• Government of Ontario: Covid-19 Website
• Public Health Ontario: Ontario Covid-19 Data Tool
• Ottawa Public Health: Daily Covid-19 Dashboard

The past few weeks have been a very busy time for me, and I'm pleased to share some local and provincial updates with you.

I'm also pleased to announce that our team has grown! My team and I are working hard to respond to all of your inquiries in a timely manner, however given the amount of correspondence we receive on a daily basis,  we may not be able to respond right away.

If you need to get a hold of me due to an urgent matter, please call my office at 613-838-4425. Our business hours are from 9 am to 4 pm. If you call during that time, my team and I will answer the phone. If we are on the other line, please leave a message and we will respond as soon as possible.

Thank you and I look forward to updating you next week!

/Goldie

Local News:

On Wednesday November 17, the Minister of Transportation issued the following statement:

"The issues plaguing Stage 1 of the Ottawa LRT have been unacceptable and disappointing. As a funding partner for the project, we need certainty that the City of Ottawa will be able to successfully deliver the remaining phases of work for this project. Ottawa transit riders deserve and expect this certainty as well.
 
To get to the bottom of these issues facing the Ottawa LRT, our government will be launching a public inquiry.  Our goal is to get this up and running as soon as possible. In the coming weeks, we will establish the scope of the inquiry and its terms of reference, with the intention of receiving a report on what has transpired and recommendations to prevent this from happening again."

If you missed it, you can also listen to me speaking about the Ottawa LRT issue on the Rob Snow show. Both segments begin around the 20 minute mark:

On Thursday November 18, I was pleased to join OCDSB officials, local officials and parents to officially celebrate the ground-breaking for Stittsville's first public high school.

This was one of my top priorities and it was incredible to see this project coming to life.

Public education is a big priority for me and I'm pleased that in the past 3 years I've been successful in getting funding to build 5 brand new schools, including the first ever public high school in Riverside South.

You can watch the video clip on CTV news here

Provincial News:

Ontario Ready to Begin Vaccinating Children aged 5 to 11 When Supply Arrives: 

Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, and Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General, issued the following statement regarding Health Canada’s approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11:

“Health Canada’s approval of the paediatric Pfizer vaccine for ages five to 11 is encouraging news for the health and well-being of children across our province, especially as more people move indoors and attend family gatherings during the colder months this winter.

The federal government has provided assurances that we will receive enough doses to vaccinate all children aged five to 11. We are working with the federal government to confirm and finalize details on the specific timing of shipments, and we stand ready to begin distributing and administering doses as soon as they arrive.

Over the coming days, parents will hear additional details from their local public health units. Vaccines will be available through familiar channels such as select doctors' offices, hospitals, pharmacies and school-based clinics.

Ontario Supporting the Mental Health of Postsecondary Students in Ottawa:

Algonquin College – $195, 701
La Cite College – $155, 041
Carleton University – $211, 286
University of Ottawa – $234, 543

This funding is part of an additional $8.7 million for Ontario postsecondary institutions announced on November 4 in the 2021 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: Build Ontario.