Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced the resignation of his finance minister who took a trip to the Caribbean while the province remained under lockdown.
Minister Rod Phillips apologized and called the travel a “dumb mistake.”
The Premier said Mr. Phillips’ departure showed his government “takes seriously our obligation to hold ourselves to a higher standard.” Canada’s most populous province has discouraged all non-essential travel amid record-high new case counts.
Mr. Phillips had taken a personal trip to Saint Barts in the Carribean on December 13 and only returned after Christmas.
He said, “Obviously, I made a significant error in judgment, and I will be accountable for that. I do not make any excuses for the fact that I travelled when we shouldn’t have travelled.”
Political leaders said it was unacceptable for the finance minister to “ignore public health advice” while the government “demands sacrifice from everyday Ontarians.”