TORONTO — An emergency recall of Ontario’s legislature on Thursday will see a thinned-down crowd of just 24 MPPs debating and casting votes at Queen’s Park, as the government seeks to pass two pieces of COVID-19 legislation.

According to a notice from Government House Leader Paul Calandra distributed on Wednesday afternoon, the urgent sitting will kick off at 1 p.m. tomorrow — and, once its over, the PCs are looking to suspend the legislature until March 25, and adjourn all standing committees “until such a time as it is in the public interest for them to reconvene.”

Late last week, opposition parties agreed to pass a government motion allowing legislative proceedings to be suspended, if it was felt to be necessary amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The legislature had a scheduled break taking place this week already. Since last week, the government has declared a state of emergency, and virus cases have continued to mount.

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As of Wednesday morning, Ontario had 206 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, five patients that have recovered, one death and 3,379 cases considered under investigation. More than 10,000 tests have come back negative in Ontario — 10,305, out of the 13,897 patients who had been approved for virus testing at the time of the 9:30 a.m. update.

Given public health officials’ recommendations about social distancing as governments escalate their containment efforts, Calandra’s office says the number of members allowed in the chamber tomorrow will be limited to 24. The Speaker will be present, plus 12 government members, eight members of the official opposition NDP, two Liberal members and the sole Green party member at QP, Mike Schreiner. Instead of settling into their regular seats, MPPs present for the emergency sitting will be granted permission to spread out through the House, including during votes.

The two pieces of legislation have yet to be unveiled, but the government has promised to provide job protection for employees who are unable to work for a wide slate of reasons — whether they’re under medical investigation, supervision or treatment for COVID-19 themselves, are in isolation or quarantine, are acting according to public health information, are directed by their employer not to work or are caring for someone for COVID-19 related reasons.

(Such reasons will include individuals affected by school and daycare closures, the government says.)

The Ford government has also promised that the legislation coming tomorrow will remove employers’ ability to require sick notes from their staff — a change that opposition parties had been pressuring the PCs to do, particularly in recent weeks. The PCs reinstated the option of requiring sick notes shortly after taking office in 2018.

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“After lengthy discussions with the opposition parties we expect to receive unanimous consent to debate and vote on these items in an expedited manner,” the statement from Calandra’s office said. The government has said their new legislation will be retroactive to Jan. 25, which is the day when Ontario saw its first presumptive case of COVID-19.

Opposition parties at Queen’s Park have already signalled their intent to support the government’s incoming legislation, though they’ve also pointed to perceived shortfalls. Schreiner issued a press release on Wednesday afternoon about Thursday, saying it was a time to “put partisanship aside,” and that he looked forward to a “short, but fulsome debate.”

“These two pieces of legislation might not cover everything that is needed, but I will be voting in favour of them,” he said.

NDP leader Andrea Horwath — who said earlier this week that her office had contacted Ford’s office, in order to push for some extra measures being worked into the government’s legislation — reiterated her party’s support for passing the emergency legislation on Wednesday, but also took aim at what she sees as missing components in the bills.

“The NDP supports the job protection provision, and the ban on required doctor’s notes. We will vote in favour of the bills, and we will provide the consent needed to pass them in one day. But they fall well short of what is needed,” Horwath claimed. She reiterated the NDP’s view that leave from work should be paid rather than unpaid.

“The government refused to accept the NDP’s suggestions or amendments to this legislation — things we’ve long been calling for — but we won’t give up on getting people the help they need,” Horwath said.

The provincial government has pledged $100 million for COVID-19 responses, originally as part of their 2020 budget. The full budget, due to be released March 25, has been delayed by the outbreak and will be replaced by a fiscal update.