Anger over continued closures
Leamington mayor voices area’s frustration
WINDSOR , Ont . • T he mayor of one of Ontario’s last communities still locked down due to COVID-19 says small businesses are being driven to bankruptcy by the closure while shops in neighbouring communities in Windsor- Essex reopened Thursday with a mix of relief and joy.
Premier Doug Ford announced Wednesday most of Windsor- Essex could move to Stage 2, but held back Leamington and Kingsville, Ont., because of COVID-19 outbreaks on local farms.
Hilda Macdonald, mayor of Leamington, Ont., said she remains angry about the decision, and was “livid” tight restrictions were kept in place. The measures could push small businesses to close if not eased soon, she said.
“What you’re doing is hurting these businesses that are just hanging on by their fingernails,” Macdonald said. “The big companies, they can weather this, but these small businesses, they have no safety net.”
The two communities in southwestern Ontario will stay in Stage 1 until coronavirus outbreaks on farms can be addressed and case counts lowered, Ford said.
Macdonald said her community received no warning about the decision to let the rest of Windsor- Essex proceed to Stage 2, and then received “hard, cruel, and uncalled” for social media messages when the move was announced.
The province needs a more co-ordinated approach to battling the virus and the lack of cohesion at the provincial level is holding her community back, she added.
She called on the province to create one agency tasked solely with overseeing Ontario’s pandemic response.
“No one has taken charge and I think that has been the problem,” she said.
Kingsville mayor Nelson Santos, called the decision a disappointment but added it was not unexpected. He called on farmers to co-operate with COVID-19 testing.
“I am adding all of our community voices to strongly encourage our farm operations to take all steps necessary to help control the spread of COVID-19, so that we can join the rest of Ontario and move to Stage 2 and reopen our vibrant business community,” he said in a statement.
Dan Wiper, president of the Leamington District Agricultural Society, said the local fairgrounds have already seen revenues drop.
“I think it’s stupid,” he said. “It’s killing the region.”