Halton & Durham Aren't Going Back To Stage 2 Yet Because The Mayors Refused
Premier Doug Ford teased on Friday that stage 2 closures could be coming to Halton and Durham regions. Today, however, he changed his tune.
According to Ford, Halton and Durham mayors urged him not to enforce any further restrictions, saying that their regions weren't ready for closures quite yet.
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In Halton, we have none of the mayors agreeing, the regional directors not agreeing, the MPPs not agreeing.
Premier Doug Ford
After a phone call with the regions' mayors, Ford suggested they pen a letter to the medical officer to contest closures, which they did.
The letter ultimately ended up swinging the decision, temporarily at least.
"I always reach out to the local municipalities first because no one understands their municipalities like the local mayors," said Ford, "then, we work side-by-side with them."
Ford maintained that mayors of Halton and Durham, along with their chief medical officers and business owners of the region, were all in consensus over whether the region should move back into a modified stage 2.
The premier said that while he couldn't justify keeping Toronto, Peel, or Ottawa open, he is "fighting all day for Halton."
This weekend, Ontario reported its highest-ever daily increase in new COVID-19 cases, with 1,024 new infections on Sunday.