STRATEGY PANEL: MILITARY TO ASSIST ONTARIO HOSPITALS & WHERE PROVINCE STANDS ON PAID SICK LEAVE

Libby Znaimer is joined by Karen Stintz,  CEO of Variety Village, John Capobianco, Senior Vice President & Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard HighRoad, and Charles Sousa, The former Minister of Finance for Ontario and Member of Provincial Parliament for Mississauga South.

In the news: The province has called on the Canadian military to assist hospitals across Ontario struggling with the pressures of increased hospitalizations amid the third COVID-19 wave. You’ll remember that just two weeks ago, Premier Doug Ford declined the help proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. What changed? And, now we are learning that the Ford government is willing to step up on paid sick leave by doubling federal sick leave payments to $1000 per week if the federal government manages the program. What do our strategists make of all of this?

THE LATEST ON THE THIRD WAVE IN ONTARIO

Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Alon Vaisman, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control Physician at the University Health Network (UHN).

The case count in Ontario continues to climb amid the third wave and hospitals have been under a lot of pressure to care for COVID-19 patients. And, tragically, a 13-year-old girl from Brampton, one of the hardest hit hotspots, passed away last week at home from the virus. Meanwhile, the Science Advisory Table is calling on the province to divert as much as 50 percent of its vaccine supply to hot spot areas. Today, Ontario is reporting 3,265 cases and 29 deaths. Our health expert weighs in on the latest.

SELECT ONTARIO PHARMACIES TO TAKE PART IN PFIZER PILOT PROJECT

Libby Znaimer is joined by Justin Bates, CEO of Ontario Pharmacists Association.

This week, we learned that a select number of pharmacies will be participating in a pilot project to administer the Pfizer vaccine. Up until now, pharmacies were only administering AstraZeneca. What we do know is that we can expect this to happen in locations in Toronto and Peel Region and that it could start this week according to Bates. He joins the program to provide further details.