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Bracing for today's news on potential deeper lockdowns/biz restrictions in Ontario. CFIB is urging @fordnation to ensure any measures are (a) supported by strong & public evidence that biz activities are a significant factor & (b) administered fairly between small/large biz.
If Ontario small retailers, restaurants, salons, etc miss out on the critical 5 weeks leading up to Christmas, many will not survive the lean months that follow. Current govt support programs will be entirely insufficient to stop the blood loss.
And CFIB will strongly oppose any measure that shuts small firms to in-store sales while allowing big box stores to sell the same goods along with groceries/pharmacy products. No small business friendly government would consider such a policy.
Every small business is "essential" to someone: the owners, workers and their families, the customers that count on it, the community that depends on its support. We need to find a way to allow small firms to safely operate until the pandemic is behind us.
Small biz owners get that this isn't business as usual. But more and more tell me they believe shutting down stores, services & restaurants is about sending a signal to the public that we should take COVID seriously, not about the specific risk of the business activity itself.
I'd ask everyone to think about how you would feel if eliminating your income and potentially ruining your life's work were used to send a message to others. And you hear politicians tell you that supports are there, but you find that's not entirely true or you don't qualify.
I hear every day from business owners who tell me it sure doesn't feel like we are all in this together.
