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Horwath to Speak with LTC Workers and Small Business Owners in Niagara

Photo Credit: Andrea Horwath Facebook page, @AndreaHorwathONNDP

Andrea Horwath is spending the day in Niagara.

The Ontario NDP Leader held a long-term care roundtable at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre this morning alongside frontline workers and local MPPs.

"Its been a long time now in Ontario that long-term care has been neglected and under funded. The crisis that occurred with COVID-19 was ripe because the long-term care system was in such a disaster."

Horwath says all personal support workers should receive full time work and decent wages so they don't have to find work elsewhere.

She also says the province needs to have a PSW recruitment and retention plan in order to bring more workers into the field.

Horwath is also planning to visit small businesses in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake this afternoon to see how they're holding up during the pandemic.

"This government didn't do very much to step up to the plate to save small businesses in the Niagara Region or anywhere else. Whether it's St. Paul Street in St. Catharines or Queen Street in Niagara-on-the-Lake those businesses are still suffering as they are across the province."

She says many small business owners couldn't access the federal governments rent relief program because it was all up to the landlords.

Horwath says other provinces stepped up with their own rent relief programs for small businesses and the Ford Government should have done the same.

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