June 29, 2020, Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney, and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, announced the establishment of a task force to improve provincial oversight of Ontario’s towing industry. The task force will help develop a regulatory model that will increase safety and enforcement, clarify protections for consumers, improve industry standards and consider tougher penalties for violators.

Premier Ford, Minister Mulroney and Solicitor General Jones were joined by Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Christine Elliott.

Following this afternoon’s announcement, Premier Ford and Minister Elliott answered questions from media regarding the ongoing COVID-19 response effort in Ontario.

Over the weekend, Ontario extended all emergency orders currently in force under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act until July 10.

The government also announced support for large industrial and commercial electricity consumers as these companies recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19.

Further Details

Ongoing COVID-19 Response in Ontario

Ontario reported 257 new cases of COVID-19 today, 177 of which were confirmed in Windsor-Essex through the targeted testing of agri-food workers. Premier Ford congratulated the testing team in the region for their hard work, and thanked farmers for their cooperation. He added that the government is doing everything in its power to resolve the outbreak in this region as quickly as possible.

In response to questions about whether the surge in cases in Windsor-Essex calls into question the government’s decision to allow asymptomatic agri-food workers to continue working in isolation, Minister Elliott explained that the government is sending teams to farms with high rates of COVID-19 among workers. These teams will include translators and medical personnel and will communicate with workers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 to ensure that only those who are feeling well and are truly asymptomatic may return to work.

Support for Industrial and Commercial Electricity Consumers

Last Friday afternoon, the government also announced support for large industrial and commercial electricity consumers as these companies recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19.

As of June 26, companies that participate in the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI) will not be required to reduce their electricity usage during peak hours, as their proportion of Global Adjustment (GA) charges will be frozen. This measure will allow these companies to return to full levels of operation without the fear of electricity costs spiking.