Ontario Businesses Are Demanding That Ford Reopen Restaurants, Gyms & More Immediately
The letter says Ford should reopen Ontario before "thousands of businesses" are forced to close forever.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) sent an open letter to the Ontario government on Tuesday calling for the immediate reopening of restaurants, gyms and other retailers.
In the statement, CFIB urges Premier Doug Ford to immediately reopen restaurant patios, some indoor services, salons, gyms and all retailers at 20% capacity.
"June 2 was supposed to be the day that Ontario's retailers, restaurant patios, gyms and hair salons could finally reopen their doors after two long months of province-wide lockdown. Instead, Ontario's reopening plan has them remaining closed for at least another two weeks, and many for much longer," the letter reads.
"Meanwhile, COVID cases continue a strong downward trend, and estimates show vaccinations have already hit the first-dose threshold for Step 2," it adds.
The federation, which has over 38,000 members in Ontario, claims that the province needs to reopen immediately to "save thousands of businesses from being forced to shutter their doors permanently."
The Ontario government has announced that the stay-at-home order will end on June 2. However, businesses will remain closed until the reopening plan begins mid-way through June.