Bay of Quinte MPP Todd Smith says 2020 has been a challenging year with COVID-19 dominating the work of the provincial cabinet.
Smith tells Quinte News the coronavirus has been the focus of more than 200 meetings since the pandemic was declared in March and because of that, he feels Ontario has handled things fairly well, compared to other areas.
Smith says every ministry within the Provincial Government had to pivot, adapt and provide supports, to help people across Ontario.
“This has affected every single part of the province and every ministry that we have, so it’s been all hands on deck and it’s been a real challenge. When it’s all over there will be history books written and hopefully Ontario will shine brightly for the work that we’ve done.”
Smith says aside from the pandemic, the province has also continued to roll out various infrastructure projects on things like roads, long term care, broadband access and more.
He says says he’s especially proud of the work that’s been done to make improvements to operations at Quinte Health Care.
“We’ve got the annualized increases now, we’ve got a new ICU planned for Belleville General, the new hospital that’s going to be built in Prince Edward County, the new community health centre that’s currently being built right across from Trenton Memorial Hospital, all of the new transitional beds at QHC and all of those good things that are so important to health care in the local region.”
Smith also touted provincial investments this year in major infrastructure projects locally, including Bell Boulevard in Belleville, King Street in Trenton and others.
