Stay-at-home order needs to be stricter: Herron

Selwyn Township councillor says province’s new restrictions taking effect on Thursday are ‘a joke’

The Ontario government’s stayat-home order that begins Thursday needs to have stricter guidelines, says Selwyn Township Coun. Gerry Herron.

“What’s changed? It’s status quo. They haven’t done anything different,” Herron said.

Premier Doug Ford announced on Tuesday afternoon, that as of Thursday, nonessential retail stores including hardware and alcohol stores, as well as stores that offer curbside pickup and delivery, can’t open until 7 a.m. and must be closed by 8 p.m.

Employees that must work from home and Ontarians need to stay home and only go out when it’s essential, for example, to pick up groceries or go to a doctor’s appointment.

If the provincial government is going to implement a lockdown, big-box stores such as Costco and Walmart should be shut down, too, Herron said.

“Costco’s allowed to run at 50 per cent capacity, so they have, say, 200 people there, but we can’t have one person in a local, small store? Really? Costco’s closing at eight right now and they don’t open until eight. They’ve given them an extra hour now because they can open at seven if they want. I don’t see the logic in it,” Herron said.

“If they want to keep Costco open, close off everything else except the grocery section. Same applies to Walmart. It’s not fair. They’re killing small business.”

During his announcement, Ford said he’s not going to mess around with big-box stores.

“I’m going to come down on them like an 800-pound gorilla. If they aren’t following the protocols, if they aren’t following the guidelines, if they don’t have 50 per cent only in the stores, there’s going to be consequences for them,” he said.

Ford made it clear that he thinks the lockdown is a lot stricter than the rules prior to and during the holidays.

“When we have a stay-athome order, that’s pretty serious. That took us five hours last night on cabinet to run through everything. And believe me, we had a pretty healthy debate on it,” he said.

However, Herron said he believes the guidelines attached to the stay-at-home order are sending mixed message.

“They’ve asked you to stay home, but you can go and gather in groups of five. You can go and get curbside pickup, you can go to work … that’s enough to give a man an ice cream headache. This is so confusing,” he said.

“What’s the difference between this lockdown now and what happened on Boxing Day? Not much. It’s just a joke.”

A look at Ontario’s new stay-at-home order:

The Ontario government is imposing a stay-at-home order in an effort to bring down soaring COVID-19 infections. Here’s a closer look at what that means:

> When does the order take effect?

It comes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

> Does it mean no one can leave their home?

The province says it is allowing people to go out for essential purposes, such as shopping for groceries, going to the pharmacy, or exercise, as well as for work for those who can’t work from home. Employers must allow staff to work from home if possible.

People who live alone and single parents can also consider having exclusive, close contact with one other household in an effort to offset the effects of isolation.

> What about children?

Schools in five southern Ontario hot spots will stay closed to in-person learning until Feb. 10, though the province says that could be extended further. Emergency child care for elementary students will continue for eligible families in regions with no in-person classes.

As for children who aren’t of school age, daycares and child care centres will remain open.

> Will the order be enforced?

The government says one of the key changes included in Tuesday’s announcement is that it allows provincial offences officers and other law enforcement members to issue tickets to those who breach the order and disperse crowds larger than five people, if they’re not part of the same household.

> How will enforcement officers know who is out for legitimate reasons and who isn’t?

The province hasn’t specified how officers will check why people are outside their homes. But it said that people will have a duty to identify themselves when a police officer has “reasonable and probable grounds” that there has been a breach of the orders made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

> How is this different from a curfew, which the province said it wouldn’t impose?

Premier Doug Ford said that unlike a curfew, people will still be allowed to go outside regardless of the time for essential purposes, including if they need to walk their dog or “walk around the block” for exercise.

— With files from The Canadian Press Marissa Lentz is a staff reporter at the Examiner, based in Peterborough. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email: mlentz@peterboroughdaily.com