BREAKING: Ford says landlords are 'testing' him, vows to take action if they don’t accept offer

Ontario Premier Doug Ford addressed media on Wednesday to provide insight to his government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, touching specifically on internet availability.

Ford announced that his government would invest $150M to improve broadband and cellular connectivity to rural communities and remote areas, partnering with municipalities, Indigenous communities, and the private sector.

"Everyone is at the table, and we need the federal government there, too... We can't do it alone, people in our rural communities deserve the same level of service that the rest of Ontario relies on every day," said Ford.

School to reopen in the fall

Providing more insight on the matter, Education Minister Lecce said one of the main goals was the insure high-speed internet was in every Ontario high school by the start of September, and every grade school by next September.

Regarding coronavirus, Lecce said that once schools reopen, parents should expect that the government take "every single precaution possible" to keep the spread of coronavirus at a minimum.

"We will learn from jurisdictions who made [the decision to reopen,] they have very different models. We made a made-in-Ontario decision based on the best scientific and medical minds," Lecce continued.

Lecce said the plan was to have students return in the fall.

Lecce did not say whether or not EQAO testing would be delayed in the province.

Landlords playing "hardball"

Regarding landlords not taking up the federal and provincial government's offer to help subsidies rents, Ford said that landlords were "testing" him, saying that if more action was not taken on behalf on landlords,

"They're refusing [to take our offer.] What they're doing, they're testing me. And that's going to be the wrong thing to do.  We're going to give it a few more days, and then we'll act. All the landlords out there... You want to play hardball? We'll play hardball. I'm gonna protect the little guy," said Ford.

"It's hard enough to survive for small business owners... They want to keep pushing us? Stay tuned, you'll get what you asked for, we promise you that."

Regarding the NHL, Toronto has been a candidate to be a hub city for the sport, though the league has requested an exception in the 14 day quarantine for players.

Ford said more conversation would needed, potentially allowing players to self isolate, staying in hotel rooms after games. Ford said the NHL is aiming for an August 1 launch for the sport, and was unable to predict what the state of the pandemic would be at that time.