The past week has been a whirlwind of activity in Ontario politics.    Some have asked about my absence from the Legislature for the vote on May 31.    

With the advent of COVID-19, all political parties decided to divide the sitting members of the Legislature into two groups with equal representation from all parties. 

Separate groups in the Legislature are an attempt to diminish the spread of COVID-19.  

The Legislature is divided into two groups or cohorts in case COVID-19 swept through the sitting members, which could result in all members being in quarantine and the Legislature grinding to a halt. Instead, with two groups, only part of the Legislature would end up in quarantine and the other half could take over.   

My group was not designated to be in the Legislature May 31. For this reason, I was not present in the House. All parties agreed to not have remote voting in the Ontario Legislature. I am presently working from home, including serving virtually on Standing Committees.    

The motion passed on Monday relates to the ability to extend and amend existing orders under the Reopening Ontario Act. Orders made under the Act’s authority have always been, and will continue to be, required to be extended in 30-day increments by Cabinet. All orders may also be amended by Cabinet at any time to loosen or tighten restrictions as necessary. These Orders have been the mechanism that we use to implement the COVID-19 response since last July, including the colour-coded framework, the shutdown, and now the roadmap to reopening.   

Please note that the declaration of emergency and Stay-at-Home orders have expired as a result of key indicators for COVID-19 trending in the right direction and significant progress being made in vaccinations.   

However, because of the new, fast-growing Indian B.1.617.2 and to allow for higher vaccination rates, our government made the difficult decision to continue with remote learning for all elementary and secondary students across the province for the remainder of this school year. This will allow the province to continue its focus on accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations to support a safe summer and return to in-person learning in September for the 2021-22 school year.   

The health and safety of Ontario students, staff, educators and families remains a top priority.  

On a personal note, my wife Cari and I both contracted COVID-19 and have completely recovered.  Cari is home from Joseph Brant Hospital and is doing very well after a week-and-a-half there, including one week in Intensive Care. We have ended our self-isolation, although we continue to follow public health guidelines.     

We can’t begin to express our appreciation for all the messages of support and concern – thank you everyone!!    

My positive test for the N501Y mutation of the UK B.1.1.7 variant was a result of picking up the virus just prior to my vaccination.

We must also be vigilant as the new B.1.617.2 variant, which was first identified in India and entered the province through Canada’s international borders, grew in Ontario by 600 per cent from May 12 to May 19.  

The threat of new variants reinforces my belief that we all must continue to be cautious because of this highly transmissible disease.    For the Silo, Toby Barrett MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk.