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 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

As concerns mount about the Ford government’s botched license plates, MPP Jennifer French, NDP critic for Transportation, continued to pressure the government to stop issuing the new blue plates, the latest criticism being that they are unreadable in bright sunlight and by various scanners. This morning, WKBW Buffalo reported that the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is having issues reading ...

NDP MPPs have demanded Doug Ford explain why Ontarians are being forced to pay some of the highest auto insurance premiums in North America, with rates being jacked up every single year.   Black Creek—Humber River MPP Tom Rakocevic, NDP critic for Auto Insurance, said Doug Ford’s government’s failure to stop auto insurance hikes is just like the Liberals.   ...

MPP Jennifer French, NDP critic for Transportation and Highways, said Doug Ford needs to tell Ontarians how he’s going to handle the licence plate problem he created. The new PC Party blue plates are under review because they can’t be read under some lighting conditions, but the existing white ones are being sent back to the manufacturer to be destroyed. ...

The Doug Ford government is gutting OW and ODSP employment services with its new scheme to contract out the program to multinational companies — one of which is a for-profit corporation — and the Ontario NDP is worried that will mean fewer Ontarians successfully supported into the job or program that’s best for them. “Today, municipalities and District Social Services ...

Tom Rakocevic, Ontario NDP Auto Insurance critic, released the following statement in response to news that some Ontario drivers will be paying up to 11 percent more for auto insurance this year as rates continue to climb in the province: “It’s wrong for the Ford government to let auto insurers pile on with another rate hike as Ontario drivers struggle ...