ONTARIO – 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.”
Ford on Thursday said 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.
Phillips, who is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, had taken a personal trip to St. Barts on Dec. 13 and returned on Thursday morning.
Ahead of the holiday season, Ontario health officials had urged residents to stay at home when possible amid an ongoing rise in COVID-19 cases. (BBC)
