Dear Neighbour,

I am saddened and troubled to learn that once again, a Queen Victoria Public School staff member, this time Principal Darlene Jones, received anonymous anti-Black racist hate mail. I understand that the school immediately notified the appropriate institutions, and as a result, the Toronto Police Service and the TDSB’s Human Rights Office are currently investigating. I have reached out to Principal Jones to offer my support.

It has also come to light this weekend that an incident occurred at Parkdale Collegiate Institute where a teacher came to school in blackface. The school community is justifiably horrified, and I understand the teacher was sent home immediately and an investigation is underway with the school and board.

I am committed to supporting the school community for both of these schools, particularly Black students, families and staff. 

In the coming days and weeks, I will be reaching out to our local school board trustee, superintendent, and community groups to work on this issue. Every student, staff and member of our community should feel safe in our schools.

Racism and hate in all its forms has absolutely no place our community.
 
In other news, it’s been another busy week at Queen’s Park. Please find below updates on two important pieces of government legislation that were introduced by the government as well as opposition legislation tabled by me and my colleagues.

I want to close by saying it is nice to be out again knocking on doors and talking to people. I'm looking forward to knocking on your door.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

As always, stay safe, wear a mask when needed, get vaccinated, and be kind. 

Warmly, 

• The requirement that the government promote the delivery of long-term care by non-profit organizations has been dropped and replaced with “mission driven”, with no definition of what the term means. Groups like the Ontario Health Coalition say this is a major loss and is not in the public interest as “mission driven” creates a gaping loophole for bad operators to get awarded tens of thousands of new beds. 
• Fines for long term care operators who break the law will be doubled. However, annual comprehensive inspection that was cancelled by the current government was not reinstated. Doubling of fines is fine, but $0 doubled is still $0 so we need to bring back comprehensive inspections. It should also be noted here that hefty fines already exist ($100,000 per home for provincial offenses) but it has never been enforced. So doubling fines without enforcement is meaningless.
• A minimum standard of care of 4 hours per resident per day, which is something we have long been pushing for to improve quality of care and support staff.  However, this standard of care is expressed as a “target”, which means it can still be much lower—and moreover, is not happening until 2025.

2.    Working for Workers Act, 2021 
The new labour/workers bill also introduced this week has several changes to workplace laws, which are not only welcome but long overdue. They include the following:

• Enshrining the right to disconnect after hours
• Banning non-compete agreements that tie workers to their employers and take away salary bargaining power
• Removing barriers for internationally trained professionals to get their licenses
• Requiring businesses to allow delivery workers to use their washroom while picking up or delivering items
• Licensing of recruiting companies and temporary agencies to prevent exploitation of workers. 

Unfortunately, one schedule in this bill is concerning. It gives Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) surplus to employers instead of helping the many injured workers who are receiving limited or no benefits from a program they paid into. Getting injured at work can be devastating for workers and it is important that we support workers trying to rebuild their lives after a workplace injury. An injury should not be a sentence to live in poverty.  

I look forward to hearing your feedback on these bills, especially if they are impacting you or your family in any way.

My colleagues and I in the Official Opposition brought forward:
 

1. Plan to support nurses by addressing the staffing crisis in health care – a nursing hiring and retention plan
   
   Ontario has a nursing shortage that must be addressed. We moved a motion for a vote to launch a massive, province-wide hiring and retention strategy to address the staffing crisis. The motion would also provide paid sick days for nurses, repeal of Bill 124 which capped wages for nurses. I hear from nurses on the frontlines all the time about short-staffing. In fact, just a few days ago when I was door knocking, I met a nurse who works at Sick Kids Hospital who shared the stress health care staff are feeling due to shortage of nurses and how many are leaving the sector from exhaustion due to the pandemic. The Ontario Science Table estimates that 43% of nurses are considering leaving the sector. If we don’t address this, wait times for health care services and the backlogged surgeries will grow even longer. Sadly, our motion was defeated in the legislature.
    
2. Protecting Gig and Contract Workers
   
   We introduced a bill to stop misclassification of gig workers and contract workers as “independent contractors” so that app companies cannot deny workers basic rights and protections. This issue is most prevalent among delivery drivers, Uber and Lyft drivers, but also impacts cleaners, home health care workers and other sectors like food production and shipping. All workers deserve rights and protections such as minimum wage, vacation days, and fair treatment in termination. 
    
3. Stopping sprawl developments over the Carruthers Creek headwaters
   
   The Official Opposition has pledged to add Carruthers Creek Headwaters to Ontario’s Greenbelt and stop developers from paving over the sensitive ecological area and prime farmland in Durham Region. The City of Ajax, environmental and community groups, former Greenbelt Council chair David Crombie and long-serving former Ajax mayor Steve Parish have all called for the headwaters to be added to the Greenbelt and protected from development. Residents have also pointed to the fact that the area is already under a lot of pressure and developments over this area will increase risk of flooding.
    
4. Developing culturally-appropriate early childhood education programs for Indigenous families
   
   I tabled a motion in the Legislature this week calling on the government to immediately begin the work of delivering on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action Number 12, with comprehensive consultation from and participation of Indigenous Communities and Indigenous leadership, to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs for Indigenous families.
   Reconciliation is an important part of every facet of our society, and child care is no exception.