Inside Sunday's Cabinet meeting

Plus: Fresh faces at Finance and Cabinet Office, and Del Duca gets crusty

ABOVE THE FOLD

DEJA VU — Like much of the world staring down Omicron, Ontario is stumbling into 2022 with new restrictions that are changing on the fly. Just days after announcing schools would come back in-person Wednesday, the Ford government pivoted, saying that won’t happen until at least January 17.

STEP 2.0 — The province is moving back into a modified Step Two of the reopening plan, which also means shuttering indoor dining, gyms, theatres and concert venues, slashing capacity limits in most other settings and directing hospitals to pause all non-urgent surgeries and procedures to “blunt” the impact on ICUs. That could see up to 10,000 procedures nixed weekly.

Gatherings are also limited to five people indoors and 10 outdoors, while everyone who can is being advised to work from home. Some schools will remain open in some capacity, such as for child care, and free daycare will be provided again for parents who work on the front lines.

CUE BLOWBACK — Supports for businesses are…