Dear neighbours,

The COVID-19 pandemic has left the City of Toronto staring down a $1.5 billion shortfall this year. Since the law forbids municipalities from running deficits, the City of Toronto is faced with the impossible choice of either cutting services or raising taxes.

The fast-tracked federal transfer of existing gas tax funds falls well short of the help needed, and if the province doesn’t step up soon the City of Toronto may have to make devastating cuts to core services like child care, fire, shelters and transit as well as sweeping layoffs of city staff. We can't let that happen.

In light of this, Toronto's NDP MPPs have written Premier Ford urging him to provide financial support before it’s too late. You can read the letter here. 

Child care chaos putting pressure on parents

I continue to hear from hundreds of parents and guardians who have written to share their concerns about the government’s hasty move to re-open child care centres. This article in Today’s Parent sums up how many of us are feeling - they're calling Ford's plan a ‘hot mess.’ 

With so much riding on a safe and orderly reopening of child care, the outstanding issues around funding, safety and access are unacceptable. This will have a disproportionate impact on women, as their return to the workforce will be seriously compromised without access to child care. We continue to call on the government to address these serious gaps in funding so that fees don’t skyrocket and so that providers can stay solvent. 

In case you missed it: “Ford leaving child care centres in lurch means hiked fees for families” Our release from Wednesday

Today, 17,000 people joined a virtual Rally for Child Care, hosted by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC) and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO).

You can take action to support affordable, accessible child care by signing the OCBCC’s Open Letter to Ford here.

There is a lot of news today on expanding contact with family and friends, changes to prescription limits, as well as relaxed restrictions on visiting loved ones in care. Read on for more, and have a great weekend.

Marit Stiles, MPP 
Davenport 

New guidance on 'Social Circles'

Ontarians who wish to form a safe social circle should follow these five simple steps:

1. Start with your current circle: the people you live with or who regularly come into your household;
2. If your current circle is under 10 people, you can add members to your circle, including those from another household, family members or friends;
3. Get agreement from everyone that they will join the circle;
4. Keep your social circle safe. Maintain physical distancing with anyone outside of your circle; and
5. Be true to your circle. No one should be part of more than one circle.

The province has developed a  step-by-step guide to help Ontarians as they safely develop and join a social circle.

After many weeks of time in isolation, I know this news will be welcome to many of us. But with the virus still circulating, please continue to self-monitor for any symptoms of COVID-19, and get tested if necessary.

Here are the latest updates: 

• The Ontario government is lifting the recommended 30-day supply limit for dispensing Ontario Drug Benefit program medications. Effective June 15, 2020, program recipients can return to filling up to 100-day supply at a time from their pharmacy or dispensing physician, when appropriate.
   
• Starting next week, Ontario will allow visits to loved ones in long-term care, retirement homes, group homes and other congregate living settings not facing an outbreak of COVID-19 to resume.  Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says relaxing restrictions on family visits must come with increased staff, more PPE and sanitation supplies and a guarantee from Doug Ford in rigorous, frequent and in-person inspections for all congregate care and long-term homes 
   
• The federal government and the province have announced a new program to help small businesses adopt digital technologies – for months, the Ford government has resisted the Ontario NDP’s calls to give direct financial support to small and medium-sized businesses, many of which have now gone under. The NDP’s proposed "Save Main Street" plan includes a 75 per cent commercial rent subsidy, a utility payment freeze and a remote work set-up fund to help businesses establish an online retail operation.
   
• On Thursday, the government also released comprehensive safety guidance for public transit agencies as the province reopens and more people return to work. The TTC announced that as of July 2, face masks would be mandatory on all transit vehicles.
   
• The Ontario NDP's Black Caucus chair and critic, MPP Laura Mae Lindo, said Education Minister Stephen Lecce must stop his dragging his fight on fighting anti-Black racism in the Peel District School Board. 
  
  “It’s disturbing that the Minister of Education hired an investigator to investigate his investigation, and despite all these reports pointing to serious systemic anti-Black racism in Peel schools, Stephen Lecce is again taking no actual action to address it," Lindo said in a statement.

Around the community

Public Health Updates

Toronto.ca/coronavirus

Information from Toronto Public Health on local cases, how to protect yourself and where to seek further medical support.

Ontario.ca/coronavirus

Information from Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

Find out how to protect yourself, what to do if you’re sick and how to recognize possible symptoms. Updated twice daily, in 30 languages.

Canada.ca/coronavirus

Information from the Government of Ontario and the Public Health Agency of Canada

Updates on the national response and access to emergency support benefits.