QUEEN’S PARK – Catherine Fife, NDP Critic for Economic Growth and Job Creation and Sandy Shaw, NDP Finance Critic, are calling on the Ford government to strike an all-party select committee on the economic recovery from COVID-19.
“An all-party committee on economic recovery would take partisan politics off the table and ensure that all voices are heard as Ontario deals with the worst economic shock in our lifetimes,” said Fife.
The non-partisan select committee, in which no party would have a majority, would hear from all stakeholders including businesses, organized labour, municipalities, non-profit organizations, environmental NGOs and community groups, and everyday Ontarians, about the challenges they face as Ontario deals with the fall-out from COVID-19 and the phased re-opening of the province’s economy.
“An all-party select committee properly structured would be more nimble, able to report quicker and cover more ground", said Shaw.
Under the NDP’s proposal there would be an equal number of government and opposition MPPs representing all parties in the legislature with a non-voting chair. The committee would have four weeks to report publicly on recommended measures to strengthen Ontario’s economic recovery and would be in addition to any work undertaken by the Finance Committee of the Legislature.