Doug Ford

In a statement Monday, federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Premier Doug Ford’s program “meets the minimum stringency requirements” to replace Ottawa’s version and the government is “required” to sign off. He also said the government intends to make its threshold more stringent after 2022.

Many of Ontario’s growing number of new COVID-19 cases are in the Greater Toronto Area and some have already shown up in schools, while parents and teachers worry about minimally spaced classrooms and buses exacerbating a potential second wave.

Steven Del Duca, the leader of the Ontario Liberals without a seat in the legislature, stood outside Queen’s Park on Tuesday seeking the email addresses of people upset about Doug Ford’s back-to-school plan.

The government passed Bill 197 last month without holding public consultations, which are required under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights. Environmental advocates filed a first challenge last month, and a group of First Nations are planning a third.

Earlier this month, the Ford government announced its preferred route for a new Greater Toronto Area highway that would cut through protected green space, a revival of a proposal that was killed by a previous government. “This highway was cancelled previously for good reasons,” says Keith Brooks from Environmental Defence.

Though the study is an important step, the government needs to make an effort to reduce carbon emissions, said Sarah Buchanan from Environmental Defence. "This is like watching your house burn down, and instead of calling the firefighters, calling your insurance company," she said.

The government’s failure to consult the public on environmental changes in Bill 197 was against the rules, the auditor general has said. Now, three environmental groups are asking a judge to declare the Ontario government's actions were "unlawful," calling it a "pattern of illegal conduct."

Questions about the adequacy of Ontario’s back-to-school plans keep following Premier Doug Ford around while he insists he and his government will do “everything we can” to keep children safe from COVID-19.

Toronto reported just one new case Tuesday. "We have made tremendous progress that allows us to return to something a little closer to our normal lives this summer, but we are not out of the woods yet," Premier Doug Ford cautioned.

Ontario's auditor general has said the government was not compliant with the law when it passed Bill 197 without consulting the public on environmental changes. Premier Doug Ford responded Tuesday: “I’m going to have to respectfully disagree."

Taking a closer look at some of the numbers Ontario's Financial Accountability Office crunched in its report on the state of autism services funding in Ontario.

Ontario auditor general Bonnie Lysyk told National Observer the government was required by law to consult the public on major environmental changes in the bill before passing it.

The province’s wait list for young people with autism to access services will not shrink significantly unless the government either spends much more or cuts the level of service it provides, a watchdog warns.

Some officials, including Toronto Mayor John Tory, have raised concerns about indoor bar reopenings that will come with stage three.

The question of how to deal with education sits at the centre of the province’s reopening dilemma, since anything less than a full return to classes makes it difficult for working parents who have for months been juggling both the working and the parenting.