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HEALTH-VIRUS-CANADA-POLITICS
Canadian lawmaker resigns after taking lockdown vacation
OTTAWA, Jan 1, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – A Canadian lawmaker resigned Thursday after
being caught taking a family vacation in the sunny Caribbean while his
compatriots were urged to avoid non-essential travel during a strict pandemic
lockdown.
Ontario’s finance minister, Rod Phillips, apologized for his “dumb, dumb
mistake,” telling reporters upon arrival at the Toronto airport: “I do not
make any excuses for the fact that I travelled when we shouldn’t have
travelled.”
Hours later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he’d accepted Phillips’
resignation.
“At a time when the people of Ontario have sacrificed so much, today’s
resignation is a demonstration that our government takes seriously our
obligation to hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Ford said in a statement.
Phillips, local media revealed this week, had travelled to the Caribbean
island of St. Barts on December 13 as the number of new daily Covid-19 cases
across Canada hit record highs.
He said he would have cancelled the trip if he’d known that two weeks later
the surge in cases — including 3,300 in Ontario on Thursday — would force
Canada’s most populous province and economic engine into a 30-day lockdown.
But officials have been warning against travel for months.
On Wednesday, Ford told reporters at a facility preparing vaccines: “There
can’t be rules for elected people and non-elected people.”
“I can tell you I’m very upset. I’m very frustrated with the situation. I
stand out here every single day and tell people to stay at home,” he said.
While others were urged to skip big Christmas get-togethers this year,
Phillips’ staff continued to post messages from him on social media giving
the false impression that he was home for the holidays — including a
fireside video thanks to Canadians for their efforts to curb the spread of
the Covid-19 illness.
Phillips also reportedly took a trip to Switzerland in August.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0924 hrs