Ontario, home to the one of the longest lockdowns in the entire world, reopens tomorrow (to a 50% capacity restriction). The damage to small business is incalculable. Let this be the last time this measure is used. As examples, Toronto restaurant dining rooms have been closed for a total of 436 days since the pandemic began. Gyms in the Peel region have been closed for 416 days total. That any of these businesses has survived is a testament to the strength of their owners.

I don't think we all fully appreciate how significant a shift we are seeing from several govts & public health officials. Sask's @PremierScottMoe & Ontario's CMO are signaling an important move toward living with COVID & making our own risk assessments.
toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-s-top-… As Ontario, Quebec, NB & PEI end lockdowns in the days ahead, we need to make sure this the last time we use this extraordinary measure.

As Ontario launches its vaccine passport system today, and all provinces have implemented or announced plans for the same, here are a few reflections from small business owners. 1. If you are opposed to passports, please take this up with your provincial govt & don't boycott or punish the business or its staff for following the rules. Don't assume the business or the staff implementing passports like this any more than you do.

With 21% of Ontarians fully vaccinated, we have surpassed the threshold to move to reopening Step 2. With more than 1% of the province getting a second dose each day, we should reach 25% fully vaccinated on Monday, the threshold set for Step 3.

https://twitter.com/JR_Ottawa/status/1405893292651393025

CFIB calls on @fordnation to prepare to skip Step 2 & move the province to Step 3 next week. This would allow personal services, malls, gyms, entertainment/event venues & indoor dining to reopen (w capacity/other restrictions). These services are currently open in most provinces.

We've likely already hit Ontario's 70% first dose/20% second dose threshold earlier today. This should enable the province to move to Step 2 of its reopening plan (personal services, malls) this weekend. We need to drop the 3 week interval rule immediately. Malls are open in every other province in the country, including Manitoba. Personal services are open in every other province except Manitoba. Quebec has allowed haircuts since Feb. 8 and salons weren't closed for a single day in 2021 in SK or BC.

Ontario's COVID case count has dropped dramatically & the province is only days away from meeting all its reopening vaccine thresholds. But its plan is stuck with nearly a month & a half of ongoing lockdowns before one can eat in a restaurant, go to a gym or see a movie. As Ontarians have been locked down for so long, CFIB believes many have lost any perspective of how other provinces (together with their public health officials) are handling COVID policies such as lockdowns.

The number of tweets and emails I've received from business owners ready to defy lockdowns is growing by the minute, especially in Ontario. I don't think govts appreciate how close we are to society's breaking point. CFIB does not recommend business owners break the rules. But I do not dismiss the concerns of those ready to take this extraordinary step either. If you were in the position of losing your business, your economic future, your home, what would you do?

Looking forward to introducing Economic Development Minister @melaniejoly in a special webinar for CFIB members. Over 1200 small business owners registered to join us today. The first question for Minister @melaniejoly is on the need for support for new businesses that can't access any of the federal COVID support programs. She shared govt is still working on this.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms running their own businesses, and the many who can’t open their doors due to ongoing lockdown restrictions. Brighter days are ahead! Mother’s Day is a bit tough at my house today. This is the first Mother’s Day after my wife lost her mom and we haven’t been able to visit my mom in Calgary in over a year despite her breast cancer treatment.

Some good news in #Budget2021 for small business: extension of the rent/wage subsidy to the fall, a major new hiring incentive and a promise of lower credit card processing fees. Here is CFIB's full release: cfib-fcei.ca/en/media/news-…

Here are a few comments from CFIB based on media reports of what is in the federal budget.
1. It appears COVID support for small business will be a major theme. This would be excellent news.
2. Extending the main economic support programs (CEWS/CERS) to the fall makes sense. 3. A major hiring incentive is rumoured. This was a key CFIB recommendation for the recovery in order to help small firms afford to bring back their staff. This needs to apply broadly, not just to those using the wage subsidy.

As further evidence of the impact of the pandemic on small business, I can report that CFIB now represents 95,000 members (down from 110,000 pre-pandemic). This is the largest drop in our 50 year history. As we seek to renew our members, a huge number are no longer there. Others are not in the position to pay a membership fee.

I'll leave it to others to determine whether we are in/near a third wave of COVID-19. Regardless, we cannot return to shutting down the economy to address the concern. Lockdowns were meant to buy a bit of time to ramp up health care capacity, not a semi-permanent policy. Gyms & indoor restaurant dining in Toronto (for example) have been locked down for nearly 300 days and, still, remain entirely closed. Has this been an effective COVID mitigation effort?

As small businesses across Ontario brace for a potential expansion of the province's bizarre "Grey Zone" retail rules (which close small businesses and push customers to line-ups at busy big box stores), here are my reflections: 1. No other province or public health official in Canada has adopted Ontario's counter-intuitive practice. Most provinces have adopted capacity restrictions for all, SK focuses on reducing crowds at big-box stores, MB closes both small & large to non-essential retail.

Please listen to this @NEWSTALK1010 interview with York Region Medical Officer of Health Dr. Karim Kurji. He expects that the province will put York into lockdown this weekend, but doesn't recommend it. iheartradio.ca/newstalk-1010/… Dr. Kurji says he must consider "the downside of mental health issues, social isolation and economic ruining for small businesses in particular".

It is hard to imagine a more anti-small business policy than Ontario's grey zone retail rule (shutting small businesses down while leaving big box stores open). CFIB is hearing reports the govt will expand this measure to other parts of Ontario this weekend. We need a different approach to protect the public. One that doesn't entirely close quiet small retailers and send their customers to giant lines in/out of Costco and Walmart.

KELLY: We need COVID control measures that are fair to everyone. torontosun.com/opinion/kelly-… I've had dozens of discussions w officials on lockdowns over the past few weeks. Here is how they typically go:
Me: Why are you locking down small retailers & leaving big box open to sell similar items?
Officials: We are locking down retailers based on medical advice.

It was good to meet w Toronto Mayor @JohnTory together w other business assocs to share the impact the Toronto/Peel lockdowns are having on small business. CFIB shared our member data. In Toronto:
- 47% of small firms are fully open
- 15% are earning normal levels of revenue
- 52% are losing money every day they are open
- 31% are concerned about permanent closure

I've been asked a lot of what would happen to small business if a second wave of COVID-19 prompts a further round of economic shutdowns. Here are a few thoughts. 1. In March, governments bluntly shutdown most of the small business economy in order to protect society. Support programs to help small firms survive were just not in place. This was, to an extent, understandable.

While it is good news that EI rates are frozen for 2 years and the new benefits are temporary (for now), CFIB's biggest concern is that a worker can now collect $400 per week for a half-year if they've been working a part-time job with 3 hours a week (or less). So my part-time job in high school (washing dishes at a pizza place for 3 hours each Friday night) would qualify me to collect over $10,000 if I decide NOT to work.

As more municipalities announce mandatory masks/face coverings, CFIB asks for care and consideration for small businesses trying to implement any new rules. Most business owners I've spoken to are quite willing to post a sign asking customers to wear a mask and remind them at the door or in the business.