“The Decision to Proceed with Reopening Is Reckless and Must Be Reversed Immediately Given the Risks It Poses to Area Hospitals.”
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Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report November 9, 2020 Quotation of the day “The decision to proceed with reopening is reckless and must be reversed immediately given the risks it poses to area hospitals.” Ontario Hospital Association CEO Anthony Dale blasts the PCs for easing Covid restrictions in Peel despite "out of control" virus spread. Today at Queen’s Park Written by Sabrina Nanji On the schedule MPPs are back in their ridings for a constituency week break. The house reconvenes on Monday, November 16. Legislation could soon be on tap to make it illegal for employers to ban employees from wearing poppies on the job, a policy Whole Foods backed down from after major blowback. Premier Doug Ford promised the legislation Friday, calling the Whole Foods policy "absolutely disgraceful." Remembrance Day is Wednesday (but because the house isn't sitting this week, the poppy-promoting legislation wouldn't kick in until next year). Committees this week After hot debate at public hearings last week, Bill 218 — which makes it harder to pursue Covid-related negligence lawsuits and eliminates the option of ranked ballots in municipal elections — is up for a possible makeover at clause-by-clause consideration today at the justice committee. Opposition critics have accused the PCs of muzzling Ontarians over the controversial legislation because it was time-allocated for just one afternoon of public hearings, which were held in a committee room that isn't equipped for livestreaming. (Rookie Liberal MPP Lucille Collard was turned down on a point of order to livestream the hearings last week; only accredited media and the legislature are allowed to broadcast the proceedings in real time. Hansard also makes a public record. Ready access won't be an issue at today's clause-by-clause because the meetings are taking place in Room 151 and can be streamed on the legislature’s website.) On Tuesday and Thursday, the government's red-tape reduction legislation, Bill 215, Main Street Recovery Act, will go for public hearings. Bill 215 is a hodgepodge package that would remove municipalities' power to make noise-related bylaws, in order to permanently allow deliveries 24/7. It also hikes fines for illegal taxicabs and shakes up the operations and governance of the Ontario Food Terminal. PC MPP Norm Miller's private member's bill aimed at limiting the recovery of damages for personal injuries caused by snow or ice against landlords and contractors will be considered by the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills starting today. It's called Bill 118, Occupiers' Liability Amendment Act. Three committees will also meet to plan their upcoming studies on a trio of bills: ● On Monday, the legislative assembly committee will discuss business related to Bill 214, Time Amendment Act, the backbench bill from PC MPP Jeremy Roberts that would make daylight saving time permanent year-round; ● On Tuesday, the social policy committee will plan for Bill 222, Ontario Rebuilding and Recovery Act, the government's transit fast-tracking legislation; and ● Also on Tuesday, the general government committee will begin to turn an eye to Bill 3, Compassionate Care Act. The private member's bill from PC MPP Sam Oosterhoff would require the health minister of the day to develop and publicly report on a framework to improve access to hospice palliative care. Premier watch Premier Doug Ford was in Ottawa Friday to announce $3 million in funding for the Valour Games alongside Sport Minister Lisa MacLeod. The inaugural Valour Games, which feature athletes who are injured veterans or service members, are set to be held in the capital in 2022. The province hosted the Invictus Games in 2017. Later that day he talked up the 254 new beds at the Ottawa Civic Hospital that his budget’s health-care spending bump will provide. The premier also congratulated United States president-elect Joe Biden and vice-president-elect Kamala Harris on their victory. While Ford had previously suggested he hoped Donald Trump would win re-election, he soured on the president this year over aluminum tariffs and an attempt to block 3M from sending N95 masks to Canada. Peel enters 'Red-Control' zone Peel Region became the first to enter Ontario's new "Red-Control" zone, easing out of the former "modified Stage 2" restrictions on Saturday. That means indoor bars, restaurants, gyms, cinemas and more could reopen (with capacity caps and restricted hours) following a 28-day lockdown amid soaring Covid cases and a strain on hospital capacity — which hasn't let up. "We need to get this virus under control in Peel," Premier Doug Ford told reporters Friday. The government says the region is averaging 103 cases per 100,000 and the test positivity rate is about 11 per cent, which meets the red-zone threshold under the new colour-coded framework. Local top doc Lawrence Loh took the provincial public health measures one step further, issuing directives to ban wedding receptions until at least January 7, limit indoor dining so that only the same household may sit at a table, scale back in-person religious services, and close banquet halls and similar event venues. Loh said the directives are necessary because Peel's numbers are trending in the wrong direction. "Case counts and test positivity rates remain high, public health capacity is stretched thin, and hospitals are at capacity with some procedures cancelled." Loh had also urged Ford to wait another week to ease restrictions (as with Toronto, which is poised to enter the "Orange-Restrict" level on November 14). Ford said putting Peel in the red zone was a "fair compromise" based on advice from many stakeholders. "I don't want to close these folks down," he said. Meanwhile, PC MPP Natalia Kusendova, who represents Mississauga Centre, released a video saying she wants to make it "very clear" the provincial government did not decide to clamp down on religious gatherings in particular. (Dr. Loh directed virtual religious ceremonies where possible; otherwise in-person events must be capped at 30 per cent capacity up to 50 people.) Ontario Hospital Association CEO Anthony Dale said easing restrictions is "reckless" and urged the PCs to change course because of the risk further reopening poses to hospital capacity, and the bogged down William Osler Health System in particular. On the other hand, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown suggested keeping restaurants open would discourage private gatherings — where people may be lax about following public health measures, fuelling infections. "Over the last month that numbers have spiked, what we have found in Peel Region is that when you close restaurants it causes more social gatherings," Brown told CP24. Opposition NDP MPP Gurratan Singh, who represents Brampton East, criticized Ford for barrelling ahead with loosening restrictions despite the pleas to slow down from Dr. Loh. Singh said Ford should be investing in the hard-hit region by boosting contact tracing, testing and hospital funding. "This is just reckless and irresponsible," Singh said. "William Osler, like most GTA hospitals, is over-capacity. They're already transferring patients. But Doug Ford is determined to ignore all the red flags." As for Ontario's other Covid hotspots, Ottawa and York Region moved into the "Orange-Restrict" zone while 10 have been deemed code "Yellow-Protect" (Brant County, Hamilton, Durham, Eastern Ontario, Haldimand-Norfolk, Halton, Niagara, Waterloo, Simcoe and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph). All remaining public health units fall under "Green-Prevent." Today’s events November 9 at 9 a.m. – Toronto Health Minister Christine Elliott, Labour Minister Monte McNaughton and Associate Small Business Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria will make an announcement at Queen's Park. November 9 at 11 a.m. – Online The NDP will unveil a new housing platform. November 9 at 11:30 a.m. – London Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman will make an announcement about horticultural organizations at the Western Fair district. November 9 at 1 p.m. – Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to hold his daily press conference. Topics of conversation ● Ontario clocked a whopping 3,463 new Covid cases since Thursday, with the daily tallies coming in at over 1,000. There were 38 more deaths over the weekend. Hospitalizations are holding relatively steady at around 374 on Sunday, but that could shoot up when updated numbers are released later this morning because of the weekend reporting lag. There are 86 patients in ICU and 51 using a ventilator to breathe. ○ Ninety-one long-term care homes are in outbreak, while 582 schools have a current confirmed case (just one is closed). ● Social assistance advocates and the NDP are slamming the government for allocating $1.5 million to hire 17 “program integrity analysts” to probe the validity of ODSP recipients’ claims. NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky questioned why the PCs are willing to spend money on “fraud inspectors” rather than provide people with disabilities “with the help they desperately need.” ○ The Ministry of Community and Social Services told CBC it is heeding a recommendation from Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s 2019 review of ODSP. ● Toronto reported 132 overdose deaths between April 1 and September 30 of this year, more than double last year’s count. Medical officer of health Dr. Eileen de Villa is calling for expanded safe supply options and the rollout of virtual and over-the-phone supervised injection sites. ● The Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) is in for a shakeup. The budget bill proposes enacting the Innovation Centre Governance Act, which would give cabinet authority to appoint board members at OCE, and could lead to a name change and rebrand for the economic development agency, per Betakit. ● The province’s film age-based ratings system is also out the window.