{"id":33552,"date":"2020-06-29T08:03:24","date_gmt":"2020-06-29T12:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=33552"},"modified":"2020-08-24T13:33:35","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T17:33:35","slug":"news-from-the-park-it-goes-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/29\/news-from-the-park-it-goes-on\/","title":{"rendered":"News from the Park – It goes on"},"content":{"rendered":"

Readers will undoubtedly know that the Ontario Legislature has begun to resume operation, meaning that once again I find myself in Queen\u2019s Park for the bulk of the week. Heading back to The City<\/em> at first was rather disconcerting. The very streets themselves looked and sounded different. Not quiet but more empty than usual.\u00a0 Seeing so many people walking around with masks on was also rather eye opening.\u00a0 I have to admit I felt kind of \u2026out of sorts.<\/p>\n

We do not yet have a full house of MPPs since, just like everyone else, we are struggling to learn to work with new realities, which respect the necessity for social distancing, yet allow us to get the job done right. \u00a0As I sat there looking around preparing for opening prayers, I had to laugh to myself as a famous line from the movie The Wizard of Oz<\/em> went through my mind. I could not help leaning over to whisper to a nearby colleague saying, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re\u00a0not in Kansas\u00a0anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the words of the poet Robert Frost came to mind. He once said, \u201cIn three words I can sum up everything I\u2019ve learned about life: It goes on.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 In truth, I felt comfort in these words.<\/p>\n

Before going any further I want to say that I am extremely proud of the way the people of Algoma-Manitoulin have \u2013 and continue to – respond to the pandemic and all of the changes it has brought about.\u00a0 To say my office was beyond swamped with many hundreds of calls and thousands of emails would be a gross understatement.\u00a0 It was almost impossible for my staff and I to meet all of the demands and things at times were backlogged.\u00a0 However, I am pleased to say that the people of this riding rose to the challenge and were extremely patient and understanding.\u00a0 If nothing else, this experience has given me the opportunity to speak directly with so many residents and business owners that I have not had the chance to speak to before.<\/p>\n

I also need to give a shout out to my office team as we worked supportively in trying to see to the needs of all constituents and business owners. If you have reason to contact my office in the future, take a moment to thank my team members Cindy, Grant, Thomas and Vicky for their dedication and hard work serving the people of Algoma-Manitoulin.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that all of us have experienced varying degrees of loss and even fear at times across a broad spectrum of issues and events.\u00a0 However, the one issue that seems to stand out most in people\u2019s minds is our failure as a society to protect one of the most vulnerable segments of out population \u2013 seniors in long-term care (LTC).\u00a0 As for the statistics \u2013 they speak for themselves. According to the CBC<\/em>, \u201cA new study finds the proportion of Canadian COVID-19 deaths that have occurred in long-term care facilities is about twice the average of rates from other developed\u00a0countries.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, about 75% of those who lost their lives due to COVID-19 were seniors and staff in long-term care.<\/p>\n

Let there be no doubt that the responsibility for ensuring proper care for Ontario seniors falls upon the Province.\u00a0 Doug Ford\u2019s policies of cut, cut, cut are just not acceptable. Ford chose to ignore New Democrat\u2019s warnings of major cracks in LTC long<\/em> before the pandemic hit.\u00a0 It took a scathing report by the Canadian military to finally bring to the forefront the conditions in which many seniors were living day after day and year after year.<\/p>\n