In an effort to keep schools safe from COVID-19, the Ontario government is investing an additional $381 million provided by the federal Safe Return to Class Fund. This funding will be used to improve air quality and ventilation in schools, support online learning, promote student mental health and hire more staff.
Like a lot of people, I was pleasantly surprised at Doug Ford’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis early in the pandemic.
Despite a couple of early missteps, he was fairly consistent in his messaging and worked well with the federal government — as it supplied the province billions of dollars in COVID support — avoiding the hyper-partisanship of other conservative premiers.
New funding to help local governments avoid operating deficits in 2021 was announced today by MPP Laurie Scott’s office, including about $1 million for Kawartha Lakes.
The money was announced as part of Phase 2 of the Safe Restart Agreement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This new funding will help municipalities in HKLB develop a 2021 budget that reflects the challenges of COVID-19,” said Scott.
The Ontario government is investing over $2 million through the Ontario Together Fund to provide small businesses with free, tailored financial advice and online training to help them make informed financial decisions and navigate the unprecedented economic circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay will be receiving more than $1.1 million in funding to help alleviate hospital capacity pressures and reduce wait times.
While many Canadians might find their municipal, provincial of federal government services lacking and complain about it, one local man is taking another approach.
David Webb, a retired Ontario civil servant living in the Dunsford area, sees things differently. In a deputation to council made on Oct. 6, Webb offered to work pro-bono to assist the city to measure and improve the performance of city departments beginning first with a small pilot project.
Michael Wesch, a cultural anthropologist and professor, says there are three main questions that unite all of humanity. “What am I doing here? What am I supposed to be doing? And am I doing it right?”
COVID-19 has all of us asking these questions again even if we thought we had them figured out.
Our governments, for example, are starting to conclude that the austerity measures they have imposed last 40-plus years (from Conservatives and Liberals at different levels) were based on self-interest and greed.
As Ontario enters its second month of COVID-19 protocols, you don’t have to look too far on social media to find the lionization of many of the essential workers who are on the frontline of combating this deadly respiratory virus.
While doctors, nurses and paramedics have earned well-deserved kudos, it has been especially satisfying to many to see people publicly posting about the very important roles being played by cashiers, personal support workers and truck drivers whose services to society before this pandemic were often marginalized and ridiculed. For the first time in a very long time we are taking a hard look at these kinds of jobs and who works them, and some are developing a whole new appreciation for the risks these individuals are currently taking for little remuneration in return.
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock will receive more than $3 million across eight municipalities, including the City of Kawartha Lakes receiving more than $2 million, according to a recent announcement from MPP Laurie Scott.
Starting Wednesday January 15, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) will begin providing the required five-day notice to school boards in anticipation of rotating strikes.
