Thanks for continuing to follow public safety guidelines
I hope everyone has been staying safe and healthy throughout the winter. As we start the gradual reopening process, I would like to thank everyone for continuing to follow public safety guidelines, including mask wearing and social distancing, to help stop the spread of COVID-19. I look forward to seeing many of you in person again soon.
Celebrating Black History Month
In February, I was pleased to join frontline health-care workers in Scarborough-Rouge Park over Zoom to celebrate Black History Month. Thank you for the amazing work you are doing to protect our community! I would also like to give a special shoutout to Coach John from West Rouge Basketball for organizing this virtual event.
Family Day with the Toronto Zoo
On February 13, I was pleased to host an interactive virtual tour of the Toronto Zoo, letting families explore the African Tropical Rainforest from the comfort of home. The zoo is an important part of our riding, and I had so much fun hosting this event!
Valentine’s Day Flowers for Seniors
On February 14 for Valentines Day, I dropped off roses to long-term care facility residents and frontline staff at Tony Stacey Centre and Altamont Care community. Seniors have been the most impacted by COVID-19 and I wanted to show my appreciation to them during these difficult times. Thank you to all the frontline care workers as well who are working tirelessly to protect our most vulnerable citizens.
Vaccines and Long-Term Care
Keeping seniors and our most vulnerable populations healthy continues to be our top priority. At the time of writing, more than 62,000 long-term care residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 34,000 residents have received their second dose as well.
While we await more shipments of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from the federal government, we will continue to keep you updated about the expected rollout and when everyone who wishes to receive a vaccine can get one.
In-Person Learning
Schools reopened for in-person learning on February 16. We have provided an additional $24,345,026 in funding to the TDSB as well as an additional $8,535,179 to the TCDSB. This money is being used to improve air quality and ventilation in schools, support online learning, promote student mental health, and hire more staff.
The physical and emotional health of students remains our greatest priority.
Our government is also providing an additional $7 million to help increase access to mental health and addiction services for post-secondary students during COVID-19.
March/April Break
Following the best advice of Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, we are postponing March Break until April 12-16. While not an easy decision to make, it is one that was made based on recommendations from health experts to help limit community spread at this crucial time.
We appreciate the hard work of all students and staff in the education sector.
Please feel free to give me a call at 416-283-8448 or by email at vijay.thanigasalam@pc.ola.org. My team and I are always happy to help with any questions or concerns.