Dear Davenport, 

It’s a special weekend edition of my community newsletter, and I hope it finds you well. While this week’s federal election led to the return of a nearly identical minority parliament, Davenport voters were on the edge of our seat as the vote count stretched into Wednesday in a final result determined by just 165 votes. 

I want to congratulate Julie Dzerowicz on her re-election as MP and share my thanks to Alejandra Bravo for running such an inspiring campaign. To all candidates, thank you for putting your name forward to represent our community. People in Davenport have always demanded a lot of our elected officials, and the challenges we face demand that we work together to deliver more for people, especially on issues like climate, housing, child care and building a fairer economy. I’m glad that these issues were front and centre in our local election campaigns.

Provincially, your Official Opposition is urging the Ford government to immediately partner with the federal government on key issues we’re facing in Ontario. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath wrote to Doug Ford Tuesday morning, urging him to contact the federal government immediately to get to work on improving the COVID-19 response, signing a $10 per day child care agreement, accepting federal funding to end the painfully long waits for surgeries and diagnostic procedures, and finally accepting federal dollars to improve nursing homes — money Ford has left on the table for more than a year.

With the proof of vaccination requirement for indoor establishments coming into effect this week, I’ve also been listening to local businesses, organizations and BIAs about how things are going. The government’s delay in implementing this important public health measure means that Ontarians are left waiting for a secure, digital version of their vaccine certificate, and there are many outstanding questions. Alongside our critic for Small Business Recovery, I wrote to the Health Minister to share some of the concerns we’re hearing from local businesses and to urge her to put in the work to get this right - so we can protect community health and keep restaurants, bars and gyms out of painful lockdowns. 

If you need assistance with accessing or printing your vaccine certificate, or need help booking a vaccine, contact my community office: 416-535-3158 and for more information on the requirements, along with frequently asked questions, visit my website.

I also wrote the Health Minister this week to address the growing crisis in vision care, as negotiations between the provincial government and optometrists drag on. Optometrists have been withholding services for OHIP-insured patients since September 1, leaving many including seniors without the care they need. We need the government to get back to the negotiating table. 

And sadly, this week we saw some of our first cases of COVID-19 in schools here in Davenport, part of 1,372 cases reported province-wide in the last 14 days. Parents continue to report difficulty in accessing testing for kids who are exposed, and some parents have even organized rapid testing in their own schools. It shouldn’t have to be this way. I continue to call on the provincial government to ensure access to rapid testing to identify cases in schools early, alongside paid sick days for parents who have to stay home with a sick or exposed child. 

Larger class sizes are also being reported to me almost daily, running counter to all we know about the risks of spreading covid, especially while children remain unvaccinated. We are urging the government to put in the work now to ensure we are ready to swiftly immunize children in 5+ age group, if and when Health Canada approves it. This week, the City of Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health echoed the NDP’s call for the COVID vaccine to be added to the list of mandatory vaccines in schools, like we have for chicken pox. You can count on me to keep pushing for safer schools and workplaces.

Thanks to all who have written and called me to share their concerns this week. Have a great rest of your weekend,

Marit Stiles, MPP
Davenport
(416) 535-3158
MStiles-CO@ndp.on.ca 

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