Articles by Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press

Jun 30 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — The Ontario government risks gutting the child-care sector if it doesn't begin funnelling promised funds to beleaguered daycare centres that were shut down due to COVID-19, the organization representing the industry said Tuesday as the province's premier pledged to look into the matter. An open letter from the Association of Day Care Operators of Ontario, which represents the […]

Jun 29 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — A wave of alleged criminal activity rocking Ontario's tow truck industry clearly shows the need for stronger oversight, Premier Doug Ford said Monday as he announced a newly appointed task force would be reviewing ways to overhaul the sector. The group, consisting of officials from across numerous government ministries as well as the […]

Jun 26 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Record numbers of COVID-19 tests conducted across Ontario coupled with low case numbers not seen since March prompted effusive praise from the province's premier on Friday even as a city largely sheltered from the global pandemic so far began grappling with a new outbreak at a local nail salon. Doug Ford said the […]

Jun 26 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — New rules aimed at making travel within Canada safer and more accessible for people with disabilities mark a welcome step forward but don't yet go far enough to removing long-standing barriers, advocates said Thursday as the new regulations officially came into effect. The reforms drafted by the Canadian Transportation Agency spell out rules governing most […]

Jun 26 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Indigenous and other racialized Canadians have been shaping the country's history and culture for centuries, but a new poll suggests most Canadians have a lot to learn about most of them. The survey commissioned by Historica Canada, creator of the popular Heritage Minutes, asked 1,000 respondents a series of 24 questions aimed at […]

Jun 26 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Indigenous and other racialized Canadians have been shaping the country's history and culture for centuries, but a new poll suggests most Canadians have a lot to learn about most of them. The survey commissioned by Historica Canada, creator of the popular Heritage Minutes, asked 1,000 respondents a series of 24 questions aimed at […]

Jun 24 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — A criminal investigation got underway on Wednesday after racist flyers openly attacking Black people were anonymously distributed to local homes, according to a southern Ontario police force. Waterloo Regional Police said the force's hate crime unit launched the probe hours after first learning of the pamphlets, which they alleged were left in mailboxes and on front steps […]

Jun 17 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — Legal and privacy experts have a unified message for Canadians leery of facing threats or consequences for filming police interactions with the public — the law is on your side. Canadians have every right to capture footage of police on the job, they said, so long as shooting those images does not interfere with an […]

Jun 17 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — Legal and privacy experts have a unified message for Canadians leery of facing threats or consequences for filming police interactions with the public — the law is on your side. Canadians have every right to capture footage of police on the job, they said, so long as shooting those images does not interfere with an […]

Jun 16 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Whistle while you work to help Ontario bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic — but please, don't sing. That's the gist of the message coming from the provincial government, which has included explicit bans on singing — even dancing — in parts of its plan to reopen businesses temporarily shuttered by the deadly outbreak. Stage 2 of […]

Jun 11 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Masks will soon be mandatory on some of Ontario's largest transit systems, agencies across the province said Thursday as they hastened to comply with government guidance urging the widespread use of face coverings to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19. Public transit providers in Toronto and Ottawa announced policies requiring customers to wear masks […]

Jun 10 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — Privacy experts are raising concerns about some of the guidance the Ontario government is offering to businesses on the verge of reopening under the next stage of the province's COVID-19 recovery plan. The framework outlining the next phase of reopening, set to take effect across much of the province on Friday, contains advice for certain […]

Jun 8 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — Ontario's education minister says he's prepared to make changes at a Toronto-area school board struggling with allegations of systemic racism if the organization can't take action on its own. Stephen Lecce says a recently completed report on the Peel District School Board, serving ethnically diverse municipalities west of Toronto, suggests the organization is not committed […]

Jun 7 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — Ontario's teachers have not yet written year-end report cards for their students, but Paloma del Castillo already knows what hers will look like. The Grade 11 student said her marks were all but pre-determined in mid-March when schools across the province shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Education then informed teachers […]

Jun 3 2020 — Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press — Advocates and legal experts are raising concerns about potential privacy violations in the emergency orders the Ontario government has implemented to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The orders, which are currently in place until June 9 but will likely be extended further, allow first responders to access personal health details of residents who have tested positive […]