Queen’s Park Today – Daily Report October 2, 2020 Quotation of the day “It's available for them to voluntarily put them on.” Energy Minister Greg Rickford concedes gas stations will no longer be forced to display ​ ​ anti-carbon-tax stickers after the courts deemed them unconstitutional. Rickford confirmed the government will not appeal the decision or repeal the law, saying, "there's no need to." Today at Queen’s Park Written by Sabrina Nanji On the schedule The house is adjourned until Monday, October 5. Thursday's debates and proceedings Two backbench motions and a bill passed second reading during Thursday's private members’ business: ● PC MPP Sam Oosterhoff's motion asking the government to remove regulatory barriers ​ ​ to the expansion of hydrogen technologies in order to reduce GHG emissions; ● PC MPP Daisy Wai's motion calling on the government to recognize parents' roles as ​ ​ primary educators of their children; and ● PC MPP Jim McDonell's Bill 208, Scottish Heritage Day Act. McDonnell's bill is now off ​ ​ ​ ​ to be studied by the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills. Government house leader Paul Calandra moved a motion allowing the standing committees to ​ ​ meet beyond their regular schedule whenever the chair calls for it. It passed on a divided voice vote. MPPs wrapped third reading of NDP MPP Faisal Hassan's private member's Bill 180, Somali ​ ​ ​ ​ Heritage Week Act — one of the fast-tracked PMBs. It also received royal assent. Premier watch This week, Premier Doug Ford held a call with Jenny Young, British Consul General in ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Toronto, to talk about the pandemic and economic recovery. Ford also hosted Nicole Crimi, a ​ ​ ​ ​ medical student who wrote and illustrated a children's book, Patty and the Pandemic, to educate ​ ​ little ones about Covid. PSWs get temporary pay bump After dropping many hints, Premier Doug Ford announced a six-month pay raise for personal ​ ​ support workers he says are "overworked and underpaid" — especially in pandemic times. PSWs who work in long-term, home and community care will earn an extra $3 per hour, while PSWs employed at hospitals — who tend to rake in a little more than their counterparts — will receive a $2 hourly raise. That's a little less than the $4 pandemic pay bump certain front-line health-care workers received during the spring and summer. About 147,000 PSWs, who currently earn about $20 an hour, will get a little more in their wallets, at a cost of $461 million. The hike kicked in yesterday and runs to March 31, 2021, at which point it will be reviewed and potentially renewed. Ford said the increase will help "stabilize" and retain the workforce. But opposition critics want to make it permanent. A string of reports, including the PC’s own LTC staffing study, have cited better pay and full-time hours to retain desperately needed PSWs. "How dare Doug Ford call PSWs heroes, then deny them even a decent wage for their work," NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said. "PSWs are run off their feet, doing incredibly challenging ​ ​ work...They deserve a permanent wage increase, full-time jobs and benefits. And the people they care for deserve for them to have that stability too." There was also no bonus for the folks who work side-by-side PSWs, something CUPE's Ontario Council of Hospital Unions says will "demoralize" registered practical nurses. "In many facilities, the result of this increase will be to all but erase any wage differential between PSWs and registered practical nurses," said OCHU president Michael Hurley. "The ​ ​ government needs to respect everyone's contribution by expanding who is covered by this wage enhancement." Runny nose, sore throat knocked off stay-home-from-school checklist Children who have a fever or cough should stay home from school or daycare until they test negative for the coronavirus. But if kids show other symptoms like a runny nose, sore throat or headache, they may return to class after 24 hours if they're "improving." That's the latest update to Ontario's screening checklist that parents can use to decide whether to send their little ones to school. The questionnaire is now a two-parter — those who answer "yes" to any of the symptoms in part one (fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste) will be asked to isolate immediately and seek medical attention or a Covid test. Students experiencing one of the symptoms in part two (sore throat, runny nose, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle aches) should stay home for 24 hours and may return to school "when they feel well enough to do so." Children who check off at least two of those symptoms will be asked to isolate as with part one. The NDP said the PCs are creating confusion with all the "contradictory instructions." "Parents who spent hours and hours in line this week with their little ones waiting for a test, and those who are home right now with little ones waiting for test results, have a right to be frustrated at the horrible lack of clarity on when kids need a test, and when they should return to school or daycare," said Education critic Marit Stiles. ​ ​ A new version of the online screening tool will launch today. British Columbia also recently removed symptoms commonly associated with other illnesses, like runny noses, from its school screening checklist. Today’s events October 2 at 9:45 a.m. – Zoom ​ Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman will make a virtual announcement about supporting the ​ ​ agri-food sector alongside federal government representatives. October 2 at 1 p.m. – Online ​ Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Minister Lisa MacLeod will host a tele-townhall ​ ​ with various sectors to discuss the pandemic response. Her former PC Party captain and Ontario Real Estate Association CEO Tim Hudak will moderate. ​ ​ October 2 at 1 p.m. – Toronto ​ Premier Doug Ford is expected to hold his daily press conference at Queen's Park. ​ ​ Topics of conversation ● Another 538 Covid cases and three new deaths were confirmed Thursday. A record 82,473 tests are backlogged, which associate CMOH Dr. Barbara Yaffe said is affecting ​ ​ contact tracing in a "negative way." ○ Health Minister Christine Elliott said the matter is "urgent" because the ​ ​ specimens are only good for three days, "then they spoil and people have to be retested." The province is looking to boost lab capacity by enlisting universities, which are "coming on board very shortly," Elliott said. ○ Schools saw 64 new infections and daycare settings had eight, while two more long-term care homes declared outbreaks, bringing the active total to 48. ● The Ontario Real Estate Association is celebrating now that the first phase of the PC’s Trust in Real Estate Services Act has come into force, authorizing real estate agents to ​ set up their own corporations. In a news release, OREA outlined the perks of the new law, including allowing agents to defer taxes, income split, hold investment income within their corporations, and benefit from the lifetime capital gains exemption, should they sell their business. ○ "These changes will go a long way toward fostering a healthy, open, and competitive real estate marketplace for consumers and businesses,” Government Services Minister Lisa Thompson said in a statement, adding that she ​ ​ encourages real estate agents to incorporate by the end of the year. ● A lack of access to courses. No face-to-face interaction with classmates. Less support from professors. These are among a slew of challenges the Ontario Undergraduate Student Association wants to bring attention to with its new campaign about the flaws in ​ ​ online learning. The group wants governments, post-secondary institutions and profs to collaborate with students on how to improve their (mostly) digital learning experiences as they enter month seven on Zoom. ● Don't count on seeing Ontario Power Generation employees languishing in long lines for a Covid swab. The provincial electricity producer set up two of its own privately run testing sites for workers and their families, which might be the ultimate job perk. ​ ​ ● After AMAPCEO claimed victory over a pause in OPS's staged return to work, the Treasury Board says its plan is still going off as intended. ​ ​ News briefs Cybersecurity conference ● Let's get digital. Ontario's municipalities, universities, hospitals and other broader public sector organizations are taking part in the "first-ever" virtual conference on cybersecurity this week. Government and Consumer Services Minister Lisa Thompson, a keynote ​ ​ speaker, took the opportunity to announce a new partnership with Ryerson's cybersecure catalyst program, "to provide ongoing cyber security support" to the public sector via learning modules. ​ ​ Question Period NDP lead-off Covid 2.0 ● Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath led Thursday's debate true to form, asking ​ ​ why the government has left Ontario so "unprepared" for the second wave of Covid and why Premier Doug Ford is so "incapable of admitting that Ontario has fallen short?" ​ ​ ● Fresh off an all-party meeting the day before, Ford took a partisan shot and pumped up the $2.8-billion preparedness plan that was fully released this week. "We're ready, the people are ready. The only people who may not be ready is the leader of the Opposition," Ford charged. Rent relief for small biz ● Horwath also wanted to know what the government is doing to shore up revenue-strapped businesses, calling its commercial rent support program a "disaster that has left thousands of businesses unable to access relief." ○ The PC’s moratorium on commercial evictions is being extended via Bill 204, ​ ​ which cleared third reading earlier this week. It temporarily bans landlords that have not applied for CECRA, the federal rent assistance program, from evicting tenants.