June 3, 2020, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Infrastructure Laurie Scott, and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce announced a $150 million investment in broadband and cellular service across Ontario. The funding will help increase economic and educational opportunities in rural, remote, and underserved areas of the province, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the necessity of connectivity.

Premier Ford, Minister Scott and Minister Lecce were joined by Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott.

Following this afternoon’s announcement, Premier Ford and Minister Elliott took questions from media regarding Ontario’s next steps for reopening.

Earlier today, Ontario also released the 2020 Local Food Report: Ontario Spirit – A Celebration of Local Food Collaboration, which highlights actions taken by local agri-food producers to keep the provincial supply chain strong during the pandemic.

Further Details

Improvements to Broadband and Cell Service in Rural Communities

This afternoon, Premier Doug Ford, Minister of Infrastructure Laurie Scott, and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce announced that Ontario is investing $150 million in reliable broadband and cellular service to create more economic and educational opportunities in rural, remote and underserved parts of the province. This investment is part of the province’s $315 million Up to Speed: Ontario’s Broadband and Cellular Action Plan.

During today’s announcement, Premier Ford emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of connectivity and the essential nature of reliable, high-speed internet, particularly as more Ontarians than ever are working and studying from home. Functioning remotely will continue to be a regular way of life as the province recovers from COVID-19 and is a core component of Ontario’s Learn at Home plan, which solidifies the need for province-wide reliable internet.

The new Improving Connectivity in Ontario (ICON) program has the potential to result in an investment of up to $500 million in total partner funding to improve connectivity in underserved and unserved areas. Applicants will be invited to submit innovative proposals to improve connectivity in communities across Ontario, while the province will fund a portion of each approved project. Applicants may include telecom companies, municipal governments, First Nation communities, and non-profits.

In addition to today’s announcement, Ontario is calling on the federal government to accelerate broadband funding commitments.

Questions from Media – Next Steps for Reopening

Following this afternoon’s announcement, Premier Ford and Minister Elliott took questions from media regarding Ontario’s next steps for reopening.

In response to questions about a possible time frame for entering stage two of reopening, Premier Ford reiterated that the government’s decision to extend Ontario’s state of emergency yesterday will not slow the province from moving forward with the next stage of reopening. The COVID-19 Command Table is currently considering details of moving to stage two, and Premier Ford hopes to have news to share with Ontarians in the next week. He also hinted that restaurant patios may be permitted to open in certain regions of the province under stage two.

Premier Ford was also asked about recent outbreaks among temporary migrant farm workers in Southwestern Ontario and confirmed that these outbreaks will not affect the ability of Southwestern Ontario communities to reopen. The government has deployed inspectors to farms and has asked Ontario Health to build a program for testing migrant workers.

Minister Elliott was again asked about the household bubble approach being implemented in other provinces and whether Ontario would permit increased gathering sizes in the coming weeks. Minister Elliott confirmed that the bubble approach and revised appropriate gathering size numbers are being considered by Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the COVID-19 Command Table. She added that any expansion of permitted activities or gathering sizes will have to be done gradually and cautiously.

In response to questions about how to prevent staffing issues in long-term care (LTC) once military assistance and hospital teams withdraw from LTC facilities, Minister Elliott reassured reporters that the government’s top priority is the continued protection of LTC residents. The government is considering many health human resourcing issues including a possible redeployment of staff between hospitals to allow scheduled surgeries to resume in greater numbers. The government is also considering ways to ensure safe workplaces for personal support workers and nurses in LTC, taking into account issues such as access to personal protective equipment (PPE), and the ability of staff to work full-time hours within a single facility.

2020 Local Food Report

Earlier today, Ontario also released the 2020 Local Food Report: Ontario Spirit – A Celebration of Local Food Collaboration, which highlights actions taken by local agri-food producers to keep the provincial supply chain strong during the pandemic.

The 2020 Local Food Report highlights the following:

  • Breweries and distilleries that have adapted their production to address the supply shortage of hand sanitizer;
  • Organizations promoting local food literacy through online resources focusing on locally-sourced ingredients;
  • Food banks, industry partners and local communities working together to create and distribute emergency food boxes to those in need;
  • Local public health units and agencies, along with industry and community food organizations, collaborating to offer weekly meal packages to families in place of school food programs.