November 10, 2020

Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report November 10, 2020

Quotation of the day

“Tipping point.”

Sunnybrook's head of general surgery warns Ontario's hospitals might have to start delaying surgeries again as Covid cases soar and restrictions ease up.

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.

At committee The NDP did not get its way on Bill 218, Supporting Ontario's Recovery and Municipal Elections Act — which protects organizations from Covid-related lawsuits and nixes ranked ballots in civic elections. At the justice committee's clause-by-clause consideration Monday, the NDP proposed amendments that would exclude long-term care homes from liability protections and allow London to continue using ranked ballots.

London, the first city in Ontario to use ranked ballots in 2018, has already spent $515,000 switching to the new system and intended to put that toward future votes, said NDP MPP Peggy Sattler. Sattler said the PC’s argument that municipalities shouldn't be forking over cash for anything besides pandemic response and recovery doesn't hold water when it comes to London in particular.

The NDP also put forward amendments to remove LTC owners and the Crown from Covid liability protections, noting many families with elderly loved ones who died in care are worried they won't be able to seek redress.

Bill 218 raises the bar for negligence claims to "gross negligence," which the PCs argue is necessary to protect front-line workers and minor league coaches who act in good faith to follow public health measures.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority-enjoying Tories shot down the NDP's amendments. "This legislation is designed to treat everyone equally," explained PC MPP Lindsey Park.

The controversial bill is now headed back to the house for third reading next week.

Premier watch Just in time for Remembrance Day Wednesday, Premier Doug Ford was in Woodbridge yesterday to announce $511,100 to support a Helmets to Hardhats program that helps veterans transition to post-service work in the trades.

Ford was again on the defensive over his government's much-decried looser framework for Covid restrictions. Asked if he's rethinking the parameters given sky-high case counts, Ford said numbers are going up worldwide and maintained that the framework provides "flexibility" for businesses and municipalities.

"You see the numbers going up around the world. I'd think differently if it was just Ontario," Ford told reporters. "Per 100,000 cases, we're the lowest in North America in any jurisdiction … any large jurisdiction." Travis Kann, Ford's executive director of communications, has taken to tweeting Health Canada’s epidemiological map on the matter.

The premier also called on the feds to swap out the 14-day quarantine period for international travellers with rapid testing, saying Ontario will "go it alone, even though it's not our jurisdiction."

Ontario recruits laid-off hospitality workers in long-term care The province is on the hunt for out-of-work hospitality, retail and administrative employees, as well as students, to help shore up staffing in long-term care homes as they cope with the second wave of Covid.

The new Ontario Workforce Reserve for Senior Support, launched Monday, enlists recruits to work as resident support aides in hotspot LTC homes. They would assist health and personal support workers when it comes to feeding and mealtime, recreational activities, coordinating visitors, changing linens and more.

Would-be aides must also complete an online training course focusing on infection prevention and control and proper use of PPE. They will also peruse an overview of LTC and seniors' care.

Sharleen Stewart, president of the SEIU Healthcare union that represents personal support workers, slammed the move as an "exploitative employment model meant to systematically suppress the wages of working women."

"Hiring even more low-wage staff is exactly what the for-profit nursing home industry has been lobbying for and apparently exactly what they're getting from Premier Ford's government. They think PSWs make too much, so make no mistake, this is a deliberate choice to pay women the least amount possible," Stewart said in a statement to Queen's Park Today.

People can apply through the Ontario Matching Portal, but as of Monday evening, there did not appear to be a designated option for non-health professionals to sign up. An updated portal with clear options is expected to roll out later today.

Staffing has long been a problem in LTC, and has worsened thanks to the pandemic. Even the Canadian Red Cross, which has been deployed to Ontario's hardest-hit LTC homes, has put out a hiring call for resident support aides.

Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton has said a new staffing strategy to deal with chronic shortages in the sector will be released in December.

Today’s events

November 10 at 9 a.m. – Kingston Heritage Minister Lisa MacLeod and Housing Minister Steve Clark will make an announcement at the Veterans Memorial Garden.

November 10 at 1 p.m. – Brantford and Niagara NDP Leader Andrea Horwath will hold a virtual press conference to talk about her party's new housing platform.

November 10 at 10:30 a.m. – Online Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney will make a virtual announcement about GO Transit in Mississauga. Associate Transportation Minister Kinga Surma, area MPP Kaleed Rasheed, Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster and Infrastructure Ontario CEO Michael Lindsay will be in tow.

November 10 at 1 p.m. – Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to hold his daily press conference.

Topics of conversation

● After beating out the single-day record for new Covid cases on Sunday (1,328), Ontario confirmed 1,242 new infections and 12 more deaths on Monday. Roughly 28,000 tests were processed, pushing the positivity rate to about 4.4 per cent. Five more long-term care homes are in outbreak while schools counted 79 new infections.

● With record-high numbers rolling in every day, chief medical officer Dr. David Williams seemed to revise up the latest modelling projections from October, when health officials said they expected up to 1,200 cases throughout November. "The worst case scenario by the modelling table, they said that by the early of November we would be well over 1,000 — 1,200 to 1,400 cases, so they were pretty accurate on that," Williams maintained. ○ Fresh modelling projections are expected in Thursday's update from the docs.

● Toronto may take a page from Peel's playbook and one-up Ontario's colour-coded reopening framework. Asked if the city is considering further restrictions when the 28-day modified Stage 2 lockdowns lift, Toronto Mayor John Tory didn't rule it out. "I can't say that we are not going to be looking at it," Tory told reporters Monday. He said city staff will determine what measures are appropriate for the city to implement in order to protect public health this week. ○ While the government previously said Toronto will enter the "Orange-Restrict" zone on Saturday, cabinet will reassess the latest numbers and give the final word by Friday. Premier Doug Ford suggested the situation may have already changed and Toronto could be deemed "Red-Control." ○ When releasing the new framework last week, the PCs said it would provide businesses with “key information to prepare in advance for any changes in their region.” But on Monday, Premier Ford said “what’s good about this framework” is local medical officers’ ability to add guidelines or protocols if they wish.

● Meanwhile, Peel is getting extra support. The hotspot opened up amid soaring cases and strained hospitals, and the province says it wants to help by setting up mobile testing sites and three new community testing centres by today; reopening walk-in testing at assessment centres for those who can't book online or by phone; and enlisting 10 public health units to help Peel with case and contact management.

● More red tape and delayed approvals probably isn't what the province had in mind when proposing changes to conservation authorities in last week's budget — but that could be the result. According to Conservation Ontario, which represents the province's 36 conservation authorities, the changes could have "significant impact" on their watershed management responsibilities. ○ Shaking up authorities' planning role could "put more people at threat, rather than protect them from natural hazards," the association said.

● The official Opposition NDP is setting its sights on 2022 with another platform plank: housing. The party has been touring its long-term care policy proposal around the province recently and unveiled a new housing platform to woo voters on Monday. That includes working with the feds to build 69,000 new affordable homes over the next decade; bringing back rent control for all units; scrapping "vacancy decontrol," which allows landlords to choose how much to increase rent when a tenant moves out; introducing an annual speculation and vacancy tax on residential property a la British Columbia; helping first-time homebuyers make a down payment by providing a shared equity loan of up to 10 per cent of a home's value; tackling money-laundering in the real estate market and requiring disclosure of ownership so that "crooks can't hide behind numbered corporations;" and much more. ○ "No one in Ontario should be denied the basic human right of a safe place to live," NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says in the new platform.

Appointments and employment

City of Toronto establishes vaccine task force ● Fire Chief Matthew Pegg has been tapped to lead Toronto’s COVID-19 Immunization Task Force, which will ensure the city is ready once a safe and effective vaccine is available. Pegg, who is also Toronto’s COVID-19 incident commander, will work with public health, Toronto Fire, Toronto Paramedics Service and the Emergency Operations Centre to create an immunization plan. ○ The province is responsible for establishing an overall immunization strategy (Ottawa is in charge of procurement) and the city is prepping to lead implementation at the local level.

Funding announcements

● Rural Affairs Minister Ernie Hardeman was in London to re-announce a budget goody for agricultural and horticultural organizations: a $5-million moneypot to help offset the pandemic-prompted cancellation of fall fairs and exhibits.

Queen's Park Today is written by Sabrina Nanji, reporting from the Queen's Park press gallery.

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