Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is at home quarantining after a recent trip across the border.
Dilkens says he drove his son to Detroit for some medical appointments Friday. He says it's reasonable for the public to scrutinize an elected official for crossing the border during the pandemic, so he wants to be as transparent as possible.
He tells AM800 News his son is 17 years old and a guardian needed to be present, so sending him alone wasn't an option.
"It was either my wife or myself who had to go and based on our schedules I was best suited for the two weeks to stay home," he says. "I have all the tools to work from home and we're in lockdown anyways."
Dilkens says he and his son are going through the same documentation and testing process as everyone else.
"He also received his first COVID-19 vaccine. We followed all the rules to get into the U.S., my son is a dual citizen, we did the business we had to do with the appointments and then we came back to Canada," he says. "Now we're quarantined for two weeks in accordance with the rules."
He was offered his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but says the visit was for his son so he declined.
"I've had no COVID-19 vaccinations anywhere in Canada or the U.S. ... I'll get my vaccine in the City of Windsor when my age group is called just like everyone else in my community," he added.
Dilkens admits he declared roughly $1,700 in goods that were shipped to a family member's home stateside over the course of the pandemic on his way back.
He says he did not go shopping or enter any building other than the medical facility.
Dilkens says he'll be back at city hall on May 7 if he clears all quarantine protocols.