I\u2019m looking forward to the April constituency week.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m ready for some time away from Queen\u2019s Park and a break from that long road I travel both ways every weekend.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always maintained that, far from being a monotonous waste of time each weekend, it actually provides me with a wonderful opportunity to really think things through uninterrupted.\u00a0 The other night, however, something happened that made me sit up and realize that between the goings-on in the Legislature and endless hours on the road, I got the message I need a break.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve travelled this road so many times that I\u2019m sure my car knows the way without even using Google Navigation.\u00a0 I got out of QP late and was heading on Hwy 400 north of Barrie when I came to the place where drivers heading to Hwy 11 stay on and 400 veer off right.\u00a0 I was thinking about how to move the broadband for Northerner’s issue forward when I swear I heard the voice of KITT<\/em> from the old TV show Knight Rider<\/em> say, \u201cHey Michael, don\u2019t miss your turn here.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, I showed my true Canadian colours and said, \u201cThanks KITT.\u201d\u00a0 My response told me it\u2019s time to spend time in the constituency office.<\/p>\n In a team meeting the next morning we were talking about how stressed and frustrated people are of late.\u00a0 It\u2019s a totally different kind of stress than a year ago.\u00a0 Many people are really at their wit’s end trying to keep it all together for their family in terms of physical and mental health as well as financial security in the here and now, let alone tomorrow.\u00a0 Some are actually scared.\u00a0 My team spends so much time on the phone and responding to email, trying to help constituents any way we can. \u00a0The overall message is that Northerners are feeling isolated and abandoned by Doug Ford and his government.\u00a0 This is the same Doug Ford who professed to be \u201cthere for the little guy.\u201d\u00a0 In fact, the Province proclaimed that his government was, \u201cOntario\u2019s first-ever<\/u> government for the people.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n People are desperate for money because so many jobs have disappeared \u2013 especially in the tourism, recreation and sports industries which normally bring in millions to Algoma-Manitoulin all year round.\u00a0 Then Ontarians learn that just six executives at Ontario Power Generation took home $5.5 million. <\/strong>\u00a0There were huge raises at the very top, and now 17 people make more than $700,000.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Premier Ford is denying frontline health care heroes a much deserved and needed permanent <\/u><\/em>raise, including Personal Support Workers (PSWs). \u00a0In fact, this \u201cdefender\u201d of the little guy has passed a likely-unconstitutional wage constraint law to hold back the wages of Ontario workers while allowing executive salaries to soar.\u00a0 Kind of hard for Ontarians to swallow, eh?<\/p>\n PSW\u2019s truly just one of many occupations that the pandemic has raised awareness of an extensive list of essential workers.\u00a0 These workers who stand on the frontline performing their duties to keep people safe and keep our economy and supply lines moving put themselves at heightened risk day after day. They have worked long hours, often in the most difficult conditions without taking time off.\u00a0 Many have suffered from the mental and emotional toll this has had on them and their families.\u00a0 Workers have experienced stress and anxiety, and we are seeing more and more cases of post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions being reported.<\/p>\n The NDP is introducing new legislation that would guarantee our essential workers have access to presumptive coverage for mental health benefits through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).\u00a0 NDP MPP Monique Taylor\u2019s Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act<\/em><\/strong> (Access to Mental Health Support for Essential Workers), 2021<\/em><\/strong>, provides workers designated as essential, or who are working in a workplace designated as essential, with the presumption that any mental health-related injuries they suffer arose from their work during the pandemic.\u00a0 This would entitle these workers to access WSIB benefits for chronic or traumatic mental stress injuries.<\/p>\n A recent Ontario Nurses\u2019 Association<\/em> (ONA) survey found that just over 60 per cent of nurses working in long-term care homes with large outbreaks reported they were experiencing symptoms of PTSD.\u00a0 Taylor says that these days, many more Ontarians working in health care, retail, education and public health are facing mental health challenges due to their work during the pandemic.<\/p>\n There are health care workers who repeatedly watched people take their dying breath without any family there to comfort them.\u00a0 There are long-term care home staff who had to walk away from residents crying out in pain because another person\u2019s need was greater.\u00a0 There are educators who worked while stiff with fear to support children who need one-on-one help, but can\u2019t wear a mask.\u00a0 The mental health impact of this pandemic will continue to be felt in the months and years to come, and we have a duty to ensure our frontline heroes get all the support they need.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for the Ford government to take action by supporting this legislation without delay.\u00a0 Every essential worker not only deserves, but must have, presumptive WSIB coverage for mental health treatment and support \u2014 without the added stress of being forced to prove this was due to their experiences on the job.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had many constituents call my office to say that despite knowing they will qualify for a Northern Health Travel Grant, they can\u2019t go because the lack the financial ability to put the money upfront for travel and accommodation so they can be reimbursed weeks down the road.\u00a0 New Democrats understand how people are struggling to afford to pay for necessary expenses, including costs associated with mandatory personal identification.<\/p>\n Northerners in more remote, rural or First Nations communities have to travel very long distances at great expense just to obtain this basic ID; new parents who need to pay for their children\u2019s long-form birth certificate but have limited access to government services, folks who need to pay to update their name and gender on their identification, and people living in poverty and homelessness who can\u2019t access the help they need without government ID.<\/p>\n With this in mind, NDP MPP Judith Monteith-Farrell from Thunder Bay-Attikokan introduced a bill called the Awenen Niin Act (Who Am I) Respecting Identity Documents <\/em>which would have removed user fees for all services related to Ontario birth certificates and Ontario Photo Cards (purple ID cards).\u00a0 No one in Ontario should be denied public services because they don\u2019t have the money to pay for their ID.\u00a0 But Doug Ford chose to ignore the pleas of people who are living paycheque-to-paycheque, coping with unemployment or living in poverty.\u00a0 By refusing to remove user fees from personal identification in Ontario he continues to ignore the needs of Ontario\u2019s little guys who are truly hurting.<\/p>\n New Democrats have a better way to do things that not only respects the strengths of the people of Ontario but also recognizes that by helping them to meet their needs, everyone benefits.\u00a0 Good jobs and financial security for working families is what will help people weather the COVID-19 storm, and it\u2019s what will drive the recovery.\u00a0 Months ago we launched our Save Main Street plan.\u00a0 And that is just one part of the comprehensive second-wave plan Ontario desperately needs.<\/p>\n Along with my colleagues, we will continue to honour our commitment to Ontarians to not just constructively oppose but propose new and innovative pathways to success for all.<\/p>\n As always, please feel free to contact my office about these issues, or any other provincial matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m looking forward to the April constituency week.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m ready for some time away from Queen\u2019s Park and a break from that long road I travel both ways every weekend.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always maintained that, far from being a monotonous waste of time each weekend, it actually provides me with a wonderful opportunity to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":4519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-05 19:08:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43357"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43359,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43357\/revisions\/43359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}