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As COVID cases rise in Ontario schools, could an extended school break help slow the pandemic?

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As COVID cases rise in Ontario schools, could an extended school break help slow the pandemic?

Aug 25, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Before her kids go on Christmas break, Lindsay Matheson is going to make sure they bring their indoor shoes home from school.

With cases surging across the province, the weather getting worse — and a holiday season that will undoubtedly find families mixing, mingling and flouting the rules of social distancing — Matheson can’t imagine school will resume as per normal come January.

“This feels exactly like what happened in March,” said Matheson, a Toronto teacher and mom of three, of how students believed they’d return to school at some point after spring break, but never did.

“I kind of expect the same thing is going to happen now. So I’m going to learn from experience.”

While parents and teachers of elementary and secondary schools may be anticipating, and even planning for, a post-vacation lockdown, there has been no official word on an extended break — or a return-to-school strategy.

Toronto Public Health continues to push safety protocols already in place. School boards keep urging families to stay in their bubbles. And while universities in Ontario as well as other provinces, including Alberta, have long ago announced extended winter breaks or pivots to online learning, Ontario’s education minister remains mum on the issue.

In an emailed statement to the Star, spokesperson Caitlin Clark said that throughout the pandemic, the ministry has been guided by the chief medical officer of health, “the most senior public health authority in this province,” and “while some teacher unions have called for the closure of schools this fall, we believe schools should safely remain open.”

From Nov. 23, through the first week in December, the total number of school-related COVID cases, both active and resolved, jumped 48 per cent, according to epidemiologist Ahmed Al-Jaishi, who tracks cases across the province and in Ontario’s schools. In those 14 days alone, his data shows, active COVID cases increased by 35 per cent, leaping from 1,331 confirmed cases in 757 schools on Nov. 23 to 1,803 active cases in 947 schools Tuesday. (Those rose to 1,866 cases in 969 schools Wednesday.)

Since September, Al-Jaishi’s data shows, 43 per cent of Ontario schools have had at least one case of COVID and right now, about 20 per cent of schools have an active case. On Tuesday, Marc Garneau C.I. became the third TDSB school to be shut down.

Peter Juni, scientific director of the province’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, told the Star that extending the winter break by a week or so is not a bad idea, if we all are disciplined. But if we continue to socialize as a society, he said, “then it will probably not help much or at all.”

Juni, also a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine, said that right now it is important for the government to come up with a decision — to extend the break or not — and give people enough time to plan. Whatever the decision, he said, it is also imperative to focus on communities where transmission is high and take additional measures in those schools.

Leslie Wolfe, who heads the Toronto local of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, is calling on the province to announce an extended break, saying they should already have done so out of “an abundance of caution.” And to give teachers time to prepare. Even though teachers have been told since Day 1 to be ready at any time to pivot to online learning, doing it well takes planning and preparation.

“There needs to be enough notice for teachers to do the detailed kind of planning they would do,” she said.

On Wednesday, the group urged the province, Toronto Public Health and the Toronto District School Board in to close schools for at least two weeks after the break (with online lessons) and fund asymptomatic testing at all TDSB schools.

Taking the extra time after the break may be particularly important, she said, because kids may transmit the virus asymptomatically. The extra time following Christmas and New Year’s may at least allow for parents to see if symptoms develop.

A Sept. 21 article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal titled “Have we misjudged the role of children in spreading COVID-19?” explores whether kids play a larger role in transmission of the virus that initially suspected. The picture of whether and how young kids are involved in the spread is “confusing,” the article says, because of blind spots in the early research as well as potential bias.

Research showing that kids have fewer antibodies than adults may be misleading, the article says, because they were done when schools were closed and transmission among children was likely low. By the same token, the article says, the murky research has made it difficult to tease apart whether or how school closures have affected transmission rates. Or how many kids are asymptomatic.

Other studies in the last three months have

While Jennifer Brown, president of Elementary Teachers of Toronto, said she feels it’s important for kids to get back to school as soon as possible, she says it needs to be done in the safest possible way. For her, that means reducing class sizes to where both students and teachers can maintain a proper social distance as well as making sure each child has a proper mask and is taught in a well ventilated building.

There are school buildings that are in need of repair, she said. “Many parents would prefer for their kids to be in school,” she said, “if they were confident in the safety measures put in place.”

Even about a month ago, Matheson said it seemed for a bit that schools might escape the rise in cases. But over the last couple of weeks, she said, there have been cases at the school her daughters attend — and at the school where she teaches. And now, she said, things feels like they are closing in. She and her family plan to keep a low profile over the holidays.

But will everyone else? Matheson said she is nervous about the return to school, and said she’s angry at the government for “making this feel very last-minute.”

Michele Henry is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star, writing health and education stories. Follow her on Twitter:

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Inside the ER in the second wave

Aug 25, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Frontline health care workers — doctors, nurses, health care professionals — continue to be heroes in this pandemic. They are constant soldiers in the grinding and seemingly relentless war against COVID-19, which in the second wave.

But amidst the fight, there are great achievements: better public health practices, a health care system that has not broken, of vaccine clinical trials that will (hopefully) lead to distribution in 2021. What does COVID look like on the heath care frontlines, nine months later? And what does the public need to know now, as hope abounds for a pandemic endgame?

“This Matters” heads back to the ER with Dr. David Carr, an emergency room physician in Toronto, to share the experiences of frontline health care workers, the health care lessons that have been learned, and what his best day of the pandemic means for everyone else.

Listen to this episode and more at or subscribe at , , or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

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COVID-19 and the White House: Who’s tested positive, and when

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Here’s a list of people who have tested positive for since the to announce ’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Guests at the event — which included prominent U.S. politicians, Trump supporters, and faith leaders — were photographed sitting close together and not wearing masks.

October 1 — 10:44 p.m. President Donald Trump White House aide Hope Hicks has tested positive for COVID-19.

October 2 — 12:54 a.m. Trump he and Melania tested positive that night for COVID-19.

October 2 – Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, she has tested positive. Her diagnosis was by The New York Times.

October 2 — POLITICO is the that Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien has tested positive as well. The Associated Press just after midnight on Oct. 3.

October 2 – The president of the University of Notre Dame, Rev. John Jenkins, he has tested positive less than a week after he attended a White House event without a mask.

October 2 — 11:42 a.m. Republican Sen. Mike Lee from Utah that he has tested positive.

October 2 — 8:24 p.m. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis from North Carolina he has tested positive.

October 2 — 10:16 p.m. Trump’s former adviser Kellyanne Conway that she tested positive.

October 3 — 11:37 a.m. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie that he has tested positive.

October 3 — morning. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson from Wisconsin he is positive for COVID-19.

October 4 — 10:52 p.m. Citing people familiar with the diagnosis, Bloomberg White House aide Nick Luna has tested positive.

October 5 — 11:26 a.m. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany she has tested positive.

October 5 — 12:37 p.m. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg White House press aides Chad Gilmartin and Karoline Leavitt have also tested positive.

October 6 — 7:05 p.m. Trump’s senior advisor and speechwriter Stephen Miller has tested positive for COVID-19, according to .

— With files by The Associated Press, Bloomberg News

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Ontario students with the sniffles no longer need a COVID test. Some experts warn this might be a big mistake

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A significant overhaul of COVID in Ontario schools, which will allow kids who recover quickly from a runny nose, headache or upset stomach to return to class without a test, has stunned several infectious disease experts in Toronto, despite a similar move in B.C.

These experts say the province has not provided the evidence to justify loosening guidelines as cases surge.

Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious diseases physician at Michael Garron Hospital, who has been reaching out to families of students who test positive at her hospital since schools reopened, said the decision is not in line with what she is seeing on the ground.

In the past few weeks, McCready said she has seen several cases of COVID in students with no known contact to another COVID case, whose only symptom is a runny nose that resolves “quite quickly.” The new screening tool, she said, “wouldn’t have caught the cases.”

“It worries me that we’re making this step now, and we’re making it easier for potential cases of COVID to get into schools,” she said. “Maybe there’s data that I don’t have available, but certainly, from the cases I’ve (seen), this makes me nervous.”

Ontario’s decision to revise the COVID screening guidelines in schools and child-care centres follows the easing of return-to-school protocols in British Columbia, where nasal congestion was recently removed as a symptom forcing kids to stay away from school. The policy will no doubt be greeted with relief by many parents who have lost days of work — and much of their sanity — trying to get their sniffly kid tested.

In a press release Thursday, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the revision to the guidelines reflects “the best available medical advice.” Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate medical officer of health, said the new screening tool is the result of consultations with health officials in B.C, who recently revised the screening protocol, as well as pediatric infectious disease specialists.

But Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at University of Toronto, who said she was consulted by the Ontario government, does not support the recent revision, calling it “bad policy.”

She said runny noses are “a pretty typical presentation of COVID among kids and that the government appears to be “more concerned about having kids in schools than keeping schools open long-term.”

The move comes amid long lines at COVID assessment centres in Ontario and even longer turnaround times for results in Ontario, where the testing backlog surpassed 82,000 on Thursday.

Yaffe told the Star in an interview that here, as in B.C., “we were aware that a lot of kids were being sent home with a runny nose, and parents were going to the assessment centres, waiting in line, getting everyone tested and then waiting at home for the results … and it was just a runny nose.”

But Dr. Andrew Morris, an infectious diseases specialist at U of T, warned against applying the B.C. context to Ontario, because the policy change has only been in effect there for a few weeks and caseloads are higher here.

“To use that rationale to say that it’s safe to do, that’s jumping to a very large conclusion,” said Morris, who is also calling on Ontario to provide more data to support the move. “It might be the right thing to do, but what is the scientific basis for this decision?”

When B.C.’s medical officer of health, Dr. Bonnie Henry, discussed changes to the school screening checklist late last month, there were 2,000 active cases in the province. On Thursday, Henry said there have been no outbreaks in B.C. schools since they reopened in September. The province’s average daily cases are now sloping downwards, with 1,284 cases currently active.

“We’ve done over 35,000 tests in people under the age of 19 and very few of them are positive,” she said in an online press conference. “And a runny nose by itself — which, (as) anybody who has children knows, is a very common symptom during the winter months — is not associated with COVID by itself very frequently.”

In Ontario, Yaffe said, “we were asked why even include a runny nose — a runny nose is so common,” she said. “There are so many reasons for a runny nose that are not COVID-19” such as allergies, coming inside from the cold outdoors or other viral infections.

But Ontario chose to keep it on its list of less serious symptoms — along with nausea/diarrhea and headache or fatigue — because about 17 per cent of COVID cases present with a runny nose, she said.

The province did not provide the Star with data on the number COVID tests that have been performed on children with runny noses or the positivity rate of these tests.

In a statement, a health ministry spokesperson said: “As this outbreak evolves, the province will continue to review the scientific evidence to understand the most appropriate guidance for the health system and the people of Ontario and make updates as needed.”

Yaffe said any child with just one of the less serious symptoms who also had COVID would experience worsening symptoms within 24 hours. “What we are trying to do is balance,” Yaffe added. “Obviously we want to minimize the transmission of COVID-19, but we also want to ensure that kids can go to school or child care if it’s safe.”

Yaffe said no test or doctor’s note should be required when they have one of the less serious symptoms, she said. However, students whose condition worsens, or those who have the “more significant” symptoms of a fever, cough, shortness of breath or loss of smell or taste, do need to isolate and seek medical help, she also said.

Families in B.C. were initially told to keep their children home if they showed any symptoms, but B.C. changed its guidelines mid-September, saying a runny nose, sore throat or headache shouldn’t stop kids from attending class.

Yaffe said Ontario has spoken to numerous pediatric experts here and in B.C., and made its changes to help balance public safety while recognizing children’s need to be at school.

Liz Stuart, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said “we are reviewing the revised screening protocols, and continue to encourage everyone to be cautious and diligent in following public health advice.”

However, she added, “if we really want students to continue enjoying the benefits of the in-class experience, the bottom line is that the government must finally step up and implement all reasonable precautions to make our schools as safe as possible. This is becoming increasingly urgent as we see cases of COVID-19 surging in our communities.”

MPP Marit Stiles, the NDP’s education critic, said the changes are causing confusion.

“Parents who spent hours and hours in line this week with their little ones waiting for a test …have a right to be frustrated at the horrible lack of clarity on when kids need a test, and when they should return to school or daycare,” Stiles said.

With files from Jennifer Yang

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

Rachel Mendleson is a Toronto-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter:

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Opposition urges Ford government to do more for small businesses

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The Progressive Conservatives’ bid to boost small businesses by liberalizing alcohol sales and giving them $1,000 for pandemic protective gear is small beer.

That was the message from NDP Leader Andrea Horwath on Wednesday as the Tories introduced the Main Street Recovery Act designed to help restaurants, bars and shops crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Horwath — who has been on a “Save Main Street” push since April, one month after the coronavirus outbreak took hold — said the measures are “nowhere near what businesses are asking for.”

As first disclosed by the , Associate Minister of Small Business Prabmeet Sarkaria plans to keep the temporary changes the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario had said would expire on Dec. 31.

“We’re committed to making it permanent,” Sarkaria told a Queen’s Park news conference.

But Horwath said much more needs to be done.

“The government’s announcing a pittance of $1,000, thinking that’s going to help small businesses,” she said, referring to the one-time grants for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees to help pay for personal protective equipment like masks and Plexiglas shields.

“It will be a little bit of a benefit for some, but it will not keep them afloat. The government is delusional.”

The NDP leader said businesses need more financial support from Queen’s Park than just making permanent the temporary allowance for restaurants and bars to sell beer, wine and spirits to go.

“I find it just unbelievable that the government thinks that these minor adjustments are going to save the bacon,” she said.

Liberal MPP John Fraser — whose leader Steven Del Duca was the first to pitch lifting the restrictions on booze sales to assist ailing businesses in March — said “it’s a good thing.”

“But right now it’s definitely not the most important thing. It’s a continuation of what’s going on,” said Fraser (Ottawa South), stressing the Tories should be improving the COVID-19 testing system to aid the economy.

“If your customers can’t come — because they’re isolated and they haven’t got the results of their test — or your employees are gone, not (bolstering testing) really doesn’t support the little guy,” he said.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner, who has also been calling for greater assistance to small businesses for months, said the measures were welcome but not enough.

“All small businesses need support with PPE grants not capped at 10 (employees) and quite frankly the elephant in the room … is a rent program that works,” said Schreiner, blasting the current federal-provincial relief efforts for commercial tenants.

“Until they deliver that, what they’re delivering now is insufficient.”.

But the Green leader emphasized that he backs permanent changes to make alcohol delivery and takeout available through restaurants.

“It makes a lot of sense,” he said. “It’s a lifeline for many small businesses.”

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter:

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COVID-19 cases have been quietly mounting up and killing in long-term-care homes: These 3 charts explain what many seem to have missed

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The number of active cases of among residents of Ontario long-term-care homes is growing at an average rate of about eight per cent per day, prompting seniors advocates to call for measures to prevent a full-blown second wave of infections from sweeping through facilities.

There were 216 active resident infections in the province’s long-term-care homes as of Oct. 20, up from just under five on Sept. 1. That represents an average daily growth rate of 7.99 per cent between those dates. (Since the official provincial numbers for Sept. 5 indicate less than five infections, we have assumed five for ease of calculation.)

At the same time, the number of homes with active outbreaks currently sits at 86, up from 13 on Sept. 1, with a high of 87 homes reached on Oct. 19. Sixty residents have died of COVID-19 since the beginning of September.

“It shouldn’t be about the numbers. It’s the fact that this is happening again and we’re on the trajectory headed towards a déjà vu of what happened in the first wave,” said Vivian Stamatopoulos, an associate professor at Ontario Tech University and a family caregiver advocate. “Not enough was learned and the kinds of policies and supports we needed didn’t happen. This is preventable.”

Stamatopoulos stressed that good training, better working conditions and decent salaries are needed to make personal support work in long-term-care homes more attractive.

Earlier this month, the provincial government announced a $461-million plan to improve recruitment of PSWs and others who do similar work in health care by increasing wages ($2 increases for those working in public hospitals and $3 for home and community-care workers). It’s a measure Stamatopoulos called “a very big Band-aid for the gunshot wound that is long-term care.”

“It doesn’t attract more workers,” she said. “Sure, they get a little bit of a bump, but their working conditions remain the same.”

Those working conditions include long hours, high stress, and a constant fear of making mistakes, in addition to “desperately inadequate” staffing, said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, a non-profit network of public-health-care advocates.

“They’re rushed all the time, the stress never stops,” she said, adding that one PSW might be responsible for looking after anywhere between eight and 30 residents, depending on staffing levels. “It’s terrifying. They go home and think, ‘oh my God, did I put up the guardrail on that bed? Did I chart this?’”

There is also the fear that they too could be infected with COVID-19 if there are cases in the home. “They are at risk themselves,” Mehra said of PSWs.

In fact, there are more active cases of COVID-19 among long-term-care staff than among residents. As of Oct. 20, there were 260 active staff cases, up from 23 on Sept. 1.

Vermont Square, a Toronto long-term-care home, has had 44 confirmed cases among residents and 33 among staff, which constitutes the worst outbreak in recent weeks. It is followed by Simcoe Manor Home for the Aged in Beeton, which has had 34 resident cases and 23 staff cases, and Residence Prescott et Russell in Hawkesbury, with 24 cases among residents and 16 cases in staff.

Mehra says while the escalating numbers are disturbing, the homes that have been able to get outbreaks under control are those where management has been taken over by rapid-response teams from hospitals. She says a coherent provincial plan is needed to address all homes experiencing outbreaks so that teams can be sent in immediately as soon as one or two cases are detected.

“If a plane crashes, everything stops and emergency departments take (the victims). This is the same thing. The plane is crashing. Regardless of what hospital capacity is, teams need to be deployed,” she said.

Patricia Spindel, co-founder of Seniors For Social Action Ontario, a group of social activists from across Ontario, said the fact that the Red Cross is going into Ontario nursing homes “should tell us all we need to know about the fact that these institutions are disaster areas.”

A week and a half ago, the federal government gave the go-ahead to the Red Cross to go into seven Ottawa-area long-term-care homes dealing with serious outbreaks.

“It’s time to downsize and ultimately eliminate (long-term-care homes) in favour of small community group homes and in-home attendant care and paid caregiver programs,” Spindel said. “Nursing homes are unsustainable. Period. Taxpayers and the public sector — hospitals, health units, the military, and now even the Red Cross are having to bail them out.”

With files from Ed Tubb and Andrew Bailey

Kenyon Wallace is a Toronto-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @KenyonWallace or reach him via email:

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Springwater man charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to run over truck driver during Alliston road-rage incident

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A Springwater man has been charged with attempted murder and five other criminal offences following a road-rage incident in Alliston that left another person injured.

According to Nottawasaga OPP, the incident involving two vehicles happened Saturday, Oct. 31, around 2 p.m. on Victoria Street West near Ontario Street.

Const. Harry Lawrenson said a truck hauling a 30-foot trailer was heading east when it came up behind an Audi sedan that was stopped in the road.

Police said the truck driver tried to get the Audi to move by honking his horn, but the other driver wasn’t co-operating.

The truck driver eventually managed to pass the Audi, and after doing so he exited his vehicle to confront the other driver.

Lawrenson said that’s when the Audi driver performed a u-turn, jumped the curb and drove across the sidewalk toward the plaza where the man was located.

Like a scene out of a movie, Lawrenson said, the truck driver leaped into the air as the vehicle approached and bounced off the windshield and roof.

The Audi, which sustained extensive damage from the impact, then fled the scene and was last seen heading east on Victoria Street.

Lawrenson said the truck driver suffered minor injuries like bruises, but went to the hospital the following day for an assessment.

Lawrenson said the Audi driver was identified fairly quickly thanks to a number of witnesses who saw what happened.

Colin Pyne, 26, was arrested in Toronto and charged with attempt to commit murder, assault with a weapon, criminal negligence cause bodily harm, dangerous operation cause bodily harm, fail to stop at an accident cause bodily harm, and uttering threats.

He was held in police custody pending a bail hearing.

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Doug Ford’s pandemic pledge to hire thousands of nursing-home workers criticized as short on details

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Where’s the beef?

One day after Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives unveiled a record $187 billion budget, critics are demanding details on boosting the level of care in nursing homes in the wake of COVID-19.

Days before the budget was unveiled on Thursday, Ford pledged to hire thousands of nurses and personal support workers to ensure four hours of hands-on care for residents up from two hours and 45 minutes.

But that promise, which is estimated to cost $1.6 billion a year, was not specifically spelled out in the budget, which added $7.5 billion in new funding to fight the pandemic that has killed some 3,200 Ontarians since March, two-thirds of them in nursing homes.

“It’s like Doug Ford is throwing in the towel on fighting COVID-19 in nursing homes,” NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Friday.

“He’s telling seniors and long-term-care staff — the heroes still there, working night and day — that they’re on their own now in the battle against COVID-19. Help is not on the way,” said Horwath.

“Doug Ford’s budget doesn’t take any new actions to make everyday people safer, or healthier, especially in long-term care.”

Morgan Hoffarth, president of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) expressed concern that the government isn’t guaranteeing four hours of care until 2024-25.

“There is no excuse for postponing the urgently needed staffing increase in the province’s nursing homes,” said Hoffarth, adding the government’s “timetable to act on this promise will only lead to more preventable deaths.”

“We can’t — and shouldn’t have to — wait more than four years to meet minimum safety standards for this province’s most vulnerable seniors,” said Hoffarth.

Donna Duncan, CEO of the Ontario Long Term Care Association, which represents 70 per cent of the province’s nursing homes, said “the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated long-standing issues in long-term care.”

Duncan praised the government for “committing to increase direct care to an average of four hours for long-term-care residents.”

“We look forward to working with them to create a workforce with thousands more skilled health-care workers to serve our seniors,” she said.

Ford, for his part, said the Tories are “totally committed to make sure that we have four hours of care.”

Finance Minister Rod Phillips emphasized “the funding is and will be available for four hours of care in long-term care.”

“We’ll be getting the staffing strategy in December,” said Phillips, adding he is in discussions with Ottawa to get more people to come to Ontario to fill the new caregiver jobs.

“We’ve started the conversation about the important role that some targeted immigration can play. We’re talking about tens of thousands of people that need to be trained and we’ll be setting metrics,” he said.

“So we shouldn’t underestimate the complexity of this, but … the money will be there to pay for it and this will make so much difference.”

Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union, said Thursday’s budget was the first since former NDP premier Bob Rae was in power “that acknowledges public services are the great equalizer, and that doesn’t cast public sector workers as villains.”

“It’s clear that during the pandemic, this government has come to recognize the true value of strong public services. Front-line workers are indeed heroes,” said Thomas, hailing the “excellent commitment” to hire long-term-care workers.

The government’s long-term-care commission last month issued an interim recommendation urging the four-hour standard of care.

Some 2,900 nursing-home workers have caught COVID-19 and eight have died, which has made recruiting staff challenging. The Tories have temporarily increased wages for caregivers by $3 an hour as an incentive to stay.

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter:

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LIVE VIDEO: Ontario Premier Doug Ford provides daily update on COVID-19 November 27

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

In a news conference at Queen’s Park, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and provincial Health Minister Christine Elliott provide an update on their government’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic.

They are joined by retired general Rick Hillier, chair of the province’s new COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force.

The update comes as the province sets a single-day record of 1,855 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

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‘I understand the public frustration’: Mayor defends cost of Collingwood inquiry

Aug 24, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Collingwood’s mayor says he recognizes the public’s concerns over the cost of the judicial inquiry.

Brian Saunderson acknowledged he always saw the potential for escalating costs, even when council was given an original estimate of $1.6 million.

At the end of October, the bill for the inquiry, which returned 306 recommendations to the municipality and the province on improving governance processes, stood at $7.7 million.

“That’s a lot of money for a community to pay to find out how a transaction was done so badly, and how our community was victimized to the tune of tens of millions of dollars,” he said in response to questions from Simcoe.com.

Saunderson, who put forward the motion in February 2018 to begin the inquiry process, said it was not something that could have been stopped once the ball was rolling.

“It’s a little like skydiving: once you step out of the plane, you’re going down,” he said.

The total cost includes more than $1.4 million for Lenczner Slaght, the legal firm of the town’s lead counsel at the inquiry, Will McDowell. The town’s legal costs were more than $1.58 million.

At the request of Simcoe.com, the town has provided a breakdown of expenses related to the inquiry, including the costs of lawyers, inquiry staff, the inquiry website, document preparation and legal analysts.

It includes $53,800 to move the Treasury Department to leased office space on Hurontario Street in order to accommodate inquiry staff.

Other costs of note:

• The cost of commission counsel was more than $2.5 million;

• Autcon was paid $74,700 to handle the website;

• George Marron, lawyer for former mayor Sandra Cooper, was paid $289,000;

• Eight legal analysts involved in the inquiry cost more than $993,000;

• Digi Tran Inc., which handled court reporting, was paid close to $139,000;

• Document management costs were more than $745,000.

It was the sheer number of documents — more than 440,000 — that helped drive up the cost, the mayor said.

The inquiry commissioner had also anticipated all three phases of the inquiry being concluded by the middle of June. It went seven months beyond that.

“For everyone in the community to say we had everything we needed to know in terms of what happened, that was clearly not the case,” Saunderson said.

Staff are expected to report back to council early in the new year on the progress of implementing the report’s recommendations.

Saunderson said the public will then have a chance to weigh in on the inquiry. However, he said, reflecting on how council will react to the recommendations would be more productive than focusing on the final bill.

“I can understand the public’s frustration with the cost of this hearing, but … it was a necessary process,” he said. “I don’t think it’s acceptable to just turn your back and walk away and say, ‘We’re not going to do this, we don’t have the courage and wherewithal … and now that we have the results, it didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know.’”