Hillier, head of Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine task force, to depart role at end of March

Tired of the intense criticism or just the end of his contract? The man who has been leading Ontario’s vaccine rollout will not be sticking around much longer.

Premier Doug Ford says the contract for retired Gen. Rick Hillier is set to run out in a couple of weeks and confirms he has not agreed to extend his appointment past March 31.

“I tried to get him to renew but as he said, ‘Doug, I did the job I came for. We got everything set up.’ Now, as I agree with him, we have all the confidence in communities across the province to take the bull by the horns and just run with it.”

He says Hillier took the job indicating it would only be a short-term appointment and that he would help the province set up its vaccine distributions network.

A spokesperson for the Premier’s office says Hillier can comfortably depart knowing the province’s vaccine rollout plan is now in place.

“The General was tasked with overseeing the development of Ontario’s vaccine rollout plan and associated infrastructure. The plan and infrastructure are now in place, and the province is administering more and more vaccines each day,” said Ivana Yelich, Director of Medis Relations for Ford’s office.

“We will continue to rely on the expertise of our task force members as they continue to advise Minister Elliott and Solicitor General Jones. We are immensely grateful for General Hillier’s leadership. Because of his guidance, we now have the capacity to administer 150,000 doses every single day, well in excess of the supply we are currently receiving from the federal government.”

Hillier has gone on record and set June 20 as the goal to get everyone at least the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

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The retired general said in February the task force is aiming to vaccinate adults aged 75-and-older starting April 15, and shots will go to those 70-and-older beginning on May 1.

Ford says that it all depends on the supply from the federal government.

As part of Phase 2 of the rollout, the province will see vaccine shipments ramp up throughout March with the most significant coming from Moderna.

Shipments are expected to increase from just over 160,000 through the week of March 8 to over 320,000 doses expected to arrive in the week of March 22.

Pfizer-BioNTech

• March 1 and 8: 173,160 doses each week
• March 15 and 22: 174,330 doses each week
• March 29: 175,500 doses
• April 5 and 12: 298,350 doses each week

Hillier, a former Chief of Defence Staff for the Canadian Forces, was appointed as chair of Ontario’s vaccine task force in November.

The Ford government has faced criticism for what many in Ontario have called a lacking approach to province-wide immunization.

On Monday, the province’s long-awaited online booking portal opened to mixed reviews, with error messages and other glitches reported by users.

In southern Ontario, the Grey Bruce Health Unit warned residents not to use the portal because of booking errors that occurred with its clinics.

The Simcoe-Muskoka Health Unit said some people were encountering error messages that indicated no local appointments were available through the booking site for its region.

Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said the buck must stop with Ford, not Hillier, when it comes to the shortcomings of the province’s immunization strategy.

“Ontario’s botched vaccine rollout has solely been a product of Doug Ford’s incompetent leadership, and now he has one less person to blame it on,” he said in a statement.

Green party Leader Mike Schreiner said he wished Hillier well, but pressed Ford to make the vaccine rollout smoother moving forward.

“It’s on Premier Ford to roll out a clear and transparent mass vaccination plan and strengthen the booking system so that we can get all Ontarians in vulnerable situations and essential workers vaccinated as quickly as possible.”

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With files from The Canadian Press