Doug Ford Clarifies: “Ontario Needs Immigrant Workers Who Don’t Take Sick Days”

By Scott Slute

Queen’s Park - Following backlash over comments made about immigrants coming to Ontario, Premier Doug Ford has clarified that he just meant immigrants who want to take sick days.

Earlier this week Ford stated Ontario didn’t need immigrants coming to the province to sit around and collect money without working. After critics pointed out that new immigrants weren’t entitled to collect social services until gaining PR status (which can take years), Ford clarified that when he said “sit around” he was referring to immigrant workers who sit around when they have the flu instead of going into work where they belong.

Ford recalls the many hard working immigrants his family employs at the Deco label factory who know what will happen if they try and take a sick day.

“You come here like every other new Canadian comes here; to work your tail off no matter how sick you are,” Ford clarified during question period yesterday, “And if you’re so sick you can’t come into work, then you don’t get paid. If you think you’re coming here to collect the dole just because you have pneumonia, it’s not gonna happen.”

Ford then recalled the many times he and his late brother former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford were pro-immigrant, citing the one time in 2008 when the latter publicly said “Orientals work like dogs.”

Ford also stated he has been writing letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau everyday pushing for immigration reform. The Premier said Canada’s immigrant application process should be asking questions like “How do you feel about breaks?” and “True or False: If you lose a finger on the job you should keep working until your shift ends not leave early to go to the hospital like a little baby.”

Scott Slute is the Editor in Chief at The Toronto Harold