By Jack Hauen and David Hains
In his first public appearance in almost a week, Premier Doug Ford tearfully broke down and offered a broad apology for the crisis Ontario finds itself in, without offering specifics on what went wrong or acknowledging personal responsibility for the state of the third wave.
"We moved too quick," he said by way of identifying what he was apologizing for, pointing to the pandemic announcement last Friday that landed with a thud.
He also apologized for implementing new police powers and restrictions on outdoor activities that were widely panned, and many of which were walked back the next day.
“Simply put, we got it wrong. We made a mistake,” the premier said in his video press conference from his late mother's backyard. The feed cut out at one point as he broke down emotionally when discussing the extensive carnage the pandemic has wrought on the province.
However, he disagreed that the third wave disaster that health experts predicted while the government chose to loosen restrictions in February and March meant that the responsibility for death and destruction throughout the province was on him, and instead blamed Ottawa.
"To say that I'm the reason there's a third wave around the world, because it is around the world — to say that I'm responsible for not securing our borders that have brought these variants that caused the third wave, to say that I'm responsible for not having enough vaccines, that we wouldn't be in this position if we had tightened our borders, if we had ample vaccines, like countries around the world ... we wouldn't be in this position right now."
Health experts agree that Ontario cannot vaccinate itself out of the third wave crisis.
A record 801 patients are currently in intensive care units according to the latest numbers, which projections show will roughly double in the coming weeks.
In an effort to move on from the crisis Premier Doug Ford also reaffirmed the government is working on a paid sick leave program, but didn't announce any details beyond saying that it would be "the best" in North America. Paid sick days have been strongly opposed by the premier throughout the pandemic, and the PC government has voted against the public health policy 19 times since Feb. 16.
The premier has been in quarantine in recent days after coming into contact with a staffer who tested positive for COVID-19. Ford himself tested negative. He received his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine about 10 days before he came into contact with the individual who tested positive.
“And I assure you, it’s not lost on me that unlike many people, I'm able to isolate and continue working,” he said. "For too many people right now, that's not the case."
He promised the incoming provincial paid sick leave program will be the most robust in Canada, but refused to say when it will be announced, or when workers can access it.
Experts have been calling for paid sick leave for months, while the government focused on other measures its advisers said wouldn't make enough of a difference to blunt the third wave. Hospitals have now been forced to send patients across the province for intensive care, and doctors say they could soon have to make decisions about who lives and who dies.
He implied the sick leave would not last after the pandemic, saying Ontario is "bridging the gap" in the federal program, which has been criticized for its bureaucratic nature and low pay.
Since his disastrous Friday press conference, Ford has faced calls to resign from the Liberals, NDP and some columnists, after the expanded police measures attracted international embarrassment.
He defended himself by saying he's been working hard and won't leave his post. He also blamed the federal government for a lack of vaccines.
“I’m going more than 18 hours a day, every day, seven days a week. I’m not going to stop," he said.
"All I know is that I've been at this job 24/7, every single day," said the premier, who recently faced criticism following a QP Briefing story for holding $1,000+ political fundraisers over the past week while the province faces an unprecedented health crisis.
The premier started to cry when he spoke about lockdown measures separating families from dying loved ones.
“I hear it every day. Every single day. People telling me their stories. They're stories that make you cry. Families that haven't been able to hold hands — hold on, folks. I apologize,” he said, taking a moment to compose himself. "— hold the hand of their mom or dad as they pass away."
Experts have said Ford's decision not to implement a paid sick leave program has contributed to illness and deaths during the third wave.
After the presser, Green Leader Mike Schreiner noted that it took more than a year for Ford to realize his own privilege of being able to take paid sick leave.
"Greens have been calling for paid sick days since Ford cancelled them in 2018 for a reason: paid sick days help save lives," he said in a statement. "The fact that it’s taken thousands of deaths and a raging crisis in Ontario for the premier to realize this is appalling."
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca again called for Ford to resign.
"Never have we needed strong leadership more than in this moment, and Doug Ford needs to resign for that to happen," he said in a statement.
Before the presser, he said Ford "wants to play hero" after denying Ontarians sick leave.
He said the sick leave needed to include all workers, time off to be vaccinated or tested, and should last for the entire pandemic, not just for the stay-at-home order.
"Should he fail to deliver on the needs of Ontario’s workers, he will cement the position he already holds as Ontario’s worst premier, and calls for his resignation will only grow," Del Duca said. "This is Doug Ford’s last chance to get this right.”
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Ford's presser contained nothing that would help Ontarians.
"Working people and their entire families are lying in the ICU, unable to breathe on their own. Every day, people go to work with COVID symptoms because they can’t afford to take a sick day. Vulnerable people and our front-line heroes cannot get a vaccine," she said. "Every day he delays action, more lives will be lost, and more families and businesses will be devastated.”
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