Ottawa Urges Ontario to Allow Small Businesses to Operate
The state of emergency declared in the province is severely affecting small businesses. In contrast, larger enterprises are experiencing significantly less impact.
In the province of Ontario, strict measures that limit the operation of businesses continue to be in effect. Currently, only grocery stores and supermarkets are allowed to open, while a few other categories of stores are permitted to offer curbside pickup for their customers. Detailed information on how companies are operating can be found in this article.
The city's mayor, Jim Watson, is concerned that large supermarkets are exploiting a "loophole" — selling everything from sporting goods to televisions along with food items, while small businesses that sell sporting goods or electronics are not allowed to open.
Watson plans to appeal to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, urging him to reconsider the restrictions and allow small non-food businesses to operate under the same conditions as large ones: with a limited capacity of 25% of the store's maximum occupancy.
The mayor also emphasizes that if the government rejects this proposal, it will be necessary to prohibit large enterprises from selling non-essential goods. For example, in Quebec and Manitoba, if a supermarket has shelves with such goods, access to them is restricted for customers.
The Ottawa City Council has already approved Watson's petition.
