Premier Doug Ford says MPPs will be back at Queen’s Park so Ontario’s state of emergency can be extended until May 12
MPPs are returning to Queen's Park to extend Ontario's state of emergency for another 28 day due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Premier Doug Ford said parliamentarians would be back in the legislature Tuesday at 1 p.m. for an expedited 80-minute afternoon session to debate items of business related to the government's coronavirus response.
"Hopefully we'll get through this. I just want to thank members of the opposition for their co-operation on getting these passed right away," the premier told reporters Monday at his daily teleconference.
MPPs last sat on March 25 to pass Finance Minister Rod Phillips' emergency relief package.
On Tuesday, they will also discuss allowing school boards and municipalities to continue collecting development charges despite the moratorium on construction, suspending student loan repayments for those on OSAP, and extending the deadline to next Jan. 1 for cities and town to adopt new community safety plans.
Only 28 MPPs will be in the 124-member chamber in order to abide by Ontario's physical distancing guidelines of staying two metres apart.
With the extension of the state of emergency through to May 12, Ford emphasized it is too soon to say when Ontario schools - closed since March 23 and provisionally set to restart classes May 4 - would be allowed to reopen.
"We wouldn't be able to answer that right now. It's a little premature. We're seeing a glimmer - a glimmer - of light at the end of the tunnel here, but still we're going to take the advice of the chief medical officer and our health team," he said.
Ontario invoked the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act on March 17, restricting which businesses can remain open during the crisis, closing all recreational facilities, and outlawing gatherings of more than five people unless they live in the same household. Scofflaws face fines ranging from $750 to $100,000 plus one year in jail.
All bars and restaurants are closed except for takeout service, though liquor licensing laws have been loosened to allow them to sell beer, wine, and spirits to go.
Ford said that having most Ontarians staying at home - and maintaining physical distancing if they are out getting groceries - is making a difference.
"I know everyone's getting antsy, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'd rather be cautious. As painful as it is for everyone, we just have to do it," the premier said, adding it remains unknown when the economy can open up again.
"I want to be cautiously optimistic, but I don't want people to think 'this is done, we're moving forward,'" he said.
"Even when the economy turns on a little bit, there's still going to be people with COVID-19 and there's still going to be deaths. Even if we turn it on a trickle, there's going to be risks. I do not want to just jump into this."
The premier added that he needs "the green light from the chief medical officer" to begin opening up the economy.
"You just can't flick the lights on, open the gates " we just can't. We aren't ready yet. Until we see some modelling that the curve goes down " People are getting restless. They're just getting squirrelly staying inside the house. I know it's difficult," he said.
"My biggest fear is all of a sudden we get another wave and it hits us. I want to make sure we do it properly and cautiously and not just jump into this and open up the floodgates. It would be irresponsible."
Ford, who last Friday announced a ramp-up of testing for the virus, said "it's very frustrating" that more tests are still not being done.
"We have to separate the elected officials versus the chief medical officer. I'm not a medical doctor but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the more people we test the quicker we're going to put an end to this," the premier said.
"They told me 8,000 on April 15 and on April 15 I want to see 8,000." That number should increase to 14,000 tests daily by the end of this month, an increase in the 2,500 to 3,000 that Ontario has been averaging.
"Get these damned tests done. They've given me their word they're going to test every single long-term care resident and every single health worker at long-term care," said Ford, referring to Matt Anderson, the CEO of Ontario Health, and Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer for health.
Also Monday, Ford, who had been worried early last week that Ontario had just seven days of personal protective equipment supplies, said stockpiles are increasing.
Over the last five days, more than 13 million surgical and procedural masks, 200,000 N95 respirator masks, and 38 ventilators have been delivered to the province.
Last weekend, shipments of 6.5 million surgical masks were sent to 650 health-care providers across Ontario for doctors, nurses, and other front-line workers.
On Saturday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced his province would send Ontario 250,000 N95 masks, 2.5 million surgical masks, 15 million surgical gloves, 87,000 safety goggles, and 50 ventilators.
The Ontario Hospital Association said it is grateful for the "unprecedented efforts" of Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on securing personal protective equipment but asked that it be delivered faster once shipments are received.
"Time really does continue to be of the essence," said association president Anthony Dale. "We still need that supply in the hands of front-line workers as soon as possible."
With files from Rob Ferguson
Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie