Ontario’s ombudsman is launching an investigation into the province’s oversight of long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Ministry of Long-Term Care, 1,648 residents and seven staff members have died amid outbreaks in the facilities.
Ombudsman Paul Dube says he will investigate whether the government oversight has been adequate to ensure the safety of residents and staff.
Dube says a military report into the conditions at five homes in the province “painted a stunning portrait of the situation in long-term care during this crisis.”
Ontario called in military assistance for five homes dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks in April.
Members said they observed cockroach infestations, aggressive feeding that caused choking, bleeding infections, and residents crying for help for hours.
Investigators with the ombudsman’s office will look at aspects including how complaints are handled, emergency planning, data collection, rates of infection and deaths and communication with long-term care home residents, staff and the public.
- The Canadian Press
Today’s top headlines:
- Ottawa moves up gas tax payments to cities, promises more to come
- Blood kits to be sent to 10,000 Canadians to survey extent of COVID-19 in Canada
- The weekend that wasn’t in N.B., from hope to disappointment as cases increase
- Number of students returning is a wild card as B.C. schools set to reopen Monday
- Ontario’s contact tracing efforts are falling short, experts say
National news
- Ontario makes temporary change to layoff regulations to help businesses
- 120 workers test positive for COVID-19 in outbreak on farm near Simcoe, Ont.
- Quebec reopens malls, nail salons tattoo parlours outside Montreal area
- Ontario reports 404 new COVID-19 cases, 10 more deaths
- Rogers Centre to be used as temporary facility to help Food Banks Canada
- Ontario makes temporary change to layoff regulations to help businesses
International news
- U.K. Foreign Minister Dominic Raab defends lockdown easing as the ‘right step’, despite condemnation from scientists
- U.S. cities fear protests may fuel new wave of virus outbreaks
- U.S. sends Brazil two million doses of hydroxychloroquine, drug touted by Trump
- Mosques reopen in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem after more than two months
What is the reopening plan in my province? A guide
4:45 p.m. EDT
Ontario makes temporary change to layoff regulations to help businesses
Ontario is temporarily amending its labour laws to help businesses avoid permanently laying off workers and paying out severance, which could send some into bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government announced Monday it would amend the Employment Standards Act, which requires businesses to terminate employees who have been laid off for 13 weeks. The law then requires the business to pay severance to workers.
The change will see non-unionized workers who have had their hours reduced or eliminated placed on a temporary leave that preserves their job. Workers will still be eligible for federal emergency income support programs.
The amendment to the law will expire six weeks after the province’s declared state of emergency ends.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from employers that they don’t want to be forced to terminate their employees,” Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said in a statement. “We have to step in to make sure workers have jobs to return to.”
Last month, Ontario’s fiscal watchdog said 2.2 million people in the province have been affected by the shutdown: an estimated 1.1 million workers in the province have lost their jobs, and another 1.1 million have seen their hours sharply reduced.
- Canadian Press
12:40 p.m. EDT
120 workers test positive for COVID-19 in outbreak on farm near Simcoe, Ont.
The mayor of Norfolk County says 120 workers at a local farm have tested positive for COVID-19.
Kristal Chopp says in a statement that seven of the workers have been admitted to hospital.
The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit said over the weekend that 85 migrant workers were affected and the Mexican government liaison had been notified.
The health unit says it is working with the farm, Scotlynn Group, and its clinical staff are developing a plan to evaluate and monitor symptomatic workers.
The company says in a statement that it has executed an isolation plan to stop the spread of the virus.
It also says with a large number workers not available, it is looking for additional help with an asparagus harvest.
- Canadian Press
11:20 a.m. EDT
Quebec reopens malls, nail salons tattoo parlours outside Montreal area
Many services and business are reopening across Quebec today after several weeks of pandemic-induced shutdowns.
Daycares are now open in the greater Montreal area and in the administrative region of Joliette, a town about 65 kilometres northeast.
Courthouses across the province have been permitted to reopen gradually, starting today, with limited seating capacity and Plexiglas protecting clerks and judges.
Camping is now allowed outside the Montreal and Joliette regions, as are country home rentals.
Shopping malls, nail salons and other personal care centres are also reopening, but only outside the Montreal area.
Quebec recorded 20 more COVID-19-related deaths in the past 24 hours, for a total of 4,661, as well as 295 new cases of the disease for a total of 51,354.
- Canadian Press
10:40 a.m. EDT
Ontario reports 404 new COVID-19 cases, 10 more deaths
Ontario is reporting 404 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 10 more deaths.
That brings the province to a total of 28,263 cases — an increase of 1.5 per cent over the previous day.
It includes 2,276 deaths and 22,153 cases that have been resolved.
Hospitalizations and the number of people on ventilators remained steady, but the number of patients in intensive care increased.
The number of tests completed in the previous day dropped to 14,379 — down from a high of over 20,000 reported Saturday — as the amount tends to fall after a weekend.
The Ministry of Long-Term Care reports 112 outbreaks of COVID-19 in those facilities, down from 114 Sunday.
-The Canadian Press
10 a.m. EDT
Rogers Centre to be used as temporary facility to help Food Banks Canada
Rogers Centre, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays, is going to be temporarily converted into a giant food bank facility.
Rogers Communications and the Jays Care Foundation have announced a new initiative, called Step Up to the Plate, to support Food Banks Canada.
They say the stadium, currently in disuse because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the suspension of the Major League Baseball season, will house more than 4.5 million kilograms of food.
The program will see hundreds of Rogers employees and their families volunteer on the field to sort 6,000 pallets of food into food hampers, which will then be delivered across Canada to families in need.
The organizations say each hamper will contain a variety of non-perishable food items and provide one person with a week’s worth of food.
Rogers says its goal is to fill 390,000 hampers, for a total of eight million meals.
-The Canadian Press
4 a.m. EDT
Ontario makes temporary change to layoff regulations to help businesses
Ontario is temporarily amending its labour laws to help businesses avoid permanently laying off workers and paying out severance during the pandemic.
The government is expected to announce amendments the Employment Standards Act, which currently requires businesses to terminate employees who have been laid off for 13 weeks.
The law then requires companies to pay severance to those workers, which the government fears could bankrupt some businesses.
The change will see non-unionized workers who have had their hours reduced or eliminated placed on a temporary leave that preserves their job.
The amendment, expected to be announced today, will expire six weeks after the province’s declared state of emergency ends.
Last month, Ontario’s fiscal watchdog said an estimated 1.1 million workers in the province have lost their jobs, and another 1.1 million have seen their hours sharply reduced.
-The Canadian Press
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