stage 3 ontario

The mayor of Brampton is asking Doug Ford to start Step 3 early

A Toronto-area mayor has added his voice to the calls for Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his team to move the province into the third and final step of its 3-Step Roadmap to Reopen sooner than currently planned.

Based on the framework, each step much last at least 21 days, after which health officials consider vaccination rates, daily new COVID-19 case numbers, and other figures to determine if it is safe to progress. Based on this, Step 3 would begin at 12:01 a.m. on July 21.

But, the government hasn't exactly been the best at following its own blueprint: it commenced Step 1 earlier than it said it was going to, and then started Step 2 before the 21 days were up as well.

Also, we already surpassed the vaccination threshold for Step 3 weeks ago and COVID-19 stats are dwindling — under 200 with zero deaths today — leading many to wonder why we're not pushing forward.

"Positive health trends speak to the fact that our sacrifices have worked, but adding to that, I think it's time we show the public more goodwill. I have been advocating that we can move up the Step 3 reopening," Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said during a press conference on Wednesday, adding that we have "smashed" health targets.

"I was on a call with GTHA mayors where there appeared to be a consensus that reopening could happen sooner. Many felt that it could happen a week earlier, but I'm even comfortable saying that it could happen before then."

The politician pointed to his own region of Peel's drastic drop in per cent positivity, which went from a high of 22 per cent at one point to just 1.4 per cent, as well as daily new cases, which have been in the single digits, down from more than 1,000.

This isn't the first time that Brown has championed further loosening of pandemic measures — he demanded mid-June that Ontario permit struggling businesses offering personal care services to finally reopen after being closed in some regions since November.

He also urged for Ford and his medical officials to permit a number of fully-vaccinated healthcare workers into the stands for an NHL game, a request which was eventually approved.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott revealed later on Wednesday part of the reason why the province may be hesitant to graduate to Step 3 early, stating that finer details of capacity limits and other restrictions for businesses have yet to be ironed out.

Lead photo by

Jesse Milns at Patois


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