Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
McGuinty says he won't cancel Pan Am trip to Mexico amid flu worries
TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty is refusing to vow to opposition pressure to cancel his trip to Mexico in support of the 2015 Pan Am Games Wednesday and instead stay in Ontario to oversee the continued rollout of the H1N1 vaccine.
McGuinty said Tuesday the vaccination plans were well underway and have improved markedly from the chaotic scene last week that saw pregnant women and children waiting in line for hours - at times only to be turned away.
The Pan Am bid "is important, and I have confidence in our health officials," McGuinty said.
"Our delivery programs are in a better place today than they were last week, and I have confidence that things are only going to get better."
The opposition parties want McGuinty to stay in the province during the crisis to show he's taking his responsibilities as premier seriously.
"If there is a crisis, the premier should be in the province," said Progressive Conservative critic Norm Miller.
"It would make sense for him to cancel his trip."
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, whose hometown of Hamilton would benefit from a winning Pan Am bid, acknowledged the vote Friday was important, but added the swine flu is "something the premier needs to be on top of as well."
"I would hope that he's looking at his priorities carefully and keeping an eye on what's happening and is prepared to do what needs to be done," she said.
In 2003, then-premier Ernie Eves came under fire for leaving on a golf trip during the SARS outbreak - at a time when the World Health Organization warned against travelling to Toronto.
But McGuinty dismissed the comparison, saying Ontario residents need him in Guadalajara, Mexico, to do all he can to secure the vote.
McGuinty has been phoning the various voters in the campaign, and will try to convince the voting committee in Mexico that Ontario has the right infrastructure, commitments and plan to deserve the games.
"We think we have the strongest bid by far ... but it comes down to votes," he said.
"I know something about that, being a politician obviously, so I'm just phoning as many people as I can, making as many personal contacts as I can, and encouraging them to support the Toronto bid."
The Toronto 2015 delegation, led by McGuinty, will make an hour-long presentation Friday after spending the week lobbying the Pan American Sport Organization along with the other bidding cities, Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia.
The agency represents the 42 countries across the Caribbean and the Americas whose National Olympic Committees will determine the host for the 2015 Games.
