STRATEGY PANEL:  PREMIER FORD’S NOTWITHSTANDING CLAUSE & G7 SUMMIT RECAP

Jane Brown is hosting for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by Karen Stintz,  CEO of Variety Village, John Capobianco, Senior Vice President & Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard HighRoad, and Charles Sousa, the former Minister of Finance for Ontario and Member of Provincial Parliament for Mississauga South.

We begin today’s discussion with provincial politics. In an unprecedented move, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has officially invoked the notwithstanding clause to pass Bill 307 in connection with the Election Finances Act. What are the implication of this all? Meanwhile, the G7 Summit is a wrap. What did Prime Minister Justin Trudeau achieve there and on what matters was consensus reached by the participating countries. Finally, Maj.-Gen. Danny Fortin, who was replaced as the head of Canada’s vaccine rollout program over a sexual misconduct allegation, is now suing to get his job back. Our panel weighs in on the latest.

WHERE ONTARIO STANDS ON SECOND DOSES & GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE FOR THOSE WHO ARE FULLY VACCINATED

Jane Brown is joined by Dr. Iris Gorfinkel, Family physician and founder of PrimeHealth Clinical Research, Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA) and Dr. Raywat Deonandan, Epidemiologist and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Ottawa.

Where does Ontario stand when it comes to administering second COVID-19 doses to residents? This week we learned that those who received their first shot of AstraZeneca can now book their second dose after 8 weeks instead of the original 12 weeks. Meanwhile, those who live in an area where the Delta variant is spreading can now book their second shot appointments if they got their first shot on or before May 9. We’ve been hearing anecdotally though that the online portal to book appointments can be quite difficult to navigate. And, just how might the federal government approach providing clear guidance to Canadians who have been fully vaccinated? We are hearing increasingly from experts that Ottawa should set up a specific framework for safe behaviours to engage in for those who got the second dose. And, in what seems to be an optimistic sign, Ontario is reporting 296 COVID-19 cases–the lowest case count in approx. 9 months–and 13 deaths. Our health experts weigh in on the latest.