TORONTO — Ontario’s regulations for areas hardest hit by COVID-19, including Toronto and Mississauga, are under attack from small-business advocates. Since last week, only businesses selling essential goods can welcome shoppers in their stores in those regions, but there are no restrictions on what those businesses may sell in addition to essentials.
While hardware stores are among those sectors permitted to open to a reduced number of in-store shoppers, other specialty retailers are not. “Doug Ford has unfortunately signed the death warrant of thousands and thousands of businesses,” Dan Kelly, CEO and president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, told CBC News.
In Manitoba, only items deemed essential may be sold in stores. Businesses that usually offer other items as well have had to remove access to them, either by pulling them from shelves or cordoning off the relevant departments. Ontario Premier Doug Ford rejected calls for a similar approach in his province, calling it a “logistical nightmare” after consulting with Walmart Canada CEO Horacio Barbeito.
