Milton NDP Blog

  Late last week we heard the Ontario Science Table state that now is the time to start asymptomatic self-testing for Covid using something called a rapid test kit. Some jurisdictions like the UK have been handing out these rapid tests for free for some time now. The kits are 95% accurate. It would seem, however, that the test kits that Ottawa gave to Ontario to give out for free have mostly been just sitting around on shelves somewhere. Ford says Ontario has given out more free kits than any other province but that’s a meaningless statement since Ontario is Canada’s most populous province. He said that school age kids would get to take some home to use over the Christmas break and that other kits have been given to businesses to test employees. We’ll see. But for most of us a Covid test means a trip to the pharmacy where a kit costs $40. Now that a high percentage of the population is vaccinated and the latest variant is more virulent (spreads quicker) the chances that we have t...

Ford finally put the minimum wage up to $15 per hour. That’s after the Conservatives cancelled the increase 3 years ago. Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP are saying “Not good enough.” The minimum wage in Ontario should be $20 an hour. What’s going on? The Ontario Living Wage Network in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have done the research. They found that a Living Wage in Halton is $20.75 per hour. A “Living Wage” includes food, clothing, shelter, childcare, transportation, medical expenses, recreation and a modest vacation based on a family of 4 with 2 working adults. It does not include “Anything other than the smallest cushion for emergencies or hard times.” Clearly then, $15 is not good enough. An Ontario NDP government would see the minimum wage catch up to $20 per hour by 2026 with a special fund set up for local small and medium businesses that struggle with the transition to a Living Wage. In the long run business will benefit from having a ...