THUNDER BAY — The phone won't stop ringing in the office of Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle.
It's clear that people don't like the 30-day limit for prescription renewals that's part of Ontario's COVID-19 pandemic plan.
The limit was put in place to guard against hoarding and to ensure pharmacists' stocks don't run low.
However, it requires people to go to the drugstore more frequently, forking out for the pharmacist's dispensing fee on each occasion.
Gravelle says it's a hot-button issue for many constituents.
"It's causing lots of problems for people. You're asking people to stay at home as much as they can, but you're changing what was previously a 90-day refill to 30 days, which means people have to go out every month," he said.
The Liberal MPP said the government should consider the fact that doctors and pharmacists are familiar with their patients' needs.
"It doesn't make a lot of sense to make them go every 30 days. I've been hearing a great deal from seniors about this, and a bunch of other people as well. This needs to be changed."
Gravelle is also taking calls on other issues related to the emergency orders issued by the province.
"It's busy like crazy. It's quite amazing," he said, noting that many callers want to know "whether or not they can use their campsites coming up."
Gravelle said there's considerable confusion and misunderstanding about the various restrictions.
So far, he feels he and his staff have been able to get his constituents the information they need.
"Generally, we've had a pretty cooperative relationship with government departments. That's been very helpful to us. I've relayed a fair number of emails and letters to ministers related to the questions people have," he said.
Despite his concerns about measures such as the new prescription renewal limit, Gravelle credits the government's overall response to the pandemic as "good."
He said "it's a time of non-partisanship as much as possible. We're trying to work together as well as we can during this health crisis, and I think that's in the best interest of the public and what the public would expect from us."
Gravelle's counterpart in Thunder Bay-Atikokan, NDP member Judith Monteith-Farrell, isn't quite as charitable in her assessment of the Ford government's handling of the crisis.
"It's harsh to say in these times that people aren't doing their job. I'm sure everyone's trying their best, and the government is trying to do its best. But I'm very concerned that issues like the situation in long-term care were not highlighted sooner," Monteith-Farrell said.
As of Wednesday, COVID-19 had claimed about 450 lives in Ontario nursing homes.
Concerns about the preparedness of these facilities for managing the pandemic, Monteith-Farrell said, were brought to the government's attention early on.
"We asked them if they were ready, and they said they were. Obviously they weren't," she said.
Her office has received numerous calls from residents concerned about the safety of their loved ones in long-term care.
"We're lucky so far that there hasn't been anything significant so far in Thunder Bay," Monteith-Farrell added.
Staff shortages have been documented in facilities across the province for years, she said, but "there was nothing done about it."
Monteith-Farrell wants to see an immediate pay increase for long-term care workers and homecare workers, and ramped-up testing for COVID-19.
She said the resources needed for adequate testing should have been in place much sooner.
In terms of Thunder Bay's response to the pandemic, Monteith-Farrell said she's proud of the community.
"We've done a fantastic job. So many people are doing so much good for others. All the good people are just hanging in there and keeping social distancing and staying home. We just hope for the best."
