Urgent NDP motion calls for provincial help in Peel’s fight against rising COVID-19 infections

NDP to force a vote Thursday

QUEEN’S PARK — As Brampton bears the brunt of climbing COVID-19 cases in Ontario, the Ontario NDP and MPP Kevin Yarde (Brampton North) are calling on the Ford government to give Peel the immediate provincial help it needs to contain and stop the spread. Yarde’s call comes in an urgent motion that, if passed, would equip Peel Public Health to hire more staff and do more testing, more community outreach, and more proactive workplace inspections in the region.

“Families in Peel need to get back to school and work, but they’re worried about the growing number of COVID-19 infections in our community,” said Yarde. “We’ve seen COVID-19 cases in schools, we’ve seen outbreaks in workplaces, we’ve seen hours-long waits for testing, and we’ve seen dozens of new infections daily.”

Peel continues to be a COVID-19 hotspot. The students and educators who have returned to classrooms have barely been back for a week, and the government is already reporting that three Brampton schools and four Mississauga schools have active COVID-19 cases.

“Brampton’s health care system was hanging by a thread before the pandemic, thanks to chronic underfunding by Liberal and Conservative governments alike,” said Yarde. “Now we’re heading into a second wave of COVID-19, and I’m worried that our already-overflowing hospitals won’t be able to handle an influx.

“That’s why I’m moving an urgent motion calling on the Ford government to provide immediate assistance to Peel Public Health so it can hire more staff and do more testing, more community outreach, and more proactive workplace inspections”

The motion will go to a vote in Ontario’s legislature on Thursday, Sept. 17. Yarde has the support of his NDP colleagues, including fellow Brampton MPPs Sara Singh (Brampton Centre) and Gurratan Singh (Brampton East).