John Chidley-Hill, Canadian Press Posted Monday, May 30, 2022, 12:08 PM EDT Last Updated on Monday, May 30, 2022, 12:08 PM EDT
Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford is defending his decision not to visit Ottawa earlier after a deadly storm that left thousands in the area without electricity for nine days.
At a campaign stop in the city on Monday, the incumbent asked why it took him more than a week to visit the area hardest hit by the devastating storm that swept the province on May 21st.
“I was on the phone every day to make sure we had the resources here,” said Ford, who was scheduled to travel to Windsor, southwest Ontario later in the day. “I’m not here to take pictures, as other politicians may have been.
“I was wearing boots on the ground, making sure we had the resources here.”
Hydro Ottawa said 8,000 customers were still without electricity in the National Capital Region on Monday morning. The company said it had restored power to 172,000 customers in the past nine days.
The suspension of Ford’s campaign to drive the Ottawa West Nepian on Monday morning was his first public appearance in the area in months.
Ford said last week that he would not visit Ottawa after the storm because he did not want to distract crews trying to repair damaged power lines. His stop there on Monday did not include sites still affected by the storm, but he had to visit with local firefighters.
“Let me tell you what we did for Ottawa: I kept in touch with Hydro One every day and, above all, with hydraulic suppliers from all over the province, including Hydro Ottawa,” Ford said. “We invested resources through ministries, we included ministries, we included (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests), we brought firefighters, we reached other provinces.
“They brought their utility workers and I want to thank the utility workers for working around the clock.”
Ford visited Uxbridge, Ont., On May 23, a day after the community declared a state of emergency after the same storm. He said the short trip 80 kilometers northeast of Toronto was not part of his campaign.
“The mayor called me, there should have been no media there. I guess someone leaked it, “Ford said when asked why he visited Uxbridge and not Ottawa. “I wanted to go there and take a quick look, and I came back right away.”
Eleven people died in a storm in Ontario, and nine died from falling trees. Environment Canada said the difficult weather included the dereho – a rare widespread storm linked to a series of thunderstorms – that is developing near Sarnia, Ont., And moving northeast through the province, ending in Quebec City.
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