Premier Ford began his virtual press conference today by saying “well good morning, my friends I want to address the events of this past week. Last Friday in response to extremely troubling modelling that told us we could see well over 15,000 cases a day we moved fast to put in measures in place to reduce mobility but we moved too fast.”
The Premier continued his apology:
“And I know that some of those measures especially around enforcement they went too far. Simply put, we got it wrong. We made a mistake.”
The Premier also acknowledged that he had overstepped and angered many Ontarians:
“These decisions left a lot of people very concerned – in fact, they left a lot of people angry and upset. I know we got it wrong, I know we made a mistake and for that I’m sorry and I sincerely apologize because as Premier as I’ve said from the very beginning the buck stops with me. Again I’m sorry and I apologize to each and every one of you.”
“I know that some of those measures especially around enforcement they went too far. Simply put, we got it wrong. We made a mistake.”
Premier of Ontario – Doug Ford
The Premier attempts to soften his image
When speaking of his ability to work from home after exposure to a staff member that had tested positive with Covid-19 earlier in the week, Premier Ford said “I assure you it is not lost on me that unlike many people I’m able to isolate and continue working.”
The Premier then used the situation as an opportunity to tout his Governments legislation around job-protected leave for Covid:
“For too many people right now that’s not the case and during these unprecedented times regardless of where you work or what you do if you’re forced to go into isolation or quarantine your job should be safe. That’s why Ontario was the first province to introduce legislation to have job-protected leave for Covid but it isn’t enough to know you can’t lose your job, you also need to know you won’t lose your income.”
Premier Ford appeared to point towards the federal government as the reason why his government hadn’t yet enacted a paid sick leave program in Ontario. The Premier said “unfortunately, Monday’s federal budget didn’t include the important improvements to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit that we needed to see. That’s why we are now working on our own solution to fill those gaps for everyone in Ontario.”
The Premier also used the press conference as an opportunity to soften his image after his Government decided to give police the power to card anyone – which has likely left a bad taste in most Ontarians mouths.
The Premier said, “I want all of you to know that I will always try to do what’s right and that means if we get something wrong or make a mistake we’ll fix it as soon as we can like we did this past weekend.”
Premier acknowledges the cost of lockdowns – sort of
The Premier also appeared to acknowledge the cost of lockdowns at the virtual press conference:
“I know that these lockdowns – they’ve been devastating for people,” the Premier said. “It means telling someone they can’t see their family or take a vacation, it means forcing someone to close their business, lose their paycheck. It means telling someone not to properly celebrate a wedding or sadly be able to mourn the loss of someone we love. For some, it’s been dealing with isolation at home, the struggle with mental health and addiction. For others, it’s been going to work despite the stress of working in a job that puts you and your loved ones at a higher risk of getting Covid.”
Here’s the issue – the Premier doesn’t really acknowledge the cost of the lockdowns. He appears to, but attaches a softer label to the reality of the cost of his Government’s lockdown measures. The reality is these lockdowns are causing many more issues than the Premier would ever care to admit.
The Premier refuses to acknowledge that prestigious medical journals like the Lancet reported that lockdowns don’t work all the way back in July of 2020.
The Lancet reported that “Rapid border closures, full lockdowns, and wide-spread testing were not associated with COVID-19 mortality per million people.”
There have been increases in suicidal thoughts and overdose deaths, increases in distress in children and many other consequences as a result of this Government’s handling of Covid. When you force a business to close down and “miss a paycheck,” you’re forcing a business owner to take on debt and in many cases, you’ve forced these businesses to lose everything.
I spoke with one business owner who’s business was declared essential but nonetheless had racked up approximately $150,000 in a personal line of credit just to keep his doors open.
When you force a business owner to shut down you are forcing an employee to take less income home to their family as a result – don’t downplay the cost of your decisions Premier. Small business is the lifeblood of Ontario.
Speaking of the costs of lockdowns – what does the future tax revenue pool look like after the Premiers lockdowns are finished destroying Ontario businesses? Will we have to raise taxes to pay for the spending in the province as a result of the expensive costs of lockdowns? Will Premier Ford or his predecessor have to cut Government services to service the massive amount of debt the Ontario government has accumulated?
What about future job growth – will it rebound the way it needs to after the perception your Government has crafted with business owners during this “pandemic”? Premier Ford has been treating businesses in Ontario as disposable assets – assets he’s more than willing to dispose of in an attempt to save his public image.
“I know that these lockdowns – they’ve been devastating for people.”
Premier of Ontario – Doug Ford
If you won’t acknowledge the depth of the pain you’re inflicting on the people of Ontario – I say thanks for the crocodile tears Mr. Ford, I’m not convinced.
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