Legislators paid tribute to former prime minister John Turner on Monday morning. Turner, who served as the seventeenth prime minister of Canada, died on Friday at the age of 91.
Turner entered politics in his early thirties and throughout his career served in several roles including minister of consumer and corporate affairs, finance and justice and attorney general. He then held the prime minister's office for less than 80 days in 1984 as leader of the Liberal party, ultimately losing to Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney.
Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney spoke about her father's former political rival, highlighting his early years as an "Olympic-calibre athlete" and the support Turner received from Mulroney's grandmother when he first won an MP seat. She spoke of his focus on jobs, technological innovation and skills training — all priorities for the current PC government — adding that she valued his understanding that "sitting across the aisle from one another does not make us enemies, only opponents."
Mulroney also mentioned that during a family discussion this past weekend, she learned from her mother that Turner would send her handwritten "thank you" notes after each event she hosted at 24 Sussex Dr. — "a thoughtful gesture, rare and truly telling."
MPPs also highlighted reforms Turner championed that paved the way for LGBTQ and abortion rights along with his advocacy of the environment, particularly protecting water.
Plan to tackle COVID-19 
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath kicked off question period by drilling the government once again on its plan to deal with COVID-19 this fall.
"In every corner of this province, people are watching with dread as COVID-19 surges back, and once again, the province scrambles to react," she said, referencing a statement from the premier in July about working on a plan to combat the second wave.
"Why did the premier claim he had a detailed plan and then fail to produce one?" she asked.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said the government is prepared and has had a plan ready since July 30. She said it would be rolled out "imminently" and would deal with testing, lab volumes and catching up on surgeries that were postponed during the first wave.
Horwath pointed out that parents are missing work while having to wait for hours in COVID-19 testing lines with their children, stressing that Ontarians "need a government that has a plan."
Elliott again claimed there is a "complete, comprehensive plan" in place and that testing capacity reached 40,000 this weekend.
"We will be very shortly at 50,000 tests," she said, adding that certain testing sites have increased capacity.
Long-term care
The NDP leader then moved on to the long-term care sector, citing an article in the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ontario-not-acting-on-calls-to-improve-infection-control-in-long-term/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Globe and Mail </a>that said the province had "not acted on recommendations from senior infectious disease experts to build infection prevention and control measures inside the province’s long-term care facilities."
Horwath asked for an explanation from the premier, with Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton taking on the question.
She insisted that "action is being taken" and that the Ottawa Hospital is helping three homes in the area that are battling COVID-19 outbreaks.
"I want to make sure that Ontarians understand that 99.7 per cent of our homes are managing very well with COVID-19," she said, noting government funding that was allocated for "improved staffing, surge capacity, infection and prevention control."
Horwath repeated her question, this time noting that more residents had recently died at Extendicare's West End Villa in Ottawa.
Fullerton said long-term care homes are getting infection prevention and control expertise from local hospitals and went on to list several partnerships between hospitals and seniors' homes, with Horwath responding that hospitals "have so much on their plate right now."
Staying on the subject of long-term care, NDP MPP France Gélinas asked why staff at West End Villa were still saying they couldn't access the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need.
Fullerton disputed the concerns, saying staff had the necessary PPE including N95 masks.
"I’ve been in constant contact over the weekend and for weeks, making sure that this home has the support that it needs," she said, accusing the NDP of "politicking."
Horwath didn't approve of this claim.
"You’re saying the PSWs are lying?" she said, with Premier Doug Ford responding "no, you are."
That caught the attention of Speaker Ted Arnott, who asked the premier to withdraw his comment.
Class sizes
Sara Singh, the NDP's co-deputy leader, turned the spotlight to education and the dozens of reported COVID-19 cases at schools within the Peel District School Board.
"Peel region and the city of Brampton simply do not have the dedicated resources they need from the province to fight this crisis and to prevent the crisis that’s unfolding in our classrooms," she said, asking why the government was "so unprepared to manage the crisis in our classrooms."
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said that this past weekend he had calls with medical officers of health, directors of education and school board chairs.
"The question was one of unanimity, that we are working together to reduce the risk of transmission in our community, which by extension, can and will enter our schools," he said, adding that he's heard of support for the province's outbreak management protocol.
"We put the resources in place, the training in place, and we will continue to do everything we possibly can, including growing our testing capacity, to respond to the risk within our communities," he said.
COVID-19 and First Nations communities
NDP MPP Guy Bourgouin raised concerns about 10 active COVID-19 cases in northern First Nations communities.
"As Ontario enters a second wave, this series of cases in remote First Nations is beyond alarming," Bourgouin said. "With the housing crisis, chronic problems with clean drinking water and enduring illness affecting remote First Nations, this government should have acted proactively. Instead, it remains passive, only reacting to reality."
Bourgouin asked why the government had not worked to "pre-empt this situation that risks spreading like wildfire in remote First Nations in Ontario."
Elliott said the government has worked in a "tripartite manner" with the federal government and First Nations communities to contain outbreaks in these areas. She said the government is working on this with Dr. Dirk Huyer, who has been tasked with leading the province's outbreak response, to ensure these communities have the supplies they need.
"We’re doing testing. We’re doing isolation in situations where that’s possible, and moving people around to hospitals in other locations. This is something that we do take very seriously, and we have been working on this throughout, particularly now," she said.

Your question period briefing: A ‘truly telling’ gesture

Read this for free.