Ford government slammed for top doctor's vacation during sixth wave

The Ford government is coming under fire for its lack of transparency on Ontario’s top doctor going on vacation last week amidst calls for him to address the sixth wave of the pandemic.

“Why do people not get the information they need from this government and instead wonder what's really going on?” Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath asked the province at Queen’s Park on Tuesday.

“It's not about Dr. Moore deserving vacation. I'm sure we all agree that he does. It's about the premier providing accurate information to the people of this province.”

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In response, Health Minister Christine Elliott defended Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore.

“While Dr. Moore was away, we had an acting chief medical officer of health in, Dr. Murray, as well as five assistant medical officers of health, who were closely following the situation in Ontario, and Dr. Moore was in regular contact with them,” Elliott responded.

A spokesperson for the province confirmed to CTV News Toronto that Moore was on a “planned personal trip” last week.

“While away, he was in regular contact with his team, including an acting Chief Medical Officer of Health as well as Associate Chief Medical Officers of Health and other ministry officials who continued to assess public health indicators and advise government accordingly.”

Reports of Moore’s trip surfaced just a day after he addressed the province for the first time in nearly a month. The top doctor encouraged Ontarians to wear masks in all public indoor settings, despite the province dropping its mask mandate last month.

Just under a week ago, Premier Doug Ford defended Dr. Moore’s public absence as health experts and opposition parties called for the top doctor to make an appearance amidst reports of new cases climbing to 100,000 a day in Ontario.

"He never rests,” Ford said last Wednesday. "He is on the job 24/7.”

“He works around the clock for the people of Ontario. Just yesterday he had a meeting with all public health officers throughout the province.”

At Queen’s Park, Horwath took issue with Ford’s statement last week. “The Niagara region chief medical officer of health said he wasn't invited to any such meeting,” she said.

While Elliott said that Moore was in contact with his colleagues during his time away, no public information was provided at the time about his associates standing in his place, or that the province’s top doctor was travelling outside of the country. 

Ontario’s Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner echoed Horwath’s response while taking questions from reporters at Queen's Park on Tuesday.

“We need the premier to be honest with people, not only about where Dr. Moore is, but honest with people about the steps that the government is going to take to contain the spread of this virus, and ensure that we protect people and our health-care system,” Schreiner said.

Meanwhile, Ontario Liberal Party MPP John Fraser acknowledged the “total lack of transparency” coming from the province and pointed at a “bigger problem” at play.

“The level of indifference in this government to what's going on in the sixth wave. ‘There's no problem,’ that's literally what they're saying.”