Ontario Liberal Leader Calls on Ford to Resign

Monday, 19 April 2021 11:35

Opposition leaders are taking aim at Premier Ford today after a bizarre weekend.

ONTARIO - Opposition parties are taking aim at Premier Doug Ford today.

Ford has been facing criticism for his handling of the third wave of COVID-19 in Ontario. Over the weekend, the Premier reversed course on two controversial measures announced on Friday. The Province is now going to keep playgrounds open and have removed the stop and question powers given to police. The latter decision was reversed after most police agencies in the Province, including Woodstock Police stated publicly that they would not enforce it.

Today the leader of the Ontario Liberal Party Steven Del Duca is calling on the Premier to resign.

"Doug Ford is the worst Premier in Ontario history at a time when leadership matters the most. He should resign now before he makes things any worse. If he does, I will be the first to commend him, because it takes real guts to get out of the way when he's screwed up this badly. But he won't. Because he only cares about himself and his special friends."

The call from Del Duca comes after scathing Op-Ed in the Washington Post which called on the Premier to resign.

The Ontario Government also announced they will be shutting down the legislature by Wednesday during the stay at home orders. Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath says that NDP NDP MPPs will refuse to cooperate until the government has reversed its dangerous police-state orders in their entirety, and replaced them with public health measures to stop COVID-19.

"People are laying in crowded hospital hallways, struggling to breathe, and many thousands more will join them if we don't replace Doug Ford’s plan. Black, Indigenous and racialized people know check stops and carding will target them, because it always has. Businesses are already on the brink and more will go under without help. People’s lives are on the line. Together, we have to fight to save Ontario."

Horwath says the NDP caucus will refuse to cooperate unless the following measures are passed:

- Given Ontarians paid sick days by passing Bill 239.
- Cancelled the extraordinary police powers announced Friday in their entirety.
- Shut down all non-essential workplaces.
- Formally committed to a meaningful package of supports, over and above the few announced, for businesses and workers affected by closures.

The Ford Government shot down a motion this morning from the NDP to implement paid sick days immediately.