With the province’s current emergency order set to expire on Tuesday, Guelph’s mayor is hopeful for a reopening of the economy, but he says it must be done with safety in mind.
The lockdown in Ontario went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Boxing Day and has been extended once, with an expected expiry of Feb. 9. So far the provincial government has not made an official indication either way about whether it will extend the order further or allow it to expire, thus reopening the economy.
Waiting until the last minute to announce key decisions has been a hallmark of the Ontario PC government, said Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader Mike Schreiner in a phone call on Friday.
Reopening the economy is what everyone wants, said Schreiner, but it has to be done in a safe way and in a responsible way.
Schreiner said he is not surprised many workers in Ontario are not sure whether they will be back to work on Tuesday or not with only a few days before the order is set to expire.
“The premier needs to deliver a clear, transparent plan for what a safe reopening looks like and needs to give business owners clear communication and enough time to plan properly,” said Schreiner. “It needs to be guided by science and the evidence because obviously we want to keep people safe and reduce the spread of COVID in our community.”
Schreiner said many business owners are also frustrated that they haven’t been given the tools they need to reopen and operate safely.
“Far too many of the announcements have been done last minute and don’t give businesses time to plan and the province still hasn’t implemented a number of things that would help make workplaces safe, such as provincially-backed paid sick days, rolling out rapid testing and increasing inspections, particularly in vulnerable workplaces where we have seen outbreaks,” said Schreiner.
Mayor Cam Guthrie said he is excited at the prospect of local businesses being allowed to reopen as early at Tuesday. He said it has been unfair for the province to allow big box stores to remain open and allowed to sell non-essential goods, while small and medium-sized businesses have been closed to the public.
If the lockdown continues or another one is announced in the future, Guthrie said that inequity must be addressed.
“They must figure out how to level the playing field between small and medium businesses and big box stores. It has been unfair and unnecessary,” he said. “I have been saying this for almost a year — in my view any business that can adhere to the public health guidelines should be able to open.”
If the economy does reopen as early as Tuesday, Guthrie said the provincial government’s decision has to be made through the lens of health and safety, but he notes a continued lockdown comes with its own concerns.
“The struggles I am hearing from individuals and the business community because of the effects of the lockdown can not be ignored,” said Guthrie. “That is where this balancing act on Public Health and decision makers has to come into play.”
The Guelph Chamber of Commerce and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce have written to premier Doug Ford to ensure society reopens in a harmonized fashion that prioritizes individual safety as well as economic stability.
The chambers are asking for advance notice for businesses and employees to prepare to return to work, as well as clear guidelines and a readiness plan in place with a focus on sectors and regions hardest hit.
“As the government explores options to safely re-open the economy, it is worth noting that businesses already adhere to a number of existing health and safety protocols and will do their part to support a safe re-opening,” said Shakiba Shayani, president and CEO of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce in the news release. “The business community will continue to prove their commitment to safety protocols to protect their worker and customers to keep their doors open.”
The chambers are also asking for more availability of rapid COVID-19 testing to businesses.
Schreiner said he doesn’t understand why the Ontario government has taken so long to get rapid testing distributed to workplaces and schools in the province.
“The premier said last fall rapid testing would be a game changer and I think he’s right, but why didn’t the province deploy rapid tests?” said Schreiner. “From what I am seeing they are sitting on millions of rapid tests that can help prevent the kind of community spread we have seen and they would help us safely reopen.”
Schreiner said the Ontario government is siting on millions of dollars in federal funding that was intended to help deal with COVID-19. That is money he said could have been spent in preparation for the second wave of the pandemic.
“Everyone knew we were going to have a second wave and we didn’t properly prepare,” said Schreiner. “To me, there are just so many lost opportunities.”
