TORONTO Ontario Premier Doug Ford will soon handpick a new cabinet to help steer his agenda at the outset of his second term with an announcement coming in the next two weeks, a senior . Ontario Premier Doug Ford responds to a question during a press conference announcing the enhanced COVID-19 vaccine certificate system, at Queen's Park in Toronto on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. This is not okay. The premier will be joined by Minister of Health Christine Elliott, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones and Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. November 8, 2022. opinion. Prohibiting indoor organized public events and social gatherings and limiting the capacity for outdoor organized public events or social gatherings to a 5-person maximum, except for gatherings with members of the same household (the people you live with) or gatherings of members of one household and one other person from another household who lives alone. Premier Doug Ford will expand his government's "strong mayor" legislation to other municipalities. Instead, he shot himself in the foot. Premier Doug Ford is making an announcement about COVID-19 Wednesday afternoon. This does not include social gatherings associated with these services such as receptions, which are not permitted indoors and are limited to five people outdoors. Whatever you think about the way he reads from a Teleprompter or his, "God bless the people of Ontario," closing, Ford used those appearances to rehabilitate his reputation,andas a result his approval rating soared. The big question will be what Forddoes over the next four years with this even bigger mandate. PC party needs to be more transparent with spending plans, says Ontario financial watchdog, Ontario records $2.1B surplus despite projected deficit for fiscal year, Ontario budget 2022: Highlights from the Ford government's pre-election pitch, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. (Wrong. Many are torn about this decision, with some just wanting the day off entirely and others not wanting to dedicate a whole day to The Queen and the controversy surrounding the entire British monarchy. If we are short-staffed today, we were surely short-handed yesterday thanks to an unexpected pandemic, yes, but a predictable surge in flu cases that predated COVID-19. As it turns out, early reports of a potential four-week-long provincewide shutdown weren't part of some cruel and elaborate April Fools' Day joke by the government. But this is the second time the premier has failed to call a provincial holiday, and many are drawing their own conclusions. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the, The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star A temporary tax cut intended to help Ontario residents save money at the pumps will be extended for another year, the province's premier announced on Sunday. Addressing municipal leaders in Ottawa this morning . But there's also no doubt that a significant chunk of Ontarians are tired of the pandemic and wantto move on. About three per cent of Ontarios surgeries are now done outside of hospitals. Load Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8, hospitals that are already struggling with staff shortages, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. This approach to diverting less serious surgeries from hospitals makes sense BUT it should be done within our public healthcare system. Readers' Letters. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Much remains to be seen in terms of how this will all pan out, but many everyday Ontarians (those who aren't wealthy) will go to sleep this evening worried that they may no longer have access to vital healthcare services one day. Complex procedures such as hip and knee joint replacement surgeries should remain connected to the hospital system to ensure continuity of care and patient safety, she said in a statement. Join the conversation Police say Copyright 2019 by Channel Zero Inc. | All Rights Reserved. October 16, 2020, 3:09 pm. ), The premier is allowing private profiteers to reap the benefits at the expense of ordinary patients, who will now have to cough up their credit cards for basic care. Tag: Doug Ford announcement. Right now families are having to use their credit card to access basic services Premier Doug Ford is expected to provide a COVID-19 update at 1:00 p.m. at Queen's Park today. Whoever is left behind in our hospitals will be the folks that are going to be dealing with the most vulnerable and increasingly complex patients and populations.. Bidding Closes: Monday, January 9th Soft Close Starting at 6pm, 1 lot closes every 10 seconds with a 2-minute extended bidding. But not having it recognized in Ontario is drawing up mixed reactions from across the province. "We want to be clear he will not get away with this. Others smell corruption, whether it existsor not. Hote Take: The Queens death shouldn't be a national, Stat holiday. Doug Ford said his government intends to table legislation that would leave the tax break that cut gas prices by 5.7 cents a litre in place until the end of 2023. Dr. Nancy Whitmore, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, also flagged a concern that hip and knee replacements which have more potential for complications should only be done in independent clinics with hospital links. Chantel Grillo. People will end up paying out of pocket and face longer wait times in our hospitals, as his plan driveshealthcare workers from our public system. Thats the Ontario I recognize. What this means is that things will stay pretty much the same in Canada's largest city, save for gathering limits being lowered, an end to outdoor exercise classes, the closure of patios and the cancellation of plans to reopen salons and other personal care services on April 12. But Liberal MPP Dr. Adil Shamji (Don Valley East), an emergency room physician, questioned how those plans would be evaluated and accurately verified by the Health Ministry. 2pm fanholic 2pm for ever kpop lover #20 # jun. Speaking Tuesday, Ford said the public needs to move on when asked what businesses considering keeping vaccine passports in place after March 1 to boost consumer confidence should do. On Dec. 7, projections from Ontario's COVID-19 Science Table warned that intensive-care unit populations would swell even without Omicron. Food and Rural Affairs, will make an announcement on delivering high-speed internet service to Middlesex County. while presiding over a critical decrease in hospital capacity. Grzegorz Pierzchala put over to February, Ontario unveils 3-step plan to invest in private health care, Premier Ford, Health Minister to discuss health-care privatization, David Onley, former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, dead at 72, Female pedestrian struck by car in Oakville, Fire causes over $1M in damages to Ancaster insurance business, 70-year-old man charged with 1st-degree murder in Burlington. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in B.C., filed stories from 19 countries in Africa as a freelance journalist, then joined the CBC in 2005. "That's a snapshot in time," he said. Is everyone really surprised Mr. Open for Business aka Doug Ford doesnt want you to have a holiday Id much rather see Truth and Reconciliation Day become a provincial stat TBH. In a news conference at Queens Park, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces his governments phased approach to loosening COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place since January 5. He is joined by Sylvia Jones, the deputy premier and minister of health. How did he and his party pull off this stunning recovery? It used to be that his combative instincts led him to take the bait more often, and his communication aides would nervously watch his news conferences wondering what might come out of his mouth. These changes are in addition to the emergency brake measures that took effect April 3 in all 34 health . Today's announcement follows this morning's extension of emergency orders by the provincial . Im sure Galen Weston is very happy pic.twitter.com/l7FQNAqr2W, In Monday's release, Ontario revealed that it would be investing more than $18 million into existing community surgical and diagnostic centres "to cover care for thousands of patients, including more than 49,000 hours of MRI and CT scans. A media availability will follow, via teleconference only. The apathy election? It's rare these days that a Doug Ford healthcare announcement goes over well with most Ontario residents, but the premier may have truly outdone himself Monday morning (in terms of making the masses mad) with a new plan to "fix" the problems faced by overcrowded, under-staffed, and increasingly ineffective hospitals across the province. Some fear that the move puts Ontario's healthcare system under further threat of full privatization, as they did after pharmacists weregranted the ability to treat certain ailments andprescribe some medicationspreviously available only from doctors. As a PC campaign source told me at the time,there are more employees who vote than business owners who vote. But people have pointed out that this is the second time Ford failed to follow the federal government'slead, as both days are indeedfederally recognized. Ford said British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec are ahead of Ontario in providing certain surgeries and diagnostic procedures outside of hospitals, with Alberta performing 20 per cent in independent clinics. "We are . Ontario, Canada Premier Doug Ford and the Minister of Education made an announcement on June 2, 2021. With daily COVID-19 cases in Ontario spiking over 2,000 again, Premier Doug Ford teased a restrictions announcement, but was unwilling to pull the trigger on any news Wednesday afternoon. Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner acknowledged off the top of the campaign that he would not become premier. The two announced that Ontario would be expanding the use . March 31, 2021, 9:45 am. Horwath's tearful election night speech was possiblythe best she has given in her 13 years as party leader, speaking straight from the heart. Critics allege new clinics will recklessly raid short-staffed hospitals for nurses and doctors. Shamji whose Liberal partys June 2 election platform called for more non-profit independent surgical and diagnostic clinics said many patients will find it tough to decide if its worth paying for products, tests and other services not covered by OHIP when facing upselling pitches. Ford took issue with those numbers on Sunday. As with most medical questions, the context is complex: Some critics mistakenly or misleadingly describe Mondays reforms as unprecedented. Ontario will boost the number of . Ontario vaccine passport announcement expected from Queen's Park this afternoon; speculation suggests it will require proof of COVID vaccination for restaurants, bars, gyms & other indoor settings . Each of the first four paragraphs above is demonstrably false fear-mongering wrapped in gaslighting inside a red herring. Mondays long-awaited but utterly anticlimactic announcement that Ontario is expanding independent clinics in order to reduce soaring wait times will trigger the inevitable rhetorical ideological wars. hasn't been seen on a New York City stage since its Broadway revival nearly 40 years ago. The people of Ontario may observe a moment of silence at 1:00 p.m. on that day. #onpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/VWVePw7UJ8. Read the transcript of the briefing here. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about Health Minister Christine Elliott, Minister of Long-Term Care Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, and Finance Minister Rod Phillips will join Ford for his 1 p.m. address from Queen's Park. There were plenty of voters who wanted Ford out. Just sayin.. Of course, many people across the province are questioning why Ford declined to markboth occasions as holidays. Premier Doug Ford ended Wednesday's announcement by telling Ontarians to "take a break from negativity" for the next four weeks. Ford is expected to announce a month-long stay-at-home order for the province. Statement from Premier Ford: Ontario will mark September 19, 2022 as a provincial Day of Mourning in lieu of a provincial holiday. There really isn't a debate to be had. Visit: http://toronto.citynews.ca/Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CityNewsLike us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citynewstoronto/Follow us o. On Monday Ontario's Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, said that limiting mobility was the guiding principle for last week's . Amid a public health crisis the likes of which Ontario has never seen, and a firestorm of criticism regarding the Ford government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic there are growing calls for . For the first time in the pandemic, big box stores will be limited to only selling essential items. Government sources tell me that Labour Minister Monte McNaughton sold cabinet on the shift, and party strategists began trying to cultivatethepro-worker perception last fall. It's rare these days that a Doug Ford healthcare announcement goes over well with most Ontario residents, but the premier may have truly outdone himself Monday morning (in terms of making the . tired of the pandemic and wantto move on, went days at a time without taking questions, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. But this is the second time the premier . The government says it will require personnel plans for any clinic expansions to preclude poaching. Its difficult to say no., A 2021 report by the auditor general found the Health Ministry has no oversight mechanism to prevent patients from being misinformed about being charged inappropriately for publicly funded surgeries.. Dec. 31, 2022. National Day for Truth and Reconciliation should be the next stat holiday before anything else. (Wrong. The oft-stated and sometimes unstated premise of most critics is that Canadian medicare is so good it cant be improved upon without imperiling patients. Police say Copyright 2019 by Channel Zero Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Premier Doug Ford will be joined by Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, to provide remarks and participate in a media availability. Published Aug. 15, 2022 1:00 a.m. PDT. With the start of Ontario's election campaign still two weeks away, Premier Doug Ford's government has announced more than $10 billion in spending, fee rebates and tax cuts since early . Ford said ideological objections to independent health clinics are old-fashioned thinking, and noted much health care is already provided by private operators, such as family doctors working in their own offices, X-ray clinics and blood test labs with services covered by OHIP. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press. 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