Jill Andrew MPP, Toronto–St. Paul's

Government of Ontario

Friday Update - COVID-19 - July 17th

Here are today’s new developments:

Many regions in Ontario entered Stage 3 of economic reopening today, meaning the majority of businesses will be allowed to reopen. Meanwhile, the Ontario Medical Association has asked the Ford government to reconsider allowing indoor bars to open, citing evidence from other jurisdictions showing "that the reopening of bars carries significant risk."

North York long-term care home Villa Colombo will be taken over by Humber River Hospital due to an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. For months, the we have been calling on the Ford government to take over all unsafe long-term care facilities, and criticizing the government for stepping in too late to curb outbreaks in long-term care. 

At his press conference today, held in the Waterloo region at a medical technology startup, Ford dodged a question about whether the federal funding package announced yesterday will cover Toronto's expected $1.35-billion shortfall. We have has been pushing the province to give emergency funding to municipalities to prevent service cuts and tax hikes.

Metrolinx is making face coverings mandatory on all GO Transit trains and buses, and on the UP Express.

Here are some concerns the we are working on, and solutions we’re pushing for:

The NDP is calling out Conservative MPP David Piccini for rejecting the NDP's plan to provide direct financial support to struggling small businesses