Small business owners in Thunder Bay, Ont., frustrated with province-wide lockdown

A number of small business owners in Thunder Bay, Ont., say it's unfair the city is being lumped in with COVID-19 restrictions that are aimed at Southern Ontario.

The province has been under a lockdown since December 26, with many small businesses impacted by the provincial regulation. Originally, the province said the regulations would be relaxed for northern Ontario on January 9, but that decision was reversed just two days before.

Gavin Barrett is the owner of Afloat, a wellness studio on Thunder Bay's north side. He took to social media on Sunday, posting in a three-minute video his concerns with the province continuing its complete lockdown, instead of relaxing restrictions in northern Ontario, as originally proposed.

"We just didn't feel that the rationale behind that move was being communicated adequately to the local business community," said Barrett, who said he was also concerned about the local health unit applauding the decision.

"There seemed to be a real emphasis on taking a regional approach," earlier in the pandemic, Barrett said.

"When throughout the last year, throughout this whole thing, [the province was] using case numbers to guide the decisions for restriction measures."

Barrett said the lockdown has had a significant impact on his income, along with many other small businesses.

Two municipalities in Ontario, the Town of Kingsville and the Township of Nairn and Hyman have passed resolutions asking the province to change its regulations so small businesses can re-open.

Now the decisions are seemingly political, Barrett said, as he believed the city would qualify for orange-level restrictions, if the colour-coded system was still in place.

Barrett's video linked to a petition which was shared widely on social media by small business owners.

Jason Kardas, a co-owner of Mount Baldy Ski Area, sent the link to his customers over the weekend.

He said he had held off on making any statements about the lockdown when it was first imposed on Boxing Day, saying the ski hill was "willing to do its part."

However, he said, the continuation of the lockdown makes him concerned. He said the forced closure has had a drastic impact on his business, which is seasonal.

"All of the sudden, they continued the lockdown. That's when we started scratching our heads, going, 'oh boy, this isn't good.'"

Kardas said his industry has been singled out by the province, as ski hills are ordered to remain closed during the lockdown, while other recreational activities can open.

Ontario is the only jurisdiction in North America to shutter its ski areas, and the province has not explained to operators the rationale for that decision, Kardas said.

He said his business operated for two months without any COVID related issues, until it was forced to close.

Now, with the province giving inconsistent messaging, Kardas said, there is concern about the future of his business, if he can't re-open for the season.

"You don't want to be that cowboy guy that's defying what's out there, but the big question goes to a lot of small businesses, do you take the fine and keep opening, or do you take the fact that you could potentially go bankrupt."

In a statement, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit said its Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janet deMille did support the extension of the provincial lockdown.

"The shutdown measures are intended to temporarily keep people home, to reduce the further spread of the virus and to maintain, as much as possible, low community transmission of this virus.  Low community spread of COVID-19 protects communities, optimises the likelihood of being able to keep schools and businesses open and ensures the ability of the health care system to manage."

The health unit also said it took the following factors into consideration:

•  Analysis of rising case numbers in many areas in the province and other areas of the country, including some areas with steep increases recently. Overall this is a worrisome trend with numbers now higher than they have ever been in this pandemic.
• Evidence of increased COVID-19 activity in other Northern Health Units which have the most similarity with TBDHU in the province. 
• Vulnerability of the post-holiday period with indications in many other jurisdictions of holiday activities and gatherings directly contributing to spread.
• Recognition that measures are most effective when implemented early and are less effective when rates and numbers are already elevated.