Ontario legislature adjourns for summer, house leader hopeful for normal return
The Ontario legislature kicked off a three-month summer break Thursday, as the opposition argued legislators were heading home while people in the province still need pandemic relief.
Government house leader Paul Calandra expressed hope that when legislators return for the fall session on Sept. 13., life at Queen's Park will be back to normal.
"I am very optimistic that when we come back in September, we'll all be coming back," he said. "It'll be a full session, a normal session that the galleries will be open, that all members will be able to come back, that we can get rid of these masks."
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ontario's parliament has remained closed to anyone but politicians, staff and media. Physical distancing rules are in place within the house and only a limited cohort of politicians are permitted to attend at any one time.
With the province aiming to ramp up its vaccination rollout over the summer, Calandra said legislators would spend the next few months reconnecting with constituents in their ridings, adding that the government will be planning for pressing issues like the return to school in September.
"I don't think we will lack for things to do," he said.
Opposition politicians, meanwhile, said such planning should have been done before legislators headed home.
"People are still needing support," NDP leader Andrea Horwath said, highlighting the need for plans to support small businesses and catch up on surgeries delayed during the pandemic, among other outstanding issues.
"Now we're just going to pack up and walk away from the legislature. That troubles me a great deal."
Liberal house leader John Fraser criticized the government for adjourning without a clear plan on return to school in September, after the academic year was disrupted due to repeated lockdowns to curb the virus.
He also raised concerns about the lack of government commitment to following up on specific recommendations from a commission that probed COVID-19's impact on long-term care homes and found the sector neglected and unprepared for a pandemic.
More than 3,770 long-term care residents and 13 staff have died from COVID-19 in Ontario, as the sector was ravaged by thousands of infections.
"The thing that I'm concerned about with long-term care is, the government just wants it to go away. We can't forget it," Fraser said.
"We can't get caught up in what's next, and not have some accounting for what went behind so that it doesn't happen again."
Mike Schreiner of the Green party said he was disappointed in the government's lack of commitment to fixing long-term care, in response to the commission's report.
"They haven't committed to dealing with a staffing shortage next year instead of four years down the road," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.