See #THREAD for details
cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
I'm speaking in these partisan terms in an effort to get through to Premier Ford, that his predetermined decision to send urban Ontario to cottage country for the May 2-4 holiday is so mistaken it will cost him votes
First, lets address the science Premier Ford is now keen to ignore, at a direct cost to lives & the ability of our health care system to function
Canada is NOT flattening the curve
What Canada has done is LENGTHEN the curve as a bare minimum goal to prevent hospitals from running out of ICU beds & ventilators
But that's why goal was changed to PLANKING the curve, to decrease overall infections
Ontario, #polQC & #ABleg are responsible for driving Canada's overall stats out of control because they're refusing to #StayTheCourse required to #PlankTheCurve
But even defiant Francois Legault is now backpeddling
In the most crass terms, because lives are on the line, does Premier Ford really wish to follow Jason Kenney who is reaching a 50% infection rate due to his personal distrust of scientific data?
While #ABleg may vote Conservative no matter what, Ontario is a different story
It doesn't seem wise to base Ontario health policy on Alberta, when Conservative govts have a history of being turfed here, ie #Walkerton
So Premier Ford's announcement (proposing mass migration of city dwellers to cottage country in time for May 2-4) is out of step with the biz community
Instead it joins the chorus of a leaderless CPC & separatists
Premier Ford's change in stance further defies Ontario data
An unacknowledged epidemic of spread within #ONpoli hospitals sees 11% of attendees BECOME infected, with an astronomical death rate of 14%
Public health is worried that patients who need care unrelated to the pandemic are avoiding Ontario hospitals because they're afraid to become newly infected
Yet the data prove those fears are substantiated
So patients who haven't caught the coronavirus are well-advised to avoid the hospital (unless it's a life & death situation like heart attack, stroke, etc) until Premier Ford can investigate & resolve hospital spread
Furthermore, Premier Ford based his good news projection about encouraging May 2-4 travel on a 1-day dip of cases over the weekend
Weekends often decrease infections, but Ontario is still spiking during the workweek
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![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXNhpGgWoAIcpy_.jpg)
More inconvenient data was released today that identifies Canada as THE WORST offender of all countries, when it comes to warehousing the pandemic in long term care facilities (66% of cases)
Now Premier Ford is compounding the problem by proposing to unleash the asymptomatic spreaders & those who suffer lighter symptoms all across rural Ontario & cottage country, to selfishly celebrate the May 2-4 weekend
But Ontario has the largest population in Canada by far, as well as the greatest amount of senior citizens who predominantly retired in cottage country
Many of them voted for Premier Ford & now they could die for it
Rural Ontario doesn't even have sufficient COVID-19 testing centres to service the populations that live here full-time, let alone an influx of cottagers
We already risk increasing the spread via travel for healthcare
Moreover, cottage country is impacted by unaddressed environmental issues that have languished due to the necessary quarantine
For example, #WasagaBeach (most popular & longest fresh water beach in the world) flooded
As Premier Ford contemplates unleashing #TOpoli on #WasagaBeach & #Muskoka, our main thoroughfare had to close for the entire spring & summer season due to repeated flooding from #GeorgianBay
barrie360.com/beach-drive-cl…
#WasagaBeach was caught in a perfect storm between a #ClimateCrisis & the pandemic quarantine
All those businesses that endured repeated flooding have yet to assess & resolve damage such as the threat of toxic mold
So Premier Ford is contemplating the release of urban asymptomatic spreaders on a cottage country community that has no healthcare, insufficient groceries, currently unstable infrastructure & a 55% retiree population
Additionally, the mayor of #WasagaBeach wrote to Premier Ford requesting help with #COVIDIOTS & our massive stretch of unstaffed, continuous provincial parks
But there's been no response
cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
The #WasagaBeach OPP also don't have the resources to cover Premier Ford's obligations to our municipality, as mentioned in the previous link
We're all looking forward to #TOpoli visitors - just not yet or for May 2-4
#WasagaBeach has long been at loggerheads with the province over the hectares of provincial parks that are located here
Last year Premier Ford's budgetary cuts to OMNR closed some of our parks for the 2019 season
One of the provincial parks that was closed in #WasagaBeach prior to COVID-19 is in environmental crisis
The protected parabolic sand dune is dangerously collapsing & Premier Ford abandoned it
simcoe.com/news-story/651…
So #WasagaBeach is left with hoards of provincially protected land that Ontario declined to staff via the 2019 austerity budget
It has 3 enviro emergencies that are being ignored & Premier Ford is declining to respond
While #WasgaBeach voters are generally fond of balancing the budget, they didn't expect cuts to close the majority of local land that falls under provincial control, or to be left in a lurch in enviro emergencies
Things have gotten so bad in #WasagaBeach that despite its reputation as a guaranteed Conservative stronghold, property taxes have uncharacteristically increased to make up for Premier Ford's austerity budget
Things have gotten so bad in #WasagaBeach that despite the increase to property taxes, we've also had to absorb cuts to make up for the provincial shortfall
Now garbage & recycling collection occurs bi-weekly
All these circumstances are compounding in #WasagaBeach at the same time as the pandemic & now Premier Ford is threatening to unleash #TOpoli on a resort town that can't cope with healthcare OR enviro emergencies
If the proposed May 2-4 cottagers hurt themselves recreating in any way, #WasagaBeach also has no Tylenol to help recover
It's been on back order for a while as #TOpoli head offices prioritize the GTA during COVID-19
I beg Premier Ford to reconsider opening cottage country for May 2-4. In no way can #WasagaBeach handle an influx in its current state
We need time to recover from flooding, supply chain issues & lack of healthcare
In case Premier Ford needs more convincing, just look at what's happening to this Conservative stronghold
It can no longer be taken for granted as voters have been registering their dissent
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simcoe%E2…
That's not to mention the Ontario Progressive Conservatives are facing their own crisis in #WasagaBeach, as one of Premier Ford's most esteemed MPP's was destroyed by an #LGBTQ2S sex scandal
thestar.com/politics/provi…
So with respect, Premier Ford, the provincial Conservatives have no representation in #WasagaBeach, just as well-to-do retirees, health workers, & biz leaders are beginning to question your judgement regarding May 2-4
Ontario is so close to reaching a point in the pandemic it can manage, that would avoid a W-shaped recovery due to successive lockdowns & premature confidence
We still have a few issues to sort out. Plz #StayTheCourse
Here is my thread to @fordnation regarding the proposal to open Ontario cottage country for the May 2-4 holiday, on a shareable webpage
I ask Premier Ford to reconsider this shortsighted decision, with reasons enclosed
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1257502…