Communities in northwestern Ontario asking province to change lockdown rules

The frustration with a provincial lockdown in northwestern Ontario is growing, and two communities in the region are officially marking their concerns at their municipal council tables.

Earlier this week, Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls council asked the province to reconsider its rules when it comes to the provincial lockdown. Ontario should go back to using its regional approach, a resolution stated.

"Until you put it in writing it doesn't, it's just talk right?" said Mayor Norbert Dufresne.

"Put it in writing, and say, 'hey, we're getting to the point where it's going to make a big difference,'" he said, referring to an additional request to allow small businesses to open as well.

"To be fair, it's not anything that anyone hasn't been saying all along," Dufresne said, noting small business owners across the region have started to advocate for a reopening.

"The various financial supports put in place for businesses are not structured for the small business sector in Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, leaving most ineligible to receive relief from programs that are not tailored for businesses whose revenue streams are predominantly May through September, not including April, for which the most recent program uses as a benchmark, and many, if not all, sole-proprietors are ineligible for relief at all," the resolution read.

The resolution specifically asked the provincial government to:

• Increase consultations with communities and small businesses in the North to find realistic ways for supporting businesses throughout the  lockdown; 
• Revisit blanket-provincial measures to COVID-19 response; 
• Allow small businesses to remain open to in-store sales, with limited capacity and increased safety measures;
• Allow accommodation-based operators to function on a risk-based, regionally appropriate model, with increased safety measures;
• Permit construction work on a risk-based, regionally appropriate model, with increased safety measures, especially in the North, where large infrastructure related to pandemic response and health care do not comprise the majority of projects; and,
• That provincial relief funding programs be broadened to better address the needs of tourism-based, seasonally-based and sole proprietor industries.

Dufresne said the vast majority of businesses in the community are small businesses. Two will close at the end of the month.

Thunder Bay speaks out

On Monday, Thunder Bay city councillors also passed a resolution requesting the province allow ski hills in the city to reopen. The concern of visitors travelling from other parts of the province to the city was a moot point, council said, as area operators were willing to screen ticket buyers to ensure they were from the region.

Council also approved a resolution, which still requires ratification, to put hockey nets back onto the city-operated outdoor rinks. The nets were removed last week after a discussion between administration and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, and how the nets could encourage informal pick-up hockey games.

Next week, council is expected to discuss a proposed resolution from Mayor Bill Mauro, which was presented at the Ontario Big City Mayors' caucus. The proposal would ask the province to provide better support for small businesses, when more than essential services are allowed to operate.

Mauro said, based on the resolutions at council and what he is hearing from businesses and citizens, frustration is mounting when it comes to COVID-19 restrictions.

"I think it's fair to say we are hearing more from people. I think it's fair to say that in the last two to four weeks, I feel like the attitude is shifting a bit, that there is some fatigue associated with the situation," he said.

Fort Frances mayor June Caul released an open letter to the premier and provincial cabinet members supporting the Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls resolution. Caul said the resolution will be presented to Fort Frances council at a meeting in early February.