Jill Andrew MPP, Toronto–St. Paul's

Here are today’s new developments:

Ontario municipalities will share up to $4 billion from the $19-billion fund the federal government and provinces pledged last week to help municipalities, which are short millions due to the pandemic - The NDP says municipalities need support from the Ford government over the long-term to avoid service cuts, and that many are still reeling from the deep cuts Doug Ford made to municipalities two years ago, including to public health, ambulance services and child care. 

The maximum number of kids allowed in child care cohorts in the province has been raised to 15 from 10. Doug Ford continues to claim that child care has already been back to 91 per cent capacity, but journalists, experts, parents and the NDP have all debunked that.

Solutions we’re pushing for:

Jeff Burch and  Jessica Bell say the funding announced by the Ford government for municipalities falls short of what's needed for municipalities to protect jobs and public services over the long-term. 

Here are today’s new developments:
 
Several unions are calling on the Ford government to get for-profit companies out of long-term care, in light of reports that homes run by for-profits have had worse outcomes amid the pandemic. The NDP has been pushing for the same.
 
Parents, teachers and school boards have expressed increasing frustration with the Ford government's failure to provide details on a safe reopening of schools, or funding to ensure schools can meet new health restrictions. The Education Minister is expected to make an announcement on the reopening next week. The NDP's emergency action plan for a safe return includes more funding for schools and child care and job-protected leave for parents.
 
Solutions we’re pushing for:
 
Doug Ford needs to come clean on a secret deal his government signed to contract out COVID-19 testing in Windsor-Essex. 
 
Monique Taylor and critic for Indigenous Relations Sol Mamakwa call for an emergency investigation into deaths of children in care since the pandemic began. 
 
Doly Begum and Education critic Marit Stiles urged Ford to reverse course on his pursuit of a hybrid back-to-school model they say will hurt children and families, and to open more child care spaces. 

Here are today’s new developments:

• Ontario's COVID-19 case count today was 165 — still high, although a slight improvement over Tuesday’s count over 200. Just over half are people under age 40. 

• The Ford government abruptly adjourned the Legislature for the remainder of the summer on Tuesday, after using its majority to ram through several controversial bills, including one that will make it easier for landlords to evict people despite the ongoing pandemic (Bill 184), and one that uses the pandemic as cover to give the Premier unchecked powers (Bill 195).

• In an end-of-session press conference this morning, Andrea Horwath said the Ford government's wrongheaded priorities made the session a missed opportunity to help seniors in long-term care, tenants, small businesses and schools.

• A new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds that for-profit long-term care homes in Ontario experienced significantly worse outbreaks of COVID-19, and more related deaths, than non-profit or municipally run homes - for months, we have been pushing for an independent, find-and-fix long-term care judicial inquiry that includes scrutiny of the role of profits in long-term care. 

  
Solutions we’re pushing for:

• Teresa Armstrong responded to an Ontario Health Coalition survey that shows 95 per cent of long-term care staff say seniors' basic needs continue to go unmet due to staffing shortages - we have been urging Ford to address the sector's critical staff shortages. 

• Monique Taylor, tabled a motion in the Legislature Tuesday urging the Ford government to make a plan to meets the needs of children with special needs and their families during the pandemic. 

Here are today’s new developments:

Seven additional regions in Ontario will proceed to Stage three of the province's reopening this week, with Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex regions remaining in Stage two. The province saw an uptick of new cases over the weekend, the bulk of them coming from Peel, Windsor-Essex and Toronto.

At his daily press conference, Doug Ford dismissed the need for an independent preparedness review to ensure the province is ready to handle a potential second wave of COVID-19 - an initiative proposed by Andrea Horwath. 

Toronto Mayor John Tory has urged the Ford government to implement stricter measures on bars and restaurants, which can resume indoor service once a region hits Stage three. At his press conference today, Ford indicated that he won't be implementing these measures . 

Despite claiming his government would launch a commission into Ontario's long-term care sector in July, Doug Ford has yet to announce any details - we have taken issue with the the Conservatives' proposed government-controlled commission, calling instead for a fully independent, find-and-fix judicial inquiry.

As the Ontario Medical Association warns that reopening bars indoors could be a risky move, there have been reports of a surge of cases among younger people in various parts of Canada.

Solutions we’re pushing for:

Andrea Horwath is calling on the government to assess Ontario's readiness for a second wave, rather than undertaking his eight-week vanity tour of the province.

In the wake of Ford announcing his government won't keep its promise to build 15,000 long-term care beds - itself a fraction of what's needed - we emphasized that the Ford Conservatives have built a paltry 34 long-term care beds. 

Lisa Gretzky, tabled a motion in the Legislature today urging the Ford government to implement a COVID-19 Essential Caregiver Strategy, which would recognize essential caregivers as more than visitors. 

We have issued a 'fact check' to a claim Ford made during today's question period, regarding a segment on CNN and Canada's response to the pandemic. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

Most of Ontario will move to Stage 3 of the province's economic reopening Friday, with businesses including bars, restaurants, movie theatres and gyms opening up. Toronto, York and Peel regions, Durham, Windsor-Essex, Haldimand-Norfolk and Lambton regions will remain in Stage Two.

Andrea Horwath said the move to Stage Three should include support from the Ford government to help fund the costs of businesses' reopening. We also called for more resources to public health. Horwath said problems with testing, contact tracing and isolation are holding some regions back – and failing to fix these issues could cause Ontario to take one step forward and two steps back.

Ontario reported 116 new cases of COVID-19 today, as the province prepares to ease further restrictions.  

Solutions we’re pushing for:

Andrea Horwath visited local businesses and officials in Kingsville, Leamington and Essex this weekend, calling for the Ford government to adopt the Save Main Street plan. 

During question period today, Horwath urged Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce to make classes smaller — so all students can return to school five days per week this fall — by hiring more teachers and educator workers, and funding extra spaces for children to learn.

Taras Natyshak criticized the Ford government for handing over COVID-19 testing in hotspots in Windsor-Essex to a private corporation with deep Conservative Party ties, making the testing approach less coordinated in the region.

MPPs from Northern Ontario said Ford must stop excluding Northern schools from reopening plans. 

MPP Monique Taylor called on Ford to put an end to excessive wait times for COVID-19, urging him to fix the broken testing system. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Ontario saw zero reported deaths from COVID-19 today, for the first time since March, with 138 new cases reported. 

• The Windsor-Essex region communities of Leamington and Kingsville--the last in Ontario held back from entering Stage Two of reopening due to outbreaks among migrant workers--will enter Stage Two tomorrow. Ford has been all over the map in his response to the ongoing migrant worker crisis, with no clear plan to protect workers. We have been pushing the government to give migrant workers proper sick pay and safe accommodation.

• Thirty workers have tested positive for COVID-19 at a mushroom farm in Vaughan.

• Toronto Mayor John Tory warned residents that the city will begin implementing a host of devastating service cuts unless the federal and provincial governments provide cash-strapped municipalities with a major bailout package. Despite Ford's claims to the contrary, Ontario has the responsibility and the capacity to support municipalities direly in need of emergency operating funding.

 
Solutions we’re pushing for:

• During question period today,  Andrea Horwath said Doug Ford allowing asymptomatic, COVID-19-positive migrant farm workers to continue working is inhumane, and criticized Ford's misleading claims that workers who self-isolate will still be paid. “The majority of workers will not be paid under the current system, which also fails to protect farmers from critical labour shortages,” Horwath said.

• Marit Stiles and Doly Begum say the Ford government’s instructions for schools’ reopening post-COVID are vague, leaving parents and educators anxious and unsure of what to expect. We want the government to implement an action plan that includes guaranteed access to job-protected leave for parents until school and child care fully resume.  

Here are today’s new developments:  

• The Ministry of Health reported a seventh death of a health-care worker associated with the long-term care system today. 
• CAF members leave long-term care homes: Members of the Canadian Armed Forces finished their mission at Ontario long-term care homes today, leaving the last facility where a team was present.

 Migrant workers: 

• After Ford failed to protect migrant workers and COVID-19 to spread to more than 670 workers in Essex County, the local health unit was forced to overrule Ford’s order to keep infected workers on the job.  In an effort to isolate them, local health authorities were left scrambling to find housing for hundreds of infected workers.   
• Ford claims he sent Emergency Management Ontario to the region today, but Essex’s health officer was not aware they were there.  
• Ford also apologized today for his remarks criticizing migrants who he claimed were “hiding” from COVID-19  tests.  MPP Taras Natyshak disputed Ford’s claims yesterday and told him to reverse his decision to force migrant workers with COVID-19 to work, and produce a real plan to protect workers and public health.   

 
Mandatory masks 

• Ford has refused to make masks mandatory on GO, even though Toronto has made mask mandatory on the TTC and in enclosed public places.  New Democrats are calling out Ford for not respecting decision of local municipalities to make masks mandatory.  

 Relief for municipalities 

• Jeff Burch wrote an open letter to Doug Ford urging him to provide emergency operating relief funding for municipalities who are facing a financial crisis as a result of the pandemic.

Solutions we’re pushing for:
Andrea Horwath has begun laying the foundation for a better long-term care and home care system that truly supports and enables seniors, after a successful virtual summit last night.
 
The summit, which had over 3,000 viewers streaming from home, brought together participants from across Ontario – from advocates and family members to experts and frontline workers – to address the origins of the long-standing crisis in long-term care, how to stamp out COVID-19 hotspots in the short run, and how to overhaul the system to provide the highest quality care.

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Trudeau says Canada is nearing self-sufficiency when it comes to production and supplies of PPE. 

• The federal government will send 900 Red Cross personnel to staff long-term care homes in Quebec until September, as the military prepares to leave facilities there and in Ontario.  At Ford’s press conference today, Health Minister Christine Elliot indicated Red Cross won't be staffing Ontario homes, claiming staff that stopped working when the pandemic hit are starting to go back –  of course, the Ford government is still refusing to pay fair wages to workers like PSWs or to implement paid sick days - issues the we have been pushing for.

 
Solutions we’re pushing for:

• We hosted a Pride Cabaret Show last night, to celebrate Pride 2020. Terence Kernaghan  and I, introduced a line-up of 2SLGBTQIA+ performers in a celebration of queer art, culture and community - watch it here. 

• Andrea Horwath will host a live-streamed, virtual summit on transforming Ontario's long-term care sector on Thursday, July 2. The summit will feature discussion with a long-term care expert and breakout discussion groups with a range of long-term care stakeholders.

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Toronto and Peel Region can move into phase two of reopening as of Wednesday, Ford announced today. That leaves Windsor-Essex--where outbreaks among migrant workers on farms continue-- as the sole region in Ontario to remain in phase one – MPPs from Windsor-Essex said Ford’s failure to prevent or contain the outbreaks among migrant workers is unacceptable. They urged the local officer of health to provide details on advice given to Doug Ford, as well as why the necessary actions haven’t been taken. 

• A third migrant worker in Ontario has died of COVID-19 – Juan Lopez Chaparro, 55, died Saturday in a London, Ontario hospital. Chaparro had worked for a farm near Simcoe, Ontario that has been experiencing an outbreak of the virus.We have been urging the Ford government to take action to protect workers, asking why it has taken this government so long to contain a problem it has long known about.

Solutions we’re pushing for:

•  Over the weekend, Andrea Horwath again called out Doug Ford for continuing to allow underpaid personal support workers (PSWs) to work multiple jobs, noting that the practice has devastating consequences in terms of the spread of COVID-19. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Trudeau is touting his government’s federal wage program, but uptake has been low, and critics say the program helps an insufficient number of businesses. 

• Education Minister Stephen Lecce unveiled plans for what the upcoming school year will look like – sort of. The details provided include options for in-class learning, online learning or a medley of the two, with decisions left to local school boards. MPP Marit Stiles responded to the announcement, saying the plan lacks clarity, and leaves the heavy lifting to boards, without new funding to bolster the necessary adjustments and need for more staff. 

 Solutions we’re pushing for:

• The government announced its per-student funding for the 2020-21 school year today, an amount MPP Marit Stiles called “pitiful,” as it amounts to just $250 more per student. Stiles said the amount won’t make up for Ford’s class-size hikes and course cuts last year, and fails to invest in what's needed for kids to catch up after months away from the classroom.

• We have a petition calling on the government to provide full health care coverage to 2SLGBTQ+ Ontarians, many of who are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and often face barriers to accessing safe and quality health care. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

•  Ontario has reported fewer than 200 new cases of COVID-19 for the fourth day in a row, with the bulk of cases found in Toronto, Peel Region and Windsor-Essex, the regions yet to move into Stage Two of reopening. 

• As outbreaks among migrant farm workers in southwestern Ontario continue, a COVID-19 assessment centre launched to quell the spread of the virus among farm workers is closing due to poor turnout. Less than 10 per cent of the 8,000 migrant workers in Windsor-Essex have been tested. MPP Taras Natyshak says it’s the Ford government’s job to get control of the outbreaks, and that immediate action must include measures like deploying mobile testing units directly to farms. 

• Doctors from Toronto’s SickKids Hospital say children in Ontario should be able to return to school come September, though COVID-19 probably won’t be eliminated then. The doctors are helping to create guidelines on a safe reopening of schools. During yesterday’s Question Period, MPP Marit Stiles asked how the government will help schools ensure they have the necessary precautions in place given that school board funding from the province remains long-overdue. 
• Trudeau says his government will deliver a snapshot of the federal finances in the House of Commons on July 8 – the federal deficit is currently estimated at about $250 billion.  

 
Here are some concerns the NDP is working on, and solutions we’re pushing for:

• Andrea Horwath says it's shocking that Doug Ford is considering protecting companies that operate long-term care facilities from civil liability, given that many of these companies have completely failed to protect seniors in their care.  

• Horwath said the government must ensure the Mississauga Fire Department gets the N95 masks they need. 

• John Vanthof says Ontario should follow British Columbia's lead in protecting migrant farm workers and preventing further outbreaks and deaths among them - While B.C.  centrally cared for and quarantined migrant workers, Ontario has failed to do so. Mexico will continue to send migrant workers to B.C., but not to Ontario.

• Ian Arthur responded yesterday to the Ford government's reinstatement of key provisions it quietly suspended back in April, which had allowed the government to make environmental decisions without telling the public. "The  government quietly suspending vital provisions of Ontario's Environmental Bill of Rights was troubling, particularly in light of Ford's ongoing attempts to claw back the environmental standards and procedures that keep our water, land and wildlife safe," Arthur said.

Here are today’s new developments: 

• The federal government has announced mandatory temperature checks for anyone travelling by air.

• Canada will extend the military deployment within long-term care homes in crisis in Ontario and Quebec due to COVID-19 until June 26 – the I am continuing to push for an independent and judicial public inquiry into the long-term care sector’s failure to protect vulnerable seniors during the pandemic.

• A Toronto-based law firm is launching a class-action lawsuit on behalf of long-term care residents that will allege that Ontario’s negligence in its oversight of nursing homes led to “widespread and avoidable illness, suffering and loss of life” during the pandemic.

• The Ontario Nurses’ Association is calling for an immediate exemption for its members from legislation introduced by the Ford government last June to cap wages for public sector workers including those in hospitals and schools.

• Ontario has announced new guidelines that allow for the formation of “social circles” – not to be mistaken with new rules around “social gathering.” 

 
Solutions we’re pushing for:

• Doly Begum, says the Ford government's failure to fund child care centres to reopen safely means centres will be forced to hike their fees.  

• France Gelinas said Ford must provide proper PPE to paramedics, as well as immediate answers on why a supply of masks given to paramedics in Renfrew were marked "not for medical use." 

• MPPs in Toronto have written to Doug Ford urging him to provide financial support to the city, which is staring down a $1.5-billion shortfall this year, and at risk of having to raise taxes by 47 per cent.

• Taras Natyshak urged Doug Ford to get a handle on the COVID-19 outbreaks occurring among migrant farm workers through more significant funding and mandated quarantine protocols including guaranteed paid sick days, PPE for all workers and appropriate alternative accommodations for workers crowded into bunkhouses. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Opposition parties at the federal level have blocked a Liberal government CERB reform bill that would include penalization of fraudulent CERB applications – Jagmeet Singh says the penalties would target vulnerable people, and force them into unsafe working conditions.  Jagmeet Singh is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to extend the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) for at least another four months, as the relief payments for Canadians out of work due to COVID-19 end in July for many.

• COVID-19 cases among people in their 20s appear to be on the rise in Ontario, though the shift could be attributable to recently loosened criteria around who is eligible for testing. 

• Premier Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott are awaiting test results for COVID-19. Minister Stephen Lecce said today that his test has come back negative after Ford, Elliott and Lecce all appeared together at Tuesday’s press conference at Queen's Park, but stayed away from Queen’s Park on Wednesday.

• Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities announced that some in-person training at post-secondary institutions will restart in July for students requiring a practicum or lab work to graduate – Chris Glover, said the announcement has left many questions unanswered, and that post-secondary institutions hit hard by COVID-19 will need financial support - something the Ford government has refused to provide. 

 
Solutions I'm pushing for:

• I am calling for the Ford government to provide York regional police with all information necessary to consider an investigation into the death of a senior caused by apparent neglect at Woodbridge Vista Care Community, a Vaughan nursing home operated by the company Sienna. Andrea Horwath has previously called for the government to take over management of all Sienna-operated homes, and an independent judicial public inquiry into the long-term care sector's response to COVID-19.

• Jennie Stevens has written to Doug Ford and the Minister of Public Safety expressing concern over troubling reports that Canadian Armed Forces members who disclosed inhumane conditions in long-term care homes could face "consequences." 

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Starting tomorrow, Canada’s ban on non-essential international travel will make an exception for Canadians who wish to reunite with immediate family members who are non-Canadian citizens and separated by the Canada-U.S. border – anyone coming into Canada under this exemption will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days.
• Doug Ford announced details of the province’s plan for moving into Stage two of its economic reopening, with restrictions easing variously across Ontario according to regional factors and risks – Andrea Horwath said a safe and gradual reopening of businesses must include paid sick days for workers – a policy Doug Ford made clear last week that he does not support – so that people don’t have to choose between going to work sick and putting food on the table.
• After months of refusing pleas from the business community to ban commercial tenant evictions, Ford backtracked today, a move the was emphasized is too late for the many businesses in Ontario that have already gone under and is too restrictive, since it only protects businesses that have a 70 per cent loss in income.

 
Solutions I'm  pushing for:

• We have listed some of the many businesses that have gone under in Toronto alone due to the Ford government's refusal to give businesses direct financial support or ban tenant evictions up until now, and reiterated our call for supports through the Save Main Street plan.
• Catherine Fife, also issued a statement saying that Ford's ban on evictions, which requires a business to have lost 70 per cent of their income, is too restrictive, and will exclude thousands of businesses in crisis. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Canada’s Minister of Transport announced new requirements for the use of face coverings among transportation workers on modes of transport including rail, road, marine, and aviation.
• Trudeau will deliver remarks at a virtual summit of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, and is expected to promise support for developing countries hit hard by the pandemic. 

• Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh condemned Trudeau’s failure yesterday to criticize the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump, and called Trump’s actions “reprehensible."

• In Ontario, a day after Doug Ford told reporters that Canada does not have “systemic, deep roots” of racism, Andrea Horwath called on the Premier to issue an emergency order to begin the collection of race-based data when it comes to the province’s health care delivery.

 Here are some concerns the I'm working on, and solutions I'm pushing for:

• During question period this morning, Horwath read parts of an anguished letter from Dorothy Rodriques to MPP Faisal Hassan (York South-Weston). Dorothy is the widow of Leonard Rodriques, a Black PSW who died of COVID-19 after not getting proper PPE at work, and after being sent home from the hospital despite his debilitating COVID-19 symptoms. Dorothy has called for the immediate collection of race-based data by the Ford government, a plea that Horwath echoed.
• Ian Arthur condemned the Ford government for wavering on  continuing blue-box collection in small communities, schools and parks, as documents obtained by The Globe and Mail reveal.
• MPPs Jeff Burch, critic for Municipal Affairs, and Gilles Bisson are urging Ford to commit to providing emergency operating funding to municipalities right away, so cities and towns left cash-strapped by the pandemic can continue to run day cares, transit, public health units, water treatment facilities and so much more. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Ontario’s Ombudsman is launching his own investigation into the Ford government’s handling of COVID-19 in long-term care homes, a decision he made after last week’s now infamous military report. Horwath welcomed the news, saying she hopes the report will provide much-needed accountability, and stressed the additional need for a find-and-fix judicial public inquiry to evaluate the problems at the foundation of Ontario's long-term care system.

•  A new provincial COVID-19 measure could result in Ontarians paying higher hydro costs over the next four months - Peter Tabuns called out the Ford government for hiking electricity bills during a pandemic.

Solutions we’re pushing for:

• As Pride Month kicks off, Andrea Horwath issued a statement reaffirming her commitment to working with the 2SLGBTQIA+  community to achieve progress when it comes to Queer health. 
• I am joining frontline staff in calling for the Ford government to take over at a Sienna-owned long-term care home in Woodbridge, where reported staffing levels are dangerously low.

• Joel Harden issued a statement marking National AccessAbility Week, in which he reiterated the call for concrete support for Ontarians with disabilities during COVID-19. 

Here are today’s new developments: 

• Canadian MPs are now taking part in sessions of the House of Commons both virtually and in-person, with regular Parliament replaced by meetings of a special committee mainly focused on COVID-19.

• In Ontario, Andrea Horwath said for-profit corporations need to get out of long-term care, and replaced by public, community-based care. Following yesterday’s horrific report on conditions in long-term care homes in Ontario and Quebec, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also called on the government to outlaw for-profit long-term care facilities and create national standards under federal health law.

• A day after the military reported atrocious conditions in five Ontario long-term care homes, Premier Doug Ford was notably absent from a sitting of the Ontario Legislature for the second day in a row. The government was questioned on claims it knew nothing about the harrowing conditions in long-term care facilities province-wide — despite incident reports, media reports, affidavits filed in legal cases and family members speaking out.

• The province said it will take over five long-term care homes, including four mentioned in yesterday's damning report. I have urged the Ford government to take over all homes failing to protect residents and staff.

Solutions we’re pushing for:

• In an op-ed published in today’s Ottawa Citizen, Andrea Horwath said the Ford government must stamp out COVID-19 hotspots by ramping up inspections and having a hospital or public health authority take over every unsafe long-term care facility.

“… stories of residents with horrific bedsores, unseen falls and recurring infections have continued — and time and time again, the government of the day has sent thoughts and prayers, but never help.” – Andrea Horwath

• Suze Morrison said it's wrong for the Ford government to quietly ram through legislation that will make it easier for landlords to evict tenants, especially during a pandemic. 

• Marit Stiles said the new normal for our province’s public schools must take into account new funding needs, and ensure collaboration among educators, parents, students, experts and community and political leaders.