The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Ontario’s legislature will sit Tuesday and is expected to extend the province’s state of emergency to May 31, while also holding question period again.
A statement from the government house leader’s office says unanimous consent is expected to quickly vote on all stages of the bill to extend the state of emergency past its current expiry of May 12.
Politicians have returned to the chamber – with physical distancing protocols – several times since the pandemic began to extend the state of emergency, but have now also agreed to regular question periods.
The sessions will be held Tuesday, as well as May 19, 20, 26, 27, June 2 and 3.
The government says it is consulting with opposition parties about the possibility of extending sittings into the summer.
Only 42 out of Ontario’s 124 members will be allowed in the chamber at any given time to ensure physical distancing.
Meanwhile, stores in Ontario are allowed to reopen Monday for curbside pickup after a weekend that saw the spread of COVID-19 slow to a pace not seen since March.
The measure announced last week is meant to help ramp the economy back up after the pandemic caused unprecedented job losses in March and April.
All retail stores with a street entrance will be allowed to open today to provide both curbside pickup, and garden centres, nurseries and hardware stores are allowed to open – a move Premier Doug Ford has said will allow thousands of people to return to work.
According to data released Friday by Statistics Canada, 689,200 Ontarians lost their jobs in April, in addition to the 403,000 the agency says were lost in March.
On Sunday, the province reported 294 new cases of COVID-19 – a jump of just 1.5 per cent over the previous day.
The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 now sits at 20,238, with a death toll of 1,634.
Ford also announced over the weekend that provincial parks will reopen Monday, though beaches, camping areas and playgrounds will remain closed.
