Doug Ford says he stopped taking French lessons for safety reasons during pandemic
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he stopped taking French lessons as a safety precaution during the pandemic but has promised to do everything he can to learn the language.
Ford made the comment during a press conference on Monday in Tecumseh while making an announcement about funding for a new hospital.
He was asked by a reporter why he stopped taking French lessons when he had previously promised to learn the language.
"The pandemic made me stop it," Ford said. "I'll get there, but I just wanted to be safe. I couldnt take the classes when I’m telling other people to go online and take classes. I couldn't have my French teacher in."
Despite not taking lessons, Ford did say he practices his French "all the time" and even gets help from Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney.
"She's a great French teacher and always gives me the phrases, so I'll get there."
Ford has made several promises to learn how to speak French, even saying in 2019 it would be “pretty easy” to pick up since he studied it from Grade 3 to Grade 9 in school
He also said he believes every elected official should learn French.
"What I want to show is how much I respect the francophone community here and I’ll do everything to make sure that they know I’m doing everything I can to speak French," Ford said Monday.
"I am bound and determined, I'm going to learn French."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What Michael Cohen said on the stand in Trump hush money case
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
Behind the barricades: How protesters spend their first days in a new encampment
Students in Montreal describe life in a newly erected encampment in Montreal as a whirlwind of preparations, from facing rain and a potential police crackdown to setting up a space for the exchange of ideas.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.