As business owners in Ontario begin the long, slow road back to normalcy, the provincial government has pledged continued support.
Premier Doug Ford and Finance Minister Rod Phillips provided an update Friday on the preparations to slowly reopen Ontario's economy, which has reached an historic slowdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ford had introduced a multi-step plan for reopening businesses, as long as certain benchmarks are met in slowing the spread of the virus.
The province's reopening framework was released earlier this week, but how it will progress is dependent on achieving certain benchmarks. There is no specific timetable in place.
Nevertheless, Ford said Friday that the approach is necessary to avoid a second surge of COVID-19 cases, while the need to reopen the economy is vital.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on people's lives and livelihoods, but thanks to the incredible efforts of our frontline health care workers and all individuals and families, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel," said Ford.
Garden centres and nurseries reopened Friday morning, but physical distancing guidelines remain in place indefinitely. Hardware stores and safety supply businesses could reopen as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning. On Monday at that same time, any non-essential retail store with a street entrance can reopen, with delivery and curbside service only.
"By Monday, thousands of people will be returning to work at hardware stores, retail outlets and garden centres across the province," Ford continued. "Now with the right framework and the right guidelines in place, we can start getting more of Ontario back to work quickly and safely."
In addition to some businesses being allowed to reopen, $241 million of a total $900 million has been pledged to the new Ontario-Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (OCECRA), which is designed to make it easier for businesses to reopen once all emergency measures are lifted. The OEECRA program is supported by the federal government.
The starting-up of some businesses is happening after Statistics Canada released discouraging data on jobs during the month of April. Nationwide, about two million jobs were lost in April due to the pandemic, with an additional million jobs lost in March.
