Much of Monday's question period dealt with the PCs' back-to-work legislation for CUPE education workers. The NDP was quite upset and Speaker Ted Arnott had to call a lot of members to order. The government said it's doing what's best for parents, students and taxpayers.
Here's what else went down:
Sound the alarm
NDP MPP Catherine Fife, whose riding is Waterloo, brought up the ambulance shortage that's affected her city. "At one point, 600,000 people (in the Waterloo region) did not have access to an ambulance or a paramedic," she said, blaming burnout and lack of time off afforded to staff.
She asked the premier and Health Minister Sylvia Jones, who still hasn't returned to the legislature since testing positive for COVID-19 last week, "what would you do" if one of their relatives needed an ambulance, but one wasn't there to help.
Robin Martin, the parliamentary assistant to the health minister, took the question for the PCs, talking about the government's "four-point strategy" for decreasing ambulance off-load times. Its goal is to return ambulances to communities faster, provide more timely care, increase non-ambulance transport services for stable patients, and maximize health human-resource capacity.
It's also updating Ontario's regulations to allow other medical professionals to provide patient care in ambulances, Martin said.
Fife responded by saying the government's actions still don't cut it since it's not willing to repeal Bill 124. "When the minister — or parliamentary assistant — says that they're doing everything that they can, clearly that is not correct," she said.
Martin rattled off the PCs' usual list of moves to support the health-care sector, like by adding 3,500 new hospital beds and 11,7000 new workers and working to add almost 13,000 new nurses. On the latter, the government promises to "get it done," Martin said.
Call me maybe
NDP MPP Joel Harden, whose riding is Ottawa Centre, asked Ford to confirm whether or not he spoke on the phone with a Freedom Convoy-goer, as a video the latter posted on social media suggests.
Answering for Ford, Government House Leader Paul Calandra didn't address the video.
Harden said Calandra's non-answer gives "one more reason" for Ford to accept his offer of a ride to Ottawa to appear before the Emergencies Act inquiry. "We can work on the playlist together," the Ottawa Centre MPP said before asking if the premier has spoken to others from the convoy — and namely to organizers Pat King and Tamara Lich — as well as to confirm the authenticity of the video he referred to before.
Answering again, Calandra for a second time said nothing about whether Ford did or didn't speak with anyone involved with the convoy.
Manufacturing worker deaths
NDP MPP Doly Begum prodded the government on a Toronto Star report about essential manufacturing workers dying at a higher rate than even health workers during the pandemic. She and her party said it was another reason the government should allow for 10 paid sick days, instead of the three temporary ones the PCs eventually passed.
Begum also pressed Labour Minister Monte McNaughton on what exactly constitutes an "essential worker." She didn't get an answer.
McNaughton boasted of his government's other job-protection measures and said the province has done more than 100,000 health and safety inspections.
"Just tell us what defines essential work," Begum said during the minister's response.
He did not.
Homelessness
NDP housing critic Jessica Bell asked why the government's new housing bill doesn't do much to help with homelessness, and why the government is "cutting over $100 million from the province’s housing program to build affordable housing."
Housing Minister Steve Clark took the opportunity to call on the NDP to support the Ford government's ask for more federal housing dollars.
NDP MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam said they hoped the premier would answer the next question, which got a big jeer from the PC benches.
He did not.
Wong-Tam again criticized the lack of homelessness supports in the new housing bill, and Clark said he'd be able to build a lot more affordable housing with more sweet, sweet federal cash.

Your question period briefing: Wee-oo wee-oo

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