Members of Ontario's provincial parliament will be on summer break a little while longer.
The Progressive Conservative-led government announced on Friday afternoon it will prorogue the legislature, until after the Canadian federal election. A return to Queens Park will now happen on October 4. The legislature was due to return to Queens Park on September 13, after its summer recess.
The government said it is taking the additional time to assess the outcome of the federal election and reset its legislative priorities for the coming session.
This is the first prorogation under Premier Doug Ford. A prorogation is the ending of the current session, a step further than an adjournment, but not as advanced as a dissolution due to an election call.
The opposition parties have expressed their displeasure in the move. Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath of the NDP called the move a dereliction of duty.
"In the face of alarming Science Table data that shows the fourth wave of COVID-19 rising, Doug Ford’s decision to prorogue the legislature for three weeks is an unprecedented abdication of responsibility during a crisis," said Horwath. "It’s bad enough that Doug Ford has gone into hiding for over a month, now he is choosing to hide his entire government."
Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca also questioned why the prorogation is taking place.
"Everyone knows that Doug Ford has been hiding for the past two months. He needs to go back to work now in order to deliver a real vaccine certificate, a better plan to reopen our schools and to help families get through this lingering public health crisis," said Del Duca.
