The NDP is calling on the Ford Government’s Labour Minister to strengthen protections for workers to refuse unsafe work, especially while they consider the steps necessary to re-open the economy. The Toronto Star has reported that 213 workers have exercised their legislated right to refuse unsafe work and demand an inspection from the Ministry of Labour. In every case, the ...

The rent is due in three days, but business owners and advocates are worried that Ontario’s broken new rent relief program will only lead to more closed doors.  Here’s just some of what Ontario’s business community has had to say: “The main concern that I am hearing from our clients, is that the landlord may be reluctant to enrol in ...

NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is urging the province to cover 100 per cent of the cost of take-home cancer drugs some patients are struggling to afford after the COVID-19 pandemic put their in-hospital treatments on hold. The NDP has long called for the province to make all take-home cancer drugs free, and this has only taken on increased ...

In a statement, NDP MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell (Thunder Bay-Atikokan) has raised serious concerns about the recently announced decision by Kasper Transportation to suspend land based transportation services in Northern Ontario starting on May 2nd, 2020: “The intercity bus service is critical for seniors and rural communities in Northern Ontario who depend on it. This decision by Kasper Transportation to suspend ...

  April 24, 2020 Hon. Doug Ford Premier’s Office Room 281 Legislative Building, Queen’s Park Toronto, ON M7A 1A1 RE: Accès des régions rurales et du Nord au large bande Cher Premier ministre, La réalité de presque tout le monde dans notre province a radicalement changé le mois dernier. Il est devenu évident que pour nous sauver de la COVID-19 ...

  April 24, 2020 Hon. Doug Ford Premier’s Office Room 281 Legislative Building, Queen’s Park Toronto, ON M7A 1A1 RE: Rural and Northern Access to Broadband Dear Premier, The reality of almost everyone in our province drastically changed last month. It became evident that to save ourselves from COVID-19 and to curb the spread of the virus, we would have to self-isolate. ...

“All heroes should be treated like heroes,” said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, urging the government to agree to give all workers in congregate care settings the same deal as the staff at Participation House will now, finally, get.   The Markham assisted living home for adults with disabilities is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. An agreement has been reached to double their pay ...

The Official Opposition wants a list of long-term care facilities and other congregate care settings experiencing outbreaks of COVID-19 to be posted publicly online.   The NDP’s call comes after at least 31 deaths were confirmed at a Pickering long-term care facility that was reporting only four deaths just days ago.   “This is a scary time for families with loved ...

Doug Ford et Stephen Lecce ont laissé croire, tant aux enseignant·es qu’aux élèves et à leurs familles, qu’au moins 21 000 nouvelles tablettes iPad parviendraient très bientôt aux familles dans le besoin, afin de permettre aux élèves qui en font partie d’avoir accès à l’apprentissage en ligne pendant la pandémie de COVID-19. Or, la vérité c’est que les conseils scolaires ne ...

Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce gave teachers, students and families the impression that at least 21,000 new iPads were on the way to give families in need access to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The truth is that school boards won’t get a single extra device.   “We’ve heard from boards all over the province that are inundated with ...

NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong), the critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, released the following statement regarding a new deal signed between the Grassy Narrows First Nation and the federal government to construct a mercury treatment centre: “I congratulate the leadership of Grassy Narrows on securing an agreement with Canada to receive full funding to build a Mercury Care Home ...

NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath has issued the following statement on the urgent need for an Ontario-wide COVID-19 emergency response plan:   “Ontario’s public health units and frontline medical teams are doing an exceptional job containing the COVID-19 virus, and I’m grateful for their tireless work. I am hopeful this outbreak is not going to get worse, and patients with the ...

NDP Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on Doug Ford to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, by immediately introducing and passing an emergency bill to ensure employees can stay home from work when they’re sick.   Horwath is asking the provincial government to take two specific measures: prevent employers from requiring people to go ...

Bhutila Karpoche, Parkdale—High Park MPP and Ontario NDP critic for Mental Health and Addictions, has tabled a bill calling for the provincial government to review maternal mental health in Ontario and develop and implement an action plan. The bill was inspired by the outpouring of responses Karpoche received after speaking in the Ontario legislature about the struggles moms face after ...

France Gélinas, Ontario NDP Health critic, released the following statement in response to the Ford government’s announcement about vaping:   “Instead of taking strong action to protect young people from the dangers of vaping, today we see the Doug Ford government coming forward with half measures that don’t go far enough. It’s no surprise that youth vaping is up. The ...