Ontario Businesses Are Begging Ford To Add Salons & Indoor Dining To Step One This Friday

Ontario businesses are calling on Doug Ford to loosen his restrictions on gyms, personal care services and indoor dining on Friday to help save small business owners.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), which has over 38,000 members in Ontario, urged the provincial government in an open letter on Tuesday to fast-track its reopening plan and swap in an initiative that is similar to those in B.C. and Quebec.

"Ontario businesses are incredibly frustrated as they have had little or no opportunity to make sales, while the rest of the country is reopening much faster," said CFIB president Dan Kelly. "At this rate, many provinces will be back to normal business operations before Ontarians can even get a haircut. We need to pick up the pace now, or many businesses won't even make it to reopening."

"Most of these low-risk business activities have been open for weeks or months in other provinces, or, like retail in BC, never closed at all during the pandemic," he added.

The letter states that not only should salons, gyms and indoor dining be added to the list of businesses allowed to reopen on Friday, but the government should also shorten the three-week interval that is needed between steps.