Professor Files Criminal Charges Against Ford For Reportedly Violating Quarantine Rules
The Ottawa law professor says Ford acted "above the law."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford at the Ottawa Hospital during a conference.
An Ottawa law professor is filing criminal charges against the Ontario Premier, Doug Ford, for removing his mask during a press conference at the Ottawa Hospital in March.
On May 17, University of Ottawa law professor, Amir Attaran, announced that he had filed a criminal charge against the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party candidate for reportedly violating provincial COVID-19 laws.
“Public health law will not be mocked by the powerful,” Attaran tweeted on Tuesday morning. “The law applies to Big Men, too,” he wrote later that day.
Attaran’s lawsuit concerns Ford’s visit to the Ottawa Hospital on March 25. During the visit, the Ontario premier announced his government’s $29.1 million commitment to help fund the Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus. He, among other speakers, removed his mask to speak at the podium.
Ford was supposed to be under a 14-day quarantine after travelling to Washington earlier that week, according to the Ottawa Citizen.
The premier was discussing the end of Ontario’s masking public health regulations when he removed his mask to speak at the podium.
“I’ve been accused of being the most cautious leader in North America,” Ford said. “When everyone else in the whole country is taking their masks off and we're the last province to do so […] but I'll always be the cautious one.”
But the University of Ottawa law professor took Ford's actions as evidence illustrating how he believes he is exempt from public health regulations.
“Over 5000 'little' Ontarians have been cited for violating quarantine. They face fines, jail, or both. Shame on the “big” Premier for acting as if he is above the law,” Attaran tweeted.
In a photo posted by Attaran, it claims that Ford violated the Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order and sections of the Quarantine Act.
An Ottawa justice of peace set the court date for September of this year, reported the Ottawa Citizen.
Attaran says he was assisted by Western University law professor, Jacob Shelestowsky, during the process.
Narcity reached out to Doug Ford's office but did not hear a response before publication.
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