Lisa Gretzky MPP, for Windsor West

Government of Ontario

NDP MPPs: Windsor-Essex is facing a crisis, while Ford still refuses to send help

Published on December 9, 2020

WINDSOR-ESSEX – Local NDP MPPs Lisa Gretzky, Taras Natyshak and Percy Hatfield have released a statement after Windsor-Essex reported record daily case numbers, that exceed the very worst days of the first wave:
 
“Windsor-Essex is in crisis and it’s getting worse every day. Doug Ford has waved the white flag in the battle against this virus, and he’s telling our region we’re on our own as COVID-19 continues to spread like wildfire.
 
We should not be in this situation. The local public health unit is doing their best, but they’re unable to keep up with the rising infection rates, and can’t do the critical work of contact tracing and managing the growing number of outbreaks in our schools.
 
They need help urgently and they need provincial leadership. While Doug Ford sits on $12 billion in unspent COVID-19 funds, and waits for a vaccine to arrive, the people of Windsor-Essex are suffering right now and are facing a lockdown.
 
Today we heard the devastating news that a 27-year-old man has died of COVID-19 in our region. We have now lost 85 local residents to this virus, and unless action is taken by the province we face seeing cases continue to surge and more lives cut short.
 
We have made multiple requests directly to Doug Ford and his health minister for immediate funding to flow to Windsor-Essex, and to cap class sizes at 15 students, but they are still refusing to provide the support that’s needed in this region to save lives and get the virus under control.
 
We need Ford to take action now before our hospitals become overwhelmed, and more families are forced to suffer the loss of a loved one that could have been avoided.”