Author Archives: Ontario NDP

NDP MPP Gretzky tables motion, urges Ford to create COVID-19 Essential Caregiver Strategy

  NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West) will table a motion in the Legislature on Monday, urging the Ford government to immediately implement a COVID-19 Essential Caregiver Strategy that recognizes essential caregivers as more than just visitors, and gives residents in long-term care, groups homes and all congregate care settings the right to fully access their essential caregivers and support ...

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Municipalities need more than a band-aid

Jeff Burch MPP (Niagara Centre), the Official Opposition NDP’s critic for Municipal Affairs, has issued a statement following the federal government’s announcement of a Safe Restart agreement which includes targeted funding for municipalities:   “The funding in this agreement is a necessary first step to address the ongoing financial crisis facing Ontario’s municipalities. $2 billion in federal funding allows municipalities ...

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Ford’s plan to end pandemic top-up payments will hurt vulnerable Ontarians who need it most

NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky (Windsor West), Official Opposition Critic for Community and Social Services, released the following statement on top-up payments for people receiving Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Ontario Works (OW), which the Ford government is planning to remove at the end of July:   “The Ford government has completely neglected people with disabilities and those living in ...

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NDP demands back-to-school help for parents and schools

NDP Education critic Marit Stiles and NDP Child Care critic Doly Begum say the Ford government’s vague instructions for school re-opening is leaving parents and educators with no certainty they’ll have support to make it work. They’re calling for a number of specific commitments from Ford, including everything from more teachers and school busses to ensure physical distancing, to paid ...

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L’Ontario célèbre la fête du Canada en offrant l’accès gratuit aux parcs provinciaux et en prolongeant la période de pêche sans permis pour les familles

Jun 30, 2020 at 16:29 Le gouvernement de l’Ontario célèbre la fête du Canada en offrant à tous l’accès gratuit aux parcs provinciaux pour la journée. À partir du 4 juillet 2020 et pendant deux semaines, il offre également la possibilité de pêcher gratuitement dans la province, doublant ainsi la période de gratuité par rapport aux années précédentes. En outre, les ...

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When it comes to Thunder Bay and Kenora jails inaction is violence

Sol Mamakwa, NDP Official Opposition Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation critic, and Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP, Judith Monteith-Farrell, released the following statement after Ontario’s Ombudsman raised deep, disturbing concerns about conditions in the province’s correctional facilities and observed disturbing conditions at the Thunder Bay and Kenora jails:   “When it comes to the Thunder Bay District Jail and the Kenora jail, inaction ...

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Ford walks out as Mamakwa calls for action to stop Indigenous deaths at Thunder Bay jail

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pc8vcv1rtphb2te/SolMamakwa06232020.mov?dl=0   Doug Ford walked out during question period Tuesday as Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa called on him to take action to stop any further deaths of young Indigenous people at the Thunder Bay District Jail, after Mamakwa’s nephew recently died at the facility. “The correctional system across Ontario is a factory that produces broken Indigenous people and dehumanizes our ...

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End Police Violence. Invest in Black, Indigenous and Racialized People’s Lives: An Ontario NDP Commitment to Action

The Ontario NDP has laid out its commitments for overhauling policing and police oversight, tackling systemic racism, and making mental health crisis response safer, especially for Black, Indigenous and racialized people. “Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Rodney Levi, Chantel Moore, Stewart Kevin Andrews, Jason Collins, Eishia Hudson, Caleb Tubila Njoko, D’Andre Campbell and Ejaz Choudry. These people were loved, and should be here ...

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‘Plan’ to re-open schools offers no clarity at all

Marit Stiles, Ontario NDP Education critic, released the following statement in response to the government’s announcement on re-opening schools:   “By announcing all, none or some school re-opening in September, Doug Ford and his Education Minister failed to provide any clarity at all, and what few details they did provide are impossible in practice.  Many parents can’t choose to stay ...

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First Nations communities facing life-threatening COVID-19 crisis need Ford’s help now

First Nations communities in Ontario’s Far North facing the COVID-19 pandemic need additional support and action from the Ford government to contain the virus, said Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa, as more communities continue to report positive cases.   “Indigenous communities in Ontario struggling to contain the pandemic need the urgent support of the Ford government now,” said Mamakwa, the NDP’s ...

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NDP to amend bill to prevent all commercial evictions during COVID-19

Official Opposition House Leader Gilles Bisson says far too many businesses are still at risk of unfair evictions if the Conservatives’ new legislation is passed as written. On Monday, the NDP sent the government two critical amendments it insists must be included.   The bill, as written, only protects businesses who qualify for the federal CECRA, but whose landlords refuse to ...

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Ford government announcement leaves Ontario colleges and universities struggling with uncertainty

Chris Glover, Ontario NDP Colleges and Universities critic, released the following statement in response to the Ford government’s announcement about a limited return to classrooms this summer for post-secondary students who need to do to so to complete their degree: “While this is a relief for some students who will now be able to complete their degrees, Minister Ross Romano’s ...

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Ford setting child care centres up for higher prices, or failure

Premier Doug Ford is asking child care centres to open as soon as Friday, with three days’ notice – but he’s not providing the financial support that is required and he’s counting on enough parents not sending their kids back to daycare. With fewer kids and higher costs for screening, personal protective equipment, and cleaning, Ford may be setting child ...

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