TORONTO — Premier Doug Ford will announce details on reopening Ontario’s economy next week, the labour minister said Friday as the government debated whether or not to extend the province’s state of emergency.
Monte McNaughton did not provide further specifics but his comments came before Ford and his cabinet were to meet to discuss the emergency order that’s set to expire on Tuesday.
“We’re moving toward reopening the economy and the premier is going to further communicate that next week,” McNaughton said. “We’re moving in the right direction.”
Ontario’s Solicitor General’s office said no decisions have been made regarding whether to end or extend the emergency order.
A provincial lockdown was imposed in late December and was followed by the state of emergency and a stay-at-home order that took effect Jan. 14 as COVID-19 rates surged.
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While cases have since declined, public health officials have said the spread of more contagious variants of COVID-19 are a concern.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David Williams, has said he would like to see daily case rates drop below 1,000 and the number of patients with COVID-19 in hospital intensive care units below 150 before lifting restrictions.
“It is achievable, we can get back there,” Williams said in mid-January.
2:12 Coronavirus: Toronto restaurants adopt new strategy for Superbowl Sunday
Coronavirus: Toronto restaurants adopt new strategy for Superbowl Sunday
Ontario reported 1,670 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, although 125 of them were older infections from Toronto that weren’t previously recorded by the province.
Public health officials noted that updates to the provincial case database were causing fluctuations in this week’s tallies.
The province also said Friday that there are 325 patients with COVID-19 in hospital intensive care units, with 225 on ventilators.
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Ontario reported 45 deaths linked to the virus on Friday. A total of 6,438 Ontarians have died from the novel coronavirus.
The president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Friday that he’s optimistic the province will soon begin to lift some restrictions on businesses.
Dan Kelly said he hopes Ford will announce concrete reopening dates that throw a lifeline to small businesses that have suffered under pandemic restrictions.
“We desperately need a clear indication, and a plan, to reopen our economy,” he said.
Kelly said he doesn’t expect the province will lift all of its public health measures, but would like to see all businesses allowed to open across Ontario with a 20 per cent capacity limit.
That could increase if case counts continue to come down, he added.
“We have recommended not to end all restrictions, but to replace them with a pathway that would allow businesses to reopen with masking and physical distancing … so they can live another day,” he said.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Friday that the government has not moved quickly enough to address the pandemic in long-term care and schools, or provided paid sick days for workers.
“If the orders are extended it will be because Doug Ford didn’t do his job and hasn’t been responding adequately to the crisis of COVID-19 since day one,” she said.
Ontario’s lockdown banned indoor gatherings, closed all but essential stores to in-person shopping, shuttered restaurant dining rooms and closed gyms and salons, among other things.
The stay-at-home that was imposed in January requires people to keep to their homes except for essential activities such as accessing health care, shopping for groceries, or outdoor exercise.
The province did not provide a set definition for what is “essential,” saying everyone has their own unique circumstances and regional considerations.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
