Gyms in red zones lobby to reopen like dance studios
Amanda Pfeffer | CBC News | Posted: October 22, 2020 8:00 AM | Last Updated: October 22, 2020
Owner says gyms will do 'whatever it takes' to get permission to reopen
Gyms in red zones are lobbying the Ontario government to be able to reopen after the province made an exception and changed the rules for dance studios earlier this week.
On Oct. 9, the Ford government announced it was closing dine-in restaurants, gyms, cinemas and casinos in Ottawa, Toronto and Peel for 28 days.
However, the province confirmed Monday that dance studios will be allowed to reopen in COVID-19 red zones, with a few new rules, including a limit of ten people per class.
"We want to make sure our voices are heard, because it doesn't feel like we're being heard at all right now," said Rob Lavoie, who owns Fortis Fit in Orléans.
By Wednesday afternoon, Lavoie and more than 15,000 gym owners, staff and members had signed an Ottawa-based petition calling on the province to reconsider the closure.
Nepean MPP and Minister of Sport Lisa MacLeod did not agree to an interview but her office provided a statement.
"Unlike a class in a fitness setting, such as a gym, which is typically done on a drop-in, one-time, or episodic basis, most youth or dance studio programming require participants register for multi-week or year-long programs with the same participants in the class week after week—effectively cohorting, making contract tracing and case management much more feasible," read the statement.
Lessons from the dance lobby
The move to open dance studios comes after an organized campaign by dance studios.
"As a community we really pulled together," said Dana Hanes, who owns Dana Hanes Dance Company in Ottawa, and is a member of a group representing studios across the province called Dance Safe Ontario.
"We sent emails and had parents and kids sending emails to local councillors and provincial representatives," said Hanes. A petition garnered more than 20,000 signatures in three days.
Hanes said studios are accommodating the new limit to ten students per class and she will ask students to wear masks.
Gyms turn up the heat
Lavoie tweeted his frustration at MacLeod in response to her announcement. It included a photo of his empty gym.
"It's disappointment, it's frustration, it's feeling just swept off to the side," said Lavoie.
He said there are about 15 people, including coaches, a massage therapist, a chiropractor and a nutritionist with jobs on the line, not to mention the impact on members who have told him the facility is a part of their mental health regime as much as it is about their physical well being.
"We all feel that physical fitness is basically an essential service," he said.
The premier was asked this week about claims of unfair treatment of gyms, and whether the province could reconsider the lockdown, particularly for smaller gyms.
Doug Ford said the province is considering options, "but then the next question as we move forward will be how about the other fitness centres, and then another and it just keeps going and going and going."
Lavoie said he and other owners want a chance to meet with government officials to discuss any new criteria the province thinks would be necessary to meet the safety requirements.
"We'll do whatever it takes," he said.