STRATEGY PANEL: IS ONTARIO NOW IN ELECTION MODE?

Libby Znaimer 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.

With the 44th federal election now a thing of the past, it appears a provincial election campaign is now upon us as both the NDP and Doug Ford PCs launch ad campaigns. Meanwhile, schools continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Lately, Toronto Public Health had to shut down a high school in Etobicoke that had an outbreak. And, the TTC is now grappling with the threat of low ridership and the potential to have to bring back retired workers should its vaccine deadline spark a labour shortage. Meanwhile, along with a host of other funding commitments to long-term care, Minister Phillips today announced funding for a long-term care home in Vaughan. The strategy panel weighs in on the latest.

RESTAURANTS FEEL LET DOWN BY THE PROVINCE

Libby Znaimer is joined by Larry Isaacs, President of The Firkin Group of Pubs, Tony Elenis, President and CEO of The Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) and Ryan Mallough,  Senior Director of Provincial Affairs for Ontario with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

The restaurant community is angry that they cannot resume operating at full capacity while the province has decided to lift capacity limits for venues like cinemas and sports arenas as of Oct. 9. Our panel of restaurant industry guests react to the latest.