Ontario to gradually loosen restrictions starting with indoor dining Jan. 31, sources say
Ontario will allow restaurants to reopen at 50 per cent capacity on Jan. 31 as part of the province's plan to lift restrictions over the next few weeks, sources say.
The Doug Ford government is expected to make the announcement Thursday at Queen's Park.
Ford is expected to announce he will replace closures with capacity limits that were in place in December.
According to sources, a gradual loosening of restrictions will happen through February and Ford is pushing for a full reopening in March.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ford said "restaurants, gyms and other folks" should expect a positive announcement from the province later this week.
This is the second time Ford has referred to "positive news" coming soon regarding loosening the province's current public health restrictions.
Health Minister Christine Elliott also said the province would have "more to say about any movement with respect to restrictions later on this week."
“We know that people and businesses need certainty on what the future looks like and as the premier mentioned yesterday, we will be providing more clarity later this week,” Elliott said.
Elliott described "glimmers of hope" in the province’s COVID-19 data and said infections are expected to peak within days.
Meanwhile, business owners in Ontario have been desperate for details about the reopening, saying the lack of direction is causing them confusion and distrust.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.