirmed that they will exempt the Federal Canada Disability Benefit as income. That means if you receive the federal benefit, you won't have money deducted from your provincial social assistance payments or entitlements, such as the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
This guarantees that people living with disabilities will receive more support, not less. As your Official Opposition, we will continue to hold the Ford government to account and secure justice for people in need.
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Make it easier to buy Canadian every day
On Tuesday, I asked the Ontario government to do more to encourage Ontarians to buy from Ontario or Canadian businesses.
In the budget, the Ontario government proclaimed June 1 as Buy Canadian Day. That’s all well and good, but I think we can do more than that.
Every day should be Buy Canada Day, and we can do that by requiring made-in-Canada labelling in stores so it’s easy for us to identify and choose Canadian products.
The government refused, claiming that requiring labelling would be “red tape.”
I disagree. Canadian businesses want us to buy their products, and we want to buy them.
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Free portable air conditioners for low income seniors, apply by June 6
The City of Toronto has launched a new pilot program to help low-income seniors stay safe during extreme heat. From May 26 to June 6, eligible residents can apply to receive a free portable air conditioner.
To qualify, you must be:
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Age 65 or older
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Living in an apartment building
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A resident of Toronto
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Low income
- In need of cooling for health reasons (no doctor’s note required)
Apply by calling 416-397-2220, visiting toronto.ca/ACProgram, or going to a designated City location.
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Bird-friendly campus needed at U of T
We're in the middle of peak bird migration, and sadly, that means more fatal bird-building collisions. Volunteers with FLAP Canada have been monitoring University of Toronto campuses for years and now, students and community members are calling on U of T to install bird-safe window treatments on high-risk buildings. You can learn more and sign the petition here.