Toronto’s Small Businesses Warn Against Another COVID-19 Lockdown from the Government

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on business are still being felt even as many governments attempt to restore business as normal across Canada. 

Yet one message is coming in loud and clear from the small business community in Toronto and that is that a total lockdown along the lines of that experienced earlier this year will not only devastate their businesses but also possibly spell the end of them as well. 

Such is the sentiment uncovered in a recent survey conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, an organization comprised of large and small businesses like retailers and others. 

The survey found that a staggering 80% of respondents feared the second wave of COVID-19 sweeping through Canada as well as what that could mean for their long term viability, the Toronto Sun reports. 

CFIB president Dan Kelly told the newspaper, “It will be a massive failure on the part of the provincial government if they announce further shutdowns without comprehensive, ready-to-go supports in place…And more than a handful came from owners considering suicide. They’re watching their life’s dream slip through their fingers. That’s how dark this has become.”

What is the primary concern behind Toronto retail’s fears about the second wave of COVID-19? These mainly stem from the measures taken by governments earlier this year to completely shut down the economy en masse. Toronto’s small businesses hope that the government takes a more targeted approach in the future and even looks for other ways to help businesses transition and stay open if possible. 

In other words, the rush to close everything down, only to emerge without a plan and a renewed surge in cases of infection later, has left retail and other businesses in Toronto less than confident in any government strategy moving forward or, as Kelly points out to the Toronto Sun, “when public health is saying stay home except for groceries, no one is going into a small business. Government restrictions are one thing, but fear of a second wave is creating pandemonium.”

Because of this, Kelly argues, businesses will need support and closer collaboration with the government moving forward. Indeed, many of Toronto’s businesses do not face ruin due to poor business decisions or a deteriorating economy but, instead, to the impact of the “blunt instruments” of government that Kelly is referencing - namely, a one-size-fits-all lockdown policy. And it isn’t just retail and hospitality that is feeling the pinch of COVID-19, either, as many of Toronto’s tourist attractions and establishments are reporting an extremely down year when compared with last. Other statistics from the survey include a full 90% reporting declines in business with a 70% decrease being the most cited figure. Many businesses have cut employee numbers by as much as 50% while others have dismissed their entire staff in order to conserve funds during the crisis. Some 48% of businesses in the survey have had to let go of staff in one form or the other, either permanently or temporarily, and many anticipate these numbers will rise if the pandemic situation isn’t managed more efficiently moving forward. 

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/second-wave-shutdown-will-destroy-small-businesses-survey