A senior minister from the Ontario cabinet resigned after vacationing in the Caribbean, as residents of Canada’s most populous province were being urged to stay home.
Rod Phillips, who was appointed Ontario’s finance minister in 2018, told reporters that his trip was a “stupid mistake” when he returned to Toronto on Thursday after being summoned home by Doug Ford, Ontario’s prime minister. .
Shortly afterwards, Ford said he had accepted Phillips’ resignation. Since the start of the pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a liberal, has urged Canadians to avoid non-essential travel abroad – and by announcing a province-wide stoppage that began on December 26, Mr. Ford, a progressive conservative, said residents stay at home “as long as possible.”
Mr Phillips and his wife went to the French territory of Saint Bartholomew, commonly known as Saint Bartholomew, on December 13th. He left a series of photos and videos that were posted on social media during his absence, and several Political opponents said the posts were intended to create the illusion that Phillips was celebrating the Canadian holiday. The images appear to have been taken at Phillips’ home in the suburb of Toronto. He is now under mandatory 14-day quarantine there.
Mr. Ford initially claimed that he knew nothing about his minister’s trip until it was reported by the media. But at a subsequent press conference, he acknowledged that he had been aware of Phillips’ absence for about two weeks.