Ford visits Timmins
Ontario’s Premier says he has told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that a new immigration deal with the province is needed to help fill gaps in skilled trade jobs.
In Timmins yesterday, Doug Ford said he spoke to Trudeau right after last month’s federal election about severe shortages of skilled tradespeople in Ontario industries.
“I don’t care if they’re skilled or unskilled. If they’re skilled, we’re going to find a job immediately. If they’re unskilled, we’re going to train them and we’re going to get them to work. We need people.”
Ford outlined all the steps his government is taking to fill all the vacant jobs, including 25-hundred dollars to buy tools.
He also told Trudeau that CERB has to end.
The virus in schools
Ontario’s chief medical officer of health has a news conference scheduled for this morning and it’s likely he’ll be announcing plans to launch rapid COVID-19 testing programs in our schools.
Doctor Kieran Moore will reportedly announce the deployment of rapid testing kits to schools in areas where infection rates are high.
There are more than 800 schools across the province reporting at least one coronavirus diagnosis and five are closed.
Infected students and staff now account for about 30 per cent of the cases currently active in Ontario.
Vaccinations in schools
Education Minister Steven Lecce says vaccination rates in our schools are running at about the same level as the general population.
Lecce says about 80 per cent of school staff claim they’re fully inoculated against COVID-19.
But Green party leader Mike Schreiner says that’s not good enough.
He says more protection is needed, because the staff is interacting with students under the age of 12, who can’t yet be vaccinated.