Feds, Ontario Government Squabble Over Toronto Pearson Airport Testing

Feds, Ontario Government Squabble Over Toronto Pearson Airport Testing

December 22, 2020 ctn_admin

The federal government says it’s surprised by Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s outburst about testing for COVID-19 at Ontario airports.

Ford launched a tirade at the Justin Trudeau government on Monday, saying he’s sick of waiting for Ottawa to act and that the province will go it alone on airport testing for COVID-19 at Toronto Pearson, and perhaps at other airports in Ontario.

Ford said he’s been talking with the Trudeau government about more testing “for weeks upon weeks.”

“Why they’re ignoring us on this is beyond me,” he said. “We have 64,000 people (international travellers) that went through Toronto Pearson last week, basically unchecked. We can see people are not quarantining; about 25% roughly. I don’t care if it’s 10%; these people are roaming the streets and we’re letting it happen.”

“I’ll tell ya,” he said. “If the Prime Minister doesn’t want to do it, I’m going to do it. I’m not going to put the people of Ontario at risk just because the federal government doesn’t want to do tests. We will be doing tests at Pearson Airport.”

The Liberal government in Ottawa said it’s been working with Ontario’s government on a pilot project for Pearson, which would be similar to the testing program at Calgary International Airport.

That program began November 2, which was seven weeks ago. If you’re the Liberals in Ottawa, maybe it’s called due process. But if you’re the premier of Ontario, that’s far too long to wait for the program to expand.

The sheer size of Pearson Airport could be an issue in the dispute. The office of Federal Health Minister Patty Hadju on Monday said Ontario was looking for a Pearson pilot project to screen 900,000 visitors, which they said compares to 52,000 in Alberta.

Ford said Ottawa isn’t doing nearly enough to protect Canadian borders, and that not enough people are following mandatory quarantine rules.

“Let’s get the testing at the airport and stop the leak,” the premier said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s ten people getting through; that’s ten too many that are going to be out in the community spreading COVID.”

“I implore the federal government to take action, to take action at the borders, not just in Ontario but in my opinion right across the country,” Ford said. “People are flowing in and they’re doing nothing. But I promise the people of Ontario that I’m not waiting for the federal government anymore. We will be doing testing at the airport, as sure as I’m talking to you today.”

Hadju said only 1.3% of all known COVID-19 cases in Ontario have originated from travel outside the country.

“With a 14-day quarantine in place, our border measures are some of the strongest in the world,” she said. “We will continue to use research and science to inform any next steps on border measures.”