Cheers and jeers
New chief of staff alert, PSW redux, and stakeholders react to reopening
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Good Friday morning. This is Queen’s Park Observer — thank you for reading!
ABOVE THE FOLD
Mixed reaction: I asked experts and stakeholders to weigh in on yesterday’s heavily anticipated three-step reopening plan, much of which had already leaked by the time Premier DOUG FORD dropped the official word. Compared to past iterations of reopening frameworks, the latest roadmap was generally well-received from a health and communications standpoint.
But questions and criticisms are mounting over the uncertainty over schools, certain benchmarks and timelines, and a lack of supports.
Here’s what they had to say:
SABINA VOHRA-MILLER, co-founder of the South Asian Health Network and founder of Unambiguous Science: “My issue really has to do with Stage 3. Opening up larger indoor gatherings like casinos and bingo halls and indoor religious activities, all of that is, to be honest, it’s frightening to me, with just 25 per cent fully vaccinated. I don’t think that’s evidence-based. It’s frightening because we will likely see a lot more cases happening at that time, given that people are not fully vaccinated. With one dose, yes you do have some immunity, but it’s also not as robust immunity. To be fully vaccinated, you do need two doses.
“It is good that they are doing 21 days before the next step. It gives them enough time to actually — hopefully — evaluate the situation."
RYAN MALLOUGH, director of provincial affairs at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business: “It’s not really the news that a lot of small business owners wanted to hear, but it’s a little par for the course — ‘just wait a couple more weeks.’ At first glance, it really feels like it’s more of a plan to ensure that we’re the last jurisdiction to allow business activity to resume. I mean, hairdressers not being open until July, gyms not being open until August, even retailers who had June 2 sort of circled are now waiting until June 14. It’s good to have a plan, but at the same time, this is going to be a really bitter pill to swallow for a lot of business owners.”
AMANDA GALBRAITH, principal at public relations and communications firm Navigator: “Anything with the word reopening in it is going to be popular. What the government has gotten into trouble with is inconsistencies, and inconsistency is rooted in a lack of metrics. We didn’t understand why they’re opening stuff, how it was happening, was it a political decision, was it a decision by the doctors. That really has tripped them up. So after what I would say was a pretty bad last month, they recalibrated. To me, it’s a very clear three phases with direct metrics attached to them — it’s still complicated, but it’s certainly less complicated than greys and greens and oranges and whatever else.”
HARVEY BISCHOF, head of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation: “What we heard in terms of numbers is it’s a six to 11 per cent increase in community spread, on the basis of schools reopening. When they say that that increase may be ‘manageable’ — what does [that] mean, by whom, by the health care system, or by individuals who are sickened by the virus? I’m grateful on behalf of my members and their students that schools are not slated to reopen. But don’t pretend that opening schools is a priority, when at the same time they’re looking at reopening other kinds of services and so forth, before they reopen schools. You just can’t square that circle.”
ROCCO ROSSI, president of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce: “There is greater clarity today. That’s important because uncertainty is the cancer of confidence, it’s the cancer of investment. Having greater certainty allows you to plan more than a week in advance. But we have to do a few additional things that hopefully we hear about soon. And that is: clearly, this is still taking longer than anyone would have hoped. So the supports to businesses and to individuals need to align to that reopening — it’s not going to be an on-off switch, it’s going to be a dimmer switch. Let’s make sure the supports are there to ensure as many people get to the other side as possible.”
PAUL OSLAND, CEO of Athletics Ontario, on reopening outdoor sports amenities on Saturday: “The decision makes us feel as though our voices have actually been heard, and that we have played a part in evoking a much needed change for the sake of our memberships' mental and physical health.”
An unnamed Tory source: “I would pay to be a fly on the wall of that cabinet meeting.”
HAPPENING TODAY
— It’s about to get much quieter at the Leg. The House is on a constituency break as of today and will reconvene May 31 for the last sitting week before the summer recess.
— AT COMMITTEE: Labour Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON will be front and centre at the Finance committee to kick off public hearings on Bill 288, which would speed up the apprenticeship process and create a new Crown agency called Skilled Trades Ontario to replace the College of Trades. The witness roster includes groups representing the skilled trades, construction and engineers, as well as GARFIELD DUNLOP, former PC critic for apprenticeships (he’s also dad to Associate Minister JILL DUNLOP, who told the House during debate that he is back “on the tools” and working in the trades).
MAKING HEADLINES:
— Watchdog sounds alarm on paramedic oversight. “Complicated, overburdened, and wholly inadequate,” from Ontario Ombudsman PAUL DUBÉ’s new report, Oversight 911, which calls on the Ministry of Health to revamp its oversight system for investigating complaints about ambulance services. More scathing findings: understaffing and high turnover fuelled delays and a backlog of incident reports, complainants were sometimes never interviewed or told about the outcome, and there was no centralized system to track investigation reports and systemic trends.
— Hashtag splish splash. “In a tweet at DOUG FORD, Ottawa Mayor JIM WATSON asked the premier to reconsider the decision to leave splash pads off the reopening list…It’s going to be over 30 degrees this long weekend.”
— “Should Ontario make Timmins a COVID-19 hot spot?” TVO makes the case.
— “Lawyers for the Ford government delivered arguments in court Wednesday to defend its contentious Bill 197, saying the province was within the rules by passing it without holding public consultations:” National Observer.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Seniors and Accessibility Minister RAYMOND CHO has a new chief of staff: JAY JUNG, who was previously a senior policy adviser in Cho’s office.
Ontario Regional Chief ROSEANNE ARCHIBALD is running to be the next National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “It’s time for the right woman to step forward,” she said in a release. Archibald is stepping away from her provincial post and will officially launch her national campaign on Tuesday.
SPOTTED:
A PSW PSA redux — Premier DOUG FORD taking heat for reviving last year’s shout-out to personal support workers.
PANDEMIC TRACKER
Don’t call it a trend yet. After two straight days of Covid cases coming in under the 2,000-mark, new infections shot back up again, to 2,400. Another 27 deaths were added to the toll. Hospitals are still strained, but there are fewer people in the ICUs: 721.
QUESTION PERIOD
Ford skipped out on the Thursday morning debate, as he’s done all week. He’ll soon get a break from being called out for it in this space because the House isn’t sitting next week. Naturally, MPPs got in their heckling while they could.
THE HIGHLIGHTS: Reopen based on science — The human cost of pandemic-postponed surgeries — CCPA report backs end to for-profit LTC — Salvaging the school year — Science-backed reopening plan — “Step up and do the right thing and properly pay PSWs” — Make the curriculum more equitable — Transparency for revamped autism program — Vaccines for teens — Commit to funding back-to-school in the fall — Lift the lockdown.
LOBBYING DISPATCH
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
— Semhar Tekeste, Enterprise Canada: Convertus Group
— Caroline Pinto and Devan Sommerville, Counsel Public Affairs: The College of Opticians of Ontario
— Peter Van Loan, Aird & Berlis: Oakville Developments
— Rick Roth, Global Public Affairs: Ontario University Athletics
IN-HOUSE ORGANIZATIONS: Geneseeq Technology — Coloplast Canada.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: former premier KATHLEEN WYNNE.
MEA CULPA: I’ve heard from a lot of you about Lucas Meyer’s spot-on impression of top doc DAVID WILLIAMS, and you’re right, he was at dinner with (an imagined) STEINI BROWN, science table co-chair — not DIRK HUYER.
Were you privy to cabinet meetings this week? Got a birthday coming up? I want to hear from you! Reach out to sabrina@qpobserver.ca, or just reply to this email.