Ontario Premier Doug Ford considering speeding up reopening timeline, sources say

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is set to consider new regulations this week to speed up the economic reopening timeline amid pressure from local and provincial politicians.

Multiple sources say the premier personally asked for new regulations to be drawn up to fast-track reopening schedules. While sources also said cabinet could consider the new measures as early as Friday, a spokesperson for the premier clarified that no official meeting is scheduled for this week.

The spokesperson did not deny the premier is considering ramping up Ontario's reopening.

It’s unclear whether proof of vaccination or mandatory masking policies would be dropped as well — the province has yet to provide a timeframe for when those measures would come to an end.

Ontario would become the latest province to speed up their COVID-19 exit plan. The government of Alberta and Saskatchewan both announced an almost immediate end to all COVID-19 measures, including masking, and called on other levels of government to follow suit.

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On Wednesday, Health Minister Christine Elliott indicated that while her government wants to “remove the restrictions as soon as we can” the province will continue to take a cautious approach which has bred success in the past.

“We've already set out our opening timelines we started on January 31. The next phase is as of February 21, and then March 14,” Elliott said at a news conference. “We have no plans currently to drop the passport vaccination situation or masking.”

Behind closed doors. however, sources say Ford has been expressing to Progressive Conservatives a desire to make a decision soon to move on from the pandemic measures.

Dr. Peter Juni, the scientific Director at the Ontario Science advisory table said on Wednesday that unless the proof of vaccination program is changed to reflect the booster shot, the requirement could be “reconsidered relatively soon, and then lifted.”

“If we don't change to a three-dose-certificate, and this unlikely to happen, the less rationale we will have for a certificate anyway,” Juni told CTV News Toronto.