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Bill 66, COVID-19 Memorial Day Act, 2021

Armstrong, Teresa J.

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Bill 66 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill proclaims the third Monday in March in each year as COVID-19 Memorial Day.

Bill 66 2021

Act to proclaim COVID-19 Memorial Day

Preamble

Since

the Ontario Government declared a state of emergency on March 17, 2020 in

response to the growing threat of COVID-19, the lives of Ontarians have

fundamentally changed. After watching the pandemic unfold around them,

Ontarians stepped up to do their civic duty by staying indoors, wearing masks

and getting tested, all in service to the public’s health.

Over

100,000 Ontarians have been infected during this pandemic and thousands have

died. COVID-19 Memorial Day, observed on the third Monday in March in each

year, will be a time to acknowledge and recognize the toll COVID-19 has had on

the people of Ontario and will especially be a time to honour the lives that have

been lost.

This

day will be a time for standing with grieving families whose loved ones have succumbed

to the virus, often having to suffer alone. It will be a time to pay homage to

the incredible sacrifices that Ontarians have made to keep each other safe. It

will be a time when we honour frontline, healthcare and essential workers who

laid their health and wellness on the line in service to Ontarians. It will be

a time when we thank volunteers and family caregivers who stepped up to support

their communities and loved ones. We will honour their courage in the face of

risk, their resilience to carry on, and their trauma of working through a

deadly virus.

COVID-19

Memorial Day will also be a time to reflect on how to protect Ontario’s most

vulnerable populations, particularly seniors and racialized communities who

make up an outsized percentage of COVID-19 infections and deaths. Everyone who

has died as a result of this pandemic will be remembered, including the

disproportionate number who lived and worked in long-term care homes.

will honour them every year on the third Monday in March in each year.

Therefore,

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of

the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

COVID-19

Memorial Day

The

third Monday in March in each

year is proclaimed as COVID-19 Memorial Day.

Commencement

This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short

title

The

short title of this Act is the COVID-19 Memorial Day

Act, 2021 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

December 2, 2021

First Reading

Vote

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

December 2, 2021

Committee

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

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