Bay of Quinte riding MPP and cabinet minister Todd Smith is confident some, if not all, non-essential businesses will be permitted to open again in the not too distant future.
Speaking to a virtual meeting of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce today (Wednesday) Todd Smith said hopes are that some businesses will be allowed to reopen within two to four weeks but that the exact time of reopening will depend on the expertise of provincial health officials and the prevalence of the COVID-19 virus.
“Whenever reopening starts to happen you can be sure it will be gradual and phased. Stay tuned because tomorrow (Thursday) the Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton will be announcing the rules around which non-essential business will be allowed to open again. I wouldn’t be surprised to see physical distancing requirements along with rules about having hand sanitizers available at the location.”
Smith also said McNaughton might also announce regulations regarding hours of operation for businesses permitted to reopen.
Meanwhile in response to a question from a member of the chamber, Smith conceded that he understood the concerns of business owners forced to close while selling the same merchandise as found in big box stores such as Walmart which have been allowed to stay open during the pandemic.
“Our government has had to make some very tough decisions because of COVID-19 and some of them could be considered unfair but at this point
we’re not about to force Walmart to cordon off every department besides its grocery section to the public. Other businesses will likely be reopening in the near future.”
Smith said it’s been strange times for everyone including those in his government. “We were elected promising to cut the red tape and other barriers to doing business in Ontario. And we did. Some 300,000 new jobs have been created in the past two years. And now, in the blink of an eye, we’ve lost more jobs than that because of COVID-19 but saving lives is job one.”
