December 2, 2020 Community Email Update

Join me tonight (Wednesday) at 7:00pm on Facebook Live where I will be joined by Ride Away Bikes Riverside to talk about getting ready for winter cycling. As it begins to snow, it will be a chance to learn about gear and best practices to maintain bike safety in winter conditions. We welcome your questions on how to cycle safely throughout the winter. Please like my Facebook Page to get a notification when I go live. You can also email me any questions in advance.

Stick around after the tutorial if you have any questions about the programs and policies that were announced in the Fall Economic Statement. I'll be available to answer your questions.

On Monday, Minister Freeland tabled the Supporting Canadians and Fighting COVID-19: Fall Economic Statement 2020 which outlines our immediate priorities to continue supporting Canadians through the pandemic as well as a stimulus package to build out of the recession once the virus is under control. The plan includes:

• Temporary support of up to $1,200 in 2021 for each child under the age of six for families entitled to the Canada Child Benefit. The CCB has dramatically reduced child poverty and child food insecurity across our country since it was first rolled out in 2015.
• Creating a Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Childcare to work towards a new national system modelled on the one already in place in Quebec.
• Eliminating interest on the federal portion of Canada student loans and Canada apprentice loans for the next fiscal year.
• Support for energy-efficient retrofits to homes and buildings which are the largest source of emissions in cities like Toronto.
• Increasing the Emergency Wage Subsidy back to 75% to keep Canadians employed
• New taxation measures on digital vendors, streaming services (such as Netflix), online marketplaces, and foreign e-commerce vendors (such as Amazon)

Last week, our government tabled Bill C-12 which would require current and future governments to create 5-year milestone targets and provide reports on how it will meet those targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Governments will also have to regularly report on their progress towards those goals.

The legislation will also create accountability mechanisms such as the requirement for an expert advisory body to advise the minister, report annually to the minister and require the minister to respond publicly.

• Over 11.4. million Canadians have been tested for COVID-19 to date.
• Over 5.5 million Canadians have downloaded the COVID Alert app.
• As of November 27, more than 648,000 Canadians in all provinces and territories have accessed Wellness Together Canada in over 1.8 million distinct web sessions.
• Six federal labs are up and running to support provincial lab testing capacity.
• Over the last week, the following PPE was delivered to provinces and territories: over 2.4M respirators and over 6.2M surgical masks
• Over 5.7M rapid tests have been sent to provinces and territories to date. In Ontario, 2,076,894 tests have been sent to the province so far.
• Approximately 453 Canadian Red Cross personnel deployed to support provinces in managing outbreaks including support for testing and including in long-term care facilities. In Ontario, there are approximately 40 staff.
• Six federal labs are up and running to support provincial lab capacity, with two more opening shortly.
• Currently, federal staff are making over 2000 daily contact tracing calls in Ontario

You can also find a comprehensive federal Epidemiology update here.

Please see a guidance document that provides safety advice to reduce your risk and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 during holidays and celebrations.

To help people stay active this winter season, the City of Toronto is providing new and enhanced exercise-based recreation activities in parks locations across Toronto. The Welcome T.O. Winter plan can be found here.