Business puzzled by Nova Scotia reopening plan
HALIFAX — Premier Iain Rankin and chief medical officer Dr. Robert Strang may be a little better at explaining shutdowns due to the COVID-19 virus than they are at discussing how Nova Scotia will reopen.
Much of Nova Scotia’s business community was left muddled by the presentation by the premier and Strang on Friday.
“I have to admit it was a little confusing,” said Patrick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. “I’ve now watched Friday’s news conference three times and I’ve seen all the material that has been published and we’ve actually rewritten it at the Chamber. We put out our own first of what their infographic looks like, which is a little easier to understand. So I think I understand it pretty well.”
Sullivan said he believes the reopening plan as laid out, with phases, makes sense. “What doesn’t make sense to me is a range that could go all the way to the end of August, when we seem to have very good numbers and the numbers were actually trending down even on Friday,” he said in an interview on Monday.
Even Strang knows that business was looking for dates rather than a range of weeks, said Sullivan. And even though health officials are promising to come up with some dates, the fact those dates were promised but not delivered meant the business community has been left wanting.
“I am not talking about economics at the expense of health,” Sullivan said, but many operators are eager to bring customers back into their businesses.
Luc Erjavec, regional vice president for Restaurants Canada, said on Monday that his membership was thrilled to start the process of reopening.
“We were closed for nearly a month and being able to open, at least the patios, it’s a great start,” he said. “Would we have liked more, absolutely, but it really reflects what they’ve been doing in Europe and in other jurisdictions. You start with the patios and shortly thereafter you go to full indoor dining.”
Patios are a step, Erjavec said, adding that he feels for the restaurant owners who may not have patios.
“But even for those business, it’s Nova Scotia in June. We can get a lot of inclement weather, which brings its own headaches in terms of scheduling staff,” he said. “But you know it’s a first step and we’ll take it and run with it. And the sooner that we can get indoor dining the better.”
Louis-Philippe Gauthier, senior director of legislative affairs in Atlantic Canada for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said details were missing from the Nova Scotia reopening plan as presented on Friday.
“But in our discussions with government officials, we were told the plan that was presented was not the full plan and that more details would be coming,” Gauthier said.
While the phase-in of the reopening seems to make sense, he said the lack of direction makes it difficult to plan events like weddings, festivals and even individual vacations. He said the Nova Scotia plan appears to be similar to Ontario.
Meanwhile, Erjavec said, restaurateurs in Nova Scotia have been dealing with a bit of a labour shortage, even prior to the arrival of COVID-19, especially in the kitchen.
“You can’t guarantee hours … so that’s really a challenge. And with (the pandemic) going on for so long, a lot of people have left the industry,” he said.
“I know a lot of operators have tried to keep the core staff, particularly kitchen staff and managers employed full time and have been making huge offers to guarantee employment but, particularly as we move into summer when we have a lot of part-timers, temp staff … we’re already hearing rumblings about labour shortages and I think we’ll hear more of that in the months and years to come.”
PC Leader Tim Houston said the third wave of the pandemic wasn’t bad luck, it was weak leadership.
“Now, the Liberals aren’t providing clarity and dates for a reopening, because dates and clear information would keep them accountable to meeting their targets. Dates don’t contradict epidemiology. If they did, every other premier and chief medical officer in the country would be wrong,” he said on Monday.
“When asked Friday, Iain Rankin wouldn’t even rule out an election during the pandemic. It’s clear that his focus is getting to the ballot box rather than getting us out of COVID-19.”
While other provinces present plans for the coming months, Nova Scotia lags behind, said Houston. The opposition leader blames the premier’s loosening restrictions without a plan for triggering a third wave, which forced closures and crippled small businesses.
Poor government planning and uneven restrictions during the third wave of the pandemic have allowed big box stores to profit without penalty and forced small and medium businesses to close, he said.
“You can’t call small businesses the backbone of our economy while simultaneously calling them nonessential,” said Houston. “This is more important than soundbites in briefings. Rural communities and people’s livelihood are at stake."