TORONTO – Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, made the following statement:
In times of crisis, Ontarians expect that their political leaders will work together collaboratively to help make a tough situation better for those we represent.
But the announcement made this morning by Premier Ford makes it clear to all that he has unnecessarily put Ontarians at risk, and his inaction is inexcusable.
For weeks the Premier has said there was no need for the government to take over long-term care homes despite pleas from advocates. Today, the Premier introduced an emergency order to do exactly that.
In that time, hundreds of residents have died.
We are six weeks behind other provinces like British Columbia. He has stood idle while other leaders have acted.
Time is all we had on our side to save the lives of residents and workers in long term care.
Instead, his actions have been to simply not follow his own rules or the rules Ontarians are following to keep each other safe.
The framework of what to do was right in front of him – he only had to look to other provinces who showed leadership in late March and early April.
The iron ring Doug Ford talks about has turned out to be nothing more than empty words – we need concrete action, not slogans, to protect our loved ones.