Here are today’s new developments:
- Canada will give municipalities quicker funding to help with capital infrastructure projects, a development the federal Opposition says is necessary relief, but comes too late--and is not enough for many cities and towns that the pandemic has left cash-strapped. In Ontario, the Official Opposition has asked Doug Ford to step up and ensure municipalities have the emergency funds they need to run day cares, transit, public health units and more.
- 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 - Ontario Official Opposition Energy critic Peter Tabuns called out the Ford government for hiking electricity bills during a pandemic.
Here are some concerns the Official Opposition is working on, and solutions we’re pushing for:
- As Pride Month kicks off, Andrea Horwath issued a statement reaffirming the Official Opposition's commitment to working with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to achieve progress when it comes to Queer health.
- The Official Opposition is 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.
- Official Opposition critic for Accessibility Joel Harden issued a statement marking National AccessAbility Week, in which he reiterated the Official Opposition's call for concrete support for Ontarians with disabilities during COVID-19.
- Official Opposition MPPs in London said the Ford government must not penalize the city's struggling child care centres for a recent change the province made to rules governing the centres' pay structure during the pandemic.