Businesses in Thunder Bay brace for impact as lockdown begins

Businesses in Thunder Bay Ont., are adjusting operations yet again as the city undergoes another lockdown due to the number of COVID-19 cases in the district.

The provincial government announced Friday it would be implementing the "emergency brake" in Thunder Bay and issued lockdown measures to begin March 1.

"The lockdown will be devastating for many small businesses. Unfortunately, you know, there's a lot of folks who have been impacted by COVID-19, and what I'm hearing from small businesses is they're really discouraged by the promise of help that doesn't seem to come," said Charla Robinson, president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, in an interview with CBC.

Robinson said she suspects the latest lockdown will leave many entrepreneurs in the city deciding whether or not they will be able to move forward with their business, adding that the time since the last lockdown has been short-lived for many in the industry.

"We know that every time you open and close a business there's a cost to that. You don't just start operating and not go through a bunch of expenses, you know, there's staffing to get the facility up and running, there's the ordering of supplies," said Robinson.

Provincial Stay at Home Orders that were issued in December 2020 were lifted on February 16, 2021, for the Thunder Bay District, and the communities in the catchment area moved into the Red-Control zone of the provincial reopening framework.

Premier Doug Ford announced an additional grant program for small businesses when Stay at Home orders were implemented at the end of 2020 to help offset losses, however Robinson said many local businesses have yet to receive that support.

"Many of our small businesses locally are still waiting for the financial support that was promised by the Premier in December. We've been repeatedly calling for stronger testing and tracing systems and for clear and consistent restrictions and health protocols so that there aren't disproportionate negative impacts on small businesses," said Robinson.

Public health and economic health closely linked 

Robinson added moving forward through the lockdown and as COVID-19 cases rise in the city, it's imperative that the government provide the support in the local health system to ensure that the district can get back to an overall "healthy community."

"Public health and economic health really are very closely linked. So we do need to get this health crisis under control so that we can have a healthy business climate, the two are not mutually exclusive," she said.

Jim Comuzzi, chair of the Waterfront District Business Improvement Area (BIA), said he believes his community has what it takes to make through the lockdown, adding that the pandemic has only strengthened the business community's resiliency.

"The resiliency in the downtown area is absolutely amazing and has shown it's true colours in the last year on how they've handled this, and we just have to be patient a little bit longer," he said.

Comuzzi said his BIA is working to support businesses as much as possible, adding that he hasn't heard of any businesses in the BIA membership who are on the brink of closing for good as result of the pandemic.

He said making it to the summer months will be a game changer for many entrepreneurs and for the Waterfront District.

"We got to get to that open air, that StrEATery … that open air feeling that we started getting in July last year when we were allowed to open up the StrEATery," he said. "We will do it a little bit sooner this year. We will be a little bit more prepared."