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Ontario will remain under a stay-at-home order until June 2 and schools will stay closed for the foreseeable future, Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday.
The province will not allow outdoor recreational facilities such as golf courses and basketball courts to reopen until at least June 2.
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“We need to do everything in our power to protect the summer for all Ontarians. My goal is to have the most normal July and August possible,” Ford said. “Obviously, that wont mean large sporting events or concerts. But if we manage the next few weeks properly. I believe that we can have things in a very good place this summer.”
Ottawa has taken charge of the environmental assessment for the Ford government’s contentious Highway 413 project, but will leave a second controversial highway plan in Ontario’s hands.
The 413 which has come under increased scrutiny over its environmental impact in recent months will now be subject to a longer and more rigorous review. Many believe this effectively spells the end of the project. The planned highway, the subject of a
Torstar investigation published last month, would run through the protected Greenbelt. Canadians expect their governments to make decisions based on science and evidence that support environmental protection and economic growth, said federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in a statement explaining the decision Monday.
The new chair of the Ford government’s Greenbelt Council was Ontario’s environment minister leading up to the Walkerton tragedy, an E. coli outbreak that killed seven people two decades ago.
Norm Sterling who oversaw cuts to the environment ministry’s budget that were later found to have contributed to what happened in Walkerton was a Progressive Conservative environment minister under the Mike Harris government. As an MPP in 2005, he voted against the creation of the Greenbelt.
Sterling replaces former chair David Crombie, who resigned along with six others late last year in protest of the Ford government’s move to limit the powers of conservation authorities.
The Canadian Press, with files from staff
Workers in Ontario will soon be able access three paid sick days to help them self-isolate during the coronavirus pandemic, but critics said the policy announced April 28 falls far short of what’s required to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government had for months resisted intense pressure from health experts and advocates who said paid sick leave would reduce workplace outbreaks. The province only shifted its stance recently, after the federal government left a national sick-pay benefit unchanged in this month’s budget.
Ontario Labour Minister Monte McNaughton announced that a three-day sick leave policy which will be administered through the Workplace Insurance and Safety Board will be retroactive to April 19 and will end on Sept. 25. Employers will be reimbursed for up to $200 a day for what they pay out. The program will be created through new legislation the government is to introduce Apri