Editorials, Letters & Political Commentary

NDP MPP Monique Taylor (Hamilton Mountain) tabled a motion in the Ontario legislature Tuesday urging the Ford government to implement a plan to meet the needs of children with special needs and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.   “For months, families have been struggling to support their children with special needs and parents are feeling isolated and burnt out.” ...

Ontario’s Auditor General has confirmed that Doug Ford ignored her warnings and broke Ontario’s environmental laws yet again, this time by ramming through major environmental changes without public consultation on its omnibus Bill 197.   After concerns raised by NDP Environment critic Ian Arthur, and in an interview with the National Observer, Bonnie Lysyk, Ontario’s Auditor General, confirmed that the government ...

The Ontario NDP’s Long-term Care critic, Teresa Armstrong, released the following statement in response to an Ontario Health Coalition  (OHC) survey that shows 95 per cent of long-term care staff report seniors’ basic needs continue to go unmet due to staffing shortages:   “Thousands of families are grieving the loss of a loved one in long-term care, and countless more ...

After the Doug Ford government abruptly shut down the Ontario legislature Tuesday, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the entire sitting was a lost opportunity to help people make it through COVID-19. “We could have used this session to make seniors safer in long-term care, including adding more workers for every shift, and making their jobs full-time and better paid,” said ...

Tom Rakocevic, Ontario NDP Auto Insurance critic, is calling on the Ford government to stop letting auto insurers gouge Ontarians, as drivers get handed huge rate increases mid-pandemic.   The Ford government has refused to require auto insurers to provide discounts during the pandemic as accidents and driving plunged. Now the quarterly update on auto insurance rates is overdue and ...

NDP Official Opposition House Leader Gilles Bisson (Timmins) has issued the following statement:   “Doug Ford has abruptly shut down the Ontario legislature for the summer after ramming through legislation that will do nothing to help Ontarians dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 health and economic crisis people across the province are still dealing with. Andrea Horwath and the NDP wanted ...

Dear Brenda,   The Northern Policy Institute (NPI) recently published a report titled “The Thin Case for Passenger Rail in Ontario’s Northern Regions” which has left me in a state a profound dismay and disappointment. It contains some very misleading information and does little to improve sustainable transportation options desired by Northerners.   The document in question attempts to undermine ...

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on the government to conduct an independent Preparedness Review of the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Ontario’s readiness for a potential second wave.   “People and small businesses are doing their part to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19, but is the government doing everything it can to shield us against the health ...

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 ...

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to Doug Ford’s long-term care announcement, in which he commits to altering the funding formula for long-term care construction:   “The announcement by Premier Doug Ford means the for-profit corporations that have failed seniors for years could get even more public money. Today feels like a re-run of years of ...

As the Ford government sits on its hands instead of taking action to ensure a full return to schools in September, the Ontario NDP is putting forward an emergency action plan that would help get kids safely back to class five days a week in the fall and work for parents and teachers. That plan, captured in a motion tabled ...

Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said safely moving into Stage 3 should come with help and support from the government.   “Ontarians have worked hard to flatten the curve. It’s because of the collective effort and sacrifice of individuals and businesses that we’ve seen a steady decline in new COVID-19 infections,” said Horwath.   “There is no question that ...

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement in response to a Ford government omnibus bill tabled Wednesday:   “The omnibus bill the Ford Conservatives introduced today does nothing at all to help families, devastated long-term care homes, small businesses, schools and day cares, First Nations, or municipalities to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.   This bill doesn’t include a ...

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 ...

A day after Doug Ford made the dubious claim that he didn’t know about the sweltering conditions in long-term care, Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on his government to introduce a bill requiring air conditioning in all residents’ rooms. Horwath added that the NDP would provide unanimous consent to pass such legislation today.   But in question period, ...