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Dear Neighbour,

Earlier this week, the Government of Ontario announced some regions of the province will begin to enter Stage 3 of the Framework to Reopen our Province. Toronto and neighboring regions remain in Stage 2 at this time. The government will provide a further update each Monday on regions that have not yet progressed to Stage 3.

In Stage 3, the vast majority of businesses in the province will be able to reopen with appropriate health and safety protocols in place. Additionally, indoor gatherings will increase to 50 and outdoor gatherings will increase to 100 once a region enters Stage 3.

This past week, I enjoyed dinner with my family at Cafe Landwer on Avenue Road. Supporting our local restaurants and other main street businesses are important for a strong and responsible economic recovery.

The Chief Medical Officer of Health has advised that given the low burden of COVID-19 in Ontario, it is safe for restaurants and bars to open provided they follow appropriate health and precautions, including outdoor dining only while we remain in Stage 2, and a gradual return to indoor dining once we enter Stage 3.

These precautions include requiring all patrons to be seated at all times while eating or drinking, at appropriately distanced tables with limited capacity. Buffet-style food services, dancing in restaurants and bars, and private karaoke rooms will continue to be restricted in Stage 3. Nightclubs are prohibited from reopening, except for the purpose of serving food or drinks under the same conditions applicable to restaurants and bars.

On this, and every other decision, we have followed the advice and expertise of the Chief Medical Officer and other health experts on the Public Health Measures table, and we will continue to do so going forward.

I know there are many questions about what the school year will look like in September. As you may recall, in June the Ministry of Education asked school boards to prepare for three different circumstances for the 2020-21 school year:

an in-person school day routine with enhanced public health protocols;
a modified (or hybrid) school day routine based on smaller class sizes, cohorting and alternative day or week delivery; and
at-home learning with ongoing enhanced remote delivery

Given the uncertainty with respect to the pandemic, planning for all three scenarios is the prudent approach to take, but it is my hope that we will be able to reopen schools in September for in-person learning. You can view our approach here, and know we will continue to work with school boards throughout the summer to finalize plans for the upcoming year.

I've received many calls this week in regards to Bill 184, the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, 2020.When rent is overdue, we want to encourage landlords and tenants to work together to come up with repayment agreements — rather than resorting to evictions.

Under the Residential Tenancies Act, no one can “go around” the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) and evict a tenant without receiving an order from the LTB — this legislation does not change that. Landlords cannot impose repayment agreements on tenants, and tenants cannot be evicted on the grounds of refusing a rent repayment plan.

Bill 184, the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, 2020 would, strengthen protections for tenants — especially if they are threatened with evictions through no fault of their own, like renovictions. It proposes doubling penalties for landlords who break the law, increasing compensation available to tenants, and compelling landlords to be up-front about their past use of no-fault evictions.

My constituency office has reopened with limited staff on an appointment only basis. If we are able to address your inquiry through a phone call, email, or Zoom meeting, we continue to ask that you do not attend the office in person to protect both your safety and ours.

If you are in need of any assistance you can make an appointment by calling my constituency office at (416) 781-2395 or email me at robin.martin@pc.ola.org. Stay safe!

Until next week,

Robin Martin, MPP
Eglinton-Lawrence

(416) 781-2395 - robin.martin@pc.ola.org

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HIGHLIGHTS
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

Ontario is accelerating the development of Long-Term Care Homes through a redesigned funding model to encourage more modern and upgraded facilities.
The Ontario government announced that some parts of the province can move to Stage 3 of the province's reopening framework on Friday, July 17th at 12:01AM. Toronto is not moving to stage 3 tomorrow.
The Ontario government, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, has extended most emergency orders currently in force under s.7.0.2 (4) of the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) until July 29, 2020.
The Ontario legislature approved Bill 159, the Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act. Once in force, it will promote higher quality new home construction and reduce defects and warranty claims, while better protecting consumers from bad actors in the marketplace.
The Province is eliminating the practice of birth alerts. Birth alerts are notifications sent by children's aid societies to hospitals when they believe a newborn may be in need of protection.

For the most up-to-date COVID-19 information from the Government of Ontario visit ontario.ca/coronavirus

HIGHLIGHTS
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The Federal Government announced a change in the interpretation of “parent” under the Citizenship Act. The change allows non-biological Canadian parents who are their child’s legal parent at birth to pass down Canadian citizenship to their children born abroad in the first generation.

HIGHLIGHTS
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT

City of Toronto’s community centres, recreation centres and indoor pools will be reopening on Monday, July 20. The community centres, recreation centres and indoor pools were closed in March to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
City of Toronto was made aware this afternoon of two employees with the Parks, Forestry & Recreation Division (PFR) who have tested positive for COVID-19. Exposure to the virus occurred between July 6 and 10 and did not occur in the workplace.
Bike Share Toronto and CAA SCO have signed a multi-year partnership agreement that will make CAA SCO an Official Partner of Bike Share Toronto.
Riverdale Farm, High Park Zoo and the City’s conservatories opened on Tuesday, July 14. The farm, zoo and conservatories were closed in March to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The City of Toronto has launched a CaféTO installation and expansion blitz to rapidly increase outdoor dining space for local restaurants and bars during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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