For Immediate Release
Mississauga Board of Trade Very Disappointed in
Provincial Government Decision to Extend Stay at Home Lockdown
Mississauga, Ontario – February 19, 2021 — Today, the Government of Ontario announced it would keep the Region of Peel Public Health Unit area in the Stay at Home Order, keeping many business closed for at least another two weeks. This action after businesses have been in lockdown in Mississauga for close to three months is totally unacceptable.
“The Province has let down hundreds of businesses in Mississauga today after clearly stating the path to re-opening would start on February 22nd. Today’s announcement has sent a devastating message to responsible small businesses that they are not valued and respected in today’s Ontario economy,” said David Wojcik, President & CEO, Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT).
MBOT has been very active advocating for responsible and safe business re-openings particularly as COVID numbers have plummeted in the City of Mississauga. Today, only 66 new cases of COVID were reported in Mississauga. If Mississauga were on it’s own, this would place Mississauga in the Red zone.
“Maybe it’s time for Mississauga to break away from Peel Region numbers. Mississauga suffers quite a bit being lumped into the Peel statistics. If COVID doesn’t know boundaries, why are York and Halton, who are our neighbours opening, while our businesses pay the price,” said Mr. Wojcik.
The Province set a precedent for allowing municipalities to open separately, when it allowed the City of Windsor to open even though Windsor-Essex had exceptionally high numbers.
Today’s announcement means that business like restaurants, personal care businesses, fitness centres and many other indoor business activities continue to be closed. These businesses are crucial to Mississauga’s economic recovery.
“We call on the Government of Ontario to provide immediate, new direct funding to support these businesses to stay alive. They should not be punished any further because the Government has decided they should be closed and continue to pay the price for the COVID pandemic,” stated Mr. Wojcik.
The Government of Ontario continues to send mixed messages on COVID recovery. “Ultimately, business owners and their workers are the collateral damage from misalignment between regional public health units and different orders of government. This has to stop,” concluded Mr. Wojcik.
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About the Mississauga Board of Trade
Since being established in 1961, MBOT has played an important leadership role serving and representing the interests of business of all sizes and sectors in our community.
Mississauga is Canada’s sixth largest city and third largest in Ontario – with a population of close to 800,000 residents and over 50,000 businesses employing over 440,000 people, including 60 Fortune 500 Canadian headquarters. Mississauga is where successful companies choose to do business.
MBOT’s large, diverse and active membership has made us one of the most vibrant business associations in Canada.
As the “Voice of Business” we advocate on policy issues that impact local business at all levels of government and are influential in helping to shape policy decisions. MBOT also offers a wide variety of valuable business services and professional development programs, networking events and marketing opportunities, to help business grow, prosper, and get connected.
Media Contact:
David Wojcik
