Ford: ‘Please be patient’
Toronto, Peel will stay in Stage 2 as rest of GTA gets green light to move forward,
Concerns over the number of COVID-19 cases are preventing restaurants and bars in Toronto and Peel Region from offering indoor service while those in Halton, Durham, York and Hamilton can reopen Friday.
Premier Doug Ford said it is not yet safe for restaurateurs and publicans to serve patrons inside in Toronto, Peel and Windsor-Essex so they will continue be restricted to patio and takeout service.
“Please be patient,” said Ford. “We’ll get there very shortly. We’ve been working with Mayor (John) Tory and mayors in Peel and Windsor regions, along with their public health units, to assess the situation and find a way forward,” he said.
Indoor restaurants, bars, and gyms and outdoor playgrounds, closed since the March 17 state of emergency was declared, will also reopen in Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk and Lambton later this week.
The earliest Toronto, Peel and Windsor could open is July 31.
At city hall, Tory said he remains concerned about indoor hospitality service without additional safety measures in place. “That is because we have seen this leads to spikes in cases in other jurisdictions and we do not want to see that happen here,” said the mayor, who wrote to the premier over the weekend with recommendations for added precautions, such as requiring patrons and staff to wear masks.
According to the latest public health figures, there are 404 active COVID-19 cases in Toronto, 311 in Peel and 273 in Windsor-Essex. By comparison, Durham has 49, Halton has 23, York has 111, Hamilton has 17, Niagara has 29, Haldimand-Norfolk has two and Lambton has four.
Most of Ontario entered Stage 3 for reopening last Friday as new coronavirus cases remained low. Indoor restaurants, bars, gyms, cinemas and outdoor playgrounds opened in Ottawa, Brant County, Peterborough, Grey Bruce, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Muskoka, Sudbury, North Bay and among other regions.
Ford stressed the decision rests with Dr. David Williams, the province’s chief medical officer of health, and local public health officials. “I always believe you can’t put health ahead of the economy, ever, because without people’s health, there is no economy. People won’t be able to go back to work. They won’t hop on the transit. So, health is our number one priority bar none,” he said.
Ontario’s state of emergency is due to expire Friday. But the Progressive Conservatives will this week push through legislation giving the government more permanent emergency powers.
Places in Stage 3 can have indoor gatherings of up to 50 people. The limit is 10 in Stage 2, which Toronto and Peel are remaining in until at least next week. Outdoor gatherings increase to a maximum of 100 people in Stage 3.
However, some restrictions remain. Water parks and amusement parks are not allowed to open. Nor are night clubs, buffet restaurants, kids’ overnight camps, private karaoke rooms, saunas, bath houses, oxygen bars or casino table games. In bars, there is no dancing or singing and all patrons need to remain seated.
Also Monday, Ford confirmed that as part of the $19-billion federal funding agreement reached last week, workers would be entitled to up to 10 days of paid sick leave. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted that provision be included in the accord.
Ford, who cancelled former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne’s guarantee of two paid sick days after winning the 2018 election, had opposed that being part of the federal-provincial deal. “I think there was one premier, John Horgan, that wanted it,” he said of the British Columbia New Democrat. “God bless him, he’s a great premier, but the rest of the premiers, we just haven’t been hearing about that,” said Ford.
Finance Minister Rod Phillips said Ottawa will administer the sick-leave program, which will cost more than $1 billion. “We’ll look forward to finding out the details of how that needs to be approached,” said Phillips. ‘But obviously they’ve been good partners and we’ll continue to work with them in the best way possible for the people of Ontario.”