Several small business owners in the Owen Sound area are expressing frustration about the latest round of shutdown measures ordered in Ontario, forcing them to close their doors or limit services for a third time in the past year.
Premier Doug Ford’s implementation of a provincewide “emergency brake” will last at least four weeks, and targets only certain businesses with forced closures such as gyms, indoor recreation facilities and personal care services. Restaurants are again limited to just take-out or delivery.
The measures have left several affected business owners in the Owen Sound area frustrated they have to endure another closure, after investing to ensure their spaces are safe for customers and having no indication one single case of Covid has been associated with their operations.
John D G Schnurr has been running The Bowling Alley on the Sunset Strip for the past six years. His business has faced significant financial hardship due to the series of government ordered shutdowns since March 2020.
There are a range of Covid-related business support programs offered by the federal and provincial governments — from the Canada Emergency Business Account, to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy to the Ontario Small Business Support Grant, to name a few.
But Schnurr says it’s been inadequate for a business like his that’s had to cope with a 95 per cent drop in revenue the past year because of the numerous government-ordered closures.
“In any sort of lockdown situation, my firm belief is that a business that is ordered to shut the doors and bar people to enter should be given 100 per cent of the rent, utilities, taxes,” Schnurr says. “Of anything associated with the business that would normally be covered by day-to-day operations.”
“This is the third lockdown,” Schnurr continues. “The government needs to step up … and actually treat businesses that they lock down properly and fairly.”
Schnurr says he’s taken many steps to ensure The Bowling Alley is safe: installing plexiglass, constantly sanitizing, shutting down lanes to allow for adequate distancing and ensuring guests wear masks when they’re not eating, drinking or bowling.
To his knowledge, there has been “zero” spread associated with his business when it has been permitted to open.
Schnurr understands the need for restrictions during this period to combat the virus, but says all businesses should be able to operate with tailored measures to ensure they’re safe. Not just some.
“It seems oppressive that the government is choosing select businesses that have spent thousands of dollars ensuring their properties are safe,” he says. “But you can still stand two feet apart from somebody at Walmart.”
“My business can survive on 15 people every hour,” continues Schnurr. “Why can’t I have 15 people in a 21,000 square foot space? It doesn’t make sense.”
Schnurr says the hardship of the past year has left him a couple of times considering exiting the business, but he believes that any business that is able to survive through this period should be able to thrive once restrictions end.
He says he’s extremely frustrated having to endure another shutdown, but is still willing to do his part to help the community.
“But, it just seems if the government is forcing this to happen, we should be made whole,” Schnurr adds.
Josh Burnett says there were some tears when he heard he had to close the doors at his business on East Bayshore Road, Owen Sound Fitness and Training, again.
Burnett says he understands the need to ensure Covid doesn’t run rampant and potentially overwhelm critical care services, but he’s still frustrated at having to go through a third mandated closure.
He says the team at the gym has worked hard to ensure it’s safe for members, and they’ve had zero knowledge of any transmission occurring there.
“To me it is a little frustrating. I don’t see why a retailer, or other businesses can work at (lower) capacities and we can’t,” Burnett says.
He says even having as little as six people at a time in his nearly 6,000 square-foot facility could work so members can still attend and better take care of their mental health and well-being.
“I could do sign-ups online and we could have it set up so there is never any risk of anybody even being near anyone else,” Burnett says.
On the financial side, Burnett says the first lockdown was a big hit to his business. But, overall he’s been fortunate thanks to a combination of government funding and support from many members who have chosen to continue paying fees through shutdown.
“I don’t want to make it sound like it hasn’t been challenging, because it definitely has,” Burnett says. “Financially, we needed the government loans. And now we’re going to be working hard the next two, three or four years to pay those off.”
“But, I still view that as a long-term win,” continues Burnett. “Because we’re still open.”
In last week’s press conference when Premier Ford announced the “emergency break” shutdown, he was asked why the government continues to target small businesses like hair salons, gyms and restaurants even though they’ve already been closed in hotspots like Toronto and Peel since November, and infections in those areas are still climbing.
Ford deferred the question to Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams to answer. He says “we have and we are seeing outbreaks in those settings” just not so much in places like Toronto and Peel because they’re closed.
“Just because they’re closed and we don’t see outbreaks, doesn’t mean they can’t occur. (Areas) that have been open, they have occurred,” Williams explains.
Jo-anne Neerhof owns the Harrison Park Inn Restaurant in Owen Sound and says she “strongly” believes her restaurant is a safe environment, with stringent sanitizing, personal protective equipment use and contact tracing.
She describes the financial impact of the rippling shutdowns as “huge” on her business, having endured the loss of dining service for nearly two months during the first wave last year and another six weeks during the winter lockdown.
Neerhof says the hard part for her about the latest shutdown is Grey Bruce was in the green zone of the re-opening framework. She says it would be easier to prepare if businesses had received better communication and notice from the provincial government.
“It’s really tough. You do lose a lot of food. There’s stuff you can’t save.” she says. “But mostly, I think the hardest impact is on my staff.”
Neerhof says she’s hopeful the weather cooperates the next month and the community continues to do what they can to support her business during the latest interruption.
“I don’t want to be that person that says, please, please, please come and keep me going,” she says. “But, if we don’t get that support I may not be around in the summertime when you want me there.”
Kim Longley owns Hair Body & Soul on 10th Street West in Owen Sound and says her business has spent a lot of money to put numerous precautions into place. Many customers often communicate how safe they feel while attending.
“During the first lockdown I was scared, the second I was sad,” Longley says. “And this time I’m just angry.”
She applauds the government business support programs that are in place, but says they’ve had to take on a lot of new debt and “drain the bank account twice” due to the past two lockdowns.
“Our staff have to be paid, our bills have to be paid, we have to pay our hydro, we have to pay our water, we have to pay our taxes,” Longley explains. “And we don’t have revenue coming in like we normally do.”
Longley says her business is still struggling to catch-up from the second lockdown, but she remains optimistic about the future.
“We’ll close down again, we’ll struggle to catch up again,” she says. “But the one thing we’re very fortunate of is people’s hair always grows.”
Grey Bruce Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Arra says he can’t speak to the data provincially that would support the closure of certain sectors, but trusts his provincial colleagues have looked at that.
Locally, he says businesses and workplaces have been “very safe” in Grey Bruce. However, there have been recent cases associated with restaurants and recreational activities.
“In the past three or four weeks, we had two outbreaks or scenarios where those sectors are affected,” Arra says. “The fact that they have been closed in high-risk areas but the outbreak continues, is not a direct correlation … it’s a different picture provincially than locally, but even locally we can still see there is higher risk in it.”
Dr. Arra acknowledges the hardship local small businesses face during the pandemic, specifically during restriction periods, and commends them on their tremendous efforts to ensure the safety of their clients and employees.
“We continue to do our best to facilitate re-opening as fast as we can,” Arra says. “So long as it is safe.”
