<h3>Back again</h3>
Hours before Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, returned to the spotlight at Queen's Park to make a COVID-19 announcement and field reporters' questions for the first time in more than a month, opposition teed off on the government for COVID-19's latest reemergence.
NDP MPP John Vanthof was first up in Monday's question period, and asked why the government chose to remove the mask mandate in schools so early.
Health Minister Christine Elliott defended her government's approach as being "cautious" and deflected to Moore's past statements.
"Moore has cautioned Ontarians for quite some time that as we lifted the public health measures, and with the increased transmissibility of the BA.2 strain of COVID, we were going to see the numbers go up," Elliott said. "We are seeing the numbers going up. However, Dr. Moore has also indicated that because we have so many Ontarians who are now fully vaccinated, with the increased use of antivirals such as Paxlovid and the capacity in our hospitals, we are prepared to weather this and to continue."
Responding, Vanthof noted that <a href="https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/nCoV/voc/covid-19-omicron-risk-assessment.pdf?sc_lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Public Health Ontario blamed removing</a> the mask mandate for increased spread of the virus, and asked the government to explain why it wouldn't bring back mandatory masking in schools.
Again, Elliott deferred to Moore's past comments. "The chief medical officer of health does not believe that's necessary," she said. She also defended the government's decisions, pointing out that while COVID-19 cases have risen, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions haven't at the same pace.
<h3>RAT infestation</h3>
In his third question, Vanthof pivoted to another COVID-topic, which a large chunk of opposition questions stemmed from: <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/investigations/2022/04/10/just-20-of-rapid-tests-went-to-ontarios-covid-19-hot-spots-star-analysis-finds.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Toronto Star investigation</a> published Sunday. The Star found during the 10 months from when Premier Doug Ford's government launched its rapid test distribution program that just one-fifth of 20.7 million taxpayer-funded rapid antigen tests (RATs) were sent to COVID-19 hotspots. Private schools also received 175,000 RATs during the program's first 10 months, which was more than paramedics, daycares, shelters and jails combined, the Star reported.
"Why didn't hot spot communities and front-line staff get these tests?" asked Vanthof, who added: "Why weren't they at the front of the line?"
Instead of Elliott, House Leader Paul Calandra rose in response.
Calandra — who is the government's go-to respondent on topics that irritate the Progressive Conservatives — listed off destinations where Ontario sent RATs and capped his answer by saying "over 150 million of those rapid tests are out — more than the rest of the country combined — and we're very proud of that."
Later in question period, Vanthof's colleague in the Official Opposition, NDP MPP Marit Stiles, took a go at Calandra over the Star's report.
She referenced the government's resistance to distributing its RATs stockpile in the fall, before saying, "If those tests were not recommended, why was the government shovelling nearly 200,000 of them to private schools at the same time?"
Calandra, again, said Ontario's government has distributed over "150 million" RATs, and added that the province's schools "were the safest in Canada."
Liberal MPP Stephen Blais and NDP MPP Catherine Fife also asked Calandra about the government's RATs distribution, which a visibly annoyed Calandra responded to by once again citing the total number of tests that were made available through the province.
Stephen Blais took the Liberals' crack at the government on the Star's investigation and its findings that private schools were favoured in rapid test distribution, tying it back to the government's "lackluster" back-to-school plan.
"The Liberal party — what can you say about the Liberal party? They do one thing when the cameras are on and another thing when the cameras are off; right?" said Calandra, referencing a <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2022/03/26/del-ducas-libs-release-economic-platform-hold-weekend-bash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent campaign event</a> held by the Liberals in a packed hotel basement with most attendees unmasked.
Liberal House Leader John Fraser stepped in for the supplementary, without a question and speaking in a more serious tone.
"It’s not funny. It’s actually not funny … We can joke about all this stuff, we can point fingers and quote things, but at the end of the day, right now, we need to go back to masking: keep it in (long-term care), keep it in hospitals, keep it on public transit and, for God’s sakes, do it in schools and places where people have to go."
Calandra responded that, if Fraser had "that same passion under the 15 years that he had the opportunity to govern," then the province would not have struggled with its pandemic response. "Had they only had passion for anything, we wouldn’t have been where we are now."
<h3>Health-care funding</h3>
Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter had questions for the government on per capita health-care spending after a new report from the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) found that Ontario had the lowest per capita spending on health care in the first year of the pandemic when compared to other provinces.
"It is alarming that government has consistently underspent when it comes to health care, starting with cutting $284 million in planned cuts to public health pre-pandemic," Hunter said, and asked why Ontarians "should be paying their taxes but not getting the same results in health spending?"
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy blamed the Liberals for failing to fund health care during its previous reign, saying the opposition parties "clearly did not make the investments in our infrastructure for health care, for long-term care, for housing, for high-speed internet, for highways and for public transit."
In her reply, Hunter, citing the report, said the province was last in funding for health care, housing, recreation and culture and second to last for environmental protections. During Hunter's second question, a member from the government's side could be hear asking their colleague, "how much money do they want us to spend?"
This time Bethlenfalvy took a shot at the Liberals thin bench count.
"It’s interesting that the member opposite talks about being last. I will let others draw their own conclusions from the few members over there."
After listing a slew of accomplishments from the government that the opposition parties had voted against, Bethlenfalvy quoted his party's new slogan, "This is the government that says yes. This is the government that’s getting it done."

Your question period briefing: RAT attack

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