Doug Ford wants Dr. David Williams to delay retirement and stay on to fight COVID-19

He was supposed to be retiring in February, but Premier Doug Ford wants to keep chief medical officer Dr. David Williams on board until September for continuity during the pandemic.

The provincial government introduced a surprise motion in the legislature Monday to extend the contract for the public health specialist, who has been criticized in some quarters for a lack of communication skills and for his recommendations.

“Now more than ever, we need experienced, stable leadership,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a statement, noting Williams has agreed to stay on.

“We need someone who fully understands the pandemic and the province’s public health system as we continue to work collectively to stop the spread of COVID-19, and continue the work preparing for the deployment of vaccines,” she added.

“There is no one better suited for the job than Dr. Williams.”

Williams was not a well known public figure until last winter when he began holding occasional and later daily briefings on the status of COVID-19 that have since been scaled back to Mondays and Thursdays at 3 p.m. and are televised live.

While Williams has been under fire from some medical experts for not recommending more restrictions sooner this fall to keep a tighter lid on the virus that has soared to a series of new highs, Ontario is faring better than a number of western provinces in terms of cases per capita and got cases below 100 a day for a week in August.

Most recently, Williams was widely criticized for recommending a new colour-coded, five-tier framework for business openings in the pandemic that set thresholds for restrictions in the red zone — one step short of a lockdown — higher than recommended by the government’s own public health agency, Public Health Ontario.

Those thresholds were subsequently lowered.

Ford has repeatedly defended Williams, saying he appreciates the opinions of doctors and epidemiologists outside government but considers him a trusted adviser.

Williams told reporters earlier this month that outside doctors may be considering public health measures from one perspective, while he has to weigh impacts on business, the economy and mental health.

Opposition parties were initially noncommittal when asked if they will support the motion from Ford’s majority government.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said he can understand why the Progressive Conservatives don’t want to make a “massive change” at this point in the pandemic.

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