Reopening in 3 phases
Plus, Dr. David Williams gets the Lucas Meyer treatment
Good Thursday morning. This is Queen’s Park Observer.
ABOVE THE FOLD
All eyes will be on Queen’s Park today as the Ford government is expected to unveil its reopening plan. Details are being finalized up until the eleventh hour, with cabinet expected to convene after meeting Wednesday to hammer out the framework.
What sources familiar with the discussions are saying: Reopening will be mapped out in phases — three of them — with some outdoor recreation, such as golf, resuming in the coming days. (The scuttlebutt from iPolitics suggests that happens on May 25.)
A region-by-region approach was all but ruled out by Solicitor General SYLVIA JONES, who prefers opening up by sector so that people in hot spots don’t trek to areas with looser restrictions, risking Covid spread. “What happens is people move, are more likely to move from place to place, if we go to a regional approach,” she told reporters. As for golf’s comeback: “in the fullness of time.”
What the Ontario Hospital Association wants to see: a “staged and cautious approach” that brings back low-transmission activities like golf and tennis first, followed by more crowded settings, such as patio dining and retail, with gyms and other higher-risk environments bringing up the rear.
HAPPENING TODAY
— Liberal Leader STEVEN DEL DUCA will hold a media availability to lay out his recommendations for reopening, at 9 a.m.
— At 9:30 a.m., Ontario Ombudsman PAUL DUBÉ will release a report investigating how the health ministry oversees complaints about ambulance services.
— At the same time, Labour Minister MONTE MCNAUGHTON and MPP STEPHEN CRAWFORD (Oakville) will make a virtual announcement about skills and safety training in the construction sector.
— Transportation Minister CAROLINE MULRONEY will make a virtual announcement about GTA transit at 10 a.m. Also in tow will be Associate Transportation Minister KINGA SURMA, Etobicoke—Lakeshore MPP CHRISTINE HOGARTH, Mississauga Mayor BONNIE CROMBIE, Toronto Mayor JOHN TORY, Metrolinx CEO PHIL VERSTER, Infrastructure Ontario VP of Transit CHARL VAN NIEKERK, and Toronto Region Board of Trade president JAN DE SILVA.
ON THE ORDER PAPER
The Tories are extending their powers under the Reopening Ontario Act. Solicitor General SYLVIA JONES tabled a motion that would prolong the government’s power to amend and extend the emergency orders under the ROA until December 1.
It’s the last sitting day before MPPs break for a constituency week. Today’s docket includes a deferred vote after Question Period on Liberal MPP LUCILLE COLLARD’s Bill 287, which would ensure the school curriculum includes lessons on the history of colonization and its impact on Indigenous people.
MAKING HEADLINES
— Hospitals got the all-clear to resume non-urgent surgeries, which were postponed last month as Covid surged. Now that infections and hospitalizations appear to be trending downward, top doc DAVID WILLIAMS has rescinded Directive #2 — but that doesn’t mean postponed procedures will ramp up right away, or in a uniform manner. “This is dependent on hospital capacity,” said the health minister’s spokesperson ALEXANDRA HILKENE.
— FROM THE SCRUMS: The Solicitor General is asking Ontarians who get vaccinated south of the border in the U.S. to let their family doctor know, so it can be recorded in the provincial system. “We need to track it and make sure that we’re capturing that data.” SYLVIA JONES told reporters.
— Scoop from the Toronto Star: “Ontario is poised to proceed with second doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the use of which was put on hold last week over concerns about an increase in rare blood clots after first shots.” An announcement is expected within days. Meanwhile, pharmacists have urged the province to allow them to administer first AZ shots so that tens of thousands sitting in freezers are used up.
— Canada’s privacy watchdogs want vaccine passports to respect personal information. CP reports: “While this might offer substantial public benefit it is an encroachment on civil liberties that should be accepted only after careful consideration…They recommended conditions including clear legal authority for introducing use of vaccine passports for each intended purpose.”
— POLL WATCH: The PCs, NDP and Liberals are statistically neck-and-neck in a fresh public-opinion survey. More from 338Canada’s Philippe J. Fournier in Maclean’s.
PANDEMIC TRACKER
— Covid has directly and indirectly caused nearly 13 per cent more deaths than would normally have been expected. That’s the upshot from a new Science Table brief that looked at cremation data.
— As its hospitals teeter toward critical care capacity, Manitoba transferred three Covid-positive ICU patients to Thunder Bay this week.
— For the second day in a row, coronavirus cases came in under the 2,000-mark, at 1,588. Wednesday also saw another 19 deaths and at least 735 patients in ICUs.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Programming note: I’ll be test-driving some new segments in the coming days. This is Where Are They Now — in which I catch up with people who have moved on from Queen’s Park. Up first is former Newstalk 1010 radio reporter LUCAS MEYER, who’s settling into his new role as a senior consultant in media and public affairs at Enterprise Canada’s Toronto office. (Edited for clarity and length.)
How did you handle the Bell Media layoffs? I had this feeling because first there were some layoffs in Montreal and I was wondering if this was going to spread, which obviously it did. So I was already mentally preparing myself. Then, I was just inundated with wonderful messages of support from so many people. It was just so heartwarming, and it really did help me. And of course, so did the tremendous support from my family and from my wife. What was really fascinating was the support from the non-journalism crowd. The big lesson for me that I took out of that whole experience is that you never know who’s looking at your work, who’s tracking the way that you conduct yourself.
What’s it like making the jump from journalism to media and public affairs? My whole adult life was just journalism. First of all, you’re not completely closing the door because there’s an opportunity to do panels or writing or the op-ed here and there. But this was a chance to learn that side of the broader environment around media and around all the things that firms do when it comes to media relations and crisis communications and government relations. That’s what’s really fascinating, so I look at it not only as a great opportunity, but also as a real learning experience.
Your first night away from home during the pandemic was spent in a hospital bed. What was that like? I spent two nights in the hospital actually. I have a pretty rare condition called achalasia. In a nutshell, it's a problem with your esophagus and it causes you to not eat normally. I was able to get surgery — and obviously you’re nervous because it was at a time when you’re not sure if those types of surgeries are going to get shelved. But it happened. So I felt really lucky that I was able to get it in. Now things are much better.
We’ve bonded over our mutual love of Hamilton. What’s your favourite musical? So from a more holistic perspective, I would say Les Mis — I don’t know if it’s my favourite, but I just respect it so much, and I think it’s so important to musical history. But I gotta say, if I could do any one role, it would be Bobby in Company. Being Alive is such a killer song to end the show with. If you’ve never seen Company before it’s about this 35-year-old guy, he’s unmarried, and Being Alive talks about what I think being in love and having a partner — why that’s special. You just have to watch the show to understand how he comes to grips with this whole thing, he tries to portray a certain image of himself on the outside, and then you get to Being Alive and that admitting of what he really wants in life. He’s not playing it cool anymore.
Are you working on any new impressions? I do have a DAVID WILLIAMS [chief medical officer of health] and a STEINI BROWN [co-chair of the science table]…So this would be them at a dinner table:
SPOTTED:
— Well-wishes for PC TOBY BARRETT (Haldimand—Norfolk) and wife CARI after they tested positive for Covid. The MPP says he’s doing well and working from home while his wife is recovering in the hospital.
— A pandemic hairdo that gives Toronto Mayor JOHN TORY a run for his money.
QUESTION PERIOD
Premier DOUG FORD was a no-show in Wednesday’s debate.
Official Opposition Leader ANDREA HORWATH changed tack for her lead question — instead of long-term care, she pushed the PCs to commit to the NDP’s demand for a full-on public inquiry into their Covid response — something House Leader PAUL CALANDRA said was ill-timed. “Obviously we are still in the midst of the pandemic.”
The HIGHLIGHTS: An inquiry into the Covid response — Show us the reopening plan — State of emergency in Timmins — McVety decision: “People who spew hate should never run universities” — A PMB to tackle racism in the school system — The small biz struggle — Access to life-saving but costly drugs for Cystic Fibrosis — Bring back outdoor recreation — ICU beds full-up — In London, 18-plus crowd’s demand for vaccines outstrip supply — Follow the feds or go it alone to return to normal — Let’s give money to The Ex — What happens to AZ doses in the freezer?
LOBBYING DISPATCH
Here are the new, renewed and amended registrations over the past 24 hours:
— Jared Burke, Ryan Guptill, Dan Mader, Kenzie McKeegan, Zahra Sultani and Jill Wilson, Loyalist Public Affairs: Bruce Power
— Chris Benedetti, Sussex Strategy Group: Algoma Steel
— Andrew Steele, StrategyCorp: Greater Toronto Airports Authority
— Chad Rogers, Crestview Strategy: Live Nation Canada, Opus One Energy Solutions Corporation
— Vince Amodeo, Global Public Affairs: Ontario University Athletics
— Marsha Seca, Edelman Canada: Nieuport Aviation
— Yaron Gersh, The CCS Group: Brent Gilbertson Enterprise
— Trisha Rinneard, Wellington Advocacy: AMD Medicom
— Stephanie Dunlop, Hill+Knowlton Strategies: Facedrive
— Mitchell Pratt, Impact Public Affairs: Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario
— Thomas Gendron, Impact Public Affairs: Canadian Finance and Leasing Association, Partnership of Registered Psychotherapist Associations
IN-HOUSE ORGANIZATIONS: Palette Skills — Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Studies — Canadian Cancer Society — The Tourism Industry Association of Ontario.
🥳 HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CUPE Ontario’s DANIEL TSEGHAY.
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