A message from your Member of Parliament
Hello,
This past month we reached the milestone of one year of living with the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. It has been a year of challenge and tragedy. Of sacrifice and of loss. Of isolation and separation. Of too many loved ones lost.
I will always remember the people lost, the occasions missed, the economic and emotional toll of businesses closed and jobs lost. Of families separated.
But it has also been a year of tenderness and hope. For I will also always remember our community coming together to support our food banks. To cheer on our front line workers. To reach out to isolated seniors and neighbours to make sure they're OK. To order takeout to support local restaurants. And to have a smile and a kind word for the people stocking our grocery shelves and delivering our packages.
During the most challenging of years, we have also seen the best of our Scarborough community, a reminder of why we are proud to call this our home.
We have a large update for you this month, with updates on my work for you in Parliament, what our government is doing to support you, and the latest information I have to share with you on vaccinations, both on deliveries to Canada and vaccinations in Scarborough. Also, I can share that the next federal budget, based on consultations with thousands of Canadians on how we can ensure the post-COVID recovery is successful for everyone, will be tabled on April 19th.
There is a lot of discussion about vaccines, and it's important to remember that this is a Team Canada effort and each level of government has an important role to play. The Federal Government secures and pays for vaccine from manufacturers and delivers it to the provinces. The Provincial Governments decide who gets vaccinated and when, and allocate vaccine supply to local public health units. And local public health units run vaccination clinics and get needles into arms.
As I write this, more than 6 million doses have been delivered to the provinces and territories, of which the provinces have administered more than 4.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Canadians. As promised, this week we will receive more than a million new Pfizer doses, and we will continue receiving a million doses each week until the end of May. We are also scheduled to receive 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca in a sharing agreement from the U.S., which means we will be receiving 3.2 million doses this week alone.
This is also a significant time of observances and celebrations for many communities and people of faith. Jewish families are observing Passover, members of the Hindu community are celebrating Holi and, for the Christian community, Palm Sunday is just past and Easter is coming up.
I extend my best wishes to all those who are observing these special days. And I sincerely hope that the days when we need to mark these occasions apart will be past us soon.
Sincerely,
Salma
Local Updates
Three options for booking your vaccination appointment in Scarborough
- The Scarborough Health Network is expanding the list of people eligible to book an appointment for their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This includes adults over 70 and adults over 50 with certain chronic health conditions. Find the full list and, if eligible, book your appointment at: www.
scarboroughcovidvaccineclinic. ca SHN is operating vaccine clinics at Centennial College - Progress Campus and at Centenary Hospital. No walk-ins are permitted. You must make an appointment online or by calling 1-888-385-1910. - Scarborough residents aged 70 and up, or born in 1951 or earlier, can also book an appointment at a City of Toronto-operated vaccination clinic in Scarborough via the Ontario government's vaccination portal at Ontario.ca/bookvaccine or by calling 1-888-999-6488.
- Select pharmacies in Scarborough are booking appointments for AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for residents who turn 60 years and older in 2021. Learn more and book at covid-19.ontario.ca/
vaccine-locations
Supporting women through the pandemic and into the recovery
Earlier this month, we had Women and Gender Equality Minister Maryam Monsef at the Status of Women Committee, and I asked her to discuss what the government has done to support women through the pandemic, and why the new Task Force on Women in the Economy will be so important to the coming recovery.
Autism Acceptance and Awareness Month, and job fair
During a March 25th statement in the House of Commons, I looked ahead to April as Autism Awareness Month and spoke about how the first job fair focused specifically for people with Autism was organized by Substance Cares in Scarborough in 2017. The ecent has since attracted international attention, and this year the Spectrum Works Career Fair will be held virtually on April 8th. More information is available online.
2021 Scarborough Centre International Women's Day Celebration
Our 6th annual celebration of International Women's Day went virtual this year and featured a great lineup of dynamic speakers who shared inspirational stories about challenges they've faced in their journeys and how they've overcome them. Our special guest was Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade.
If you missed the event, you can watch the full replay online by clicking the image below.
Happy Greek Independence Day!
On behalf of my Liberal colleagues, I would like to wish everyone a very happy Greek Independence Day! For generations, the Greek community has been a strong part of our Scarborough community, contributing in so many ways to our diversity and strength. Thank you for your contributions to Canada, and enjoy this day!
Celebrating Bangladesh Independence Day
Last week I joined the Bangladesh High Commission to Canada and members of the Bangladeshi-Canadian community for their Bangladesh Independence Day virtual event. Wonderful to join the community and share in their celebration of 50 years of independence!
Commemorating Pakistan Resolution Day
It was wonderful to join colleagues Mayor John Tory, MPP Michael Coteau, and Pakistan Consul General Abdul Hameed for the Canadian Pakistani Association of Scarborough's Pakistan Resolution Day event.
National Updates
More than six million vaccines have been delivered to Canada
Our vaccination campaign has kicked into high gear with more than 6 million doses delivered to the provinces and territories and more than 4.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to Canadians, to date. That's millions more front-line healthcare workers, parents, grandparents, friends and colleagues now protected from COVID-19.
As promised, this week we will receive more than a million new Pfizer doses, and we will continue receiving a million doses each week until the end of May. We are also scheduled to receive 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca in a sharing agreement from the U.S., which means we will be receiving 3.2 million doses this week alone. We will continue to carefully manage Canada's vaccines supply chains, and by the end of September, everyone who wants a vaccine will be fully vaccinated.
We're doing everything we can to get Canadians vaccinated as quickly as possible, but we need everyone's help to slow the spread of COVID-19. Now more than ever, it's important to follow local public health guidelines like wearing masks and practicing physical distancing, avoiding all non-essential travel, and using the COVID Alert application to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
Important resources:
- Past and upcoming forecasted vaccine shipments to the provinces
- Updates from National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)
- Ontario's vaccination program phases
Extending COVID support for Canadians
With the passage of Bill C-24, our government has taken action to ensure Canadians continue to have the support they need to get through this pandemic.
* Workers claiming EI regular benefits are now able to access up to a maximum of 50 weeks for claims established between September 27, 2020 to September 25, 2021.
* Self-employed workers who have opted in to the EI program to access special benefits are now able to use a 2020 earnings threshold of $5,000, compared to the previous threshold of $7,555. This change is retroactive for claims established as of January 3, 2021 and applies until September 25, 2021
And we have also taken action to:
* Increase in the number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) by 12 weeks, extending the maximum duration of the benefits from 26 weeks to 38 weeks.
* Increase the number of weeks available under the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) from 2 weeks to 4 weeks.
More than a million Canadians lifted out of poverty
Since 2015, over 1.3 million Canadians have lifted themselves out of poverty, including 435,000 children and 45,000 seniors. And the 2019 Canadian Income Survey shows the poverty rate continues to decline and income inequality is at its lowest level since 1995.
We know that vulnerable Canadians have been disproportionally impacted by COVID-19 and we're encouraged by the estimates showing that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and other measures were effective in preventing declines in employment income for many Canadian families.
And with Canada's first-ever national Poverty Reduction Strategy, we are making significant progress towards meeting our goal of reducing poverty by 50% by 2030. And we'll continue to work hard to ensure every Canadian has a real and fair chance at success.
Learn more: Over 1.3 million Canadians lifted out of poverty since 2015 according to the 2019 Canadian Income Survey
Building greener transit
As part of our government's eight year, $15 billion public transit plan, we've announced funding to support electric transit systems across Canada and deliver on our commitment of purchasing 5,000 zero-emission buses over the next five years.
Whether it's Nova Bus in Saint-Eustache, GreenPower in Vancouver, or New Flyer in Winnipeg, Canada has already demonstrated global leadership in delivering battery electric transit solutions at home and abroad.
As we build back from the pandemic, our government will continue to invest in public transit projects that best support our recovery, create economic growth, and make life easier and more affordable for Canadians.
Learn more: Government of Canada investing to electrify transit systems across the country
Climate change is real and we have a plan to fight it
Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada reaffirmed the constitutionality of our national price on pollution and determined that the matter is critical to our response to an existential threat to human life in Canada and around the world. Since 2019, we have ensured pollution isn't free anywhere in Canada.
This decision is a win for the millions of Canadians who are demanding climate action, and for families who will continue to receive more money in their pockets in pollution pricing rebates.
We have a comprehensive climate plan that is creating good jobs, growing our economy, and strengthening the middle class. And because of our plan, for the first time in our history, Canada will meet and exceed its climate goals for the first time in its history.
Climate change is real, and doing nothing has an economic cost.
