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.