“I’m really concerned about what’s happening in Brampton,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters during a news conference on Sept. 4 in Bracebridge, Ont. “Something is broken when you have three percent of the population with 40 percent of the cases.” In July, Ford lambasted the hosts of a Brampton party with roughly 200 guests broken up by Peel police and the city’s bylaw departmen. The hosts of that gathering are now facing bylaw fines of up to $100,000 under the Ontario Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

BRAMPTON - Ontario Premier Doug Ford once again pointed a finger at the South Asian dominated Brampton after a recent increase in the province’s COVID-19 daily case count.

“I’m really concerned about what’s happening in Brampton,” Ford told reporters during a news conference on Sept. 4 in Bracebridge, Ont. “Something is broken when you have three per cent of the population with 40 percent of the cases.”

The premier took aim mostly at social gatherings — which have been a problem in Brampton during the pandemic — and cautioned those who may be planning any large Labour Day weekend celebrations that they will be shut down, reported the Brampton Guardian newspaper.

 “We can’t have these backyard parties (and) not wearing face masks. Anyone who is thinking about having a big shindig this weekend, forget about it — cancel it. Or, we won’t hesitate to, again, shut it down,” Ford said, while also emphasizing those partying during the pandemic make up a small percentage of the city's population.

Peel Region, which includes Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon, accounted for 72 of the 148 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province on Sept. 4 with the majority of those cases concentrated in Brampton — Canada’s ninth-largest city.

Mayor Patrick Brown, who Ford said “is doing a great job” during the pandemic, responded to the premier’s comment on Twitter. Brown said he spoke to Ford about the situation and was promised additional supports to address the situation.

“Had a very productive call with @fordnation about the uptick in #Covid_19 cases in #Brampton. We both agreed that we need to strongly limit social gatherings given the spread of #Covid_19. I also want to thank the premier for his support of my request for a second testing centre,” he tweeted.

This is neither the first time Ford has identified Brampton as a provincial hot spot for the virus nor is it the first time the premier has singled out Brampton's COVID-19 party scene.

In July, Ford lambasted the hosts of a Brampton party with roughly 200 guests broken up by Peel police and the city’s bylaw department. The hosts of that gathering are now facing bylaw fines of up to $100,000 under the Ontario Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

Peel Region health authorities have identified social gatherings, travellers and workplace outbreaks as the main drivers of new cases in Brampton and the region, adding more than half of new infections are among those aged 21 to 50.

“The people of Brampton, you are great folks, but you cannot be holding these parties in the backyard. I can’t stress that enough,” Ford added in his remarks.

Courtesy The Brampton Guardian