TORONTO -- Ontario Premier Doug Ford will no longer hold the daily COVID-19 briefings that have been a hallmark of his government’s response to the pandemic since its beginning.
Ford has taken question from reporters at 1 p.m. on most weekdays since March but his office now says those briefings will now only be held when the premier “has an update for Ontarians.”
The change comes less than a month after Ford refused to release the confidential advice given to him by his health table, telling reporters that people can find out what he knows at “at one o’clock every single day.”
“I am the only elected official in the entire country that comes out here every single day, never missed a day unless it is a holiday, and takes questions and tough questions too,” Ford said on Nov. 16. “So I don’t shy away from it at all and I am going to continue coming out here everyday informing the people of Ontario.”
The end of the daily briefings coincides with the legislature adjourning for a two-month winter break. It will not sit again until Feb. 16.
Ford’s office has not provided a specific reason for the end of the daily briefings but has said that the premier will continue to be available when there is important news to share.
