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Simcoe County’s virtual learners equipped with new tech

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The majority of students learning at home have all the tech they need to do their studies, say school board officials.

Both the public and Catholic boards purchased new devices this year in order to assist students

“The board purchased and distributed to schools an additional 996 Chromebooks at a cost of approximately $355,665 since September 2020,” Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board superintendent of business and finance Suzanne Olimer said. “Previous to this distribution, schools responded to requests from their communities by distributing devices that they had in inventory.”

She noted the board continues to purchase new technology to support virtual learning environments and address needs as they arise.

Similarity, the Simcoe County District School Board purchased 8,000 additional Chromebooks to support students in the Learn@Home program, spokesperson Sarah Kekewich said.

“Chromebooks were distributed in the fall to students who requested a device to support their learning. We do not have a wait list of students who require technology,” Kekewich said.

Simcoe County students who didn’t have internet access at home were given devices that had access, through the boards’ accounts.

– With files from Torstar News Service

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Federal health minister calls Toronto’s surging COVID-19 test positivity rates ‘very alarming.’ Ontario officials say they hadn’t seen the data

Sep 29, 2021 , , , , by shlf

As federal health officials called surging in Toronto “very alarming” and cause for new public health measures, Ontario officials admitted they only saw the numbers Tuesday, after the Star obtained the provincial data and published it.

The province announced no new interventions Tuesday, however, pointing to existing efforts like mobile testing and advertising to increase awareness.

In four pockets of the city, the percentage of tests coming back positive is above 10 per cent, according to data obtained by the Star but not publicly released. In several other areas the rate is above seven per cent, and in two-thirds of the city it is above three per cent, a critical threshold set by public health authorities.

“It is an indication that more public health measures are needed and that there is uncontained community spread. It’s very alarming,” Patty Hajdu, federal health minister, said at a Tuesday news briefing when asked about the 10 per cent figure.

“Because of course, the report is around specific neighbourhoods in Toronto, but we know that people don’t just stay in their neighbourhood. People move about and of course bring the virus with them.”

Dr. Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer of Canada, said that rates above five per cent are concerning, and the 10 per cent figure is “very worrisome, because that indicates there’s probably a high degree of community transmission and lots of unlinked cases. And so that means that public health authorities need to take whatever steps are necessary if they can identify high-risk events at certain settings that maybe need more intensive contact tracing, those things are certainly things to be looked at.

“So I think that 10 per cent is sort of, I would say, quite a serious level.”

At a Tuesday news briefing at Queen’s Park, officials agreed the data was concerning but highlighted steps already being taken, and announced no new public health measures.

Premier Doug Ford acknowledged seeing the data earlier in the day, and that he represents some of the harder-hit areas.

Three of the four areas with test positivity rates above 10 per cent are in Toronto’s northwest corner, which overlaps with the premier’s Etobicoke North riding. This part of the city was also by the first wave of the pandemic. Neighbourhoods in Toronto’s northwest corner have some of the highest proportions of low-income and racialized residents.

“Well, I did see the data,” Ford said Tuesday afternoon. “Probably about a couple hours ago, they showed me the data. And you’re 100 per cent correct. It’s in certain areas, one being in my area. And that’s where we have to focus on.

“We go out there, we put the mobile testing units up. We get more advertising within those communities. And if it’s … no matter if it’s the mainstream media or if it’s the ethnic media, we’re still pumping millions and millions of dollars to educate the people.”

Ontario’s associate medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, said she had not seen the data, but had read about it in the Star, which published it Monday night.

“I haven’t actually seen the data myself. I’ve read the article in the paper. That is very concerning. Those rates are high and those are neighbourhoods and areas that we already knew were at increased risk based on other data.”

In addition to mobile testing and advertising, Yaffe suggested that public health should prioritize contact tracing in these areas.

Experts said that more should have been done to support and gird these areas for the second wave, given that, as Yaffe acknowledges, the province knew they were at risk.

Dr. Andrew Boozary, a family physician in Toronto and executive director of Population Health and Social Medicine at University Health Network, said in a tweet: “I’m really concerned about us being able to take a data-driven (and) health equity approach when the first time policymakers see the data” is in the Star.

Kate Allen is a Toronto-based reporter covering science and technology for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Self-employed CERB recipients ‘shocked’ by CRA letters saying they may have to pay it all back: ‘I don’t know how people are going to survive’

Sep 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A round of letters from the Canada Revenue Agency has self-employed Canadians who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) worried they may have to pay back the thousands of dollars they say kept them afloat during the pandemic’s early months.

The letters, which the CRA said were sent to CERB recipients for whom the agency can’t confirm eligibility for the benefit, say that self-employed recipients needed $5,000 in net employment income — income after expenses — to qualify, either in 2019 or in the 12 months leading up to the date of their application.

However, some self-employed CERB recipients say the CERB application and eligibility criteria did not mention net income, and believed that their gross income qualified them for the benefit.

Pan Dong, a self-employed paralegal in Toronto, is one of them.

His income before expenses — in other words, his gross income — was well above $5,000 when he applied for CERB, he said.

But thanks to the expenses of owning a business, especially during a pandemic, his net income was below $5,000. However, at no time during the application process was he made aware that his eligibility was based on his net income, Dong said.

Now, it seems he may have to pay back the $14,000 in federal funding he received.

“For a lot of people, it’s not a small amount of money,” Dong said.

He’s not alone.

Tracey Crosson is the admin for Facebook group “Canada CERB / EI / CRB Unofficial Support Group,” which is run by non-profit Ubi Works. She said the group has hundreds of members who are self-employed and in the same situation as Dong: they made more than $5,000 in gross income, but less than $5,000 in net income.

They, too, received the letter from the CRA saying they may not be eligible for the benefit, and may be required to pay back the money.

“I don’t know how people are going to survive,” Crosson said.

The CRA said the eligibility criteria have not changed since CERB began.

“The CRA considers self-employment income as the net pre-tax income (gross income less expenses). This is consistent with how self-employment income is calculated when dealing with the CRA. To be clear, there has been no change to this position during the life cycle of the CERB.

“This requirement was publicized on Canada.ca since the beginning, specifically under the category ‘Self-Employed and Independent Workers’ on the question and answers page,” a CRA spokesperson said in an email. (The Star has verified this. However, under the “eligibility” and “income requirements” categories on the same , it mentions self-employment income but does not specify gross versus net income.)

The spokesperson also clarified that receiving the letter does not necessarily mean a person has to pay back the CERB money.

“Individuals who have received this letter should not interpret it as a determination that they have definitively been deemed ineligible for the CERB; what the letter means is that the CRA does not yet have the information needed to confirm that they are in fact eligible for the benefit,” the email said.

“The letter strongly encourages those individuals who have yet to file their 2019 returns to do so as soon as possible, as this is the simplest way to confirm their eligibility. We expect this will likely be the case for many of the individuals who receive this letter.”

Though the CRA is encouraging people to pay back any owed CERB money by the end of the year, the spokesperson said this is not mandatory, but rather encouraged “to ensure that there is no impact on the recipient’s 2020 income tax return.”

But people receiving these letters say the criteria for CERB wasn’t made clear enough to begin with.

That’s what Cory Perry said happened to his partner, Diane Duplessis.

Duplessis runs a private daycare out of the couple’s home that was shut down at the beginning of the pandemic. When she went to apply for CERB, Perry said, she assumed that the criteria on the website was referring to gross income. (The Perry referred to says, as of publication time, that to be eligible an applicant must earn $5,000 before taxes, but does not mention “net” or “gross.”)

The money helped the family keep their heads above water, Perry said. But now, it looks like Duplessis may have to repay the $14,000 she received.

If that’s the case, the couple may have to sell their home, Perry said.

David Murray, an accountant in Wilmot, Ont., said he’s heard from self-employed Canadians across the country, including several of his own clients, who are in the same situation. That’s why he started a to amend the criteria for these CERB applicants, alleging that the CRA added the “net” to the eligibility criteria later on (the CRA denies this claim).

Small-business owners have a lot of expenses that can lower their net employment income, Murray said, including tools, bills and the depreciation of assets like vehicles.

Many people have already spent their CERB money on rent or other bills, he added, and don’t have the means to pay it back.

Murray also pointed out that on the for the government’s new temporary Canada Recovery Benefit, the eligibility criteria specifically state that self-employed income is income minus expenses.

Vicki Hargreaves, the moderator for the Facebook group “I Lost My Gig Canada” and a lead advocate for an arts group in Kingston, Ont., said many self-employed artists are in this situation, too.

The CRA’s letter, for many, was the first time these applicants were hearing about the net income requirement, she said.

“That information wasn’t available.”

And it’s not just self-employed people who are receiving these letters.

Brandi Campbell applied for CERB after the pandemic forced the casino she worked at to shut down temporarily. She said she made more than $5,000 in gross employment income, and that none of the information on government web pages or in the application mentioned gross or net.

Campbell received the full CERB amount, $14,000, and then received a letter two weeks ago saying the CRA couldn’t confirm her eligibility. The letter includes “gross employment income” and “net self-employment income” as examples of a valid source of income for CERB eligibility.

“When I received the letter … I was absolutely shocked,” said Campbell, who said she did her taxes in early 2020 to make sure she could qualify for the benefit.

Now she’s worried she may have to pay it all back.

“We’re all wondering what the ramifications are going to be.”

Correction — Dec. 10, 2020: This article was edited to clarify that Brandi Campbell did her taxes in early 2020 to make sure she could qualify for the CERB.

Rosa Saba is a Toronto-based business reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Justin Trudeau warns against easing restrictions amid surge of new COVID-19 cases

Sep 28, 2021 , , , , by shlf

OTTAWA—As COVID-19 cases continue to surge from Alberta to Quebec, premiers are facing questions from municipal leaders and pressure from the federal Liberals to take stronger action to control the pandemic’s spread.

While Canada’s big city mayors are not calling for a more interventionist approach from Ottawa to manage the public health crisis, they have shared “concerns” about the virus’ second wave and a “desire for action,” Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson told reporters Tuesday.

“I think the mayors would encourage the provinces to follow the evidence and enact measures to protect business for the long-term, and human beings and life in the short term,” Iveson, the chair of the Federation of Canadian Municipality’s big city mayor caucus, said.

Iveson’s comments came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged premiers and mayors in COVID-19 hot spots to “do the right thing” and take stronger measures to control the pandemic.

At a press conference in Ottawa, Trudeau warned that relaxing restrictions around things like indoor dining and social gatherings could hit businesses even harder than temporary shutdowns.

“I would hope that no leader in our country is easing public health vigilance because they feel pressure not to shutdown businesses or slow down our economy,” Trudeau said.

“I understand that worry, but let me tell you (that) that’s how we end up with businesses going out of business and the economy damaged even more.”

That could be interpreted as a veiled shot at Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose government is easing restrictions on things like indoor dining and gyms despite hitting a record high 1,388 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The City of Toronto pushed back that reopening plan Wednesday afternoon, announcing continued restrictions on indoor dining, closing casinos and event spaces, and prohibiting group fitness classes.

“I don’t know if he’s speaking to me directly. And if he is, I want to thank him for his ongoing support,” Ford told reporters when asked about Trudeau’s comments.

“But, you know, we need more support for businesses. That’s what we need. We need more support, financial support. And I’d be more than happy to sit down and talk to the prime minister about that support.”

But Ontario is hardly alone, with Manitoba and Alberta also seeing high case numbers. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has resisted imposing stricter rules in his province, instead relying on citizens to act responsibly. Alberta reported 644 new cases Monday.

The province’s chief medical officer of health, Deena Hinshaw, said Monday the Alberta government was considering a short, sharp “circuit breaker” lockdown to put the province on better footing.

Manitoba, dealing with one of the country’s worst outbreaks, made that exact move on Tuesday, imposing some of the most severe restrictions the country has seen – no social gatherings whatsoever, travel restrictions inside the province, shuttering non-essential businesses, and banning religious and cultural gatherings.

Iveson, who said he’s been in contact with Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman on the “tragic and concerning” situation in that city, said Edmonton is taking what steps it can to protect public safety – above and beyond the restrictions imposed by the Alberta government.

But the Edmonton mayor said he still believed the overall pandemic response should be managed at the provincial level.

“Leaving it either up to the club of the federal government, or the as-always one-hand-tied-behind-our-backs jurisdictionally-limited local governments, that’s not going to get the best results,” Iveson said.

“And mayors might have opinions on this, like every other Canadian. But I think where we’ve been consistent is we’re strongest (when) the decisions are being made by the professionals, provided they’re being deferred to.”

Since the global health emergency began, Trudeau and his government have consistently pushed back on questions about assuming extraordinary powers to manage the pandemic under the Emergencies Act – a modernized version of the War Measures Act last invoked by Pierre Trudeau during the October Crisis.

Instead, the federal government has stuck to a strategy of providing billions in additional funds for provincial health efforts, holding regular meetings with provincial and territorial leaders, and attempts at moral suasion – in addition to unprecedented direct spending to shore up individuals and businesses through the crisis.

After urging unnamed provinces to greater action Tuesday, the prime minister was again asked about that possibility.

“The federal government doesn’t have the responsibility to tell each region what they should do and how they should manage COVID-19 outbreaks,” Trudeau responded.

“But we are there to say that we are going to make this task easier, we’re going to make difficult decisions easier, by saying if you need to shutdown quickly … we’ll be there to directly support citizens and directly support businesses that have to shut down or limit their business hours.”

Alex Boutilier is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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Toronto Public Health aims to resume full contact tracing of COVID-19 cases as indoor dining, gym visits set to restart

Sep 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

With Torontonians poised to resume mingling in reopened bars, restaurants and gyms, public health officials are returning to full tracing of all contacts of everyone infected with in the city.

Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s public health chief, told reporters Wednesday the “scaling up” of efforts to identify everyone with the virus, and get them to isolate, is vital as the provincial order halting indoor dining and gym visits expires Nov. 14.

The order expires Nov. 7 for the other hot spots, Peel and York regions and Ottawa. Facing rising daily infection numbers that hit a record 427 on Tuesday, Toronto asked Premier Doug Ford’s government before reopening.

Lifting restrictions will increase mingling and infections, de Villa said, and her goal is to have as many safeguards as possible to prevent a disastrous increase in spread.

“We are working toward resuming full contact tracing in our city,” among other measures, de Villa said, including adding 200 case management and contact staff to the current 700, seeking help from three Toronto hospitals and employing tech tools such as robocalls and text messaging.

Facing a dramatic surge in new infections in early October, Toronto Public Health to aim its staff who interview infected people to discover who they exposed only at high-risk settings such as schools and seniors homes.

But while the city scales up its response, de Villa said the Ontario government must also improve its efforts to protect the residents of Toronto, which on Wednesday saw new daily infections , but also recorded 11 new COVID-19 deaths — the most since June.

“Accessible and available testing needs to be scaled up,” de Villa said. COVID-19 testing, a provincial responsibility, was completed for 28,567 people Tuesday, down from summer levels when people with no symptoms could get tested.

Also, “sick-day provisions should be enacted by the province so that people don’t have to choose between staying home or going to work when they’re sick,” said de Villa.

Mayor John Tory said the city will work with de Villa to ensure Toronto is ready to reopen safely without an infection spike that could trigger a new lockdown.

“We can take the steps, with the resources we will apply as a city and Toronto Public Health, to be ready to open safely and to stay open safely,” Tory told reporters. “I’m confident we can do that — that’s what we have to do.”

De Villa said she won’t hesitate to act if virus indicators suggest that reopening could send COVID-19 spreading out of control.

“If the data tells us we need to do something differently, that we need more measures or we need more time … I will not hesitate to tell the people of Toronto or to ask for whatever is necessary in order to keep the people of Toronto as safe as possible,” she said.

Toronto was ordered into a modified Stage 2 on Oct. 10, during a period of rapid case increases.

Gyms were closed and a ban on indoor dining reinstated, for a period of 28 days.

On Tuesday, the province introduced new guidelines for implementing such restrictions, leading epidemiologists to express concern that the new thresholds are too high.

Under the province’s new guidelines, before ordering restrictions like the ones currently in force in Toronto, the province will look for: a weekly incidence rate higher than 100 infections per 100,000 residents; percent positivity greater than 10; a reproductive rate greater than 1.2; repeated outbreaks in multiple settings, and a health-care system at risk of becoming overwhelmed by the growing number of cases.

Not all of the thresholds need to be met at the same time.

Provincial officials have said that while the guidelines are given a specific weighting, the decision to move any public health unit into a particular level is ultimately based on subjective recommendations made to cabinet by the province’s chief medical officer of health, in consultation with local medical officers of health.

Some of the targets set by the province are so high they’ve never been met in Toronto, even on the worst days of the pandemic.

According to a Star analysis of public health data Wednesday, Toronto is currently reporting an average of about 85 cases per 100,000 residents per week; test positivity of 4.6 per cent; and an effective reproductive number of approximately 1.

Toronto only reported test positivity above 10 per cent for three weeks in March and April, and has never again come near that level. The city’s reproductive number has averaged more than 1.2 only twice — in the early period of rapid exponential growth in the spring, and during a long stretch of steady growth in late summer.

The city has never come close to passing 100 weekly cases per 100,000 residents — that number peaked at 55 in May.

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital, said he supports the province’s decision to provide clear metrics.

“People need to know what to expect — especially business owners,” said Bogoch. “Where I think it needs recalibration is on some of the metrics.”

Bogoch said Toronto would not be in a modified Stage 2 under the new guidelines. He said the high thresholds set by the province would allow transmission to grow to the point where it would become difficult to rein in again.

“Things will not get better with this as it stands now, and it has the potential to get worse.”

David Rider is the Star’s City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow him on Twitter:

Ed Tubb is an assignment editor and a contributor focused on crime and justice for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter:

Francine Kopun is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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How COVID stranded new Canadian residents and stalled immigration

Sep 20, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Going into 2020, thousands of people around the world had high hopes for a new life in Canada after getting their permanent resident visas. They sold their homes, quit their jobs and got ready to move to a new country that had invited them to come to live.

But then slammed the door in their faces.

Since mid-March, Ottawa has imposed strict travel restrictions against foreign nationals, including holders of permanent resident visas. Meanwhile the clock is ticking for many whose permanent visas have expired or are near expiry.

The federal government is working to restart the immigration system that faltered badly during this pandemic but the process has been slow and frustrating. Canada is falling far short of its immigration goals.

In today’s episode of This Matters, the Star’s immigration reporter explains what is going on. Fatima Camara, a teacher from Belarus, also joins to share her family’s story of being stuck in limbo after getting their permanent resident visas and packing up their old lives only to go nowhere.

Listen to this episode and more at or subscribe at , , or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts

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Treats through tubes, careful routes and scavenger hunts: COVID-19 meant new tricks in the hunt for treats

Sep 17, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Being chased through a skull-adorned hay-bale maze by a dinosaur as eerie piano music plays is not unusual for Halloween, but a candy chute at the end is.

“If kids are going to come out I wanted to make sure there was something for them. I think especially we go into the darkness everybody could use just a little delight,” said Candace who, along with Cecilia (playing the dinosaur) spent four hours constructing the haunted front yard. Rather than handing treats out personally to any visiting kids —— and thereby getting in closer contact than COVID-19 guidelines suggest — the duo had arranged to send the candy and chocolate down some plastic tubing to a waiting ghoul, goblin or superhero several feet away.

On any other crisp but clear Halloween evening, especially one that happened to fall on a Saturday, the leaf-strewn streets of Cabbagetown would be filled with hundreds of trick-or-treating children — the neighbourhood is known to go all out.

But, in Toronto and other hotspots, public heath officials recommended against traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating.

“The name of the game right now is to avoid contact with people you don’t live with so I hope people will make their own judgment because in the end that’s what they have to do,” Tory told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

“The big gatherings are the things that are most worrisome and hopefully those won’t occur.”

In lieu of the usual routine, families with young children organized small outdoor Halloween games and scavenger hunts in parks and backyards, walks through decorated neighbourhoods, or preplanned trick-or-treat routes stopping at the homes of just a few friends and neighbours.

“We are just visiting a few people’s backyards so we can be outside,” said Megan Tully, as she was being pulled along the sidewalk by her three-year-old son Struan, dressed as Batman. “This is his first year that he’s into it so he doesn’t have much to compare it to luckily.”

(Struan’s assessment of the evening thus far was: “Good.”)

The consensus among those out making the best of it was that there would be a lot less candy this year, though it was too early to say if quality would win out over quantity.

Cecilia, who executed a masterful change from dinosaur to scary clown in under 10 seconds while speaking with a Star reporter, said they checked with neighbours before setting up the maze.

She came up with the idea for a maze because it would be safe, she said: “It’s about being smart and being part of the community with things like this.”

“It’s been really nice. People have said thank you,” said Candace, who said the turnout was maybe tenth of the usual “crammed like a mall at Christmas” crowd, with some people only walking or driving by. Wielding tongs for the candy packages in place of a witch’s broom, she said there has been an appreciation for the precautions they’ve taken.

“We looked at the guidelines,” she said. “And we had a conversation where we said if it gets to a point where there are too many people and we can’t handle it, we’ll shut it down and close the gate.”

Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and court for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Toronto charts a course out of the COVID-19 pandemic with a recovery ‘roadmap’ — but without new powers or new money

Sep 2, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Despite the pandemic highlighting a lack of power for Toronto to chart its own course — city officials spent a week trying to convince the province to — a new plan for recovery released Wednesday morning doesn’t recommend immediate changes to taxation or seeking new powers from the province.

Cities are at the front line of rebuilding after the pandemic, says the new report, designed as a “roadmap” to Toronto’s recovery from the pandemic. The result is a 270-page report with 83 recommendations on moving forward — from changing planning rules to encourage more affordable housing to making new bike lanes permanent.

But the country’s largest city faces an increasingly uncertain financial future, as is spelled out in a covering report to council from city manager Chris Murray that accompanies the roadmap.

With an economic downturn on a scale not seen since the Great Depression, , and an estimated $1.5-billion budget gap next year alone, the pandemic has only exposed existing problems and made them worse.

“Municipalities … were designed for another era — from our urban form, governance, financing and partners — everything we knew pre-pandemic has either been magnified or changed,” Murray says in his report.

“No longer can we make the significant contributions to so many programs and services that benefit not just Torontonians but the region as well, with limited abilities, resources, authorities or control over the things that matter most to our residents — equity, prosperity, health and wellbeing.”

Saad Rafi, a former provincial bureaucrat who is leading Toronto’s Recovery and Rebuild Strategy, and one of the authors of the roadmap, said they did consider raising taxes as an immediate step as part of their recommendations.

“Increasing taxes on those that are already in very, very challenging economic conditions was examined and thought not to be as effective,” said Rafi. He added that current provincial legislation governing what the city can and can’t do places “significant limitations” on how money can be collected.

Currently, the city’s most lucrative taxation powers are property taxes and the municipal land transfer tax. But under COVID-19, homeowners and businesses face their own financial challenges.

Instead, Rafi said, the report has focused on ways to create more spending ability for the city — which by law has to balance its budget — by pushing to increase funding from other levels of government.

On top of a projected $1.5 billion in losses and increased costs in 2021, the city is still facing a year-end shortfall in 2020 of $673.2 million, the reports point out — the largest gap in recent memory.

The reports also note that funding from the provincial and federal governments — outside of a pandemic — has not kept pace with inflation, dropping from $1,100 per person in 2010 to $830 in 2020.

That is largely explained by the and other social services on the city’s books, according to the reports.

Coun. Josh Matlow (Ward 12 Toronto-St. Paul’s) for Toronto as a way to increase the city’s ability to control its own destiny.

Several American cities, such as New York have , which gives them legal jurisdiction to manage their own affairs free from state interference.

Matlow said Wednesday it is an idea needed now more than ever.

“This pandemic has demonstrated very clearly how the toolbox that Toronto needs to provide services to residents and have the agility to address pressing public health priorities is different than Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa,” Matlow said. “And the tools that the province provides us need to reflect this reality.”

He said it matters to the city’s ability to address a housing crisis, ongoing opioid epidemic, community planning and future unexpected deficits.

Currently, the city’s powers largely exist under the provincial City of Toronto Act, which can be changed at any time by the province, as when unilaterally . That move and the city’s status as a “creature of the province” are subject of a .

“Cities throughout the United States don’t have to wait for their states or federal governments to be able to act on a number of basic priorities that Toronto has to go cap in hand to Queen’s Park to request,” said Matlow.

He added that the pandemic proved the ability to act quickly on our own may matter, pointing to .

“Time will tell the impact on public health that an entire week had, while we waited on the province to respond to our request to ban indoor dining,” he said, adding the mayor and council should be “empowered” to act on the city’s priorities in a timely way.

Murray, who is due to report to council on a charter and options for greater city autonomy, said Wednesday he expects that to be a part of the conversation going forward.

Dr. David Mowat, the province’s former chief medical officer of health who is heading the city’s public health strategy, said problems of autonomy existed before the pandemic and still need to be resolved.

He noted that immediately before the pandemic started, , including Toronto Public Health, and make changes to governance “which threatened to take away alignment between public health and the rest of city services.”

It also, he said, threatened to remove public health from having a say in policy, which he said is “essential” to address short-term goals of reducing infection, but also addressing social determinants of health.

He said it’s important the old structure for public health be allowed to continue unimpeded.

“I would like to see, after we have got through this acute phase, a reopening of that discussion and a reconsideration by the province of their prior plans for the future of public health infrastructure in this province.”

Murray, the city manager, said as of Wednesday the city had no guarantee from other levels of government they could promise funds by year’s end, but he remained hopeful that more money would be coming in phase two of the provincial Safe Restart plan that provided $668.6 million in the first phase.

Murray’s report says the upcoming budget debate will, regardless, require “difficult decisions.” Asked Wednesday, he said he could not rule out dramatic service cuts posed earlier in the pandemic.

His report also outlines that Toronto was in bad financial shape to begin with and the pandemic only “exacerbated the city’s structural financial challenges, especially the misalignment of revenues and responsibilities.”

“We will be taking a very drastic look at the 2021 budget if we don’t have the support that we need, ultimately, again from the federal and provincial government,” Murray said. “I think there is certainly great interest on our part in getting some clear indication as to what the art of the possible is for 2021.”

Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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LIVE VIDEO: Ontario Premier Doug Ford provides daily update on COVID-19 November 26

Aug 30, 2021 , , , , by shlf

At a news conference in Mississauga, Ontario Premier Doug Ford makes an announcement and provides an update on his government’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic. He is joined Stephen Lecce, the provincial minister of education.

On Parliament Hill, Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, conducts a technical briefing concerning the procurement and regulation of COVID-19 vaccines. He is joined by Dr. Supriya Sharma, a senior medical advisor with Health Canada, Dr. Marc Berthiaume, the director of the Bureau of Medical Science at Health Canada, and Arianne Reza, assistant deputy minister for procurement at Public Services and Procurement Canada.

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Tiny Township to extend permit parking season, increase fines to $90

Aug 26, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Parking illegally in Tiny Township is going to cost you a lot more money next year.

Tiny Township council approved a series of amendments to parking regulations during a Nov. 30 committee of the whole meeting. 

Beginning next year, permit parking will be extended and run from April 15 to Oct. 15. 

“Each year we are seeing more and more parking-related beach issues in the spring and in the fall,” said Steve Harvey, chief municipal law enforcement officer. “The biggest impact has been in the fall, where we have seen cars coming in and flooding the shoreline.”

This amendment will see permit parking in the township extended by one month in the fall and one month in the winter. In the past, permits were only required from May 15 to Sept. 15.

Council has also decided to increase the fines issued to those who park illegally. In 2020, an illegally parked car was issued a $60 ticket ($50 if it was paid early). Beginning in 2021, those fines will increase to $90 and $75.

“We were hearing that people were seeing (the fine) as the cost of parking for the day,” said Harvey.

By increasing the fine, the township is hoping to decrease the number of vehicles that illegally park at local beaches.

Parking boundaries in the township have also been extended. Next year, a permit will be required to park at Tee Pee Point Park and Corrie Hamelin Park.

“Parking has never traditionally been an issue on the eastern shore until this year — we’ve seen a lot more of it,” said Harvey. 

Permits will be required for parking at both parks and along the road near those parks.

This summer, bylaw officers started ticketing vehicles a second time if the vehicle hadn’t been removed within three hours of the first ticket being written. Vehicles that still hadn’t moved after a second ticket were towed away. This policy will continue to be in effect.

Property owners in Tiny Township are allowed two parking permits. The first permit is free, while the second is $30.

The township also sells 175 non-resident permits every year for $100 each.