THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s two MPPs are happy to see a reopening plan in place.
It’s the details they’re not thrilled about.
Liberal Michael Gravelle (Thunder Bay-Superior North) and the NDP’s Judith Monteith-Farrell (Thunder Bay-Atikokan) say the plan is a rejection of their preferred regional approach, with the District of Thunder Bay down to just 25 active COVID-19 cases.
The provincial plan, which turfed the former colour-coded system, is set to kick in the week of June 14, when 60 per cent of Ontario adults are vaccinated.
It will slowly allow businesses to reopen in a three-phased approach, the move to Stage 2 and Stage 3 dependent on vaccination numbers. A 70 per cent first-dose tally of Ontario adults is needed to move on to the second stage, which would allow personal care services to return – as long as 20 per cent of the population is double vaccinated.
Between 70 per cent and 80 per cent single-dosed is required for the third stage, which would allow gyms and movie theatres to reopen, with the caveat that a full quarter of the adult population be double vaccinated.
A three-week window between stages is mandatory, even if thresholds are reached in a sooner time frame.
“I was disappointed to see that we haven’t received the regional approach that we’ve all been pushing for, (but) I was pleased to see we have the recognition that outdoor activities are actually good for people,” Monteith-Farrell said.
Ontario golf courses and outdoor tennis facilities were allowed to reopen as of Saturday, after weeks of pushback from both the public and public health officials.
“The thing that was shocking, that I did not see, was any reference to education. That was a glaring kind of omission, with parents really left with no answers around that,” Monteith-Farrell said.
Premier Doug Ford said it’s unclear whether opening schools up to in-person learning before the summer break begins is the right move, despite calls from parents and teachers’ unions.
“Right now, we have some differing opinions,” Ford said last Thursday.
Students in Thunder Bay have been learning from home since February.
Gravelle said the reopening framework is good news and bad news wrapped up into one report.
Like Monteith-Farrell, he applauded lifting restrictions on many outdoor activities. But not enough thought was put into rolling the plan out at different speeds in different parts of the province, the long-time MPP said.
“From a Thunder Bay District level, with our low cases and our high vaccination rates, I really do believe that Thunder Bay should be out of the lockdown now, as it was planned for on May 19. The fact is we are at a 60 per cent vaccination rate in the Thunder Bay District and that was the criteria by which the province would start the reopening on June 14,” Gravelle said.
According to the latest numbers provided by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, 54.6 percent of those 16 and older have received at least one dose. The health unit last week opened up vaccination appointments to anyone born in 2009 or earlier. A total of 45.6 per cent of the population had been vaccinated as of May 15.
"I don't think it's thorough enough," Monteith-Farrell said, noting she does think the province may have set achievable goals that might allow them to enter Phase 1 earlier than planned for political reasons.
