Source: CTV
Legislation could be suspended at Queen’s Park as early as this Wednesday. The Ford administration and the opposition parties disagree on whether virtual parliamentary sessions should be used. The move comes in the wake of coronavirus outbreaks at an all-time high.
According to Andrea Horwath, leader of the New Democratic Party, the government is “looking to cut and run from the legislature.” Government House Leader Paul Calandra says a virtual Parliament would not result in a significant reduction in the number of Legislative Assembly staff needed when the House is in session, as the opposition desires.
Calandra says that opposition parties approached him last week to request that all legislative business be conducted entirely online, something that was never fully implemented during the first wave of the pandemic last year. The NDP accuses the government of failing to follow COVID-19 safety protocols while at Queen’s Park, claiming that it has violated cohort voting agreements a significant number of times, even for votes that the government supported. “It’s very clear that the government has always expected that it would be politically advantageous for them; but they’re concerned about Doug Ford’s political skin, and that’s always the wrong priority,” Horwathi says. The shutdown could take place as soon as Wednesday.
The legislative session, according to information published online on Sunday, appeared to last well into May. On Friday, Ontario’s overall daily case rate reached a new high of over 4,800 cases. Hospital admissions due to COVID-19 are at an all-time high.
