Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford is under pressure after admitting he has known for weeks that his finance minister – who faked social media posts to hide his location – ignored a coronavirus block to go on vacation to the Caribbean.
Posts on Rod Phillips’ social media accounts suggested he stayed home for Christmas, but on Tuesday they found that the minister flew to the island of St Barts in mid-December – despite his own government’s advice to avoid unintended travel. essential.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ford admitted that he learned of Phillip’s tropical vacation two weeks ago and said he was sorry he did not demand that his minister return immediately.
“He never told anyone that he was leaving. He never told me he was leaving, “said Ford, who said he planned to have a” difficult conversation “with Phillips when he got home tomorrow.
Ford had previously called Phillips’ trip “completely unacceptable”.
Officials at Phillips’ office said on Tuesday that the minister’s trip to St Barts, a popular destination for wealthy travelers, was planned. But with coronavirus cases growing in Canada’s most populous province, requests for the finance minister to resign or be fired have grown.
The revelation of Phillips’ vacation in the Caribbean came when Ontario reported two consecutive days of coronavirus cases. On Wednesday, the province announced 2,923 new infections.
In a statement, Phillips said he “deeply regrets” the trip and added that if he had known that Ontario would be in confinement, he would not have left the country.
“It was a mistake and I apologize. I left on a paid trip to St. Barts on December 13 after the end of the legislative session. “
Criticism of Phillips focused on his social media accounts, which seemed to suggest that he remained in his constituency during the holidays.
In a video posted on Christmas eve, sitting by a fire, glass of eggnog and decorated gingerbread house, Phillips acknowledges the challenges of the holidays and thanks residents for doing what they can to protect “the most vulnerable” in the province.
“As we all make sacrifices, #Christmas, remember that some of our fellow citizens won’t even be home for Christmas dinner at Zoom ”, he also tweeted that night.
From others tweets during your vacation abroad, include pictures of him meeting local business owners and participating in funding announcements.
On Wednesday night, the Liberal Party of Ontario shared a video clip of a conference in which the minister had attended, three days after leaving the country. In the clips, Phillips is seen using a virtual backdrop to the province’s legislative building. “[A]are those waves that we hear behind your Queen’s Park Zoom background? ”The party tweeted.
New Democratic provincial leader Andrea Horwath asked that Phillips be expelled from the cabinet.
“It is shameful, it is a shame and a shame for Doug Ford to know that this was the case and to simply close his eyes,” she told CP24. “There has to be some responsibility for that kind of thing … Ontarians deserve more than that, so Ford has to fire him.”
Under Canadian law, Phillips is expected to be quarantined for 14 days after his return to Ontario. More than 40,000 people returned to Canada from abroad during the pandemic and only 130 tickets were issued to break the quarantine.