THUNDER BAY – Both of Thunder Bay’s MPPs say while there is a case to be made to open Northern Ontario ahead of the rest of the province, it’s not something they plan to push.
Liberal MPP Michael Gravelle, who has represented Thunder-Bay Superior North for the past 25 years, on Thursday said he’s willing to follow the lead of Premier Doug Ford, putting aside partisanship during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ford on several occasions has said Ontario will only reopen when all regions of the province are ready, not in piecemeal fashion, like some aspects of neighbouring Quebec’s plan, which calls for schools outside Montreal to open on May 11 and those in the city to follow a week later.
Northern Ontario, as of Thursday, is battling 52 active cases of COVID-19. There are only 18 active cases in the Thunder Bay District. In total 70 cases have been discovered in the district, leading to just one death, a miner from Lac Des Iles Mine.
“With a significantly lower number of COVID-19 cases here in Northern Ontario, I do think a case can be made for the province to consider opening up the North in advance of the rest of the province,” Gravelle said.
“I understand the premier’s position on that and I respect it.”
First-term NDP MPP Judith Monteith-Farell, who represents Thunder Bay-Atikokan, said while there is a disparity in numbers between the northern and southern parts of the province, it’s also easy to forget just how linked the two regions are.
“What’s important to remember is we really dodged the bullet ... but we’re still in it,” Monteith-Farrell said.
“And we need to always listen to the people who are experts in this area. A lot of this debate about opening up and not opening up is about people listening to people that aren’t experts in epidemiology. The other thing we need to look at is what happened in Northern Saskatchewan, where it was opened up and now there’s more outbreaks and they’re putting up blockades again.”
Ford has been adamant about his stance.
“We are dealing with almost two different worlds,” Ford said in a recent media briefing. “You have the urban and the rural areas. But we are all connected. The problem with that, and I actually agree with what you are saying, we just can’t risk someone in Toronto going up north.”
Similar concerns are being expressed in the westernmost part of Ontario, where there is fear opening things up too soon will result in a deluge of tourists flooding into Kenora and Lake of the Woods. Health officials there have also asked Northwestern Ontarians to resist the temptation of crossing into Manitoba, which on Thursday announced structured plans to reopen their economy.
Ford, to date, has not included dates in his plan.
Gravelle said he’s not concerned about the lack of a clear timeline.
“The premier has been pretty clear that they want to see a continual decline in the number of COVID-19 cases that are reported, over at least a two- to four-week period. And I think that makes sense. I don’t disagree with that,” Gravelle said.
Monteith-Farrell said Quebec may provide a blueprint of what works and what doesn’t, and it’s worth monitoring before making rash decisions in Ontario.
However, she was expecting more details from Ford when he rolled out his plan earlier this week, adding not having a timeline was upsetting to her and her constituents, who are looking for details about when the economy might restart.
“I think if you’re going to make those types of announcements, I think it’s irresponsible not to have some kind of more concrete plan,” she said.
