Tensions high in Queen’s Park over Windsor-Essex
Parts of region to reopen as farms deal with virus
As Ontario extends its COVID-19 state of emergency to July15, there are signs of fraying nerves at Queen’s Park amid accusations Premier Doug Ford waited too long to stem outbreaks among southwestern Ontario farm workers.
Ford, under fire over Windsor-Essex being the last remaining region in the province in the first stage of reopening the economy, relented and said he’ll allow the city and areas away from problem farms to get back in business Thursday under a new plan to increase testing for the virus at work sites.
“The outbreaks at our farms is a new challenge and it requires a targeted response,” he told reporters after a testy exchange with a New Democrat in the legislature’s question period.
Essex MPP Taras Natyshak said Ford was tardy in deploying “all available resources to test, trace and contain the outbreak on farms” so the region could join the rest of Ontario in opening more businesses such as indoor malls, restaurant patios, barber shops and hair and nail salons.
“I wasn’t going to mention this,” Ford replied to the New Democrat, accusing Natyshak of lobbing a “missile” and read a letter apparently written by an
Essex County resident naming the MPP. Ford said the note “named his name and said he has done absolutely nothing.”
A furious Natyshak shot back at the premier: “You’re such a piece of s---.”
Ford complained the language was unparliamentary and Natyshak, who is usually effective at needling the premier, withdrew it and later apologized to Ford and fellow MPPs.
“I let my emotions get the best of me,” Natyshak told a news conference, noting outbreaks have been growing for weeks without enough help from Ford despite repeated pleas for more action.
“He reverted into a personal attack on me and I didn’t take that well … but I’m not going to apologize for fighting for my community. Never.”
Ford said there are no hard feelings over the profane outburst.
“It happens,” he said. “I forgive the guy. Let’s just move on.”
Tensions are high because of the situation in Windsor-Essex, where hundreds of migrant and local farm workers have fallen ill with the coronavirus and Ford has scolded farm greenhouse owners for not allowing more workers to be tested.
Farmers have complained about being threatened by some frustrated local residents in what Natyshak called a “blame game.”
There will now be more mobile testing on farms and “clusters” of workers who test positive for COVID-19 but have no symptoms will be allowed to keep working and living in isolation from others under the new plan announced Wednesday.
The Windsor-Essex county health unit reported four new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, but only one was a farm worker. That was in sharp contrast to the two previous days, when 30 of 32 new cases reported Tuesday and 31of 32 new cases Monday were in agri-food workers.