Crushing news came Thursday April 1st, for our restaurants, salons and gyms. After a year of being locked down and restricted again and again- tonight they are headed into a third lockdown. Is a lockdown needed and if so why are students still going to school? Are local restaurants, gyms and salons spreaders? No- so many are wondering why they are the target of the next lockdown. Where is the data showing our salons, gyms and restaurants are the problem? What are the numbers in our local ICU? It is time to show us the data or let them be open. Enough is enough. Local elected officials need to turn off the Netflix and start bailing out the sinking ships of our community- after all we are in this together right? Time to get a bucket, better yet fix the hole in the ship.
How much more can they take?
I met with Krista today from Brenko’s House of Pizza in Essex. She calls Ford’s last move, ” small business genocide”, and I agree with her. I have spent years in the industry as well and I can not imagine the stress, the emotional and physical strain our restaurant owner operators are experiencing right now. They are sick of the lectures from politicians on podiums receiving full paychecks when they have not been shown to be the problem.
Who is standing up for them? Look to your left and look to your right- local elected officials are saying crickets. “My hands are tied”, is something Krista has said she has heard again and again from those with the elected voices in our area. “ Doug Ford does not want to disappoint Toronto voters so he is shutting us all down”. It is not fair, ” If Canadian Tire and Costco can make money why can’t I? I am not being greedy I just want to feed my kids” one of statements she made today that really hit home. The number of staff at her restaurant have gone from 17 down to 8 with another possible reduction coming. Some staff members have found other jobs that are ” Covid Proof”, because working in the industry is just to unpredictable.
Krista also made very logical points, “children can play at the park but I can not sit a family down at my restaurant let alone the outside patio which has capacity for 240 and we have made safe seating arrangements for 80″. A quick look outside and it is easy to see why frustration is at an all time high. She understands that Covid is real and believes her staff and patrons take the proper precautions. ” We are safe here, no one has ever got Covid here”.
I have sent Essex council an email about the 3rd lockdown and at the time of writing this I have only heard back from Councillors Garon and Bjorkman who are frustrated as well. I hope Essex council stands up to the provincial government over the unfair treatment and has a discussion about this Tuesday night at our regular meeting of council. The Leaders of this community should be calling weekly emergency meetings until this pandemic is history. That is what I would be doing if I was in a higher position. Krista told me today how alone she feels and I believe others feel the same, you can see it in her eyes. The unanswered questions, the frustration, the despair and the lack of a voice to represent her.
I am ready to hop on a bus and park it in Ford’s driveway until he decides to look at our province in a holistic way. Crippling small businesses is not going to make Covid go away but it is certainly going to make our small businesses go away. Let’s untie our hands and our tongues and tell Doug Ford ENOUGH is ENOUGH. I am not ready to give up, we just need the rest of the local politicians to stand up too. United we are stronger and maybe then we can be in this together.
To support Brenko’s share their facebook page and see if you can support by ordering a take out meal. They are open Tuesday to Saturday 3:30-7:30.
