TORONTO -- Less than two weeks before politicians are scheduled to return to the Ontario legislature, the Progressive Conservative government is being urged to hold virtual sittings – a move the government has avoided during the entire pandemic, even as office towers and schools sat empty with work from home and remote-learning policies.
Liberal MPP John Fraser penned a letter to Government House Leader Paul Calandra asking him to consider holding both in-person and virtual sittings for the winter session of the legislature, as the province weathers the second wave of COVID-19.
"We are in the midst of a province-wide lockdown and the stay-at-home orders are in effect as well as confirmation of at least two more contagious COVID-19 variants are in Ontario," Fraser said in his letter.
"Our caucus believes that all members should feel safe in continuing to carry out their legislative duties without risking their health, and the health of their families by travelling across the province."
Fraser points to the hybrid meeting model in the House of Commons and Toronto City Hall as prime examples of virtual sittings that the Ontario legislature should follow when it return on Feb. 16.
The Ford government quickly rejected the proposal pointing to health and safety measures in the provincial legislature since mid-2020, which Calandra says have "proven incredibly effective."
The government limited the number of MPPs allowed inside the legislature during Question Period and created a cohort system to allow for physical distancing, while anyone entering Queen's Park are subjected to five COVID-19 screening questions on a daily basis.
"We believe these measures will continue to allow for the conduct of safe legislative business until it is safe for a return to normal," Calandra said in a statement.
The legislature is set to resume of Feb. 16.
