After a slow start to the vaccine roll out program, Ontario’s vaccine task force now says it will soon run out of doses if allocations for the province do not increase in short order.
In a task force meeting on Tuesday, Gen. Rick Hillier said over 10,000 people are being vaccinated in Ontario daily, with a focus on long term care workers and residents.
So far more than 50,000 people have been vaccinated across the province, almost exclusively with the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine.
He explained that around 35,000 doses from the initial shipment of 95,000 were held back to ensure a second dose would be available to those vaccinated 21 days after the first.
The second round of shots began being administered on Monday and any excess Pfizer doses are being carefully moved for use in long term care homes Wednesday, as the pharma giant recently relaxed regulations on transporting the vaccine. Hillier said that supply will be exhausted by the weekend.
Another shipment of 47,000 Pfizer vaccines is expected by Wednesday and at the rate vaccinations are taking place, that shipment will run out by the end of the following week, Hillier added.
“We still do not know when the shipment [of Pfizer vaccines] that was predicted for next week will arrive,” said Hillier.
Premier Doug Ford urged the federal government to increase vaccine supply to the province.
“Our message to the federal government — just keep these vaccines coming,” he said.
Ford admitted there were “bumps in the road” as Ontario lags behind other provinces in terms of vaccination numbers per capita, but says he is confident the province will emerge a leader in this race.
“It might take us a week, maybe a couple of weeks to ramp up, but once we get the machine going in Ontario, we kick butt anywhere in the country,” he said. “Once we put team Ontario behind it, we become the leaders and we will become the leaders in North America.”
In addition to the Pfizer vaccine, Hillier provided an update on Moderna shipments, saying the initial delivery of 55,000 doses received on Dec. 30 were and are being used in long term care facilities since they can be transported better than Pfizer’s vaccine.
The second shipment of Moderna vaccines is due to arrive next week and will be reserved for the second dose required by long term care home residents.
Hillier said they are also launching vaccination programs in northern, isolated communities including James Bay and Sioux Lookout on Thursday or Friday. About 10,000 doses from the second Moderna shipment will be used for workers and residents in long term care facilities in those areas.
Earlier in the day, the province announced that residents and workers at long-term care homes in the hot zones of Toronto, Peel Region, York Region and Windsor-Essex will all get the shot by Jan. 21.
“The allocations of vaccines arriving in Ontario … are small and so as the number of people who await their second needle grows on a daily basis, our space to move beyond that is limited in the extreme,” said Hiller, adding that their goal to move beyond southern Ontario is being hampered. “Its going to be extremely difficult to do that and any other part of the mission unless those allocations increase.”
He added that since the vaccine is a two-dose program, the task force’s flexibility to use all the doses delivered is restricted and will continue to be so into March.
“We could use more doses, thousands more,” he said.
The United States derailed the previously undefeated Canadian juggernaut, beating the host squad 2-0 Tuesday to capture the gold medal at the world junior hockey championship.
The U.S. players poured over the bench as the buzzer sounded, tossing sticks and gloves aloft in an empty Rogers Place. The tournament was played with no fans in the stands to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
U.S. winger Trevor Zegras led the way, scoring a goal and adding an assist. American goaltender Spencer Knight, a 2019 top pick by the Florida Panthers, turned aside 34 shots for his third shutout of the tournament, tying the record set by Canada’s Devon Levi this year and by Justin Pogge in 2006.
It’s the first gold medal for the Americans since they won it all in 2017.
Canada took home the silver medal. Finland defeated Russia 4-1 earlier Tuesday to win bronze.
Zegras, a 2019 first-round draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks, was the top scorer of the tournament (seven goals, 11 assists).
Alex Turcotte also scored the U.S.
Knight was spectacular at times, particularly when the Canadians stormed and buzzed the net late in the second period and came in waves in the third.
Knight stoned Connor McMichael on a breakaway with three minutes left in the game, prompting the Canadian to slam his stick on the glass in frustration.
Levi made 19 saves in the loss.
Canadian forward Dylan Cozens, tied with Zegras in tournament scoring heading into the final, finished as Canada’s top point getter, with eight goals and eight assists.
The U.S. lost its tournament opener 5-3 to Russia before running the table, outscoring opponents 36-10.
Canada had been absolutely dominant, going undefeated and outscoring opponents 41-4 heading into the gold-medal match.
The players battled to a continuous hum of canned crowd noise throughout the game, including ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ on hard shots and great saves.
Rogers Place, home to the Edmonton Oilers, was otherwise empty except for hockey officials, media, rink and support staff.
The game featured two Florida draft picks in net: Levi, a seventh-round pick in 2020 and Knight.
The U.S. forechecked ferociously in the first period, outshot Canada 13-9 and opened the scoring at 13:25 when Turcotte deflected a Drew Helleson point shot up and over Levi’s glove.
To that point, Canada had never trailed in the tournament.
The U.S. took a 2-0 lead just 32 seconds into the second period. Arther Kaliyev fired the puck past the net. Zegras grabbed the puck off the end boards and tucked it in on the short side while Levi, expecting puck to come out the other side, was moving in the opposite direction to cover the far post.
The Americans held off Canada in third to preserve the victory.
The CEO of St. Joseph’s Health System and Niagara Health, Dr. Tom Stewart, has resigned from Ontario’s COVID-19 advisory board after travelling to the Dominican Republic over the holidays.
A statement from the Senior Vice President of St. Joseph’s Brian Guest said Stewart had been approved for vacation from Dec. 18 and Jan. 5 and during that time, he travelled to the Dominican Republic.
Stewart said he “regret[s]” this non-essential travel and apologized. “I recognize everyone should be avoiding non-essential travel now, including me.”
“As a health system leader, my actions in no way reflect the tireless dedication and commitment of the staff at St. Joseph’s Health System, who continue to live the legacy of our organization every day,” said Stewart in the statement.
He is currently self-isolating at home for two weeks.
St. Joseph’s Health System is made up of several different health sites in Niagara, Hamilton, Brantford, Kitchener & Guelph.
Deputy Minister of Health Helen Angus release a statement late Tuesday night saying she had accepted his resignation from the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, the LTC Incident Management System Table and the Health Coordination Table,.
“The people of Ontario have made countless sacrifices during the pandemic and it remains critically important that everyone continues to follow public health advice,” read the statement.
In March, the Ministry of Health welcomed Stewart to the government’s Command Table that was set up to provide strategic direction to the province about the novel coronavirus outbreak.
A number of politicians have recently admitted to leaving the country over the December holiday period, even as their constituents adhered to public health guidance meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, including Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips who has since resigned from his role.
The federal and provincial government have both repeatedly asked Canadians not to travel abroad during the pandemic and urged citizens to avoid gathering with family outside their household over the holidays.
Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed disappointment in federal and provincial politicians who have travelled abroad, despite months of recommendations against non-essential travel.
The Ontario government says it won’t extend an inquiry into COVID-19’s deadly spread in long-term care homes after those leading the probe appealed for more time.
Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton says the inquiry’s final report and recommendations are still expected by April 30.
The commissioners heading the inquiry had written to Fullerton last month asking for an extension until Dec. 31, 2021 to complete their work.
Their letter, dated Dec. 9, 2020, noted delays in receiving government information relevant to the inquiry and the large amounts of data being collected.
But Fullerton — in a letter dated Dec. 23 and posted on the inquiry’s website Monday — replied that there is still a great need for timely information to inform decisions as the pandemic continues.
“The urgency of our situation has not changed,” she wrote. “The need for timely and focused advice is even more acute.”
Fullerton said the commissioners should focus on areas that require immediate action and highlight issues that warrant further government examination in their report.
Both letters were posted to the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission’s website on Monday as the province reported 219 long-term care homes with active outbreaks.
That represents 35 per cent of all care homes in Ontario, with 1,160 residents and 1,140 staff members currently infected with the virus, according to provincial data.
The province says 11,369 long-term care residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began.
The virus has killed 2,795 people living in long-term care homes, the province says, with 14 deaths reported on Sunday.
The commission flagged lack of provincial oversight and uneven management standards in an interim report on the grim situation last month.
The report pointed to a provincial decision in the fall of 2018 to end comprehensive inspections and a lack of enforcement when issues are found.
It found that fines and prosecutions are rarely applied on home operators, leaving a lack of urgency to address violations.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford defended his government’s COVID-19 vaccine program Monday as a health-care worker became the first person in the province to receive both doses of one of the shots.
Anita Quidangen was given her second dose at Toronto’s University Health Network, the first of five health-care workers slated to cross that milestone Monday.
Quidangen said she hopes others will follow in her footsteps as the province continues its rollout of two COVID-19 vaccines.
Ford, who was present as the health-care workers received their shots, acknowledged there have been “a few bumps in the road” in the province’s immunization campaign but said he is confident in the plan.
“We’re ramping it up and you’re going to see a significant difference over the next few weeks,” the premier said.
Critics, including some in the medical field, have said the province is not moving fast enough with inoculations.
A decision to temporarily close immunization clinics over the holidays was met with widespread outrage last week, prompting the retired general heading the vaccine rollout to admit the move was a mistake.
As of 8 p.m. on Sunday night, the province said 42,419 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Ontario. Of those, 4,808 doses were administered Sunday.
Meanwhile, students across Ontario returned to the virtual classroom on Monday as part of a provincewide lockdown.
Students in northern Ontario and elementary students in southern Ontario will resume in-person learning next week.
High schoolers in southern Ontario will continue online learning until Jan. 25.
The move is part of a provincial lockdown that began on Boxing Day and is set to last until Jan. 9 in northern Ontario and Jan. 23 in southern Ontario.
Asked whether the province would consider extending remote learning in light of an ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases, a spokeswoman for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government will continue to follow the advice of medical experts in making those decisions.
Ontario reported 3,270 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, and 29 new deaths related to the novel coronavirus.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said 917 cases were in Toronto, 581 in Peel, 389 in York Region and 246 in Windsor-Essex County.
There were 1,190 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Ontario, including 333 patients in intensive care.
A broken cellphone and a muddied wallet were the only possessions Alireza Ghandchi received from Iran after his wife and two children were killed in a Ukrainian plane crash last year.
“No luggage, no dolls, no anything,” he said.
His son, Daniel, was eight-years-old and his daughter, Dorsa, was just three days shy of turning 16. The family from Richmond Hill, Ont., was returning home after spending the holidays in Iran when their plane — Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 — was shot down by the Iranian army.
Ghandchi says his last conversation was with his daughter about 90 minutes before the flight while his wife, Faezeh, was checking in.
Everything was fine, Dorsa told him.
Now, pictures of his family fill his walls and memories of them fill his heart. When it gets overwhelming, Ghandchi goes into his storage, smells his wife’s perfume, hugs his children’s clothes and cries.
Ghandchi says there are times when nothing at all can help him with the grief of losing his entire family.
All 176 passengers on board the Ukraine passenger jet died in the crash on Jan. 8, 2020. There were 138 people on board with ties to Canada.
A year later, families cling to memories of their lost loved ones along with a few mementoes they received from the Iranian authorities.
Not all of the passengers’ personal possessions were destroyed in the crash. There were reports of looting at the site of the crash and some of the victims’ families have accused Iranian authorities of withholding valuable items such as jewelry, cellphones and cash.
Ralph Goodale, who is Ottawa’s special adviser on the Ukrainian plane crash, blasted Iran in a recent report for its treatment of the victims’ families, including the “withholding of personal effects.”
For Amirali Alavi, who lost his mother, Neda Sadighi, in the tragedy, the past year has been “one devastating blow after another.”
He received her pristine boarding pass, a few crumpled rings, a destroyed laptop, a few credit cards and identification — but no wallet, no luggage, no carry-on. Most of her jewelry was missing as was the cash she carried.
“Some of these things don’t have monetary value, but they have a lot of sentimental value to the families,” Alavi said. “It feels like psychological warfare.”
Alavi is not alone.
Several other families say they’ve received little to nothing of their loved ones’ possessions back from Iran, which further compounds their grief.
Most of the relatives have banded together to form the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims. With contacts throughout Iran, they’re doing their own investigation, Alavi said.
They’ve unearthed video of the crash site that shows officials going through passengers’ bags and sorting them into bins, he said.
“They’re separating the contents, taking them out without any effort of preserving them and tossing the bags in one box, belongings in the other box,” Alavi said.
“Nobody knows what happened to them.”
He said one family got back a laptop without its hard drive, while another received a leather bracelet without its gold pieces.
Tensions were running high on the day the Ukrainian plane was downed.
Hours before the crash, Iran launched an attack on U.S. military forces at two airbases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Qasem Soleimani, a feared general and head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
Alavi, a law and business student at the University of Toronto, watched an online flight tracker as PS752 took off at 6:12 a.m. Tehran time, more than an hour late from its scheduled departure time. He felt a sense of relief when the site showed the plane making its way into Azerbaijan airspace.
He was excited to have his mother back. In 2010, Sadighi, an ophthalmologist, gave up her practice in Iran and moved to Canada with her husband, Farzad Alavi, a doctor, hoping for a better life for their son.
The tracking site Alavi watched that night was wrong. Six minutes after takeoff, the plane was hit by ground-to-air missiles and crashed into a children’s playground.
Iran said the takedown was human error, which many families do not believe.
Mahmoud Zibaie also tracked the flight online. He even took a video of the tracking technology to later show it to his computer-savvy 15-year-old daughter, Maya, who was on the plane with his wife, Shahrzad Hashemi.
A few minutes after takeoff, he left to brew some tea. By the time he returned to his computer, the plane had vanished from the screen. He soon saw reports of the crash on social media.
His pain and anguish remain fresh and he is overwhelmed at times by feelings of guilt. Zibaie was supposed to be on that plane with his family, but he came home a few days earlier because he worried about taking too much time off from his new job.
“It’s very, very, very tough still, the wound is fresh. And I believe that it will take a very long time to heal,” he said.
Like several other families, Zibaie has channelled much of his grief towards building a school in an impoverished part of Iran.
Zibaie still looks at Maya’s first email she sent when she was four years old — a painting she made on the computer — for comfort. His wife was a decorative painter and his daughter had inherited her talents.
He applied to immigrate to Canada in 2006 when Maya was two years old. They landed in Toronto in 2016. Four years later, he buried his wife and daughter in Tehran.
Zibaie found he could no longer live in the same home in Toronto so he moved to Ottawa.
“Every place I went was a memory,” he said. “It was too hard.”
He, too, wishes for more of his family’s belongings back.
He has gotten back his daughter’s burned passport and some of his wife’s banking cards.
“That’s all I’ve gotten back,” he said. “It hurts.”
Arman Abtahi was relieved when his brother’s remains arrived in a sealed coffin so the last memory of him would be of the final time the family had seen him — smiling and waving goodbye.
He had hoped the Iranian authorities would send back his brother’s ring so their mother could have something of her 37-year-old son.
“We didn’t get back anything,” he said. “Not his luggage, not his watch, not his ring, we just got his body.”
Abtahi’s brother was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of British Columbia. He had gone to Iran to celebrate his first wedding anniversary because his wife’s visa to Canada was rejected.
The last thing Abtahi told his brother was that he would pick him up at the airport.
“Instead, I went to the airport to go back to Iran to bury him,” he said.
Political observers are casting Georgia’s Senate runoff elections as pivotal to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s ability to make decisions that will affect the entire United States, and in some cases, the entire world.
“It’s about literally life or death for communities all across this country,” said Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. “Because if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris do not have a collective Congress to help them pass necessary legislation that will move this country forward, what are we going to be able to do?”
On Tuesday, Georgians will cast their ballots for the state’s two outstanding Senate seats. The outcome will decide which party will have the upper hand in the upper chamber.
Seawright tells 680 NEWS the stakes include whether laws get passed, potentially boosting Biden’s policy priorities, both domestic and foreign.
“That’s why you see so much attention around Georgia and making certain people understand how high the stakes are,” he said.
Democrats have a president in the White House and run the House of Representatives. Republicans currently control the Senate. A Democratic sweep in the runoffs would lead to a 50-50 split, in which case, tie-breaking votes would go to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Sarah Goldfeder, a former U.S. diplomat under two American ambassadors, is in favour of a gridlocked Congress.
“I do think having a tight government, having very tight margins in the House and very tight margins in the Senate are better for government and better for America overall,” she said.
Whoever wins will hold only a slim Senate margin, says Goldfeder, now an Ottawa-based consultant. That will make it harder to implement significant legislative changes.
“In many ways you can think of it like a minority government here in Canada. They have to negotiate,” she said. “If the Republicans want something or the Democrats want something, they’re going to have to win over their more moderate members.”
Regardless of what happens Tuesday, Seawright says these races will shape the coming years in U.S. politics.
“This election in Georgia is about who will be able to govern effectively and get things done for the collective United States of America,” he said.
A number of politicians have admitted to leaving the country over the December holiday period, even as their constituents adhered to public health guidance meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 and hunkered down at home.
Here’s a look at some of the lawmakers who took trips abroad despite public health appeals to avoid non-essential travel.
Rod Phillps
When Rod Phillips jetted off for a sunny Caribbean vacation on Dec. 13, he touched off a political storm that engulfed him when he returned home to Ontario.
Phillips resigned as the province’s finance minister on Dec. 31, hours after returning from a two-week trip in St. Barts.
Phillips, who will remain a member of the provincial legislature, called the decision a “significant error in judgement.”
His apology did little to assuage criticism against Premier Doug Ford for not taking action when he first learned of the cabinet minister’s travels shortly after Phillips left for warmer climates.
Watch below: MPP Rod Phillips speaks to media following Caribbean vacation
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/01/03/heres-a-list-of-politicians-who-travelled-abroad-despite-pandemic-era-advice-to-stay-home/
Niki Ashton
The federal New Democrats stripped the veteran member of Parliament of her cabinet critic positions after she travelled to Greece to visit her seriously ill grandmother.
The party released a statement on Jan. 1 saying Greek officials, who currently only permit visitors to enter the country if they can prove their trip is essential, approved Ashton’s visit.
The party said Ashton, who represents the riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, reached out to Canadian officials for “best practices,” but did not notify leader Jagmeet Singh or the party whip of her travel plans.
The statement said party members sympathize with Ashton’s situation, but noted millions of Canadians adhered to public health guidelines under similarly pressing circumstances.
Kamal Khera
The federal Liberal MP announced Sunday she was stepping down from her role as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development after travelling to Seattle over the holidays.
The MP representing the Ontario riding of Brampton West says she flew to Seattle on Dec. 23 to attend a small memorial service for her uncle and father, who died within weeks of each other earlier in the year.
Khera has been back in Canada since the end of December.
Sameer Zuberia
The Liberal member of Parliament announced Sunday that he would step down from his committee roles after travelling to Delaware to be with his wife’s ill grandfather.
Zuberi, who represents the Montreal riding of Pierrefonds-Dollard, said in a statement posted to Twitter that the trip was an “error in judgment.”
He said he returned to Canada on New Year’s Eve and is abiding by the mandatory two-week quarantine.
Pierre Arcand
The former interim head of Quebec’s Liberal party expressed regret last month over his decision to vacation in Barbados with his wife.
Dominique Anglade, who currently heads the party, said she asked Arcand to return to Canada after word of his Caribbean travels got out.
Anglade told a Quebec radio station that she had known Arcand planned to leave and had tried to discourage him from doing so.
Arcand apologized for making the trip in his Dec. 29 statement.
Youri Chassin
The member of the governing Coalition Avenir Quebec is currently in Peru visiting his husband, who he said he has not seen in about a year.
Chassin said in an interview that his trip is not a vacation and that he does not believe it contradicts the Quebec government’s message of the need to follow public health guidelines.
He said he got permission from the government whip and Premier Francois Legault’s office before leaving.
Joe Hargrave
Saskatchewan’s highways minister apologized on Jan. 1 for travelling to California over the holidays, but gets to keep his seat in cabinet.
Hargrave said he went to Palm Springs for “necessary” personal business: finalizing a home sale and moving his belongings back to Saskatchewan.
He said he plans to return to Canada when he’s out of a 14-day quarantine recommended for travellers to California on Jan. 5, and will self-isolate for two weeks upon his return to Canada.
While Opposition politicians have questioned whether Hargrave’s trip was essential, Premier Scott Moe said he will stay on as minister despite his self-admitted “error in judgement.”
Moe was informed of Hargrave’s trip before he left on Dec. 22, a spokesman for the Saskatchewan Party government said.
Tracy Allard
A Hawaiian vacation from Alberta’s municipal affairs minister touched off not only a new directive from the province’s premier, but a spate of other revelations about holiday excursions by several of her cohorts in the United Conservative government.
Shortly after Allard’s trip came to light, Premier Jason Kenney issued a directive summoning caucus members and senior staff back to the province.
Kenney said he ought to have issued such orders sooner, but said Allard and other party members who went abroad will not face sanctions as they did not violate any firm rules.
Allard held a New Year’s Day news conference in which she apologized for taking the trip, describing the Hawaiian vacation as a long-standing family tradition.
Watch below: Alberta government staff caught vacationing
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/01/03/heres-a-list-of-politicians-who-travelled-abroad-despite-pandemic-era-advice-to-stay-home/
Jeremy Nixon
The MLA for the Alberta riding of Calgary-Klein also opted to jet off to Hawaii over the Christmas break.
A spokesman for Kenney said he had been asked to return home on the earliest possible flight
Nixon said in a Facebook post that he would “work hard” to regain constituents’ trust, adding he followed and followed public health guidelines while abroad.
Pat Rehn
Nixon’s legislative colleague, representing Lesser Slave Lake, spent part of the weekend returning from a “previously planned family trip” to Mexico.
He, too, apologized for his travels via Facebook.
Tanya Fir
Another social media apology came from yet another Calgary-area MLA after it was revealed she travelled to the United States to visit her sister.
The representative for the riding of Calgary-Peigan commended Alberta residents for their adherence to public health protocols in the face of the pandemic.
She said in a Facebook post that she apologized
“wholeheartedly” for not doing the same and pledged to abide by
Kenney’s new directive.
Jason Stephan
The MLA for Red Deer-South in Alberta struck a different tone in his Facebook post in which he disclosed a recent trip to Phoenix, Ariz.
Stephan said he felt he was in compliance with public health guidelines and noted he had never asked other provincial residents to forego travel.
But Stephan said he would return home in accordance with Kenney’s directive.
“There is already too much contention in our society and I regret if my actions have contributed to that,” he wrote.
Watch below: Travelling politicians receive backlash
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/01/03/heres-a-list-of-politicians-who-travelled-abroad-despite-pandemic-era-advice-to-stay-home/
A Brampton member of Parliament says she will “step aside” as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development after she said she travelled to Seattle, Washington to attend a memorial following the death of her uncle.
Kamal Khera made the announcement in a Twitter post on Sunday afternoon.
“Although the purpose of my travel is deemed essential given the circumstances, I have decided to step aside from my duties as parliamentary secretary to the minister of international development in an effort to ensure my choices do not distract from the important work of our government to continue battling this pandemic,” she said.
She said she travelled to Seattle on Dec. 23rd, 2020 and returned to Canada on Dec. 31st, 2020.
Khera added the memorial was also meant to honour the loss of her father, who died in September.
She said the memorial had “less than 10 people” and said she “have and will always continue to follow all public health guidelines.”
Khera herself has faced COVID-19 — she was infected with the virus in March 2020 but later recovered.
She also spent time as a volunteer nurse at a Brampton long-term care facility.
The Liberal MP was first elected to the Brampton-West riding in 2015.
The backlash against former Ontario finance minister Rod Phillips continues after his tropical vacation during the holidays while officials urged Ontarians to avoid non-essential travel to stem the spread of COVID-19.
On Sunday, what appeared to be a homemade banner on bright yellow paper was seen pasted over his constituency office sign in Ajax. It read “resign now” — seemingly referring to Phillips’ decision to stay on as MPP for the region, while resigning as finance minister.
It is unclear how long the banner has been there or who posted it.
It was revealed last week that Phillips went on vacation to St. Barts for over two weeks, starting Dec. 13. He seemingly tried to hide the fact by sending social media posts during that time showing him in a sweater before a fireplace, supposedly in Ontario.
Hours after his return on Dec. 31, Phillips submitted his resignation as finance minister, but said he looks forward to continuing to serve the people of Ajax as their member of provincial parliament.
Speaking to media at Pearson International Airport soon after he landed, he called the decision “a significant error in judgement. A dumb, dumb mistake.”
Phillips is now in 14-days mandatory quarantine.
Ontario began a province-wide lockdown on Dec. 26 and premier Doug Ford has been blaming travellers for bringing the new coronavirus to the province.
Canada’s national government and the Ontario government have both repeatedly asked Canadians not to travel abroad during the pandemic and urged citizens to avoid gathering with family outside their household over the holidays.
CityNews has reached out to Phillips’ office for comment and is awaiting a response.
