January 29, 2021, Premier Doug Ford and Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, unveiled a six-point plan to stop the spread of new COVID-19 variants in Ontario. The plan includes mandatory on-arrival testing of international travellers, as well as enhanced screening and sequencing to identify new variants. The release of this plan follows … Read more
January 28, 2021, Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, issued a statement to announce the resumption of in-person school learning in four additional public health units (PHUs), beginning Monday, February 1. As a result of today’s announcement, 280,000 Ontario students will return to the classroom next week in the PHUs of Eastern Ontario, Middlesex-London, Southwestern, and … Read more
January 27, 2021, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development, Monte McNaughton, and Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ernie Hardeman, announced that Ontario is building on its “Stay Safe All Day” workplace inspection campaign, by expanding province-wide inspections to farming operations. These inspections are intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at agricultural … Read more
Ontario Calls on Federal Government to Implement Additional Requirements for International Travellers. January 26, 2021, Premier Doug Ford and Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, visited Toronto’s Pearson International Airport to provide an update on Ontario’s COVID-19 border testing pilot program. Premier Ford and Minister Elliott also called on the federal government to … Read more
A group of people who view themselves as marginalized by a powerful establishment connect via the Internet. Enabled by social media’s unparalleled ability to promote, collaborate and organize, they act collectively to rewrite the rules of power – and in doing so, manage to achieve things that were believed to be impossible. Does that sound … Read more
January 25, 2021, Premier Doug Ford and Chair of Ontario’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Task Force, General Rick Hillier (retired) provided an update on the province’s ongoing vaccination plan. Premier Ford also announced a new target date of February 5 to complete the administration of first doses to residents in all long-term care and high-risk retirement … Read more
January 22, 2021, Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board, Peter Bethlenfalvy, provided an update on the current uptake of the Ontario Small Business Support Grant. So far, the government has received more than 42,000 applications for this grant. In most cases, approved businesses can expect to receive payment within 10 business days. … Read more
Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) is providing strategic communications counsel to 19 To Zero, a dedicated coalition of academics, public health experts, behavioural economists, and creative professionals working to understand, engage with, and ultimately shift public perceptions around COVID-19 behaviours and vaccination. “H+K is a strong partner given their deep understanding of Canada’s health system and its stakeholders, with a breadth of experience working … Read more
January 21, 2021, Minister of Long-Term Care, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, announced an investment of $2.4 million to train up to 300 personal support workers (PSWs) for positions in Ottawa-area long-term care homes. This announcement is part of Ontario’s ongoing efforts to hire more staff and improve working conditions in long-term care, as outlined in A … Read more
January 18, 2021, Premier Doug Ford and Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott, were in Vaughan to announce the imminent opening of Mackenzie Health’s new Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital. The new hospital, which is scheduled to open on February 7, will temporarily operate as a systemwide resource to support the province’s COVID-19 response. Premier … Read more
