Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Ontario government’s fall legislative agenda will focus on job creation, skills training, attracting investment, strengthening communities, and fortifying the front lines of the province’s health care system.
“Our government worked through the summer passing emergency legislation to protect individuals, families and businesses during one of the most difficult periods in our province’s history,” said Premier Doug Ford.
“Over the past few weeks, we have heard from people in every corner of the province and from all walks of life that they continue to feel the impact of the pandemic each and every day. To start us down the road to long-term recovery, this legislative session will focus on implementing our comprehensive plan to get Ontario back on track.”
Priorities announced earlier this week include:
- Investing in Ontario’s health care system to ensure the province is prepared for a potential second wave of COVID-19 and for any future public health challenges;
- Building Ontario’s production capacity for personal protective equipment, ventilators and other medical gear so the province never has to rely on any other jurisdiction again for these critical supplies;
- Protecting families and those most vulnerable and helping them get back on their feet as the province reopens;
- Helping young people and workers receive the skills training they need to join the modern workforce and contribute to the recovery of the province;
- Accelerating the construction of critical highway, transit and broadband infrastructure projects to create jobs and boost the local economies of communities across Ontario;
- Providing relief to Mainstreet Ontario and small business owners so they can recover from the impact of COVID-19 faster and get back to the work of building their business; and
- Expanding manufacturing by creating the conditions to bring investment and jobs to the province and world-class, Ontario-made products to consumers around the world.
“Working across party lines, we were able to quickly pass important programs and protective measures through a special summer sitting of the legislature,” said Paul Calandra, Ontario’s Government House Leader. “Now, as we return to regular fall sittings, the people of Ontario expect us to continue to cooperate to defeat COVID-19 and rebuild our economy.”
From March to July, the government was successful in passing 18 pieces of legislation, including emergency measures needed to protect public health and prepare for economic recovery, such as the Economic and Fiscal Update Act, the COVID-19 Support and Protection Act, the Protecting Small Business Act, and the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act. The expedited passage of much of this emergency legislation would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of the Official Opposition and independent Members.