Premier pleads with anti-maskers to leave his neighbours alone

Premier Doug Ford has an ask of the anti-mask crowd.

Irritated by protesters who have been rallying outside his Etobicoke home on Saturdays, the premier pleaded with them o take their demonstrations elsewhere.

“Please just come down to Queen’s Park. Don’t scare the kids in neighbourhood because you are scaring them, you’re intimidating them,” Ford said Monday.

“I’m asking the protesters (that) show up to my house every Saturday morning. This is not about me. I’m out of there, I’m not there,” he said, noting local children are afraid to even play road hockey.

“My neighbours, they’re frustrated,” he said.

“They didn’t they didn’t sign up for this … I signed up to be the premier.”

The demonstrators are upset that Ford has embraced a province-wide rule to wear masks indoors in public spaces and on transit to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 3,000 Ontarians since March.

Armed with loudspeakers — and in one instance, fake blood — they have been protesting on his suburban street.

The premier noted he is not the only elected official who faces rallies outside his home.

“I’ll speak on behalf of other elected officials, be it the former premier, Kathleen Wynne, when the protesters in front of her place, or Mayor (John) Tory,” said Ford.

“It’s not about Mayor Tory, Doug Ford or Kathleen Wynne. It’s when they go into John Tory’s (Annex condo) building, everyone has to show I.D. Now, that’s not fair,” he said.

Ford reiterated his impatience with people who don’t believe masks will help reduce the threat of the virus.

“I just pray to God these people never get sick. And the severity — they may not hear the stories I hear. The public may not hear. I hear some people get through it.

“Some people are really, really getting sick,” he said.

“And it’s not just about elderly people. Younger people, too, are getting really sick.”