All orders under the act were supposed to expire in December – but that's not happening
Premier Doug Ford and his government have been granted an extension to all emergency powers under the Reopening Ontario Act. The motion by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones, which was passed late Tuesday, read that Ford recommended the extension.
"Whereas the Premier recommended that the powers to amend and extend the orders be extended further to the end of the day on March 28, 2022," the motion read. "Therefore, the powers to amend and extend the orders referred to in subsection 8 (1) of the Act are extended until the end of the day on March 28, 2022.”
The powers give Ford and his government the right to extend all 28 emergency orders under the Reopening Ontario Act, which were supposed to expire on December 1. A spokesperson for Jones told CTV News Toronto that the decision is in line with the government's target to lift all restrictions by March. However, not all are pleased with the extension, with Baber slamming the motion on Facebook.
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"Doug Ford will extend his power to impose lockdowns and restrictions, without debate or vote in Parliament,” the MPP added. “Emergency Orders without a declaration of a State of Emergency is an assault on democracy.”
Ontario MPP Gurratan Singh from the NDP told CTV News that their party had "serious concerns" on the extension and voted against it.
"The NDP has serious concerns about what Doug Ford could use these powers to do, such as further cuts to important services and more backroom decisions that serve Ford and his developer buddies, not the public interest," Singh told CTV News Toronto.
And Ontario isn’t the only province to feel the prolonged strain of COVID on their freedoms. Recently, Alberta implemented a slew of new measures – including a WFH mandate and a business passport schemes. Premier Kenney also apologised by his attempt to allegedly shift from a ‘pandemic’ to and ‘endemic’ approach.
"It is now clear that we were wrong, and for that I apologise," he said.