Waterloo region's arts and culture sites say they need to open before Step 3

Doug Wilson doesn't understand why the province will let him go inside a store to buy a new shirt but he cannot go wander through an art gallery or enjoy watching butterflies indoors.

Wilson, who is president of the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory, says it doesn't make sense that museums and attractions won't be allowed to open until Step 3 of the provincial reopening plan.

"It's just been tremendously frustrating trying to understand the rationale behind the province's Step 2 and Step 3 protocol," Wilson said in an interview Thursday morning.

He said the conservatory has implemented a number of safety measures, including timed tickets and signs to control traffic flow in the building.

"From our perspective, museums and attractions are tremendously safe environments and here we are, held off, we've been sidelined," he said. "We see that as unfair."

Shirley Madill, executive director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, agrees. The gallery can run summer camps currently, but it's not permitted to allow people to walk through and look at the exhibits.

"Overall with our museum colleagues … there's this feeling that we've actually been overlooked, that the government may have missed us in the whole, big picture," she said.

"We just don't have an answer as to why this decision is: first to close and then the last to open. We are ready to open along with our colleagues."

She noted the gallery has strict environmental conditions required to protect the artwork, there are safety precautions in place and there's lots of room for people to spread out to view the exhibits.

"We're far more open and breezy" than many retail stores, she said.

'Nothing replaces' being there in person

Kenn Norman of the Fashion History Museum in Cambridge says they've used the closures to do some renovations, but there's still been confusion and frustration over COVID-19 restrictions.

He said they're not quite ready to open for Step 3 and plan to open in the fall, but he said he wants to see others open sooner. That's because the pandemic illustrated that people needed arts and culture in their lives to benefit their mental health and well-being. People were eager to take in online exhibits when possible and museums tried to accommodate that.

"But nothing replaces seeing it in person and being able to engage in person," Norman said.

Wilson, Madill and Norman all say they're eager to see people walk through the doors — hopefully sooner rather than later.

"We miss our members and our visitors, and the sound of children going through the workshops," Madill said. 

Norman says they've had lots of donations during the pandemic and they're excited to show off more of their collection and "reengage with our supporters."

Wilson said when they reopened after the first lockdown last spring, people were thrilled to walk into the peaceful and calming space at the butterfly conservatory.

"We're absolutely looking forward to seeing that happen again," he said.

Sites could close in coming weeks

Christopher Bloore, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, says he's called on the provincial and federal governments to continue financial support to help museums and tourist attractions.

"Taxpayers themselves should be questioning governments on both levels to say, listen, you supported them for the last 16 months. Why pull the rug out from under their feet right now when you know they can't bring the revenues in that they need to to be able to survive," he said, noting to allow those businesses to close now would be a waste of the money provided to them during the pandemic.

"You can't rebuild our economy nationally without a tourism-hospitality industry returning back to some sense of normality. It's one in 10 jobs, it's $109 billion in economic activity. It's just too big."

Bloore says he hasn't received a satisfactory response from the province about why arts and culture businesses can't open now.

Derek Rowland, a spokesperson for Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries Lisa MacLeod's office, said museums and attractions can open for outdoor activities under Step 2.

"Our government continues to monitor the public health trends very closely," Rowland said in an email to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

"While we are seeing a bend in the curve in Ontario, we are unable speculate on the loosening of restrictions ahead of the implementation of Step 3 of Ontario's Roadmap to Reopen. Details on Step 3 under the roadmap will be provided in the coming weeks."

While Step 3 may be only weeks away, Bloore says it may be too late for some businesses.

"We're losing the financial supports that have actually gotten us through the last 16 months and they don't have the savings and the ability to trim any potential fat from their business and from their bottom line," he said.

"We're going to see more businesses close over the next six weeks if things don't change at the federal level, particularly, than we have in the past 16 months."

Panel discussion

Doug Wilson of the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory, Shirley Madill of the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery and Kenn Normal of the Fashion History Museum in Cambridge joined CBC K-W's The Morning Edition on Thursday for a panel discussion about the delay in reopening and what it means for them.

Listen to the full panel here: