As January begins and Ontario remains in a province-wide shut down, Premier Doug Ford’s administration has implemented a variety of COVID-19 restrictions that, at crucial times, have proven to be unclear and contradictory. The hesitation to take immediate action for curbing the second wave is truly beginning to show its consequences in Ontario’s daily case numbers and the recent declaration of the second provincial state of emergency.
Lockdown measures were announced for the entirety of Ontario during a press conference on December 21, 2020, five days prior to its actual start date of December 26, 2020. This was cause for confusion, as such a policy would more freely allow large gatherings over the Christmas holidays. Why hold off on immediate action when hospitals are already in such dire need of relief?
Yet despite lockdown or “Grey-Zone” maximum measures, the numbers of new COVID-19 cases in Ontario are still routinely breaking single-day records, in part due to the aftermath of holiday gatherings. This led to Premier Ford’s indication that even stricter guidelines may be necessary, as Ontario faces a “crisis.” These will be enacted in full as of Thursday, January 14, 2020.
This seems to be one of many alterations to Ontario’s colour-coded tier system, as the Grey Zone or lockdown is presented to the public as the strictest possible level of COVID-19 rule enforcement. What was initially described as a full province-wide lockdown has been referred to by some media outlets as a “light lockdown.” Now, it is described as a “stay-at-home-order.”
The ever-changing definition of “lockdown” seems to be contributing to frustration and confusion amongst Ontarians, including UofT students who are entering their second semester of remote learning.
“In my opinion, the mixed messages were at first understandable as politicians began attempting to navigate the situation, but ,” says Lauren Vieira, a second-year student at Victoria College.
“Why can’t [Premier Ford] just be clear and [upfront] once he makes his decisions?” comments Victoria College student Siena Kuanec.
To complicate matters further, it should not be forgotten that in the midst of the lockdown in late December, the province of Ontario’s finance minister, Rod Phillips, went on a leisurely vacation with his wife to St. Barts. While there, he feigned social media posts in order to make it appear as though he were at home in lockdown with the rest of Ontario. According to NDP leader Andrea Horwath, Premier Ford had been aware of Phillips’ trip two weeks prior to his return date. In that period of time, Ford condemned international travel to the public in a press conference, describing the borders as a “sieve” for the virus. As it turns out, Rod Phillips was one of at least 13 Canadian politicians who chose to ignore provincial mandates and take international vacations over the holidays. Phillips has since resigned as Finance Minister, but remains as MPP for his riding in Ajax.
Naturally, this lack of compliance from governmental figures is seriously disheartening to many.
Vieira comments: “The recent hypocrisy of the Canadian politicians who spent their holidays working on their tans while normal Canadians struggled to pay their bills is a disgusting show of privilege and has only worsened widespread frustration.”
Kuanec feels similarly, stating, “When the leaders who make the rules break the rules, they cannot expect most people to follow them. I think a lot of the politicians have lost a lot of credibility, and as a result, lives are being lost. The politicians are not looking out for the healthcare workers, vulnerable populations, small business owners, and those of us following the rules.”
It is likely that Ontario will see an increase in both case numbers and restrictions in the coming weeks. Mass vaccinations will hopefully begin to take place through the months of April to June.
In the meantime, do as Kuanec suggests: “Despite Ford and other politicians’ confusing statements and hypocritical behaviour we do have the answer to beat this thing: stay home.”
