Here are today’s new developments:
- The C.D. Howe Institute says Canada has hit recession status.
- Though rent is due today, many residential tenants, and their advocates, say Canada’s Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) simply won’t help them. -- the Official Opposition say people need an 80 per cent rent subsidy, and mandated protection from evictions.
- Many commercial tenants say Canada's commercial rent relief program, which Premier Doug Ford has been touting, will not actually help them, as their landlords are unwilling to adopt the new rent assistance measures -- the Official Opposition's proposal of a 75 per cent provincial rent subsidy would make sure direct payments go directly to tenants.
- As of Monday, a number of mostly seasonal businesses will be allowed to open back up -- the Official Opposition has called on the government to provide clear rules, not simply guidelines, to ensure peoples' lives are not put at risk.
- The Ontario Health Coalition has launched an online campaign today, calling on Premier Doug Ford to fix Ontario's long-term care sector -- their asks include immediately improving access to PPE for health workers, and increasing wages and working conditions for staff, things the Official Opposition has also been urging the government to provide.
Here are some concerns the Official Opposition is working on, and solutions we’re pushing for:
- As Ontario contemplates reopening the economy, the Official Opposition is calling on Premier Ford and his government’s Labour Minister to strengthen protections for workers who refuse to do unsafe work -- as reported by the Toronto Star, over 200 workers fearful of contracting COVID-19 at their workplace filed work refusals, yet the Ministry of Labour has not upheld a single one.
- The Official Opposition is reiterating its call for Premier Doug Ford to take urgent actions to protect Ontarians with disabilities and ensure they get through the pandemic safely, including a plan to conduct in-home testing for people with disabilities, and ensuring home care workers have proper PPE--so far, the Premier Ford's government has been silent on the issue.